During World War II, the Luftwaffe placed a meteorological team there under cover of Operation Zitronella. Due to their remote location, the German soldiers on Hopen were the last in Europe to surrender to the allies, who had to in fact be rescued after losing radio contact almost 5 months prior. [5]
On August 28, 1978 an early model Tupolev Tu-16 of the Soviet Air Force crashed on the island. All seven crew were killed in the accident. It was discovered two days later by the four-man Norwegian weather forecasting team. The USSR refused to admit the loss of an aircraft until the bodies of the crew were given to them. Norway transcribed the contents of the flight recorder over the objections of the Soviet government.[6]
Environment
A significant number of polar bears are found at Hopen in the winter;[7][8] moreover, the sub-population of Ursus maritimus found here is a genetically distinct taxon of polar bears associated with the Barents Sea region.[9] Since 2003, little sea ice has surrounded the island. [4]
Hopen has a tundra climate (Köppen climate classificationET). The average annual temperature in Hopen is −3.6 °C (25.5 °F). The average annual rainfall is 355.4 mm (13.99 in) with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 3.9 °C (39.0 °F), and lowest in March, at around −10.4 °C (13.3 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded in Hopen was 17.4 °C (63.3 °F) on 9 July 1973; the coldest temperature ever recorded was −36.9 °C (−34.4 °F) on 4 March 1986.
Climate data for Hopen (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1945–present)
^Derocher AE, Andersen M, Wiig Ø, Aars J, Hansen E, Biuw M. 2011. Sea ice and polar bear den ecology at Hopen Island, Svalbard. Marine Ecology Progress Series 441:273-279.
