Species that are able to migrate make-up a large fraction of the arctic fauna. For more details on specific species go to our Arctic Links section or follow the site to more. The Arctic contains some of the largest seabird colonies in the world. The number of species is small, but the populations of each species is large. Six seabird colonies on Svalbard have over one hundred thousand birds in each colony.
Seabirds play a key role by transporting nutrients from the sea to the land.
The vegetation at the base of the bird cliffs is much richer than elsewhere. Estimates from Svalbard indicate that a colony of seventy thousand Little Auks fertilises the local area with sixty tonnes of faeces per square kilometre during the breeding season. Glaciology Sixty percent of Svalbard is covered by ice and the ground is permanently frozen, apart from a thin layer on the surface that thaws temporarily during the brief arctic summer. Geology Geology the study of the earth's crust. Click below to learn more, about just what forms the landscapes covered by snow in Svalbard.