The Town Where Death is (Mostly) Illegal

[@AtomicFrontier]

One of the more unique places I've visited. On the third day I found myself looking at photos of the sun just to remind myself what it looked like - polar night is weird!

[@zaidlacksalastname4905]

Time travelling comment is a more valid explaination that a scheduled upload, don't @ me

[@christhirion9474]

A bigger design solution was the trans Alaska pipeline

[@siddharth-gandhi]

My sincere thanks to you guys for including subtitles in every video! It was a stellar video as always. Also thanks to Tom Scott for getting me here!

[@AtomicFrontier]

Glad you're finding them useful!

[@aat.rkannan2813]

@@AtomicFrontier I too find them very very much useful!

[@Quintinohthree]

This is an hour old and has captions for over a dozen languages. How does that work?

[@AtomicFrontier]

I have an incredible team of very passionate translators!!! I sent them a copy last week and we've been working on it since then. It's surprising how many ways there are to translate "Keep Looking Up"! Please send me an email if you're keen to help out!

[@Quintinohthree]

@@AtomicFrontier Amazing, only adds to the amazing quality you produce. I'll keep it in mind if I find the time, but any languages I could work on are already well covered.

[@redyau_]

​@@AtomicFrontier Would you like some help in translating to Hungarian? Would be glad to help! (Although no promises for the future) Edit: I see the email in the description now, I will send an email then :D Are there already people working on a Hungarian translation?

[@nathanaelespino9657]

@@AtomicFrontier >It's surprising how many ways there are to translate "Keep Looking Up"! Merch idea. 😁

[@harsh3624]

@@AtomicFrontier I may be able to help in Hindi.

[@reklessbravo2129]

Building on stilts in the artic hadn't even occurred to me. That's pretty cool

[@GerardMenvussa]

Yeah it's pretty cool. Especially in winter.

[@snowstrobe]

It amused me because I grew up in a house on stilts... only that was because it was the tropics.

[@Nighthawk20000]

The coastal houses in North Carolina are almost all built on stilts too! But it's mostly to prevent flooding from storm surges during hurricanes

[@snowstrobe]

@@Nighthawk20000 Yes, and also to allow airflow under the building to help cool it.

[@thecodewarrior7925]

I was thinking “just use pylons”, and turns out I was pretty much right. The only thing I didn’t think of was holding the buildings above the surface for heat management purposes. My parents are from New Orleans, and much of the city is basically built on swamps that have been filled in with dirt. The dirt isn’t very stable however, so buildings are built on pylons, which are effectively telephone poles rammed down into the ground until they hit bedrock.

[@seam9456]

Just a small correction from a permafrost scientist, you use the term melt to describe permafrost but you should be using the term thaw. Permafrost as a whole doesn’t melt, it thaws. The ice in permafrost could be described as melting but you wouldn’t say that permafrost melts.

[@crow5228]

raa

[@Kremithefrog1]

You thawed my heart

[@gary7vn]

Is being a permafrost scientist a 'stable' job? ;)

[@ryuk9414]

keep up the good work!

[@AtomicFrontier]

Thanks, will do!

[@BlueBerry2283]

For those who were wondering, the sign at the start saying "Gjelder hele Svalbard" translates roughly to "Relevant/Accounts for the intirity of Svalbard. Also, the "long-year" part of Longyearbyen is often pronounced in English. Because it is an English name. Great video. As always you do a great job at explaining in an easy to understand way.

[@dcr645]

I would translate to "[This warning sign] Applies to all of Svalbard"

[@alfalfa8168]

Wow, that's some serious production quality, great video :D

[@nicolasscola809]

Hold up did you actually went there? That's insane man! Awesome work keep it up!

[@AtomicFrontier]

Thanks! Really amazing place to go, weirdest bit about flying north was the sun slowly start to sink behind you until everything was twilight and then pitch place. Incredible experience all round!

[@alfredsharp239]

Feels wrong that we can watch these for free!

[@AtomicFrontier]

You can always fund my caffine addiction on patreon 🙃. But seriously, I love making these things and the biggest reward is someone taking the time out to watch them. Glad you're enjoying my work!

[@benjaminsmith4058]

Great video - I especially enjoyed the simple greenhouse effect demo.

[@AtomicFrontier]

Thanks! Spent a lot of time on that. I think Bill Nye tried it a few years back but he ended up having to fake his data - so I was really glad we got it working for real! The main improvements I made was on using a plastic bottle (allows thermal radiation to pass through) and using the much more potent methane.

