KHO – at the centre of global auroral research
Professor Dehong Huang from the Polar Research Institute of China (PRIC) has a long and unique connection to Svalbard, and the UNIS owned Kjell Henriksen Observatory (KHO). PRIC began collecting data in Ny-Ålesund in 2003, and since opening its station in 2004, it has conducted continuous observations in the high Arctic.
Professor Dehong Huang stands next to one of PRIC’s installations at KHO, featuring two prototype cameras designed to capture the specific colours of the aurora. If they perform well in Svalbard, PRIC may install similar systems at the Chinese station in Antarctica.
An interview with Professor Dehong Huang from the Polar research institute of China
Text and photos by Ingrid Ballari Nilssen
Huang’s own journey in polar science started much earlier at UNIS. In 1997, he came to Svalbard as an international student funded by Norwegian Quota Programme – Scholarship for studies in Norway. He spent a whole year in Longyearbyen and later moved to Tromsø. He completed his master’s degree at UiT after 2.5 years of study in Norway. Following graduation, Huang has gone through two winter seasons in Antarctica, in 2001 and 2023, where he spent 15 months of intensive research. His experience across both polar regions has given him rare insights into the similarities and differences of Earth’s coldest environments.
The Polar Research Institute of China was founded in 1989 and has since grown into China’s leading polar research institute. It operates multiple stations in Antarctica and the Arctic, and engages in upper-atmospheric, auroral and geophysical research. Its work contributes to long‐term observational datasets that cover both poles and help improve understanding of geomagnetic activity, auroral dynamics and solar particle events.
Collaboration with Norwegian institutions has been a cornerstone of Huang’s career. He was among the first Chinese master’s students sent to Tromsø through a Norwegian government program, and over the years, he has maintained close ties with the universities UiT, UNIS, and UiO.
KHO collaboration
The first camera from the Chinese Polar Institute in Longyearbyen was installed at KHO in 2011, which opened new possibilities for coordinated measurements.
Huang emphasises the value of combining data from different sites. The proximity of Ny-Ålesund and KHO allows for triangulation, and thus for more precise monitoring of the altitude of the auroral light along the geomagnetic field. His group has already published several scientific articles using this data, and he sees even greater potential for collaboration ahead. The open and inclusive scientific environment at KHO has been crucial to this success.
The head of KHO, Fred Sigernes, highlights both the importance of international collaboration and the observatory’s strong scientific output.
“KHO is the largest observatory of its kind, and international interest is steadily growing. We are developing new instruments and models for auroral forecasting. The data collected at the observatory contributes to more than one scientific publication every month — a record maintained since 1978”, he says.
UNIS became involved when the university centre opened in 1993 and owns and operates the observatory.
“We are by far the most powerful research community in Svalbard and have been for a long time. UNIS has been very fortunate to be part of this effort from the very beginning”, Sigernes concludes.
Data sharing is key
For Huang, the most rewarding aspect of working in Svalbard is the opportunity to build on long-term, high-quality datasets in close collaboration with colleagues. He views open data sharing as fundamental to the progress of science and acknowledges that his institution could improve the way it makes its results available.
Technical challenges inevitably arise when operating instruments in such harsh conditions, but with the support of KHO staff and the development of remote-controlled systems, these obstacles are manageable.
By connecting theory and models with real observations, researchers can move closer to understanding the complex phenomena at play in the polar regions. He also encourages future visiting researchers to make full use of the infrastructure at KHO, which offers one of the best platforms in the world for this kind of work.
Reflecting on decades of international collaboration, Huang stresses the importance of global scientific cooperation. The challenges of space weather and climate change cannot be solved by one country alone. Thanks to the strong infrastructure at KHO, scientists from across the world can come together to push the boundaries of polar research.
About KHO:
The Kjell Henriksen Observatory (KHO), situated just outside Longyearbyen on Svalbard, is one of the world’s leading observatories for auroral and upper-atmosphere research. Since its opening in 2007, the observatory has hosted a wide array of instruments operated by universities and research institutes from across the globe. This international character is at the heart of KHO’s mission: by pooling expertise and sharing data, scientists can tackle fundamental questions about auroral physics and space weather. The observatory’s open and collaborative approach has made it a hub where researchers from many countries, including China, join forces to advance our understanding of Earth’s polar regions.