Svalbard  is an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean north of mainland Europe, about midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole. It consists of a group of islands ranging from 74° to 81° north latitude, and from 10° to 35° east longitude. The archipelago is the northernmost part of Norway. Three islands are populated: Spitsbergen, Bear Island and Hopen. The largest settlement is Longyearbyen. The Spitsbergen Treaty (1920) recognized Norwegian sovereignty over Svalbard, and the 1925 Svalbard Act made Svalbard a full part of the Kingdom of Norway. The official language in Svalbard is Norwegian, though some areas speak Russian.  

Drs. Mary Wheeler, Mojdeh Delshad and Steve Bryant attended the CO₂ week long seminar that was focused on it's effect on the global environment.  As some of the pictures that they have taken from this  north-most human inhabitant effect of CO₂ is apparent.

The picture above shows first hand that the ice cap is melting and every year it is shrinking.  Creating a difficult and challenging habitat for life forms.