Northeast Greenland National Park

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Lore & Background

Station Nord was conceived in June 1950 when the United States Weather Bureau developed plans for a joint weather station in Northeast Greenland. The next year, Norwegian-born USAF Colonel Bernt Balchen proposed a major air base for radar coverage, navigation aids, search-and-rescue, and recovery of heavy bombers returning from the USSR. Two 10,000 foot runways were contemplated. A weather station was operational by 1 May 1952, and a U.S.-built landing strip was available by July. By February 1953, the USAF abandoned the air base plans, settling on a minor role for the airstrip. That summer, an expansion of the gravel strip was carried out, a team of 41 Danes was sent to construct facilities, and the finished weather station was in operation on 1 October. The major reason for the reduction in plans was that resupply was difficult and expensive: permanent polar ice prevents supply by sea, and trans-icecap convoys from Camp TUTO were problematic. Everything had to be flown in from Thule. Danish sensitivity to U.S. activities was another factor; Denmark assumed responsibility for Nord's operation and refused an American offer for a lease. The understanding, codified by Memorandum of Understanding in 1954, was that Nord would be available to U.S. forces as needed. In 1968, Nord reportedly had a staff of 30 men, 25 buildings, and seven antennas. Routine communications was by radiotelegraphy to Angmagssalik. By the end of U.S. responsibilities, Nord had a 6,200-foot (1,900 m) runway, a non-directional beacon, a meteorological observatory, and a seismic station.

Reader's Guide

The original station was built by Grønlands Televæsen for the United States from 1952 to 1956 as a weather and telecommunications site with a runway, ICAO code BGMI. From Denmark's perspective, Nord was meteorologically needed as the only weather station within hundreds of miles, and as a resupply base for the Sirius Patrol. Construction was undertaken by Danish companies and financed by the Danish government, with the U.S. contributing to transportation of equipment from Thule Air Base and paying subsidies. Some equipment originally supplied by the USAF is still in use. Until its closure in 1972, it was run as a civilian base by the Greenland Technical Organisation. In April 1971, the USAF announced it would cease sending goods and fuel from Thule to Station Nord. Without U.S. support, Denmark decided to close the station. After closure in late June 1972, many scientists and military officers protested and demanded it be reopened. In 1974, the Defence Command submitted plans to build a patrol station and a landing strip. Reconnaissance began in March 1974 by the air force and helicopters from Grønlandsfly, and cabins for the sledge patrol began to be built and patrol depots restocked. The Danish Defense Command reopened Nord in August 1975 for a trial period, and it was made permanent. Today the station is under the Joint Arctic Command, staffed daily with personnel from the three services; five volunteers are stationed there 26 months at a time with a 3–5 weeks leave period in the middle. The landing strip is kept open for approximately 300 days a year, maintained with two large snow blowers and two snow plows. Since 2009, a joint Ukrainian-Danish Operation "Northern Falcon" has transported fuel from Thule to Nord by military transport aircraft IL-76MD of the 25th Transport Aviation Brigade, conducted annually.

Did You Know?

• Station Nord is about 924 km (574 mi) from the geographic North Pole.
• Winter darkness at Nord extends from 15 October to 28 February.
• The station is not accessible by ship; ice conditions permit passage only every five to ten years.
• Five Danish non-commissioned officers staff the base on a 26-month tour of duty.
• Since 2009, a joint Ukrainian-Danish Operation 'Northern Falcon' has annually transported fuel from Thule to Nord by IL-76MD aircraft.

Geographic Extremity and Absolute Isolation

This places it as the second northernmost permanently occupied settlement in all of Greenland; only two outposts in Peary Land, Brønlundhus and Kap Harald Moltke, lie further north, yet neither is permanently staffed. The isolation is total: no vessel can reach the peninsula under ordinary conditions, because the surrounding sea ice would permit a maritime passage only once every five to ten years. The station's name is simply the Danish word for north. Winter here is not merely cold but profoundly dark, with the sun absent from 15 October through 28 February, a stretch of nearly five months of unbroken night. The settlement comprises about 35 buildings and functions simultaneously as a military outpost and a scientific base within the vast Northeast Greenland National Park.

Cold War Ambitions and the U.S.-Danish Partnership

Station Nord was conceived in the strategic climate of the early 1950s. The U.S. Resupply proved brutally difficult: permanent polar ice blocked sea routes, trans-icecap convoys from Camp TUTO were unreliable, and everything had to be flown in from Thule. Danish political sensitivity compounded the problem; Copenhagen insisted on preempting any permanent American foothold, refused a U.S. lease offer, and assumed full operational responsibility. forces as needed, and the station doubled as an emergency recovery site for American bombers throughout the 1950s.

The 1972 Closure and the Fight to Reopen

Station Nord's history includes a dramatic near-death experience. For years the station had been partially sustained by American support, with the U.S. Air Force transporting goods and fuel from Thule. The shutdown triggered fierce protests from scientists and military officers who argued Nord was indispensable as a gateway to otherwise inaccessible northern Greenland, a support hub for the Sirius Patrol dog-sledge unit, and a growing center for civilian research. Cabins for the sledge patrol were rebuilt and depots restocked.

Logistics, Staffing, and the Rhythm of Daily Operations

Life at Station Nord is shaped by extraordinary logistical constraints and a small, dedicated crew. The station is staffed year-round by five Danish non-commissioned officers serving a 26-month tour of duty, while in the summer months accommodation expands to host more than twenty scientists and other personnel. Because no ship can reach the peninsula under normal ice conditions, all supplies must arrive by air. The base also supports the Sirius Patrol, a dog-sledge unit that patrols the remote northeast, and has long served as a resupply point for that operation. Some equipment originally supplied by the U.S. Air Force in the 1950s is still in use today, a quiet testament to the station's layered history.