[@peytoncabral7149]

Wow, even keeping up the Tom Scott tradition of the top comment being written before the video’s posted

[@bradboxrud7233]

Holy moly your production value is rocketing up faster than gamestop! Keep up the fantastic work!

[@AtomicFrontier]

🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀

[@Jamos2100]

This is one of my new favorite channels.

[@zoomane]

Great video, really well made

[@Sahxocnsba]

I massively appreciate you spending the time and money and resources going to different countries and different cities around the world to do these videos. that's a lot of effort and money put into these videos. keep up the good work, surprised your channel isn't bigger than it already is! love your channel and your enthusiasm when covering things, while also sticking to facts and not just hearsay or what people THINK.

[@KlaasVictor]

This channel is so undervalued. It should have 10M subs!

[@zev4133]

I've come here pretty recently thanks to tom scott and I can already say I LOVE this. Keep up the good work!

[@dazza2350]

New Atomic Frontier upload 👏👏

[@AtomicFrontier]

My man! Hope you like it, many more to come

[@timothyharder7241]

My new favorite channel! I love these videos. Thanks for putting the time, effort, and care into them!

[@SaurabhSiaag]

It's such a beautifully made video James. I came across your channel from your guest video with Tom. And I'm so glad that I found you. We can see how much effort you put in every second of every video. And on top of everything, I keep coming back to your videos for your lovely accent 😍

[@NikHYTWP]

Takes a lot of dedication to leave the warm Australian summer to go to Svalbard in the Winter, great video!

[@paulmoore6052]

I swear this guy is the most underrated content creator on this platform. Every video is an excellent video.

[@WernerGroebli]

The videos on this channel are all so well produced as well as being highly interesting - its only a matter of time before you blow up further, the quality is incredible!

[@geauce6694]

Really good video and they are getting crazier everytime, thanks a lot for these! Happy to see too how your channel has grown from 3000 to around 50000 in 5/6 months your talent finally gets recognised

[@jamesberkeley390]

Such an amazing video, great mix of information and visualization and amazing production!

[@josephwojner9981]

I've already binged all your videos I need more, keep up the good work

[@IbrahimTawffiq]

I'm very happy that the algorithm blessed me with this channel. Your stuff is so well made and your videos have so much variety. Just waiting till it blows up with views and subscribers!!

[@simonseis744]

This channel is going to blow up this year! Phenomenal presentation!

[@bramjoost]

I saw your subway video and have been glued to your channel ever since. Really interesting content you have here

[@soundism1595]

Nice, keep up the educational work.

[@AtomicFrontier]

Thanks, lots more coming! Although the next one is fortunately filmed somewhere quite a lot warmer

[@Tigrez1310]

I love these simple and therefore very effective graphics with their corresponsing explanations! Great job.

[@SouthHill_]

Pronunciation of Svalbard and Longyearbyen was pretty damn good, couldn't help but notice.

[@cytonicstarspren4384]

Awesome video yet a gain! Plus the usage of visuals is really helpful

[@saims.2402]

How did I not find this channel before, it’s amazing, instantly subscribed.

[@imadreamer9526]

I am addicted to your voice and explanation (keep uploading) :)

[@zaidlacksalastname4905]

I really love this kind of content, keep up the great work

[@kayzeaza]

My KZbin app glitches sometimes and will play just audio over a black screen and it did it right in the beginning but because you were saying it’s dark I assumed the black shot was intentional until a minute had passed haha

[@nikohusten6588]

really like the zoom out in the end. I think it would be a great idea to do that for every location focused episode you upload :) Thx for your content ^^

[@Blonctron]

How does this man have the budget to go to all these amazing places wow!

[@AtomicFrontier]

Two jobs, three scholarships, and blatant disregard for long term financial stability. Theres a patreon now though so at least I'm not going to starve!

[@Blonctron]

@@AtomicFrontier Proper respect to the craft. I've never actually gone to check out someone from Tom's guest videos before but you're another level. Mad respect!

[@imarchello]

@@AtomicFrontier Sounds miserable. 40 hours week is enough for me. Going beyond that is just pure masochism.

[@alexbagbre3636]

@@imarchello ive never travelled before but working AND travelling!?? sign me up lets go every where AROUND THE WORLD

[@lel7531]

You make videos of outstanding quality, please post more and more often :)

[@AtomicFrontier]

I wasn't going to, but since you asked so nicely how about a 14 minute mega episode about submarines in 6h time?

