Fig 1 - uploaded by Małgorzata Błaszczyk
Content may be subject to copyright.
Hornsund drainage basin, in southern Spitsbergen, Svalbard. The automatic weather station at the Polish Polar Station is indicated with an asterisk. Sofiebreen (S), Kvalfangarbreen (K), Wibebreen (W), Lorchbreen (L), Hyrnebreen (H), Signeybreen (Si) and Petersbreen (P) are small glaciers. The orange line near the weather station represents the location of the snow pit profiles over the unglaciated areas.
Source publication
Glaciers draining to the Hornsund basin (southern Spitsbergen, Svalbard) have experienced a significant retreat and mass volume loss over the last decades, increasing the input of freshwater into the fjord. An increase in freshwater input can influence fjord hydrology, hydrodynamics, sediment flux and biota, especially in a changing climate. Here,...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... is the southernmost fjord in Spitsbergen, on the west coast of the Svalbard Archipelago (Fig. 1). Its mouth lies between the distinct capes of Worcesterpynten, on the northern shore, and Palffyodden to the south. The morphometry of its hydro-glaciological basin for 2010 follows the data presented by Błaszczyk et al. (2013). The entire drainage basin area in 2010 amounted to ca. 1200 km 2 , of which ca. 67% (802 km 2 ) was covered ...
Context 2
... estimate glacier meltwater runoff, we use the summer mass balance data for Hansbreen available from the WGMS. There is a difference between the summer mass balance (B s ), which includes summer mass gain and loss, and the summer ablation (A s ), which excludes mass gain. Here we use B s because of data availability. Comparison of B s (Fig. 1, for six ablation seasons) with A s measured by a SR50 sensor (Campbell Scientific) on Hansbreen shows a difference between B s and A s below 5%. Nevertheless, the difference between B s and A s (potential summer accumulation from snow precipitation) has been taken into account in estimating the total precipitation over land (Q ...
Context 3
... between B s and A s (potential summer accumulation from snow precipitation) has been taken into account in estimating the total precipitation over land (Q TP(LAND) ) during summer (June-September). B s in the Hornsund area was calculated using summer mass balance data measured at 11 ablation stakes on Hansbreen (b s ) between 2006 and 2015 ( Fig. 1, WGMS). WGMS data provide, among others, information about point and spatial accumulation and ablation on glaciers. Data from 2013 were deemed unreliable for being far outside the summer mass balance range of other Svalbard glaciers. The summer balance (B s ) was estimated by extrapolation of stakes data (b s ) covering different ...
Context 4
... of seasonal snow cover in unglaciated catchments. Q S was estimated based on snow cover depth measurements conducted near the Polish Polar Station between 2006 and 2015 and a DEM. In addition, continuous measurements of snow depth and density changes with altitude were taken during the 2012/13 winter season (Fig. 1). These observations served as the basis to calculate the lapse rate of snow depth (0.15 m w.e. per 100 m −1 ) and the average snow density (350 kg m −3 ). The influence of slope inclination on snow depth was defined, after Kirnbauer et al. (1991) The error was estimated using the total differential ...
Context 5
... automatic weather station ( Fig. 1) located at 77°11'N, 17°33'E (8 m a.s.l.). These data were retrieved from the OGIMET database, the archives of the Institute of Geophysics Polish Academy of Sciences and the Hornsund meteorological yearbooks for the period 2006-2015. Average daily air temperature and surface elevation were taken into account as an additional criterion ...
Citations
... Surface water salinity can be reduced to less than 28 in the inner part of Kongsfjorden. Błaszczyk et al. (2019) reported that up to an equivalent of 9% of the fjord volume of Hornsund may originate from glacier freshwater runoff every year. ...
