Even the Coldest of Svalbard Fjords Show Effects of Climate Change

Rijpfjorden, on Nordaustlandet outside Svalbard, has long been an example of a pristine Arctic fjord that, unlike fjords on Svalbard's west coast, has not been affected by climate warming.

A recent article led by PhD student Èric Jordà-Molina from Nord University and including several Akvaplan-niva co-authors, suggests that warming impacts are being felt even in the far north of Svalbard, says Akvaplan-niva in a press release.

Results indicate that Marine Heat Waves (extreme temperature anomalies existing for at least 5 days in a row, and only recently detected in the Arctic) are at least partially responsible for periodic mortality events in seafloor communities. Some regions of the fjord recovered within several years, but other areas changed due to colonization by previously rare taxa.

More frequent disturbances may ultimately reduce community resilience, even in this remote Arctic fjord.

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