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Kongsfjorden is a glacial fjord in the Arctic (Svalbard) that is influenced by both Atlantic and Arctic water masses and harbours a mixture of boreal and Arctic flora and fauna. Inputs from large tidal glaciers create steep environmental gradients in sedimentation and salinity along the length of this fjord. The glacial inputs cause reduced biomass and diversity in the benthic community in the inner fjord. Zooplankton suffers direct mortality from the glacial outflow and primary production is reduced because of limited light levels in the turbid, mixed inner waters. The magnitude of the glacial effects diminishes towards the outer fjord. Kongsfjorden is an important feeding ground for marine mammals and seabirds. Even though the fjord contains some boreal fauna, the prey consumed by upper trophic levels is mainly Arctic organisms. Marine mammals constitute the largest top‐predator biomass, but seabirds have the largest energy intake and also export nutrients and energy out of the marine environment. Kongsfjorden has received a lot of research attention in the recent past. The current interest in the fjord is primarily based on the fact that Kongsfjorden is particularly suitable as a site for exploring the impacts of possible climate changes, with Atlantic water influx and melting of tidal glaciers both being linked to climate variability. The pelagic ecosystem is likely to be most sensitive to the Atlantic versus Arctic influence, whereas the benthic ecosystem is more affected by long‐term changes in hydrography as well as changes in glacial runoff and sedimentation. Kongsfjorden will be an important Arctic monitoring site over the coming decades and a review of the current knowledge, and a gap analysis, are therefore warranted. Important knowledge gaps include a lack of quantitative data on production, abundance of key prey species, and the role of advection on the biological communities in the fjord.

Kongsfjorden‐Krossfjorden and the adjacent West Spitsbergen Shelf meet at the common mouth of the two fjord arms. This paper presents our most up‐to‐date information about the physical environment of this fjord system and identifies important gaps in knowledge. Particular attention is given to the steep physical gradients along the main fjord axis, as well as to seasonal environmental changes. Physical processes on different scales control the large‐scale circulation and small‐scale (irreversible) mixing of water and its constituents. It is shown that, in addition to the tide, run‐off (glacier ablation, snowmelt, summer rainfall and ice calving) and local winds are the main driving forces acting on the upper water masses in the fjord system. The tide is dominated by the semi‐diurnal component and the freshwater supply shows a marked seasonal variation pattern and also varies interannually. The wind conditions are characterized by prevailing katabatic winds, which at times are strengthened by the geostrophic wind field over Svalbard. Rotational dynamics have a considerable influence on the circulation patterns within the fjord system and give rise to a strong interaction between the fjord arms. Such dynamics are also the main reason why variations in the shelf water density field, caused by remote forces (tide and coastal winds), propagate as a Kelvin wave into the fjord system. This exchange affects mainly the intermediate and deep water, which is also affected by vertical convection processes driven by cooling of the surface and brine release during ice formation in the inner reaches of the fjord arms. Further aspects covered by this paper include the geological and geomorphological characteristics of the Kongsfjorden area, climate and meteorology, the influence of glaciers, freshwater supply, sea ice conditions, sedimentation processes as well as underwater radiation conditions. The fjord system is assumed to be vulnerable to possible climate changes, and thus is very suitable as a site for the demonstration and investigation of phenomena related to climate change.

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Stratospheric ozone depletion and the concomitant increase in irradiance of ultraviolet-B radiation (UVB) at the earth's surface represent major threats to terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. In costal rocky shore environments, seaweeds constitute a group of organisms of particular significance to ecosystem function. Thus, impairment of seaweed performance by UVB-exposure may result in severe changes in the functioning of coastal ecosystems. Here we present our view on how UVB radiation affects seaweed physiology and ecology and, thus, shapes the coastal environment by affecting the spatial, species and functional structure of seaweed communities.

Measurements of photosynthesis, germination capacity and assessment of DNA damage were carried out in the laboratory to determine the effect of different conditions of ultraviolet (W) and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) on zoospores of various large brown algae collected on Spitsbergen (Svalbard, High Arctic) and Tarifa (Cbdiz, southern Spain). Results were correlated to in situ light conditions and indicated that zoospores suffer photoinhibition of photosynthesis, loss of viability and DNA damage in relation to the growth depth of parental sporophytes. At both sites, germination capacity of zoospores in species collected in deep waters was more strongly mpaired after exposure to the same UV doses than in species from shallower waters. In general, zoospores exposed to PAR+UVA+UVB showed higher mortality rates than after exposure to PAR+UVA or PAR alone. For Larmnana digitata from Spitsbergen, it was found that the loss of zoospore viability is the result of DNA damage and photodamage of the photosynthetic apparatus. UVB irradiances occurring in southern Spain at water depths shallower than 7 m prevented the germination of spores of deep water Laminariales from this region.