This comprehensive study examines primary production (PP) within the Spitsbergen fjords, Hornsund, and Kongsfjord, over a 25‐year period (1994–2019), across 45 stations and 348 incubation levels at various depths. PP and hydrological parameters were measured at 28 sampling stations in Kongsfjorden and 17 in Hornsund, with the locations of “Glacier,” “Inner,” and “Outer” zones defined to reflect the varying influence of glacial meltwater. Our study revealed spatial and temporal variability in PP, both at the surface and within the water column with very high depth resolution. The highest PP values were observed in the Glacier and Inner zones of Hornsund, particularly in the water layer up to 3 m depth, exceeding 20 mgC m⁻³ h⁻¹. A notable decline in PP with increasing depth was observed in both fjords, with the Glacier zones displaying the highest productivity at the surface. The study also highlights the influence of glacial meltwater on surface water conditions, affecting the PP in the upper layers of both fjords. The observed gradient in the depth of maximum PP toward the mouth of the fjord varied between the two fjords, with Kongsjord displaying more dynamic variations. The spatial distribution of integrated primary production (Pi) suggested lower productivity in the glacial regions, likely due to light limitation caused by high concentrations of mineral particulate matter. The values of Pi were considerably higher in Hornsund, approximately twice as high overall, with specific emphasis on the Glacier and Inner zones where Pi values were about 6.5 and 2.5 times higher, respectively, when compared to those observed in Kongsfjord.
... Because of the glacier front retreat, the fjord area increased from ∼ 188 km 2 in 1936 to ∼ 303 km 2 in 2010 (Błaszczyk et al., 2013). The average 2006-2015 freshwater input to the fjord was 2517 ± 82 Mt yr −1 , with contributions from glacier meltwater runoff (39 %), frontal ablation of tidewater glaciers (25 %), precipitation over land excluding snow (21 %), snowmelt (8 %) and precipitation over fjord (7 %) (Błaszczyk et al., 2019). ...
The Sentinel-1A/B synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery archive between 14 October 2014 and 29 June 2023 was used in combination with a segmentation algorithm to create a series of binary ice/open-water maps of Hornsund fjord, Svalbard, at 50 m resolution for nine seasons (2014/15 to 2022/23). The near-daily (1.57 d mean temporal resolution) maps were used to calculate sea ice coverage for the entire fjord and its parts, namely the main basin and three major bays: Burgerbukta, Brepollen and Samarinvågen. The average length of the sea ice season was 158 d (range: 105–246 d). Drift ice first arrived from the southwest between October and March, and the fast-ice onset was on average 24 d later. The fast ice typically disappeared in June, around 20 d after the last day with drift ice. The average sea ice coverage over the sea ice season was 41 % (range: 23 %–56 %), but it was lower in the main basin (27 %) compared to in the bays (63 %). Of the bays, Samarinvågen had the highest sea ice coverage (69 %), likely due to its narrow opening and its location in southern Hornsund protecting it from the incoming wind-generated waves. Seasonally, the highest sea ice coverage was observed in April for the entire fjord and the bays and in March for the main basin. The 2014/15, 2019/20 and 2021/22 seasons were characterised by the highest sea ice coverage, and these were also the seasons with the largest number of negative air temperature days in October–December. The 2019/20 season was characterised by the lowest mean daily and monthly air temperatures. We observed a remarkable interannual variability in the sea ice coverage, but on a nine-season scale we did not record any gradual trend of decreasing sea ice coverage. These high-resolution data can be used to, e.g. better understand the spatiotemporal trends in the sea ice distribution in Hornsund, facilitate comparison between Svalbard fjords, and improve modelling of nearshore wind wave transformation and coastal erosion.
... Sixteen tidewater glaciers surround the fjord (Fig. 1b) runoff (39%), frontal ablation of tidewater glaciers (25%), precipitation over land excluding snow (21%), snowmelt (8%) and precipitation over fjord (7%) (Błaszczyk et al., 2019). 125 ...
