Polar Research (E-Journal)
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On the double-diffusive and cabbeling environment of the Arctic Front, West Spitsbergen
No full textThis paper describes the thermohaline characteristics of the Arctic Front to the west of Spitsbergen, in terms of the double-diffusive environment and the potential for densification through cabbeling. The front separates the warm, saline Atlantic water in the West Spitsbergen Current from the cooler, fresher water on the West Spitsbergen Shelf. We have investigated processes at the front that can contribute to, or enhance, mixing and water mass modification in relation to heat transport to the Arctic. Hydrographic data were collected along a cross-shelf section in September 2005. The double-diffusive properties along the section were determined by calculating Turner angles, and cabbeling was investigated with a simple linear mixing scheme. Double diffusion, in the form of diffusive layering, was found to be active within the Arctic Front, with considerable interleaving between water masses. Furthermore, mixing of water masses across the front was found to generate a potential increase in density of more than 0.03 kg m -3 through cabbeling, which would then promote sinking and convergence. Our analyses indicate that the two processes of double diffusion and cabbeling are active at the Arctic Front. We discuss their potential contribution to maintaining the density-compensated nature of the front, and conclude that they will promote isopycnal mixing and subsequent modification of the core water of the West Spitsbergen Current
Review of Scott’s last biscuit: the literature of polar exploration, by Sarah Moss
No full textFifty years ago, George Bass revolutionized maritime archaeology with the observation that it was far simpler to train an archaeologist to be a scuba diver than it was to turn a scuba diver into an underwater archaeologist. One is tempted to make a similar observation about literary theorists writing polar history while reading this interesting volume. It is not that scuba divers cannot perform underwater archaeology; it is just that one set of skills cannot be learned nearly as quickly as the other
Review of Due south, by John Kelly
No full textThis small volume is basically the diary of John Kelly, who visited the British Antarctic Survey station on Signy Island in the South Orkney Islands. It includes about 60 monochrome plates (mainly half-page ones), a few sketches and a map of the island. The text is essentially a diary of the author’s time, from beginning in the Falkland Islands, sailing aboard RRS Ernest Shackleton , staying on the island from 25 January to 8 March 2003 to the return journey. As well as the illustrations, the text is accompanied by brief poetical extracts by the author and others. It is substantially a personal account of the visit, and may be best understood by those who have seen exhibitions of his artistic works. Impressions of Signy Island are confined to modern ones gained during the artist’s visit; thus, there is no reference to the Norwegian aspects of its history (neither the derivation of the name from Signy, daughter of the whaling captain Petter Sørlle, nor the graves of five whalers on Factory Bluff, is mentioned). Similarly, reference to the continuing scientific research conducted at the station is minimal although he accompanied a limnological survey
Polar Research evolves, and Norway and the IPY
No full textMarch marks the start of the International Polar Year (IPY) and I am very pleased to announce on this occasion that we’ve joined hands with Blackwell Publishing, which will henceforth publish the journal while editorial control remains with the editorial office at the Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI). Blackwell, whose roots in Oxford extend back for a century, specializes in partnerships with learned societies and research institutions such as our own. The services provided by our skilled and experienced publishing team at Blackwell will benefit Polar Research ’s readers and contributors in a variety of ways. For example, the complete contents of the journal are accessible online to subscribers via its new website at www.blackwell-synergy.com. Non-subscribers can access abstracts and can be directed to articles containing the search words that interest them. Contributors will soon submit their work online. Accepted, copyedited manuscripts will be made available online, potentially well in advance of print publication. In addition, authors of accepted manuscripts have the option of paying to make their articles freely accessible to all internet readers. To find out more, please see the new journal new homepage at www.blackwellpublishing.com/POR
Climate change and biodiversity in the Arctic—Nordic perspectives
No full textThis paper is based upon a presentation given on United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) World Environment Day, 5 June 2007, as part of the Nordic Perspectives session of the climate change conference Melting Ice—A Hot Topic
Little auks ( Alle alle ) breeding in a High Arctic fjord system: bimodal foraging strategies as a response to poor food quality?