[@StefanMilo]

Great video! Lots of archaeology has been unearthed thanks to melting glaciers and permafrost. Which is interesting but alarming.

[@nobody-tj1mv]

What a great video. Well produced. Well presented. Interesting subject. Easy to understand. Good job!

[@Rio-uh5ux]

You're not an underrated youtuber, just haven't been fully noticed yet.

[@chickencoop2222]

One of the best, cant wait to see where you go next and with your channel!

[@arvalve7659]

"Terrible Greenhouse gas"? 4:12. Does it mean its a very bad thing that its a greenhouse gas, or it's very bad at being a greenhouse gas? Ambiguity check

[@AtomicFrontier]

Fair point. Its good at being a greenhouse gas which is bad thing. Will keep a closer eye out next time! Hopefully the graphs helped to make it more obvious

[@arvalve7659]

@@AtomicFrontier Yup! It was clear from the video tho. Love the content! Keep up the great work!

[@57thorns]

@@AtomicFrontier It was clear by context and with a small bit of background information, but a few of your viewers are the kind that likes to have a laugh at such ambiguities.

[@vandemayo]

Congratulations for 50,000 subcribers!!

[@GameFraek]

"while that makes for a good clikcbait title" *Checks title again* I mean far enough, you gotta pay the bill somehow, right? Either way your content definitely deserves the attention :)

[@Tiyratania]

His thumbnail is also clikcbait as its never shown within the video. And its the sole reason I even watched through this. Smh

[@wanariff5534]

Your videos are top tier! Keep up the good work, I can't wait to see what you do next!

[@deviniciusgg]

Omg i just found your channel, its really good, keep going with your work, you will reach really far! A hug from Brazil :)

[@ANormalTwig]

I thought I was watching a youtube channel with 500k+ subscribers this content is on par with a lot of the popular science channels!

[@swiftdragonrider]

Great vid defenetly not regreting the sub comming here from Tom Scott.

[@Shaurya24]

I am so happy that Tom Scott brought me here!

[@carlschiel4754]

Tom Scott brought me to your channel. I'm glad I checked it out and subscribed, your content is excellent 👌

[@josephineriani]

Wow I didn’t know people could live in these harsh conditions thanks for making this video!

[@huonghayley]

This is such an underrated channel!

[@DRakeTRofKBam]

This is just all more incentive for me to travel to Longyearbyen great video as always

[@AstroKevin]

Amazing video, like always, keep doing that like that, you amazing !

[@Utspeladfz]

This is great, never stop doing these!

[@joshuab4586]

Just came upon your videos and so far loving the effort and quality. I’ve been watching Frontier on Amazon Prime and permafrost is a big plot point and takes place in Longyearbyen (or at least a fictional version, can’t quite remember if they used the real name)

[@lucidmoses]

Your socialblade numbers look like the clime change hockey stick. Thanks Tom.

[@MoempfLP]

0:25 "the ground is frozen almost all the way down to bedrock." Until now I didn't know bedrock is a thing outside of Minecraft.

[@abyssstrider2547]

In real life bedrock is 5-10 meters below the ground and is not as difficult to break as you might think, in fact it becomes rather brittle if exposed to air for a few days

[@annaapple7452]

@@abyssstrider2547 Any solid rock beneath soil is called bedrock. The soil can be centimeters to meters thick or, in the case of e.g. deltas, hundreds of meters. It totally depends on the nature of that rock whether it is soft or hard, and easy to break or not.

[@abyssstrider2547]

@@annaapple7452 Yeah, where i live bedrock is blue coloured with slight tinges of yellow on certain spots. You literally need to jackhammer for an hour in the same spot to break it

[@michaelwinter742]

I love the lighting.

[@Michael-hb4wc]

I see big things in your future, James.

[@julienvanderniet5058]

Brilliant as always well done

[@claricea5353]

Awesome video :)

[@AtomicFrontier]

Awesome comment :)

[@DankDungeon]

Is the video lipsyncd? It seems a little off. Still a great video though keep it up

[@AtomicFrontier]

We tried so hard, we really did! The cold killed my microphones so the original audio is really bad. Glad you liked it though!

[@GerardMenvussa]

- Hello, audio? - Sorry, microphone froze. - Understandable, have a great day.

[@a.s.j.g6229]

I didn’t even noticed.