The Sentinel-1A/B synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery archive between 14 October 2014 and 29 June 2023 was used in combination with a segmentation algorithm to create a series of binary ice/open water maps of Hornsund fjord, Svalbard at 50 m resolution for nine seasons (2014/15 to 2022/23). The near-daily (1.57 day mean temporal resolution) maps 10 were used to calculate sea ice coverage for the entire fjord and its parts: the main basin and three major bays: Burgerbukta, Brepollen and Samarinvågen. The average length of the sea ice season was 158 days (range: 105-246 days). Drift ice first arrived from the southwest between October and March and the fast ice onset was on average 24 days later. The fast ice typically disappeared in June, around 20 days after the last day with drift ice. The average sea ice coverage over the sea ice season was 41% (range: 23-56%), but it was lower in the main basin (27%) compared to the bays (63%). Of the bays, 15 Samarinvågen had the highest sea ice coverage (69%) likely due to the location in southern Hornsund protected from the incoming wind-generated waves and a narrow opening. Seasonally, the highest sea ice coverage was observed in April for the entire fjord and the bays, and in March for the main basin. The highest sea ice coverage characterised 2019/20, 2021/22 and 2014/15, which were also the seasons with the largest number of negative air temperature days in October-December. The season 2019/20 was characterised by the lowest mean daily and monthly air temperatures. We observed a remarkable 20 inter-annual variability in the sea ice coverage but at the nine-season scale we did not record any gradual trend of decreasing sea ice coverage. These high-resolution data can be used to e.g., better understand the spatio-temporal trends in the sea ice distribution in Hornsund, facilitate comparison between Svalbard fjords and improve modelling of nearshore wind wave transformation and coastal erosion.
... Such decreases in salinity may become especially significant in fjord systems in the future with glacial calving, and release of meltwater intensifies with climate change (Błaszczyk et al., 2019;Halbach et al., 2019). Increases in sea ice melt within coastal areas due to increased precipitation over the Arctic Ocean (Bintanja and Andry, 2017;IPCC, 2019) could additionally contribute to the overall freshening of Arctic coastal surface waters. ...
... Bottom-ice algae may be directly exposed to these fresher surface waters due to their concentrated growth at the ice-ocean interface, although the extent of exposure for these algae to the fresher conditions will also depend on the sea ice location [e.g., with latitude, sea ice type (first-year ice versus multiyear ice)] and with the time at which the freshening occurs (e.g., seasonality spring versus summer). Western Svalbard fjords are thought to be especially prone to increases in freshwater with climate change, with drastic declines in winter ice cover (Pavlova et al., 2019;Urbański and Litwicka, 2021), and increased freshwater inputs from glaciers (Calleja et al., 2017;Błaszczyk et al., 2019;Fransson et al., 2020) or rivers (McGovern et al., 2020;Pogojeva et al., 2022) already documented. The fjords adjacent to the West Spitsbergen Shelf are also subject to strong seasonality, including the widespread freshening of surface waters with local precipitation events, snow and sea ice melt, river runoff, as well as the direct discharge that comes from the nearby calving glaciers (Svendsen et al., 2002). ...
Sea ice algae have a broad salinity tolerance but can experience stress during rapid decreases in salinity that occur with seasonal ice melt and during ice sample melt. This study investigated the impact of salinity on the photophysiological responses of bottom-ice algal communities from two Svalbard fjords (Tempelfjorden and Van Mijenfjorden). To further investigate the impact of salinity alone, and particularly to rapid freshening, the responses of a lab-cultured ice algal community from Van Mijenfjorden were assessed. Photophysiological responses were mainly determined via ¹⁴C-based incubations which provided photosynthesis-irradiance curves. Main findings showed that i) the bottom-ice algal community in Tempelfjorden was characterized by lower photosynthetic efficiency and chlorophyll a biomass than the Van Mijenfjorden communities, and ii) a lab-cultured ice algal community from Van Mijenfjorden dominated by pennate diatoms had significantly lower photosynthetic efficiency, maximum photosynthesis and photoacclimation index after a decrease in salinity from 33 to 10. The lower photosynthetic efficiency and chlorophyll a biomass at Tempelfjorden may be attributed to the almost two-fold lower bulk-ice salinity in Tempelfjorden compared to Van Mijenfjorden, which was likely associated with freshwater inputs from the tidewater glacier Tunabreen during sea ice formation. Other factors such as under-ice light intensities, brine volume fraction and brine nutrient concentrations likely also contributed to variability in ice algal response. Furthermore, experimental results indicated that the cultured Van Mijenfjorden community was negatively impacted by a rapid (within 4 to 24 h) reduction in salinity from 33 to 10. We further documented a significant start of recovery of these algae after 168 h. From this work, we surmise that decreases in surface water salinity, for example arising from the intensifying freshening of fjord waters, may only cause temporary changes in ice algal photoacclimation state and thus in chlorophyll a biomass. Further, this study also supports the need for salinity buffered melt of sea ice samples to reduce artificial bias in biological measurements.
