ARCTIC

Arctic Research Consortium of the United States Member Institution Winter 2000/2001

Arctic Research at the Norwegian Polar Institute

he Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI) University of California, San Diego. The Tis Norway’s principal organization Institute’s current director is Olav for research, environmental monitoring, Orheim. Orheim chairs the Committee and mapping in the polar regions of both for Environmental Protection under the hemispheres. The Institute also advises Antarctic Treaty and is an executive of Norwegian authorities on matters con- the European Polar Board. cerning polar environmental management. NPI is comprised of three departments: NPI is a directorate under the auspices • Research (with a staff of 45), of Norway’s Ministry of Environment. • Environmental Management, and It was established in 1928 on the heels of • Administration and Logistics. Norway’s Svalbard and Arctic Ocean Sur- An Information Unit publishes the peer- vey. The esteemed oceanographer Harald reviewed, multidisciplinary journal Polar Ulrik Sverdrup served as the Institute’s Research, and a Svalbard Unit based in first director. Sverdrup had taken part in Longyearbyen provides logistical support several arctic expeditions and had been in for fieldwork and conducts year-round charge of the scientific work during Roald environmental monitoring (see Witness Amundsen’s Maud expedition (1918-25). Autumn 1998). From 1926-28, he was director of Scripps In 1998, after 70 years in Oslo, NPI Institution of Oceanography in California moved north of the Arctic Circle to the Stas Belikov (All-Russian Research Institute for Nature and a professor of oceanography at the coastal city of Tromsø, known as the Conservation) and Andrew Derocher (Norwegian Polar Gateway to the Arctic. The site of the Institute) deploy a satellite telemetry collar on a female University of Tromsø, the city’s well- polar bear. This work was part of the Norwegian- Russian polar bear project conducted in 1997 and 1998 developed infrastructure, extensive facili- to study population boundaries, habitat use, and ties, and local research community offer contaminant loads of polar bears in the Barents Sea exceptional opportunities for arctic (photo by Stig Nilssen). research. The new Polar Environmental Centre customized for navigation in icy condi- houses NPI’s headquarters and other insti- tions. Available for lease during portions tutions that offer polar research and advi- of each year, Lance can accommodate up sory services; several of these institutions to 24 scientists and has laboratories and cooperate on projects with partner organi- a helicopter landing platform. zations in northwestern Russia. The Cen- tre hosts many national and international Research Programs scientific conferences and workshops. NPI research activities are organized in NPI runs research stations in Ny- five interdisciplinary Research Programs. Spitsbergen is the largest island in the Svalbard Ålesund, Svalbard (see page 4 andWitness A brief presentation of these programs and Archipelago, which lies half-way between Tromsø and Autumn 1998) and operates expeditions some of the individual projects within the North Pole. The Svalbard Treaty of 1920 gave sovereignty over the islands to Norway (map prepared by to Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica. The them follows. the Norwegian Polar Institute). NPI’s research vessel Lance has been

Published by the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States • 3535 College Road • Suite 101 • Fairbanks, AK 99709 1 Norwegian Polar Institute: ARCUS Member Institution

