The physical environment of Kongsfjorden–Krossfjorden, an Arctic fjord system in Svalbard

Svendsen, Harald; Beszczyńska-Möller, Agnieszka; Hagen, Jon Ove; Lefauconnier, Bernard; Tverberg, Vigdis; Gerland, Sebastian; Ørbæk, Jon Børre; Bischof, Kai; Papucci, C.; Zajączkowski, Marek; Azzolini, R.; Bruland, Oddbjørn; Wiencke, Christian

doi:10.3402/polar.v21i1.6479

Cited by 338 publications

(704 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…This supports observations made in the same area by oceanographers and sea ice researchers (Ingvaldsen et al, 2001;Gerland and Winther, 2000;Saloranta and Svendsen, 2001;Svendsen et al, 2002;see also Gerland et al, 2002b).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

“…The Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority (NRPA) commenced investigations into long-range transported radionuclides off the western coast of Spitsbergen between the spring of 2000 and the summer of 2002 (Gerland et al, 2002a,b), with sampling programs in Kongsfjorden (Hop et al, 2002;Svendsen et al, 2002), Isfjorden (only in 2001), and further radioecological fieldwork in Fram Strait (RV "Polarstern" cruise in 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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99Tc in seawater in the West Spitsbergen Current and adjacent areas

Gerland

Lind

Dowdall

et al. 2003

Journal of Environmental Radioactivity

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99Tc levels were measured in seawater samples collected between 2000 and 2002 in the West Spitsbergen Current (WSC) and along the western coast of Svalbard or Spitzbergen and compared with available oceanographic 3-D modelling results for the late 1990s. Additional data from related regions are also presented in order to support the data interpretation. The seawater in the Arctic fjord Kongsfjorden on the western coast of Svalbard is influenced by the WSC, as shown by the 99 Tc levels in surface water. By means of the WSC, 99 Tc reaches the Eastern Fram Strait, where one branch of the WSC turns west into the East Greenland Current (EGC), and another branch continues northwards into the Arctic Ocean. Surface seawater collected in the central part of the WSC during a cruise on board the R/V "Polarstern" in the summer of 2000, showed higher levels of 99 Tc than samples measured in Kongsfjorden in the spring of 2000. However, all levels measured in surface water are of the same order of magnitude. Data from sampling of deeper water in the WSC and EGC provide information pertaining to the lateral distribution of 99 Tc. In all vertical profiling surveys (conducted in spring and summer), the highest levels of 99 Tc were found in surface water. Comparison with oceanographic 3-D modelling indicates both significant seasonal variations in the lateral stratification of the WSC and variations with depth over shorter vertical distances. This information can be applied in sampling strategies, environmental monitoring, long-range transport of pollutants and physical oceanography.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

99Tc in seawater in the West Spitsbergen Current and adjacent areas

Gerland

Lind

Dowdall

et al. 2003

Journal of Environmental Radioactivity

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“…The strong increase of turbidity due to a discharge of sediments by melt water and glaciers applies especially to Arctic shorelines in halfopen fjord systems where the water exchange with the clearer oceanic water is retarded (Svendsen et al 2002). On open coastlines the melt water is exchanged much faster with clear oceanic water so that seaweeds are exposed to biologically effective UVR for longer time periods.…”

Section: The Environment Of Seaweeds In Polar Watersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…in the Antarctic Peninsula region (Drew and Hastings 1992;Klö ser et al 1993). At the boundary with the temperate region, maximum summer temperatures can go up to about 5°C in the Antarctic and up to about 8-10°C in the Arctic (Wiencke and tom Dieck 1989;Lü ning 1990;Svendsen et al 2002).…”

Section: The Environment Of Seaweeds In Polar Watersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life strategy, ecophysiology and ecology of seaweeds in polar waters

Wiencke

Clayton

Gómez

et al. 2006

Rev Environ Sci Biotechnol

134

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Polar seaweeds are strongly adapted to the low temperatures of their environment, Antarctic species more strongly than Arctic species due to the longer cold water history of the Antarctic region. By reason of the strong isolation of the Southern Ocean the Antarctic marine flora is characterized by a high degree of endemism, whereas in the Arctic only few endemic species have been found so far. All polar species are strongly shade adapted and their phenology is finely tuned to the strong seasonal changes of the light conditions. The paper summarises the present knowledge of seaweeds from both polar regions with regard to the following topics: the history of seaweed research in polar regions; the environment of seaweeds in polar waters; biodiversity, biogeographical relationships and vertical distribution of Arctic and Antarctic seaweeds; life histories and physiological thallus anatomy; temperature demands and geographical distribution; light demands and depth zonation; the effect of salinity, temperature and desiccation on supraand eulittoral seaweeds; seasonality of reproduction and the physiological characteristics of C. Wiencke (&) AE U. H. Lü der

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“…Courtesy of M Schwanitz study site and salinity ranged here from 34 to 36 %. The average tidal amplitude in Kongsfjorden is 1.8 m (Svendsen et al 2002). The soft-bottom community of the study site is dominated by polychaetes, molluscs and crustaceans (Laudien et al 2007).…”

Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

Disturbance effects of kelp thalli on structure and diversity of a coastal Arctic marine soft-bottom assemblage

et al. 2015

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The effects of biotic disturbances, like seaweed whiplash, on the diversity of benthic communities are well documented for temperate coastal systems, yet missing for Arctic benthos. In Arctic soft-bottom habitats, kelp thalli occur either continuously (e.g. trapped by sediment) or sporadically (by drifting on the sediment) after detachment from rocky shores. To explore whether a kelp thallus can disturb the structure and diversity of a coastal Arctic softbottom assemblage, we continuously fixed a single thallus of the kelp Saccharina latissima to or sporadically (i.e. biweekly) moved it on the sediment and compared treatment effects to unmanipulated plots (=controls). On 6 September 2013 (i.e. after 73 days of manipulation), one sediment core was taken from each of the 30 plots (n = 10), from which the number of individuals of each of the 45 encountered animal taxa was recorded. The continuous presence of an experimentally fixed kelp thallus significantly reduced the number of individuals on average by 27 %. This disturbance effect was even stronger, on average 49 %, where a kelp thallus was biweekly moved on the sediment. Likewise, taxon richness was lowered by an average of 19 and 36 % where a S. latissima thallus was continuously or sporadically present, respectively. While the composition of taxa was also significantly different among all treatment groups, evenness and biomass were unaffected by kelp treatments. We conclude that the presence and already movements of a single kelp thallus can promote small-scale patchiness in near-shore soft-bottom assemblage structure and diversity and exemplify a significant connection between rocky and sedimentary coastal habitats.

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The physical environment of Kongsfjorden–Krossfjorden, an Arctic fjord system in Svalbard

Cited by 338 publications

References 67 publications

99Tc in seawater in the West Spitsbergen Current and adjacent areas

99Tc in seawater in the West Spitsbergen Current and adjacent areas

Life strategy, ecophysiology and ecology of seaweeds in polar waters

Disturbance effects of kelp thalli on structure and diversity of a coastal Arctic marine soft-bottom assemblage

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