Tourism and Arctic Observation Systems: exploring the relationships

Suzanne de la Barre,

Edward Huijbens,

Machiel Lamers,

Daniela Liggett,

Dieter Müller,

Albina Pashkevich,

Emma Stewart,

Patrick Maher,

Jackie Dawson,

Kevin Hillmer-Pegram

Published: March 1, 2016

The Arctic is affected by global environmental change and also by diverse interests from many economic sectors and industries. Over the last decade, various actors have attempted to explore the options for setting up integrated and comprehensive trans-boundary systems for monitoring and observing these impacts. These Arctic Observation Systems (AOS) contribute to the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of environmental change and responsible social and economic development in the Arctic. The aim of this article is to identify the two-way relationship between AOS and tourism. On the one hand, tourism activities account for diverse changes across a broad spectrum of …

Environmental significance of Ophiomorpha in a transgressive - regressive sequence of the Spitsbergen Paleocene

Jenȍ Nagy,

Francisco J. Rodriguez Tovar,

Matias Reolid

Published: April 6, 2016

The study focuses on occurrences of Ophiomorpha burrows in a transgressive–regressive succession composing the Early Paleocene Firkanten Formation deposited in paralic, prodelta to delta front conditions in the Central Basin of Spitsbergen. The burrows colonize sandstones of the Todalen Member at four sites and belong to two ichnospecies: Ophiomorpha cf. nodosa, forming dominantly vertical shafts; and O. cf. irregulaire, consisting of horizontal sinuous tunnels ending in subconical shafts. Both species are observed in shoreface sandstones deposited as a barrier bar. Lithological features and stratigraphic positions suggest that the trace-makers preferentially colonized high-energy sand environments. Foraminiferal faunas occurring below and above …

Characterization of sea-ice kinematic in the Arctic outflow region using buoy data

Ruibo Lei,

Petra Heil,

Jia Wang,

Zhanhai Zhang,

Qun Li,

Na Li

Published: Jan. 27, 2016

Data from four ice-tethered buoys deployed in 2010 were used to investigate sea-ice motion and deformation from the Central Arctic to Fram Strait. Seasonal and long-term changes in ice kinematics of the Arctic outflow region were further quantified using 42 ice-tethered buoys deployed between 1979 and 2011. Our results confirmed that the dynamic setting of the transpolar drift stream (TDS) and Fram Strait shaped the motion of the sea ice. Ice drift was closely aligned with surface winds, except during quiescent conditions, or during short-term reversal of the wind direction opposing the TDS. Meridional ice velocity south of 85°N showed …

Relation between planimetric and volumetric measurements of permafrost coast erosion: a case study from Herschel Island, western Canadian Arctic

Jaroslav Obu,

Hugues Lantuit,

Michael Fritz,

Wayne H. Pollard,

Torsten Sachs,

Frank Günther

Published: Sept. 23, 2016

Ice-rich permafrost coasts often undergo rapid erosion, which results in land loss and release of considerable amounts of sediment, organic carbon and nutrients, impacting the near-shore ecosystems. Because of the lack of volumetric erosion data, Arctic coastal erosion studies typically report on planimetric erosion. Our aim is to explore the relationship between planimetric and volumetric coastal erosion measurements and to update the coastal erosion rates on Herschel Island in the Canadian Arctic. We used high-resolution digital elevation models to compute sediment release and compare volumetric data to planimetric estimations of coastline movements digitized from satellite imagery. Our results show that …

Vegetation composition and shrub extent on the Yukon coast, Canada, are strongly linked to ice-wedge polygon degradation

Juliane Wolter

Published: June 17, 2016

Changing environmental and geomorphological conditions are resulting in vegetation change in ice-wedge polygons in Arctic tundra. However, we do not yet know how microscale vegetation patterns relate to individual environmental and geomorphological parameters. This work aims at examining these relations in polygonal terrain. We analysed composition and cover of vascular plant taxa and surface height, active layer depth, soil temperature, carbon and nitrogen content, pH and electrical conductivity in four polygon mires located on the Yukon coast. We found that vascular plant species composition and cover correlates best with relative surface height. Ridges of low-centred polygons and raised centres of …