The Polar Climate Program

he Polar Climate Program, led by Jan-Gunnar Winther, encompasses Mass Balance Measurements Tstudies of: Since 1966, NPI has been monitoring • ocean fluxes of heat, mass, and salt in Fram Strait and the Barents Sea; the mass balance of two in the • atmosphere–sea-ice–ocean interactions in the marginal ice zone; Kongsfjorden area of northwestern • sea-ice coverage and thickness; Spitsbergen—Austre Brøggerbreen and • paleoclimatic archives (including marine sediment and ice cores in the Arctic and Midtre Lovénbreen. Jack Kohler is cur- Antarctica); and rently responsible for collecting these data, • research on radiation, mass balance, and snow distribution in Svalbard. which constitute the longest continuous With its interdisciplinary expertise in polar research, NPI also contributes to the mass balance series from the Arctic. The development of regional climate models. mass balance of both glaciers has decreased The overarching goals of the Polar Climate Program are: approximately 10% since the beginning of • to contribute to the worldwide search for an understanding of record keeping. While the winter balance by considering climate variability and feedbacks in the sea-ice–land–ocean–atmosphere has been stable, summer has been system in the polar regions; widely variable. Neither winter precipita- • to assess the system’s sensitivity to disturbances; and tion or summer melting exhibit trends. • to analyze the consequences of a changing climate. Kongsvegen, a larger, -type glacier in the same area, spans a higher elevation Nordic Sea-Ice Extent and Sea-Surface Temperatures interval than the two other glaciers. This project, led by Torgny Vinje, before 1900. While there is a strong nega- Monitoring since 1986 indicates a small investigates changes in sea-ice extent and tive correlation between the North Atlan- positive balance, attributable to the sea-surface temperature in the Nordic seas tic Oscillation (NAO; see Witness Spring/ higher elevation. through analysis of March-September ship Autumn 1999) winter index and the logs, mostly of sealers (1860-present) and extent of ice in the Nordic seas in April, Reconstruction of Decadal-Scale Norwegian Meteorological Institute the correlation is positive for the Sea-Surface Temperature (SST) satellite images (1966-present). Newfoundland-Labrador Sea. Large-scale Variability During the Late Holocene The first survey shows that the extent atmospheric circulation processes, which Project researchers headed by Nalân of ice in April has decreased by approxi- have a seesaw effect on sea-ice extent and Koç are analyzing sediment cores retrieved mately 33% during the past 135 years. temperatures east and west of Greenland, during the International Marine Past Nearly half of this reduction took place extend back at least 135 years. Global Changes Study (IMAGES) cruise in August 1999, to elucidate the variability ENVISAT MERIS and ASAR for Snow and Glacier Ice Studies of the Nordic heat pump on a NAO time The main objectives of this pilot study, Project researchers are studying glacier resolution during the late Holocene. conducted by Max König, are: characteristics, focusing on glacier mass Reconstructions of Holocene paleo- • to explore how the coming ENVISAT balance estimation in Svalbard using sea-surface temperatures are based on MERIS and ASAR satellite instruments satellite imagery and investigating how diatom assemblage studies of selected can be used for cryosphere studies, ENVISAT MERIS and ASAR sensors can sediment cores. Results show that, during including how snow and glaciers be used to identify and equilibrium the past 3,000 years, SSTs varied 1-2° on respond to climate change; and lines, superimposed ice zones, and glacier time scales of less than 100 years. There is • to develop algorithms that improve facies. Other topics under investigation clear evidence of Holocene climatic events present environmental monitoring concern the remote sensing of snow such as the and the Medieval programs in the Arctic. distribution and albedo in Svalbard. Warm Period.

Ice Core Studies Polar Climate Monitoring Programs Elisabeth Isaksson carries out research back in time. In 1998 and 1999, two NPI Polar Climate Monitoring Pro- on ice cores taken from Svalbard glaciers. ice cores were drilled from the top of grams collect data in collaboration with In collaboration with several European Austfonna (740 m asl), in collaboration national and international institutions countries, a 120-m was retrieved with Japan’s National Institute of Polar under research initiatives such as the from Lomonosovfonna (1230 m above sea Research. The longest core is 299 m and Arctic Ice Thickness Measurement level [asl]) in 1997. The core dates back to dates back to approximately AD 1200. Programme (AITMP), Arctic Climate AD 1100. Temporal variations in the ice All of these cores suggest that the System Study (ACSYS), Variability of core’s record seem to agree with 20th Cen- 1900s have been the warmest century Exchanges in the Northern Seas (VEINS), tury climate and environmental records on in the past 800 years. They also provide European Subpolar Ocean Programme decadal scales; the cores are therefore interesting records of anthropogenic 1 and 2 (ESOP 1-2), and the Filchner- believed to provide reliable data further pollution in this part of the Arctic. Ronne Ice Shelf Programme (FRISP). 2 Arctic Research Consortium of the United States