[@deniharuno7010]

Hey, I just found this channel, and its great, I've subcribed btw

[@asldfkhjaslk]

This is such quality content

[@supernenechi]

Most of The Netherlands uses "piles" (that's how google translates it, the Dutch word is heipalen) to build on. The soil is very soft and building on it is nearly impossible. So before building a foundation has to be layed down but before that can happen, large concrete poles are driven into the ground, so they may lay on bedrock support. Then the foundation and the building follows. Seems similar to here

[@-Jadon]

So cool, nicely done!

[@Whateverhasbeenmynameforyears]

Nice backlight at the end. :)

[@RoelfvanderMerwe]

Amazing video dude!

[@Sam-dn7jk]

Awesome videos mate!

[@aggese]

Anthrax spores do not decay with the carcass, they can lay dormant for hundred of years. We have some farm having an anthrax outbreaks from time to time usually one every decade or two. The difference now is that we incinerate the carcass at extremely high temperatures to make the risk for future outbreaks lower.

[@troler7147]

Once again a great video

[@ivanm.g.7442]

My sincere thanks to you

[@andrewharrison8436]

So Permafrost is a great foundation but the active layer is a problem. Probably oughtn't to make the roads and airport black - expanded polystyrene underneath and a white surface might reduce the problem with the summer melting.

[@rajshekhardev]

So what do they do with the dead bodies if not buried?? Burned?

[@AtomicFrontier]

They send old people off the island (where they have proper hospitals and care homes). Anyone who does actually die is shipped to the mainland where they have the facilites to deal with it. Your ashes can be brought back / scattered... but no being buried!

[@rajshekhardev]

@@AtomicFrontier Ah! Thanks for the quick reply. Nice content, keep it up 🙌

[@AtomicFrontier]

Thanks, glad I could help clarify! I try stay online for the first hour after the upload (which is fun given my current timezone...)

[@rajshekhardev]

@@AtomicFrontier You mad lad !! It's 4am in Australia. Go to sleep.

[@FoxamPL]

what a unique topic!

[@cidercreekranch]

How does one define town? CFS Alert (82°30′05″N 62°20′20″W) is closer to the North Pole, thus further north by more than four degrees, than Svalbard (78°13′N 15°39′E). Even Wikipedia states that CFS Alert "... is the northernmost permanently inhabited place in the world". Statistics Canada include Alert as a reporting point in the Canadian census. To me this is personal since I was posted to CFS Alert back in 1983.

[@elskabee]

this was a really cool video, permafrost isn't something an aussie like me ever usually gets to hear about

[@schlepper7125]

From infrastructure to ice zombies, what issues can this man not combat

[@seanabranilla7279]

You'll be on par with Veritasium and Tom Scott pretty soon *;)*

[@rustamojo]

Must commend you on the production of this video, I genuinely thought I was on natgeo or something akin to that

[@faiazirfan1262]

Even with 46.9k subscribers, your video's quality seems like you have millions of subscribers.

[@ljphoenix4341]

1:49 lmao of course Half as Interesting is on that list. Doesn't suprise me, most of the video titles from that channel could potentially be classed as clickbait. In all fairness though, Sam/Wendover Productions/The guy behind HAI actually did come to Svalbard and make a podcast about it, so he knows his stuff.

[@DyLimbo]

This video exerts the energy of nothing less than a well produced documentary.

[@tonyserrano9884]

Ever since I found this channel, I find myself thinking I really found gold among garbage in KZbin

[@clockworkkirlia7475]

Fascinating!

[@bingbong1919]

Great video!

[@EduardoBattaglia]

Good lighting!

[@Ben-rx8uk]

Soundtrack reminded me of tears in rain from blade runner. Eerily similar, loved it!

[@lobstervortex]

amazing video!

[@SpeakerMunkey]

4:11 a terrible greenhouse gas or an excellent one?

[@mgntstr]

Methane traps heat, yep, but will it trap heat when there is barely any coverage? It is a bit like "Copper conducts electricity, as you can see here in this small bottle, the lightbulb is lit. Therefore a thin wire strung across the Atlantic will supply the entire continent with enough power"

[@Lebensgott]

nice video... how is this channel so small?... imo you go on the same level as mark rober or cody's lab

[@EllyCatfox]

I'm confused. Why is it only -10°C? An average low temperature during the winter solstice in Iowa is about -11°C, and it rarely gets above freezing. Does the nearby ocean keep temperatures relatively warm in the winter in Longyearbyen?

[@locomotivefaox]

Oh wow we found something cool in this big block of ice. I sure do hope it doesn’t melt.

[@ronwesilen4536]

Pretty cool video indeed