Sea ice in the Fram Strait between East Greenland and Svalbard: important underwater cables run in the region
Photo: Sebastian Menze / dpa
It may seem a bit paradoxical: Longyearbyen, the capital of the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, which belongs to Norway, is only around 1300 kilometers from the North Pole, but has far better internet connections than most places on this planet. This has above all to do with the technical equipment that is located on a high plateau above the town: numerous satellite ground stations that look like giant golf balls are housed here.
The location is perfect, especially for earth observation satellites.
Here you can send your data to earth with every overflight, using two fiber optic cables - 1375 and 1339 kilometers long - the information is only then transmitted to the Norwegian mainland and from there to the rest of the world.
Satellite operators from all over the world use the system.
But since Friday one of the two important cables has apparently stopped working due to damage.
Operator Space Norway, a government company, said the damage occurred somewhere between 130 and 230 kilometers from Longyearbyen.
There the sea floor drops from 300 to 2700 meters depth.
What led to the problem is not yet known.
However, a larger, seaworthy cable-laying vessel is required to rectify this.
A short-term repair is therefore ruled out.
The cause is not yet known
It is not yet known what caused the fiber optic cable to be damaged.
The massive damage to an underwater observatory stationed in the sea off Norway recently caused a sensation.
Here, too, the question of guilt was initially unanswered.
The second fiber optic connection between Spitsbergen and the mainland is not affected by the current problems, according to the operator.
Space Norway and its partners are working hard to pinpoint the problem and how quickly it can be fixed, said Emilie Enger Mehl, Norway's Minister for Justice and Emergency Management, on Sunday.