The Marine Ecology Program

PI’s Marine Ecology Program is designed to provide sound scientific advice to Nor- Population Studies and Feeding Ecology Nwegian and international agencies responsible for resource management and conser- of Seabirds on Bjørnøya (Bear Island) vation issues in the polar regions. The program is directed by Kit M. Kovacs. The research This long-term project, initiated in staff studies the population dynamics and ecology of a wide variety of arctic and Antarctic 1986 and currently conducted by Hallvard animals, with a strong emphasis on seabirds and sea mammals. The Marine Ecology group Strøm, monitors population size, survival collaborates with other researchers to explore how factors such as sea-ice distribution, rate, diet, and other parameters of selected freshwater influxes, sedimentation rates, and water mass properties affect these animals seabird species (i.e., thick-billed murre, via impacts on their prey. common murre, black-legged kittiwake, northern fulmar, glaucous gull) on an The White Whale Project annual basis. NPI research scientist Christian Studies of pollution levels and diet Between 1986 and 1987, the common Lydersen initiated the first scientific study indicate that contaminant loads in white murre population declined approximately of white whales (belugas) in Norwegian whales from Svalbard are similar to those 85%. While there has been some recovery waters in 1995. In collaboration with the in the Canadian Arctic; PCBs and DDT since then, numbers are still less than half United Kingdom’s Sea Mammal Research compounds are the dominant organochlo- of the 1986 level. Collapse of the capelin Unit, satellite tags have been deployed to rines found in the blubber. Fatty-acid stock is thought to be the main reason for study distribution, seasonal movements, profiling suggests that the whales feed on the decline. While adult survival rates for and diving behavior. White whales in the many small, schooling fishes (e.g., polar both murre species have been high during Svalbard Archipelago rarely travel offshore cod, capelin). Collaborative studies with the 1990s, the survival rate of the thick- more than a few kilometers, spending scientists from the United States, Green- billed murre has been somewhat lower most of their time in areas where glacier land, and Russia are addressing vocal than that of the common murre; the dif- fronts meet the ocean. They appear to be behavior, molecular genetics, and the ference is likely due to extensive winter year-round residents and may constitute a stock identities of white whale in the hunting of thick-billed murres off the distinct local population. northeastern Atlantic. southwestern coast of Greenland.

The Ecotoxicology Program

he overall objective of the Ecotoxicology Program is to gather knowledge that will Immune Response and Chlorinated Timprove understanding of sources and biological effects of contaminants in the Euro- Environmental Pollutants in Polar Bears pean Arctic. The emphasis is on persistent organic pollutants (POPs). A central task is the This interdisciplinary study, launched establishment and development of a POP monitoring program in the Norwegian Arctic. in 1997, is designed to provide definitive The program is supervised by Geir W. Gabrielsen. answers on the likelihood that persistent organic pollutants affect immune function Persistant Organic Pollutants in Marine Organisms in the Marginal Ice Zone in polar bears and the possible mechanisms in the Barents Sea: Bioconcentration and Biomagnification by which this can occur. Under the direc- Under Gabrielsen’s direction, Katrine pesticide HCHs, also varied spatially, with tion of Andrew Derocher, researchers from Borgå is investigating the occurrence of higher levels found in organisms from Norway and have developed a organochlorines in pelagic and ice- Fram Strait and the Greenland Sea, and good methodology for: associated crustaceans in the marginal ice lower levels in those collected in the • assessing immune function under zone north of Svalbard and in Fram Strait. marginal ice zone north of Svalbard. Back field conditions; Analysis of amphipods collected during trajectories indicate that the sea ice at the • measuring cell-mediated immunity cruises in 1998 and 1999 showed that sampling stations has a different drift to microbes; and concentrations of polychlorinated biphe- route, and that the elevated HCH concen- • testing how environmental pollutants, nyls (PCBs), DDTs, chlordanes, hexa- trations in ice fauna in Fram Strait corre- infections, nutritional factors, hormone chlorobenzene (HCB), and hexachloro- spond to elevated HCH concentrations in levels, starvation, and stress may cyclohexanes (HCHs) were generally low the surface water of the central Arctic influence lymphocyte function. (1-300 ng/g lipid weight). Levels Ocean. Ongoing analysis of the samples The study has demonstrated that high increased from the more herbivorous relates organochlorine levels to the species’ PCB exposure in polar bears can impair species (Apherusa glacialis) to the more diet and position in the food chain, to lymphocyte function, IgG concentration, carnivorous (Gammarus wilkitzkii) and their pelagic or ice habitats, and to the and the ability to produce antibodies necrophagous species (Onisimus spp.). transport routes of toxins. following vaccination of the bears with Organochlorine occurrence, especially the certain microbes. 3 Norwegian Polar Institute: ARCUS Member Institution