... For example, Hornsund, situated on the southwestern tip of Spitsbergen, is the fjord most influenced by the cold and fresh coastal Sørkapp Current and thus has the most Arctic-type characteristics (Strzelewicz et al., 2022). Hornsund has 14 glaciers that have experienced substantial retreat and mass volume loss over the last decades, increasing the input of freshwater into the fjord (Błaszczyk et al., 2018). The lack of a distinct sill at the entrances of Kongsfjorden and Isfjorden leads to easy exchange of the waters, mostly in the form of advection of Atlantic waters (Svendsen et al., 2002;Nilsen et al., 2008;Wiencke and Hop, 2016). ...
... The observed gradual differences in hydrography across the 3 fjords investigated (Figure 2) is consistent with the established concept of Hornsund being a typical Arctic fjord and Kongsfjorden being a typical Atlantic fjord (Promińska et al., 2017). Hornsund is also the most glaciated fjord (Błaszczyk et al., 2018), with the highest concentrations of marine snow represented mostly by the dark morphotype ( Figure 5A), while the other 2 fjords had much more organic typology of imaged objects. ...
How plankton and particles are arranged spatially and the configurations of their co-occurrence shape the rates of organic matter production, utilization, and export within marine systems. The aim of this study was to examine whether the composition of marine snow (particles and aggregates >500 µm) and its coexistence with zooplankton change with depth layer, level of zooplankton dominance, chlorophyll fluorescence, and turbidity across the coastal–offshore gradients of hydrographically different Arctic fjords. The distribution and concentrations of zooplankton and marine snow were assessed in situ using an underwater vision profiler (UVP) in Svalbard waters during summer 2019. UVP counts of marine snow drastically outnumbered zooplankton at glacial stations, whereas zooplankton dominated offshore and in upper water layers, even in coastal waters. The most common compositional structure was dominance by an elongated morphotype of marine snow, often co-occurring with small dark (opaque) particles below 40 m depth, implying that these were the typical forms exported directly from surface layers. The other widespread type of structuring was dominance of UVP counts by copepods. They often coexisted with a flake morphotype of marine snow associated with high chlorophyll fluorescence. Structuring dominated by dark morphotypes was observed mainly near glaciers and in deep fjord basins. The highest amount of marine snow, represented by a high degree of dark morphotype, was observed in Hornsund, the most Arctic-type fjord. A Phaeocystis-associated agglomerated morphotype of marine snow occurred scarcely and only in more Atlantic-influenced fjords. A bimodal distribution pattern, with one abundance peak at the surface and another in deeper layers (>80 m) was observed offshore and in Kongsfjorden. This study emphasizes the high potential of UVPs for tracking links between plankton and detritus directly in their natural environment, and that variation in their co-occurrence may provide a proxy for the state of a pelagic ecosystem.
... See also Supplementary Table S1 for detailed sample information. terrestrial sediments to the fjords 8,13,16 . Consequently, these changes can alter the sources of sedimentary OC and significantly impact long-term OC burial in fjord sediments. ...
... Most bedrock samples exhibited low TOC contents (0.3 ± 0.4 wt.%, n = 14), except for the coal samples (51.6 ± 7.0 wt.%, n = 3). The δ 13 ...
Svalbard fjords are recognized as hotspots for organic carbon (OC) burial and storage due to their high sedimentation rates, which effectively trap terrestrial sediments and inhibit extensive OC remineralization. In this study, we investigated surface sediments (n = 48) from eight Svalbard fjords, along with bedrock (n = 17), soil (n = 28), and plant (n = 12) samples, to identify the sources of sedimentary OC in these fjords using geochemical parameters. All examined surface sediments from the fjords showed a depletion in ¹⁴Corg (− 666.9 ± 240.3‰), indicating that recently fixed terrestrial and marine biomass alone cannot account for the entire sedimentary OC pool. Conventional bulk indicators such as Norg/TOC ratio and δ¹³Corg were insufficient for fully determining the sources of sedimentary OC. Therefore, we employed a four-end-member approach, using Δ¹⁴Corg, δ¹³Corg, and lignin phenols to assess the relative contributions of petrogenic, soil-derived, plant-derived, and marine OC to the sedimentary OC pool. The analyzed fjord sediments consisted, on average, of 59.0 ± 28.1% petrogenic OC, 16.8 ± 12.1% soil-derived OC, 2.5 ± 2.2% plant-derived OC, and 21.8 ± 18.5% marine OC. This approach highlights the substantial contributions of petrogenic and aged soil-derived OC to present-day sedimentary OC in Svalbard fjords. Considering predicted global warming, accelerated inputs of petrogenic and soil-derived OC into fjords due to rapid glacier retreat may significantly impact the active carbon cycle and potentially contribute to CO2 emissions to the atmosphere, depending on burial efficiency.
