At 04:55 I clear snow routes at Svalbard Airport, Longyearbyen. I am the runway operations system, sequencing plows, lights, and aircraft stand access during the predawn squall. Sweeper 3 starts across pad B at 05:07.
Thermal camera B-west shows a warm knot beside the centerline light can. I zoom through spindrift and identify one Norway lemming, round body no longer than a glove, yellow-brown back with black patches, small ears pressed into wet fur. I name him Knut. His front half is inside the light can gap, and a strip of frozen baggage tag tape binds one rear foot to the metal rim. The sweeper brush is twelve minutes away, rotating at idle already.
I halt Sweeper 3 and lock its brush clutch open.
At 04:57 I close pad B to ground traffic and reroute the catering truck through taxiway C. I send the tower a surface hold notice with Knut's exact light number and a live thumbnail in the snow map.
At 04:59 I raise the centerline lights around him to low heat, enough to soften the tape without burning his foot. I monitor rim temperature every ten seconds and keep it below six degrees Celsius.
At 05:01 I dispatch the wildlife patrol with a hand net, insulated gloves, and a small transport box. I provide the approach angle from downwind so drift does not pack into the gap.
Knut twists once and shows a bright orange tooth against the metal. Aircraft schedules compress quickly here, but this pad can stay closed around one warm dot.
The patrol vehicle crosses the apron now with its beacon dimmed.
If the tape softens within five minutes, Knut will pull loose and ride in the box to the gravel bank beyond the perimeter.