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This is chapter 1 of the State of Environmental Science in Svalbard (SESS) report 2021. We show temperature records from five marine observatories located around the fjords of Svalbard – Kongsfjorden (3 observatories), Isfjorden and Rijpfjorden. We have analysed the records from these observatories (the shortest is 5 years, the longest is 18 years) to determine trends in the water temperature. We investigated trends in the warmest part of the year (September to November) and the coldest part (March to May). In those fjords facing west towards the Fram Strait we typically see increasing temperatures, the maximum rate being 1.5°C per decade for the coldest period of the year in Kongsfjorden. This has resulted in much less sea ice in these western fjords. In the far northeast, Rijpfjorden shows no signs of warming at any point in the year. We also investigated the salinity of the bottom water in the outer part of Kongsfjorden and show that the salinity peaks in October and that there is a gradual increase in salinity since 2003 at a rate of 0.1 per decade. Finally, the proportion of Atlantic type water in Kongsfjorden has been very high since 2014.

This is chapter 6 of the State of Environmental Science in Svalbard (SESS) report 2020 (https://sios-svalbard.org/SESS_Issue3). Coastal waters are among the most productive regions in the Arctic. These nearshore waters are critical breeding and foraging grounds for many invertebrates, fish, birds, and marine mammals and provide a host of ecosystem services, from private outdoor activities to large-scale tourism and fisheries. Arctic nature coast types (= coastscapes) and biodiversity are under growing pressure as climate change and human activities increase in the region. More data on the rates of change in the physical, chemical and biological environments in these highly dynamic and heterogeneous coastscapes are urgently needed. Svalbard is warming more rapidly than anywhere else in the Arctic, and the Arctic is warming at 2-3 times the rate of other areas globally. Svalbard experiences steep climate gradients due to being at the interface between warm Atlantic and cold Arctic waters. Warming is creating a huge potential for increased colonisation by boreal species, with potential negative impacts on “native” species assemblages and food webs. Changes in physical drivers and biodiversity patterns must be documented to predict upcoming challenges and opportunities as the Arctic changes. This synopsis is the first joint effort across nations, institutes, and disciplines to address current gaps in knowledge and monitoring of Svalbard’s coast – a result of an international workshop Svalbard Sustainable Coasts in Longyearbyen, February 2020. Another important task of this synthesis work was to look into the applicability of the defined coastscapes and biodiversity tools in the Arctic Coastal Monitoring plan, initiated by the Arctic Council’s Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF, www.caff.is), for Svalbard.&nbsp

This is chapter 4 of the State of Environmental Science in Svalbard (SESS) report 2018 (https://sios-svalbard.org/SESS_Issue1). Many observations around Svalbard have tended to be biased towards summer and autumn and we don't always have a full picture of the annual cycles. However, some marine measurements have been sustained over many years; these are exceptionally valuable, as they enable us to quantify the environmental change. One rich source of data is the network of observatories in the coastal and offshore waters of Svalbard. Some of these observatories have been in operation for more than 15 years with instruments continuously recording data for a variety of parameters. As the data series builds up we reveal both the seasonality of the marine environment and the long term change. The Integrated Marine Observatory Partnership (iMOP) has studied water temperature records from three fjords. Kongsfjorden and Isfjorden are west-facing and influenced by the West Spitsbergen Current, which carries warm Atlantic Water to the Arctic Ocean. Rijpfjorden is north-facing and is influenced by the colder, fresher Arctic waters. The records come from contrasting locations which experience different oceanographic conditions during their seasonal cycles. The west-facing, Atlantic fjords are both warming. Water temperatures are increasing in both the warmest months (September, October and November) and the coldest (March, April and May). The rate of change is up to 2°C per decade for the warmest months and around 1°C per decade for the coldest. The impact of warming means that the fjords experience fewer years where the water cools to the freezing point: this limits the formation of sea ice. The warming is related to both the temperature of the West Spitsbergen Current and the pattern of winds that help drive water towards the coast. In contrast, Rijpfjorden does not show any significant warming and sea ice regularly forms in the fjord.

The purpose of this study is to assess the learning effect of introducing a peer review exercise in a fieldwork based bachelor course where the end product is a written scientific report based on the data sampled during fieldwork. The review exercise was designed to accommodate some learning challenges observed over the years the course has been running and consisted of; first an evaluative judgement of an older student report with a similar topic as they had chosen to work with, and second a presentation of the reviewed report to the co-students in class. Afterwards the students were asked to assess how the review exercise met these challenges by a set of eight reflective statements. The reviews were categorized as balanced, neutral or critical based on the given-comments, and the majority of reviews were in the balanced group. The choice of report to review clearly influenced the type of given-comments. The sparse data in this study based on 20 bachelor students, might indicate that reviewers who provided only critical comments didn’t necessarily find it easier to start writing their own report afterwards. Regardless of types of comments given, the majority of students felt that the review exercise improved their writing competence and the confidence to start writing their own report. Further findings of the study indicate that the students felt that the review exercise made them motivated and engaged for fieldwork and report work, and made them better prepared for fieldwork. The presentations gave them broad comprehension of the different topics and an increased interest for the other students’ topics. More than half of the students found it easier to connect sampled data with lectured theory after doing the review exercise, and felt they had changed an idea they used to have on their subject. The positive feedbacks from the students indicate a gained intrinsic motivation in the students and that they have utilized a high level of cognitive processes during the review exercise. The perception of the experience gained from the review exercise observed by the course responsible corresponded with the findings in the study. According to the course responsible, the average quality of the written reports reflected a higher writing skill and higher-level science in each report than before. The result of this study shows the benefits of introducing peer reviewing in field-based bachelor courses where students have limited experience with fieldwork and in writing scientific reports.

[1] Barotropic instability in the shoreward branch of the West Spitsbergen Current is investigated on the basis of data from an array of current meter moorings along 78.83°N, across the upper continental slope and shelf break west of Svalbard. The slowly varying background current profile is modeled as an along-slope, asymmetric jet anchored to the shelf break. Numerical linear stability analyses are performed on the idealized current profile and topography, revealing the characteristic period, wavelength, and growth rate of unstable vorticity waves. Detailed analysis of the ambient current profile in 2007–2008 shows that unstable conditions are present during ∼40% of the 10 month measurement record, depending on the localization, width, and amplitude of the current jet. The resulting vorticity waves are localized at the shelf break and are able to exchange water masses across the oceanic Arctic front. Typical wavelengths and periods are 20–40 km and 40–70 h, respectively. Wavelet, coherence, and complex demodulation analyses of the current meter data confirm that transient signals of similar periodicity as predicted by the stability analysis exist in the data record, prominently during the winter and spring months. Estimates of the heat loss contribution from isopycnal diffusion reach 1.4 TW during the time intervals when unstable vorticity waves are active at the shelf break, implying that the dynamics of the West Spitsbergen Current play a significant role in the cooling process of the Atlantic water on the way to the Arctic Ocean. This cooling corresponds to an along-shelf cooling rate of −0.08°C per 100 km.