Absolute and relative abundances of zooplankton taxa in Kongsfjorden during 2002

Seasonal changes in the zooplankton composition of the glacially influenced Kongsfjorden, Svalbard (79°N, 12°E), and its adjacent shelf were studied in 2002. Samples were collected in the spring, summer and autumn in stratified hauls (according to hydrographic characteristics), by means of a 0.180-mm Multi Plankton Sampler. A strong front between the open sea and the fjord waters was observed during the spring, preventing water mass exchange, but was not observed later in the season. The considerable seasonal changes in zooplankton abundance were related to the seasonal variation in hydrographical regime. The total zooplankton abundance during the spring (40-2010 individuals/m**3) was much lower than in the summer and autumn (410-10,560 individuals/m**3). The main factors shaping the zooplankton community in the fjord include: the presence of a local front, advection, the flow pattern and the decreasing depth of the basin in the inner fjord. Presumably these factors regulate the gross pattern of zooplankton density and distribution, and override the importance of biological processes. This study increased our understanding of seasonal processes in fjords, particularly with regard to the strong seasonal variability in the Arctic.

Fatty acid composition, element concentration and isotope ratios of sea ice algae sampled in Rijpfjorden, Svalbard

The accelerating decrease of Arctic sea ice substantially changes the growth conditions for primary producers, particularly with respect to light. This affects the biochemical composition of sea ice algae, which are an essential high-quality food source for herbivores early in the season. Their high nutritional value is related to their content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), which play an important role for successful maturation, egg production, hatching and nauplii development in grazers. We followed the fatty acid composition of an assemblage of sea ice algae in a high Arctic fjord during spring from the early bloom stage to post bloom. Light conditions proved to be decisive in determining the nutritional quality of sea ice algae, and irradiance was negatively correlated with the relative amount of PUFAs. Algal PUFA content decreased on average by 40 % from April to June, while algal biomass (measured as particulate carbon, C) did not differ. This decrease was even more pronounced when algae were exposed to higher irradiances due to reduced snow cover. The ratio of chlorophyll a (chl a) to C, as well as the level of photoprotective pigments, confirmed a physiological adaptation to higher light levels in algae of poorer nutritional quality. We conclude that high irradiances are detrimental to sea ice algal food quality, and that the biochemical composition of sea ice algae is strongly dependent on growth conditions.

(Table 1) Summary of accelerator mass spectrometer (AMS) radiocarbon ages in ODP Sites 169-1033 and 169-1034

Continuous coring in Saanich Inlet (Ocean Drilling Program, ODP Leg 169S), British Columbia, Canada, yielded a detailed record of Late Quaternary climate, oceanography, marine productivity, and terrestrial vegetation. Two sites (1033 and 1034) were drilled to maximum depths of 105 and 118 m, recovering sediments ranging in age from 13,300 to less than 300 14C yr. Earliest sediments consist of dense, largely massive, gray glaciomarine muds with dropstones and sand and silt laminae deposited during the waning stages of glaciation. Deposition of organic-rich olive gray sediments began in the fjord about 12,000 14C yr ago, under well-oxygenated conditions as reflected by the presence of bioturbation and a diverse infaunal bivalve community. At about 10,500 14C yr, a massive, gray unit, 40-50 cm thick, was emplaced in a very short span of time. The unit is marked by a sharp lower contact, a gradational upper contact and an abundance of reworked Tertiary microfossils. It has been interpreted as resulting from massive flood events caused by the collapse of glacial dams in the Fraser Valley of mainland British Columbia. Progressively greater anoxia in bottom waters of Saanich Inlet began about 7000 14C yr ago. This is reflected in the preservation of varved sediments consisting of diatomaceous spring-summer laminae and terrigenous winter laminae. Correlation of the sediments was based on: marked lithologic changes, the presence of massive intervals (reflecting localized sediment gravity flow events), the Mazama Ash, occasional thin gray laminae (indicative of abnormal flood events in nearby watersheds), varve counts between marker horizons, and 71 accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dates.

