ABSTRACTVestfonna, the second largest of the ice caps, 7895 sqkm (Schytt, 1964), on Nordaustlandet, Svalbard, is a glacier of subpolar type. To obtain understanding of the energy budget temperature measurements were carried out on the summit and near the western margin of the ice cap in summer. Variations of the cold content in the upper 10 m are calculated. Combined with the amount of the heat in ablation the magnitude of the total energy used for warming and melting the ice is obtained.