Published: Oct. 7, 2014

Walruses were brought to the brink of extinction in Svalbard (Norway) during 350 years of unregulated harvesting. They became protected in 1952, when few remained. During the first 30 years of protection, approximately 100 animals became established within the archipelago, most of which likely came from Franz Josef Land, to the east. A marked recovery has taken place since then. This study reports the results of a photographic aerial survey flown in summer 2012, covering all current and historical haul-out sites for walruses in Svalbard. It provides updates regarding the increasing numbers of: (1) land-based haul-out sites (from 78 in …

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Published: Jan. 22, 2014

One of the few long instrumental records available for the Arctic is the Svalbard Airport composite series that hitherto began in 1911, with observations made on Spitsbergen, the largest island in the Svalbard Archipelago. This record has now been extended to 1898 with the inclusion of observations made by hunting and scientific expeditions. Temperature has been observed almost continuously in Svalbard since 1898, although at different sites. It has therefore been possible to create one composite series for Svalbard Airport covering the period 1898–2012, and this valuable new record is presented here. The series reveals large temperature variability on Spitsbergen, …

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Published: May 27, 2014

To describe the horizontal and vertical distribution of recent planktic foraminifera in Fram Strait (Arctic), plankton samples were collected in the early summer of 2011 using a MultiNet sampler (>63 µm) at 10 stations along a west–east transect at 78°50′N. Five depth intervals were sampled from the sea surface down to 500 m. Additionally, sediment surface samples from the same locations were analysed. The ratio between absolute abundances of planktic foraminifera in the open ocean, at the ice margin and in the ice-covered ocean was found to be approximately 2:4:1. The assemblage was dominated by the polar Neogloboquadrina pachyderma …

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Published: April 7, 2015

The Queens Channel region of Nunavut is an ecologically distinct area within the Canadian High Arctic consisting of an extensive archipelago of small, low-lying gravel islands throughout which form several localized but highly productive polynyas. We used aerial survey and colony-monitoring data to assess regional- and colony-level fluctuations in the number of birds in this region between 2002 and 2013. Regional and colony-specific monitoring suggested that common eider (Somateria mollissima) numbers are increasing, while numbers of Arctic terns (Sterna paradisaea) may be in decline. Based on these data, we suggest that even infrequent comprehensive surveys are more useful than annual …

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Published: Aug. 24, 2015

Snow ice and superimposed ice formation on landfast sea ice in a Svalbard fjord, Kongsfjorden, was investigated with a high-resolution thermodynamic snow and sea-ice model, applying meteorological weather station data as external forcing. The model shows that sea-ice formation occurs both at the ice bottom and at the snow/ice interface. Modelling results indicated that the total snow ice and superimposed ice, which formed at the snow/ice interface, was about 14 cm during the simulation period, accounting for about 15% of the total ice mass and 35% of the total ice growth. Introducing a time-dependent snow density improved the modelled results, …

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Published: Aug. 26, 2015

Little is known about the distribution and dynamics of macrobenthic communities of the deep Arctic Ocean. The few previous studies report low standing stocks and confirm a gradient with declining biomass from the slopes down to the basins, as commonly reported for deep-sea benthos. In this study, we investigated regional differences of faunal abundance and biomass, and made for the first time ever estimates of deep Arctic community production by using a multi-parameter artificial neural network model. The underlying data set combines data from recent field studies with published and unpublished data from the past 20 years, to analyse the …

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Published: May 7, 2015

To evaluate the impact of modern glacier melting on the chemical enrichment of Antarctic coastal waters, we measured trace elements, including dissolved iron (Fe) and rare earth elements (REEs), together with dissolved inorganic nitrogen, phosphorous, silicate and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in ice, snow and coastal seawater of Marian Cove in the northernmost part of Antarctica (62°S). There was an increase in the concentrations of Fe and other trace elements (Al, Mn, Cr, Ni, Co, Pb and REEs) between the bay mouth and the glacier valleys. Good correlations between salinity and these chemical elements indicate that the trend was mainly …

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Published: May 18, 2015

Stomach content and stable isotope analysis (δ13C and δ15N from liver and muscle) were used to identify habitat and seasonal prey selection by ringed seals (Pusa hispida; n=21), beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas; n=13) and narwhals (Monodon monoceros; n=3) in the eastern Canadian Arctic. Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida) was the main prey item of all three species. Diet reconstruction from otoliths and stable isotope analysis revealed that while ringed seal size influenced prey selection patterns, it was variable. Prey-size selection and on-site observations found that ringed seals foraged on smaller, non-schooling cod whereas belugas and narwhals consumed larger individuals in schools. …

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Published: Dec. 10, 2015

Climate warming is especially pronounced in the Arctic, which has led to decreased sea-ice coverage and substantial permafrost thawing. These changes have a profound impact on the carbon cycle that directly affects the air–sea exchange of carbon dioxide (CO2), possibly leading to substantial feedback on atmospheric CO2 concentration. Several recent studies have indicated such feedback but the future quantitative impact is very uncertain. To minimize these uncertainties, there is a need for extensive field studies in order to achieve both a better process understanding as well as to detect probable trends in these processes. In this contribution, we describe a …

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Published: Dec. 26, 2015

On the Antarctic Peninsula, lichens are the most diverse botanical component of the terrestrial ecosystem. However, detailed information on the distribution of lichens on the Antarctic Peninsula region is scarce, and the data available exhibit significant heterogeneity in sampling frequency and effort. Satellite remote sensing, in particular the use of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), has facilitated determination of vegetation richness and cover distribution in some remote and otherwise inaccessible environments. However, it is known that using NDVI for the detection of vegetation can overlook the presence of lichens even if their land cover is extensive. We tested the …

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