Age determination of sediment cores from the western Svalbard margin

The deglaciation of the continental shelf to the west of Spitsbergen and the main fjord, Isfjorden, is discussed based on sub-bottom seismic records and sediment cores. The sea floor on the shelf to the west of Isfjorden is underlain by less than 2 m of glaciomarine sediments over a firm diamicton interpreted as till. In central Isfjorden up to 10 m of deglaciation sediments were recorded, whereas in cores from the innermost tributary, Billefjorden, less than a meter of ice proximal sediments was recognized between the till and the 'normal' Holocene marine sediments. We conclude that the Barents Sea Ice Sheet terminated along the shelf break during the Late Weichselian glacial maximum. Radiocarbon dates from the glaciomarine sediments above the till indicate a stepwise deglaciation. Apparently the ice front retreated from the outermost shelf around 14.8 ka. A dramatic increase in the flux of line-grained glaciomarine sediments around 13 ka is assumed to reflect increased melting and/or current activity due to a climatic warming. This second stage of deglaciation was interrupted by a glacial readvance culminating on the mid-shelf area shortly after 12.4 ka. The glacial readvance, which is correlated with a simultaneous readvance of the Fennoscandian ice sheet along the western coast of Norway, is attributed to the so-called 'Older Dryas' cooling event in the North Atlantic region. Following this glacial readvance the outer part of Isfjorden became rapidly deglaciated around 12.3 ka. During the Younger Dryas the inner fjord branches were occupied by large outlet glaciers and possibly the ice front terminated far out in the main fjord. The remnants of the Barents Sea Ice Sheet melted quickly away as a response to the Holocene warming around 10 ka.

High resolution bathymetric compilation for Potter Cove, WAP, Antarctica, with links to data in ArcGIS format

The bathymetry raster with a resolution of 5 m x 5 m was processed from unpublished single beam data from the Argentine Antarctica Institute (IAA, 2010) and multibeam data from the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO, 2012) with a cell size of 5 m x 5 m. A coastline digitized from a satellite image (DigitalGlobe, 2014) supplemented the interpolation process. The 'Topo to Raster' tool in ArcMap 10.3 was used to merge the three data sets, while the coastline represented the 0-m-contour to the interpolation process ('contour type option').

Near-bottom zooplankton aggregations in Kongsfjorden with link to images from the optical zooplankton sensor MOKI

Near-bottom zooplankton communities have rarely been studied despite numerous reports of high zooplankton concentrations, probably due to methodological constraints. In Kongsfjorden, Svalbard, the near-bottom layer was studied for the first time by combining daytime deployments of a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), the optical zooplankton sensor moored on-sight key species investigation (MOKI), and Tucker trawl sampling. ROV data from the fjord entrance and the inner fjord showed high near-bottom abundances of euphausiids with a mean concentration of 17.3 ± 3.5 n/100 m**3. With the MOKI system, we observed varying numbers of euphausiids, amphipods, chaetognaths, and copepods on the seafloor at six stations. Light-induced zooplankton swarms reached densities in the order of 90,000 (euphausiids), 120,000 (amphipods), and 470,000 ind/m**3 (chaetognaths), whereas older copepodids of Calanus hyperboreus and C. glacialis did not respond to light. They were abundant at the seafloor and 5 m above and showed maximum abundance of 65,000 ind/m**3. Tucker trawl data provided an overview of the seasonal vertical distribution of euphausiids. The most abundant species Thysanoessa inermis reached near-bottom concentrations of 270 ind/m**3. Regional distribution was neither related to depth nor to location in the fjord. The taxa observed were all part of the pelagic community. Our observations suggest the presence of near-bottom macrozooplankton also in other regions and challenge the current view of bentho-pelagic coupling. Neglecting this community may cause severe underestimates of the stock of elagic zooplankton, especially predatory species, which link secondary production with higher trophic levels.

Composition of bottom sediments from the Isfjord, Western Svalbard

Lithology, heavy mineral associations, and chemical composition of bottom sediments studied in two gravity cores from Isfjord, Western Spitsbergen (Svalbard) accompanied by high-frequency seismic records, provide a new insight on provenance and glaciomarine sedimentation in the fjord from the last deglaciation through Holocene.