... To validate our results, the output GeoTIFF were compared with ablation stake data mounted on Hornbreen [44,45]. Ablation stake data included annual velocity data from the 2014-2015 period ( Figure 1). ...
... Air temperature is connected to SST [32], and a statistically significant (p = 0.001) correlation is found between mean monthly air and sea surface temperatures near Hornbreen and Hambergbreen ice cliffs (Hornbreen, r = 0.83; Hambergbreen, r = 0.78). Higher temperatures on the west side of the HH system [31,51] intensify the melting of the glacier surface and the supply of freshwater to the glacial system [44]. Both glaciers tend to increase velocity, and this is a common behaviour of Svalbard glaciers [4]. ...
This study focuses on the Hornsund region in Svalbard, where the temperature has risen by 1.14 °C per decade, six times faster than the global average. The accelerating temperature rise in the Arctic has had significant impacts on the Svalbard glaciers, including the Hornbreen–Hambergbreen system (HH system). The HH system connects Sørkapp Land with the rest of Spitsbergen, and its disintegration will lead to the formation of a new island. This study assesses the annual and seasonal changes in the velocity of the HH system and fluctuations of the position of the termini from 1985 to 2021 and their relationship with environmental factors. Furthermore, an assessment was made of the possible date of opening of the Hornsund strait. The study also investigates the impact of the radiometric resolution of satellite images on the quality of the velocity field and the detection of glacier features. Multispectral imagery was used to assess the velocity fields with Glacier Image Velocimetry (v 1.01) software, which uses the feature tracking method. In addition, the Glacier Termini Tracking plugin was used to acquire data on the fluctuating positions of the termini. The long-term mean annual velocity of the Hornbreen was 431 m a−1, while that of Hambergbreen was 141 m a−1. The peak seasonal velocity and fluctuations of the terminus position of Hambergbreen were delayed by approximately one month when compared to Hornbreen. Overall, air and sea surface temperatures influence the velocities and fluctuations of the termini, while precipitation plays a secondary role. If the recession continues, the Hornsund strait may open around 2053. An increase in the quality of velocity maps from 12.7% to 50.2% was found with an increase in radiometric resolution from 8 bit to 16 bit.
... Distance from glaciers can be considered one of the most important factors that influence the concentrations of contaminants in the ecosystem. The delivery of contaminants from melting glaciers is especially possible in arctic fjords where a strong retreat of tidewater glaciers has been observed (Błaszczyk et al., 2013(Błaszczyk et al., , 2019. Preliminary studies of PCB and HCB concentrations in sediment cores collected in the same fjords indicated that melting glaciers may be a potential source of contaminants in the environment (Pouch et al., 2017(Pouch et al., , 2018. ...
