Svalbard High-Arctic Fjords

Kongsfjorden, Svalbard, Norway (79°N) · Arctic & Subarctic · polar

About this place

Survey High-Arctic fjord glaciers at 79°N where sympagic ice algae, ringed seals, and polar photoperiods govern life.

For kids: Explore a land where the sun shines at midnight in summer and tiny ice plants feed seals and whales!

Tidewater glacier wall — Subglacial meltwater plume. Centre the tidewater glacier terminus where subglacial plumes surface
Floating brash & floe ice — Pusa hispida haul-out ice. Locate the drift-ice floes used by ringed seals for moulting and pupping
Arctic seabird talus peaks — Alle alle guano fertilization. Scan the frost-shattered mountain slopes enriched by seabird marine nutrients

Source: Leu et al. (2011), Progress in Oceanography — Sympagic ice-algal bloom timing & High-Arctic copepod match-mismatch.

Ask together: How would your bedtime feel if the sun stayed bright in the sky at midnight for four whole months?

Kids' question: Where does the tiny green 'meadow' that feeds Svalbard's sea animals grow in spring?

Answer

Upside-down on the bottom of sea ice

Adults' question: Why do Svalbard reindeer remain active on snowy slopes during months of total Polar Night?

Seasonal shift of tapetum lucidum from gold to deep blue boosting UV sensitivity
Echolocation clicks bounced off crusted snow
Infrared pit organs along the muzzle
Complete winter hibernation under glacial moraines

Answer

Seasonal shift of tapetum lucidum from gold to deep blue boosting UV sensitivity

360° photo: jenspeterhansen, CC BY-SA 4.0

By day: Polar bears scanning sea ice, Arctic foxes, and tundra ptarmigan Compare Svalbard's extreme 79°N photoperiod in your journal telemetry with live Hudson Bay sea-ice conditions.
By night: Snow-bedded polar bears & subarctic night sky glow Radiative cooling on cloudless polar nights plunges surface snow temperatures while marine leads release heat plumes.

Other language: Русский