Arbiter Islands

Arbiter Islands

Nickname: "The Roof of the World"
Geography
Location	Near the North Pole
Total islands	two
Highest point	Climate Hill
Administration
The Vanna
Administered under the Climate Research Board, Department of Science and the Treaty on the Peaceful Use of the Arbiter Islands
Demographics
Population	~500 during the summer

The Arbiter Islands are the northernmost known islands in the world and are believed to have formed as a result of by two volcanoes. The two islands are known as Great North Island and Whitescape Island. Both islands are claimed and administered by The Vanna as an unorganized and unincorporated territory under the Department of Science. Great North Island hosts Arbiter Station while Whitescape Island hosts the air traffic control center for Whitescape Ice Runway.

Geography and Climate

Because of the persistent presence of the northern ice sheet, only a small portion of the island is free of ice and snow. There is now way to travel to the islands by boat. The planet's northernmost dormant volcanos, Climate Hill and Stairway are situated on the islands.

Climate data for Arbiter Station 1982-present
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	−13 (9)	−14 (7)	−11 (12)	−6 (21)	3 (37)	10 (50)	13 (55)	12 (54)	7 (45)	9 (48)	0.6 (33.1)	0.7 (33.3)	13 (55)
Average high °C (°F)	−29 (−20)	−31 (−24)	−30 (−22)	−22 (−8)	−9 (16)	0 (32)	2 (36)	1 (34)	0 (32)	−8 (18)	−25 (−13)	−26 (−15)	−15 (6)
Daily mean °C (°F)	−31 (−24)	−32 (−26)	−31 (−24)	−23 (−9)	−11 (12)	−1 (30)	1 (34)	0 (32)	−1 (30)	−10 (14)	−27 (−17)	−28 (−18)	−16 (3)
Average low °C (°F)	−33 (−27)	−35 (−31)	−34 (−29)	−26 (−15)	−12 (10)	−2 (28)	0 (32)	−1 (30)	−2 (28)	−11 (12)	−30 (−22)	−31 (−24)	−18 (−1)
Record low °C (°F)	−47 (−53)	−50 (−58)	−50 (−58)	−41 (−42)	−24 (−11)	−12 (10)	−2 (28)	−12 (10)	−31 (−24)	−21 (−6)	−41 (−42)	−47 (−53)	−50 (−58)
Average relative humidity (%)	83.5	83.0	83.0	85.0	87.5	90.0	90.0	89.5	88.0	84.5	83.0	83.0	85.8
Source: Arbiter Station Temperature Log

Politics

The Treaty on the Peaceful Use of the Arbiter Islands, which governs foreign use of Arbiter Station and the Arbiter Islands provides that tourism and military equipment are strictly prohibited on the islands and that the islands are only used for scientific and exploratory purposes of the far north. The treaty also states that the Vanna gives up any economic exclusive zone associated with the islands. Domestically, while administered under the Climate Research Board, the islands are not classified as being a part of any state or district. Thus the islands are in fact, the Vanna's only unorganized, unincorporated territory.

AIIPAV and AICT

Entrance to the vault on the side of Stairway Hill on Whitescape Island

Located on Whitescape Island near the air traffic control center on Stairway Hill is the Arbiter Islands International Plant and Agricultural Vault also known as AIIPAV. It is designed to provide a safety net against accidental loss of diversity in traditional genebanks as well as protect various crop and planet species from extinction from the effects of global climate change. It was commissioned by Executive Minister Nathan Chamberlain in 2017. The vault's construction was completed in 2021 and was turned over to the Aribter Island Crop Trust, a joint agency run by the Department of Science and Department of Defense to administer and maintain the vault and its contents.

The vault has a total capacity of 8.2 million seed samples and is berried deep into the interior of Whitescape Island's rocky mountainside. The storage rooms are kept at −18 °C (−0.4 °F). The low temperature and limited access to oxygen will ensure low metabolic activity and delay seed aging. The permafrost surrounding the facility will help maintain the low temperature of the seeds if the electricity supply fails. There are plans to eventually expand the facility to include a lab for cloning seeds. AIIPAV has made it a policy to not collect contaminated samples.

In 2022, the Vanna amended its military ban on the Arbiter Island to include an exception for defense of the vault. All contents donated to the AICT for storage become property of the Vannese government.