Air temperature variations and gradients along the coast and fjords of western Spitsbergen

Herdis M. Gjelten,

Øyvind Nordli,

Ketil Isaksen,

Eirik J. Førland,

Pavel N. Sviashchennikov,

Przemyslaw Wyszynski,

Uliana V. Prokhorova,

Rajmund Przybylak,

Boris V. Ivanov,

Alexandra V. Urazgildeeva

Published: July 29, 2016

Daily temperature measurements from six meteorological stations along the coast and fjords of western Spitsbergen have been digitized and quality controlled in a Norwegian, Russian and Polish collaboration. Complete daily data series have been reconstructed back to 1948 for all of the stations. One of the station’s monthly temperature series has previously been extended back to 1898 and is included in this study. The long-term series show large temperature variability on western Spitsbergen with colder periods in the 1910s and 1960s and warmer periods in the 1930s, 1950s and in the 21st century. The most recent years are the warmest …

Novel terrestrial haul-out behaviour by ringed seals (Pusa hispida) in Svalbard, in association with harbour seals (Phoca vitulina)

Christian Lydersen,

Kit M. Kovacs,

Jade Vaquie-Garcia,

Espen Lydersen,

Guttorm N. Christensen

Published: Oct. 6, 2017

Ringed seals (Pusa hispida) are the most ice-associated of all Arctic pinnipeds. In the Svalbard area, this species has always given birth, moulted and rested on sea ice. In addition, much of their food has been comprised of ice-associated prey. Recently, ringed seals have been reported to be using terrestrial substrates as a haul-out platform in some fjords on the west coast of Spitsbergen. In many cases the seals involved are harbour seals (Phoca vitulina), which are extending their distribution into new areas within the Svalbard Archipelago and which are being misclassified as ringed seals. However, this study reports that …

The number and distribution of polar bears in the western Barents Sea

Jon Aars,

Tiago A. Marques,

Karen Lone,

Magnus Andersen,

Øystein Wiig,

Ida Marie Bardalen Fløystad,

Snorre B. Hagen,

Stephen T. Buckland

Published: Oct. 9, 2017

Polar bears have experienced a rapid loss of sea-ice habitat in the Barents Sea. Monitoring this subpopulation focuses on the effects on polar bear demography. In August 2015, we conducted a survey in the Norwegian Arctic to estimate polar bear numbers and reveal population substructure. DNA profiles from biopsy samples and ear tags identified on photographs revealed that about half of the bears in Svalbard, compared to only 4.5% in the pack ice north of the archipelago, were recognized recaptures. The recaptured bears had originally been marked in Svalbard, mostly in spring. The existence of a local Svalbard stock, and …

Academia in Svalbard: an increasingly important role for research and education as tools for Norwegian policy

Ole Arve Misund

Published: April 25, 2017

Svalbard, a High-Arctic archipelago over which Norway practises sovereignty in accordance with the terms of the Svalbard Treaty, has become an increasingly important area for Arctic research and higher education. There are four more or less permanent settlements with substantial research infrastructure, and a few manned observatories for special purposes. Several Norwegian and foreign research institutions have established stations and installations in the archipelago. With coal mining activity scaling down because of economic difficulties and lack of political support for subsidies, Norwegian policy will prioritize research and higher education as a way of maintaining Norwegian settlements in Svalbard. I give …

Morphology of seamounts at the Mendeleev Rise, Arctic Ocean

Evgeny Gusev,

Pavel Rekant,

Valery Kaminsky,

Alexey Krylov,

Andrey Morozov,

Sergey Shokalsky,

Sergey Kashubin

Published: April 10, 2017

Geological and geophysical studies undertaken during the Russian Arktika-2012 Expedition of 2012 produced evidence of basement outcrops on the steep slopes of the Mendeleev Rise seamounts. Observations of the outcrops from research submarines showed that part of the steep slopes interpreted as basement outcrops based on seismic data were overlain by a light sediment cover. The actual areas of the basement outcrops are therefore much less than indicated by the seismic data alone. The outcrops found are of 5–10 to 100–200 m and are often stretched along some hypsometric level or arranged obliquely, crossing a slope at an angle to …