No full textThe foraging behaviour of little auks ( Alle alle ) in the Bjørndalen colony on the western coast of Spitsbergen was studied during the breeding season 2005. The duration of foraging trips and contents of gular pouches were analysed. Quantitative zooplankton samples procured in the vicinity of the colony facilitated a comparison between gular pouch contents and the availability of prey species. Zooplankton and gular pouch samples were all sampled within a time window of approximately one week. Using the Bray–Curtis similarity index, we determined that little auks in this colony have a bimodal foraging strategy consisting of long and short foraging trips with two corresponding distinct diets. Short trips are most likely to be centred on areas within the Isfjorden complex, whereas the birds are most likely to use the long trips (of typically more than 10 hours) to reach areas off the continental slope where they are able to feed selectively on large, energy-rich food items such as Calanus hyperboreus . This bimodal foraging strategy may be a response to the low availability of nutrientrich food close to the colony, which is insufficient to sustain both parents and chicks. Bimodal foraging trip strategies are well documented in many species in the Southern Ocean. This is the first study to show a similar feeding pattern in an Alcidae species in the Northern Hemisphere
Quantitative analysis of soft-bottom molluscs in the Bellingshausen Sea and around Peter I Island
No full textMacrobenthic soft-bottom molluscs were sampled in 30 stations located in the Bellingshausen Sea at depths ranging from 90 to 3304 m. The samples were collected using a quantitative grab box-corer during the cruises BENTART 03, from 24 January to 3 March 2003, and BENTART 06, from 2 January to 16 February 2006. Molluscs represent 1074 specimens belonging to 62 species of Polyplacophora, Gastropoda, Bivalvia and Scaphopoda. The bivalve Cyamiocardium denticulatum was the most abundant species (448 specimens). The abundance per station varied between 1 and 446 specimens. The Shannon–Wiener diversity index ranged between one specimen and 2.36, the Pielou evenness index ranged between 0.00 and 1 and species richness ranged from 1 to 14 species. Diversity showed great variations at different stations. After multivariate analysis (cluster analysis and nonmetrical multidimensional scaling) based on Bray–Curtis similarities, we were able to separate two principal clusters. The first cluster groups together species from shallower bottoms near Peter I Island and the Antarctic Peninsula, and the second cluster groups together species from deeper bottoms in the Bellingshausen Sea. The combination of environmental variables with the highest correlations with faunistic data was that of depth and coarse sand at the surface
Molluscs in Kongsfjorden (Spitsbergen, Svalbard): a species list and patterns of distribution and diversity
No full textThis paper presents a survey of the mollusc fauna in Kongsfjorden, an Arctic glacial fjord in Spitsbergen, Svalbard, based on 197 samples collected with van Veen grabs, dredges, scuba-diving collections and baited traps at depths ranging from 5 to 390 m. Eighty-seven mollusc species were recorded. The species distribution accords well with the distribution of the main substrata: barren rock, kelp bed, gravel and soft bottom. For the most common substrate type, the soft bottom, the distribution and diversity of molluscs were analysed in relation to environmental factors. Glacial activity (particularly the inflow of glacial meltwater loaded with mineral solids) is responsible for the main gradients of environmental variables in the fjord. Silt concentration in sediments, the water temperature near the bottom and inorganic suspensions in the surface water best predict the species distribution of the soft bottom. Two faunal associations located in glacial bays and three faunal associations in the central basin of the fjord can be distinguished for the fauna of the soft bottom. Molluscs are much more abundant in glacial bays (200–300 individuals (ind.) 0.1 m 2 ) than in the central basin assemblages (30–40 ind./0.1 m 2 ). Yoldiid ( Yoldiella solidula , Y. lenticula and Yoldia hyperborea ) and thyasirid bivalves ( Thyasira dunbari , T. gouldi and Axinopsida orbiculata ) cope particularly well with glacial sedimentation and occur in high quantities in glacial bays. Although there is no effect of glacial disturbance on the molluscan sample species richness and species diversity, there are significant clines of evenness and taxonomic distinctness in areas near to the glacier. The patterns of molluscan diversity are not fully consistent with the patterns described for complete macrobenthic communities
Arctic animals and their adaptations to life on the edge
No full textConceived in order to provide students and those interested in the Arctic with a comprehensive overview of Arctic ecosystems, processes and animal adaptations to life in the cold, this textbook of 10 chapters draws on the 30 year research experience of Dr Arnoldus Blix, an accomplished Arctic physiologist. Topics covered by the book range from the climate, oceanography and ecology of the Arctic region to the distribution, behaviour and life cycles of marine and terrestrial invertebrates and through to higher resident marine and terrestrial predators. The textbook begins with a poetic definition of the Arctic— describing it as the region under Arctos, the polar star— and thereby setting the scene for the rest of the text, which combines concise descriptions of Arctic processes and species distributions interspersed with accounts of the author’s research experience and almost 200 illustrations
Melting ice—a personal view of climate change
No full textI first crossed the Arctic Circle on my way north in the early 1970s. I visited the glaciers in Swedish Lappland and Norway’s rugged Lofoten islands. Apart from the natural beauty of the area, my main interests were climate and geological history, as I was then working towards a doctoral degree in glacial and marine geology, which I earned in the late 1970s. Since then I have been in the Far North nearly every year. In the beginning I travelled in the Scandinavian mainland; later I saw Iceland, Svalbard and Greenland. Special highlights were the Northwest and Northeast Passages