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Changes in Sea-Ice Extent and Thickness in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard (2003–2016)

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The Ecosystem of Kongsfjorden, Svalbard

Part of the book series: Advances in Polar Ecology ((AVPE,volume 2))

Abstract

Seasonal sea ice is an important feature in Svalbard fjords for both the physical environment and the ecosystem. Systematic sea-ice monitoring in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard, as a part of a long-term project conducted by the Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI), was started in 2003. The inner part of Kongsfjorden is usually covered by seasonal fast ice initially forming between December and March and persisting until April–June. Before 2006, the sea ice typically extended into the central part of the fjord, but during the last decade the sea-ice extent has often been reduced to the northern part of the inner bay. Two exceptions were 2009 and 2011, when the ice extent was similar to earlier years. The minimum record for spring ice extent within the observed period was in 2012, when sea ice was only present in the northern part of the inner bay. Maximum seasonal thickness of fast ice was around 0.6 m or more prior to 2006, declining to about 0.2 m in recent years. The snow thickness on fjord fast ice declined from around 0.2 m in spring prior to 2006 to <0.05 m in recent years, which reflected the shorter duration of ice cover. Advection of Atlantic water into Kongsfjorden, particularly during the winters of 2006–2007, contributed to reduced fast-ice formation. This, in combination with relatively mild winters, can be seen as main factors for changing fast-ice conditions in Kongsfjorden during the last 10 years. Sea-ice extent and seasonal duration have important implications for the marine ecosystem in Kongsfjorden with regard to pelagic and benthic production as well as selected species of seabirds and marine mammals.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the station personnel of the Sverdrup station in Ny-Ålesund for conducting ice observation and fast-ice thickness measurements in Kongsfjorden. Fast-ice monitoring in Kongsfjorden is a part of Norwegian Polar Institute long-term monitoring programme.

In addition, the following recent projects contributed to sea-ice studies in Kongsfjorden:

Research Council of Norway no. 112853/720 (SpecRef), no. 151447 (AIO), no. 165112 (MariClim), no. 165064 and no. 178912 (Black Carbon), no. 195143 (Arctic-EO), no. 237906 (Centre for Integrated Remote Sensing and Forecasting for Arctic Operations (CIRFA)), and no. 184724, Variability of Albedo Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (VAUUAV), and Mapping sea ice (Fram Centre Flagship Fjord and Coast). We thank Oddveig Øien Ørvoll (Norwegian Polar Institute) for preparation of Svalbard and Kongsfjorden maps. The authors also wish to thank three anonymous reviewers for revisions and useful remarks that improved our manuscript, and Guest Editor Christian Wiencke for his constructive and helpful comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Norwegian Polar Institute, Fram Centre, Tromsø, Norway

    Olga Pavlova, Sebastian Gerland & Haakon Hop

  2. Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway

    Haakon Hop

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  1. Olga Pavlova
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  3. Haakon Hop
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Correspondence to Olga Pavlova .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Norwegian Polar Institute, Fram Centre, Tromsø, Norway

    Haakon Hop

  2. Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany

    Christian Wiencke

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Pavlova, O., Gerland, S., Hop, H. (2019). Changes in Sea-Ice Extent and Thickness in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard (2003–2016). In: Hop, H., Wiencke, C. (eds) The Ecosystem of Kongsfjorden, Svalbard. Advances in Polar Ecology, vol 2. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46425-1_4

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