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Snowmobile riders set off on a trip across Adventdalen this spring. Pollution during peak rider season is nearly that of Zurich, a city with 400,000 residents, according to a new study. Much of that is from older machines that tour operators say will be mostly gone within a few years.

Longyearbyen's air pollution during peak snowmobile season in spring is 100 times higher than during the summer, making it comparable to a large European city, according to a new study. But most of it is caused by older machines not expected to be in wide use for long.

There were 1,802 snowmobiles registered on Spitsbergen during the measurements, 30 percent of which were older two-stroke engines that emitted more than 90 percent of the aromatic hydrocarbons detected, according to the study published in the current issue of Environmental Science and Technology.

Spring readings were usually low at night and during windy conditions, but peaked during "rush-hour" periods around 9 a.m. and, to a lesser extent, late afternoon when excursions were passing the measurement site.

"Amazingly, average (pollution) mixing ratios in the spring months in Longyearbyen were nearly as high as in Zurich, although the number of inhabitants is more than a factor of 100 higher in Zurich," the study notes.

Measurements were taken between April 15 and June 15 of 2007 outside The University Centre In Svalbard. It's uncertain how pollution then compares to the current year since there are now more than 2,500 registered snowmobiles, but a higher percentage of them have lower-polluting four-stroke engines.

Also, the global economic crisis has resulted in some tour operators seeing a reduction of bookings and officials have said there is a growing trend among visitors toward non-motorized activities such as dog sledding.

"It seems as we have done our study just in the transition period between the older and the newer technology," wrote Stefan Reimann, one of the study's three co-authors, in an e-mail responding to questions. "We possibly will redo our analysis next spring and hopefully can provide a more positive picture, with less emissions due to the more modern technology."

Longyearbyen tour operators agreed the findings aren't good, but the situation may largely resolve itself.

"It's a surprising result," said Tore Magne Hoem, production manager for Spitsbergen Travel, Longyearbyen's largest tour agency. "I don't think anyone would have guessed that."

But he said his first thought was about where the readings were taken, noting UNIS is where local pollution would almost certainly be at its highest.

"That's right where the traffic is," he said.

Measurements for three types of pollutants taken in Longyearbyen and Zurich, Switzerland, between April and June of 2007, as published by Environmental Science and Technology.

The findings weren't as surprising for Andreas Umbreit, owner of Spitsbergen Tours, which became Longyearbyen's first registered tourism operator in 1987. He said that's partially because of fuel usage statistics he's seen.

"I've seen these figures for many years, and it's clear there is a peak in April and May," he said.

Also, Umbreit said the smell and haze from air pollution became noticeable during the early- to mid-1990s. He said those irritants appear to have declined during the past two or three years,

"A big difference I have seen is snowmobiles have become stronger, more reliable, and that has led to a much longer range," he said, referring to the period since he started his company. "At the same time, it's not as noisy and smelly as it was."

Umbreit said he doesn't see a need "to make a big fuss" about forcing owners of older scooters to either buy new ones or have emissions-reducing equipment installed on their current machines since it's uncommon to keep one here longer than five years.

"The stinky ones will disappear by themselves," he said.

Hoem said many local snowmobiles are in use only two or three years before being shipped to the mainland for parts because of frequent lengthy trips to places such as Barentsburg.

"I know that we drive longer and more kilometers than anywhere else in the world," he said.

The study is the first about snowmobile air emissions outside of Yellowstone National Park in the U.S. The pollutants known as aromatic hydrocarbons result from incomplete combustion of organic sources such as oil, wood, tobacco and garbage. Among the health risks linked to the chemical are heart disease and cancer.

"It should be noted that the levels of these chemicals in Longyearbyen are well below the federal safety limits as established in the United States," a summary of the study notes.

Total pollution from cars and other motorized vehicles in Longyearbyen was about one-seventh that of snowmobiles. Other sources of pollution also aren't likely to cause the peaks resulting from snowmobiles, according to Reimann.

"Cruise ships could be a concern when it comes to particles but, as far as I know, they all have diesel engines which potentially have low emissions of these compounds we measured," he wrote. "Emissions from the power plant would be interesting to measure. But for the concentrations you would expect it to be more even distributed during the course of the day."

Air samples were analyzed for benzene, ethyl benzene, toluene and xylene. The study found two-stroke engines generated 69 grams of pollutants for every kilometer traveled, compared to 2.5 grams for four-stroke engines.

Spring readings showed drastic spikes in total pollution to atmosphere ratios, exceeding 30 parts per billion at one point, and 20 ppb three additional times, but dropping to nearly zero on occasion. Readings in late May and early June, after snowmobiling ceased due to lack of snow, were consistently at near-zero levels.

"In order to decrease emissions to an acceptable level the replacement of the older two-stroke engines with four-stroke engines is of paramount priority," the study notes in its recommendations. "If exclusively four-stroke snowmobiles were used, their total emissions would be comparable to those from road traffic."

Snowmobiles could also be fitted with catalytic converters, but the effectiveness of them in Svalbard's Arctic climate isn't straightforward.

"Catalytic converters fitted to motorcycles (which in terms of engine technology are comparable to snowmobiles) reduced emissions of aromatic hydrocarbons only during warm engine conditions, whereas during the cold start emissions could be more than a factor of three higher," the study notes, referring to previous research on the subject. "This implies that catalytic converters for snowmobiles will be positive for the Arctic environment as a whole, but will have an adverse effect for the mixing ratios in the settlement of Longyearbyen, unless they are preheated."

Umbreit, in a written description of his company's snowmobiles, stated he still uses a few older machines, largely for bringing supplies to depots for summer expeditions.

"For guests I have used mostly four-stroke scooters already for the last five years, but for transport we so far had still to resort partly to two-stroke because there were not strong enough big machines available for rental," he wrote. "In the first years of four-stroke they were also more unreliable than two-stroke but this has improved, making them more useful for commercial operations. The higher rental costs are partly compensated by less fuel consumption and, in addition, they are nicer to drive due to less noise and smell, plus (there's a) positive feeling about doing a bit less damage."

Dog sledding "is a growing industry as far as I know," Hoem said, adding some visitors do mention environmental considerations as a reason.

Furthering the growth of non-motorized tourism is one of the goals the Norwegian government outlined in a long-term strategic plan for Svalbard released earlier this year. Officials also plan to work with local tour operators to reduce the impacts of snowmobiling where possible.

"A further development of non-motorized tourism is desirable and well in line with the high goals of Svalbard," the document notes. "The government will therefore focus on ensuring good conditions for dog sledding and other non-motorized outdoor recreation and tourism based in Longyearbyen...The government will also establish a better overview of the scale and traffic patterns for snowmobile traffic on Svalbard."

Umbriet said he has to take his non-motorized tours out of the main scooter areas and "that makes our trip more expensive." But, he added, regulations have also meant less disruption in many areas around town.

"When I came here it was common to take your scooter right through the living areas in the middle of the night," he said.

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