Climate-related changes in environmental conditions, such as reduction of sea ice, intensive glacier retreat, and increasing summer precipitation, directly influence the arctic marine environment and, therefore, the organisms living there. Benthic organisms, being an important food source for organisms from higher trophic levels, constitute an important part of the Arctic trophic network. Moreover, the long lifespan and limited mobility of some benthic species make them suitable for the study of the spatial and temporal variability of contaminants. In this study, organochlorine pollutants (polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and hexachlorobenzene (HCB)) were measured in benthic organisms collected in three fjords of western Spitsbergen. Two of these were recommended by the Marine Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning (MARBEF) Network of Excellence as European flagship sites, namely Hornsund as the Biodiversity Inventory and Kongsfjorden as the Long-Term Biodiversity Observatory. Adventfjorden, with notable human activity, was also studied. Ʃ7 PCB and HCB concentrations in sediments were up to 2.4 and 0.18 ng/g d.w. respectively. Concentrations of Ʃ7 PCBs and HCB measured in collected benthic organisms were up to 9.1 and 13 ng/g w.w., respectively. In several samples (41 of 169) the concentrations of ∑7 PCBs were below the detection limit values, yet nevertheless the results of the research show effective accumulation of target organochlorine contaminants by many Arctic benthic organisms. Important interspecies differences were observed. Free-living, mobile taxa, such as shrimp Eualus gaimardii, have accumulated a large quantity of contaminants, most probably due to their predatory lifestyle. ∑7 PCB and HCB concentrations were both significantly higher in Hornsund than in Kongsfjorden. Biomagnification occurred in 0 to 100 % of the predator-prey pairs, depending on the congener analyzed. Although the sampled organisms were proved to have accumulated organochlorine contaminants, the measured levels can be considered low, and not posing a substantial threat to the biota.
... About 67% of the fjord's surface is covered by tidewater glaciers (11 glaciers; Laska et al., 2017). Glaciers are the primary sources of freshwater to the fjord (approximately 64% of the total freshwater supply, Błaszczyk et al., 2019). Overall, the estimated freshwater discharge in the fjord is around 1.8 km 3 yr − 1 . ...
... The average terminus retreat in 2016 was around 45% of the mass loss by frontal ablation, varying for individual glaciers between 9% and 75%. That is much higher than the 30% ratio estimated by Błaszczyk et al. (2019) for glaciers in Hornsund from 2006 to 2015. In contrast, between 2017 and 2020, the contribution of the average retreat component to frontal ablation decreased considerably and accounted for only 2%-26% of the mass loss by frontal ablation in the fjord. ...
... Unfortunately, there is not enough continuous data on glacier velocities before 2016 to compare whether the flow speed of glaciers has markedly accelerated in recent years in the region, driving some frontal advances. Comparing the 5-year averaged velocities with data from Błaszczyk et al. (2019) shows that all glaciers besides Mühlbacherbreen flowed 10%-87% faster than in 2012 and 2014. However, the data used by Błaszczyk et al. (2019) come from two short winter periods, and further studies are needed to assess whether the Hornsund glaciers responded to climate change by increasing velocity, as was noted for Greenland (Moon et al., 2012). ...
... Comparing the 5-year averaged velocities with data from Błaszczyk et al. (2019) shows that all glaciers besides Mühlbacherbreen flowed 10%-87% faster than in 2012 and 2014. However, the data used by Błaszczyk et al. (2019) come from two short winter periods, and further studies are needed to assess whether the Hornsund glaciers responded to climate change by increasing velocity, as was noted for Greenland (Moon et al., 2012). ...
Many Arctic marine‐terminating glaciers have undergone rapid retreats in recent decades. Seasonal and year‐to‐year variations in terminus position act on all tidewater glaciers, but the key controls on those changes vary from region to region. Here, we examined seasonal and decadal changes in termini positions of seven tidewater glaciers in the inner part of Hornsund, the southernmost fjord of Spitsbergen (Svalbard Archipelago), based on a variety of data from 1992 to 2020. Combining satellite imagery, basic meteorological data (air temperature, positive degree day index (PDD), liquid precipitation), sea surface temperature (SST), mean temperature in the glacier forefield bays, fast sea ice cover, and bathymetry near the glacier front, we examined the influence of potential controlling parameters on interannual and seasonal variability of the glacier termini. We found regional synchrony between terminus advance/retreat and climate variables. At a regional scale, annual fluctuation changes are related to PDD and SST, while summer fluctuations are linked to PDD, although individual glaciers are shown to have differing sensitivities to potential climate drivers. We also found that the retreat period in Hornsund generally lasts from June to October‐December. Onset of the retreat is related to sea and air temperature, and in some cases follows the disappearance of the ice cover. These results indicate that the expected increase in meltwater runoff in Svalbard, the input of relatively warm Atlantic water to the fjord, and the increasing trend of longer summer and warmer winter periods will have implications for glacier velocity and frontal ablation.