The Geological Mapping Program

PI is the Norwegian national map- tions. The program elucidates important • depositional development and Nping authority, including noncom- gaps in regional geological knowledge and stratigraphic correlation of the mercial geological surveying, for the polar stimulates other research projects by Devonian molasse sediment; areas. Geological map data are collected addressing relevant scientific problems. • petrology and tectonometamorphic during field expeditions and through Winfried Dallmann is the program leader. development of the Precambrian cooperation with international research Since 1994, work has concentrated on basement; and groups. Maps are stored in a Geographical Precambrian and Devonian terrains of • a comprehensive isotopic age Information System (GIS) for Svalbard northern Spitsbergen. Projects address: determination project of the and published with extensive area descrip- • post-Cambrian tectonic evolution; basement rocks.

The Terrestrial Ecology Program

PI’s Terrestrial Ecology Program focuses on Svalbard birds and mammals N(e.g., Svalbard ptarmigan, arctic fox, reindeer), vegetation, and the causes of change in ecological systems. The program is led by Andrew Derocher.

Environmental Stochasticity and Plant-Reindeer Interactions The aim of this project, begun in • increased frequency of low atmospheric For more information about the 1998, is to evaluate the interaction pressure during summer is associated Norwegian Polar Institute, contact: between a Svalbard reindeer population with decreased temperatures during and vegetation, and the potential impacts parts of the growing season, reducing Gunn Sissel Jaklin of climate change, including stochastic plant growth in the area and, hence, Head of Information variability, on this interaction. Data col- reindeer food supply. Norwegian Polar Institute lected by Elisabeth J. Cooper and Ph.D. In collaboration with geophysicists at NPI, N-9296 Tromsø, Norway student Ronny Aanes suggest that the the project group aims to develop a model Phone: +47/7775-0640 observed regional climate change nega- to predict the frequency of icing during Fax: +47/7775-0501 tively affects the growth rate of the rein- warmer winters. The project is undertaken [email protected] deer population through two mechanisms: in cooperation with the Norwegian Uni- www.npolar.no • warmer winters bring more snow (mak- versity of Science and Technology and ing it harder for reindeer to feed); and Sweden’s University of Uppsala.

Ny-Ålesund: A Far Northern Research Base

ith many key arctic system compo- staff maintains equipment, provides logis- The Ny-Ålesund Large Scale Facility Wnents (e.g., permafrost, glaciers, tic support, and equips and advises field (LSF), financed by the European Union, human settlements), Svalbard has been the parties. Sverdrup Research Station is one is a collaboration between the NPI, the base of extensive research in the fields of of approximately 20 member institutions Norwegian Institute for Air Research, snow hydrology, biology, , and research facilities involved in the the Norwegian Mapping Authority, atmospheric science, and oceanography. European Network for Arctic-Alpine Germany’s Alfred Wegener Institute, Located just shy of 79°N, Ny-Ålesund Multi-disciplinary Environmental and the British Natural Environmental has evolved from a mining community to Research (ENVINET). Joint scientific and Research Council. Japan, France, and Italy become a European center for year-round technical studies address climate change, also have research bases in the village. arctic environmental research, served by ozone and UV radiation, long-range A new arctic marine laboratory, to be commercial air service and a modern har- transport of pollutants, and biodiversity. established in Ny-Ålesund in 2001, will be bor. The surrounding area includes a vari- At the Institute’s Zeppelin Station for the northernmost marine lab in the world ety of marine and terrestrial environments. Atmospheric Monitoring and Research, and the most accessible marine lab in the Opened in 1999, the Sverdrup monitoring and research programs address Arctic. Participating institutions are Research Station is NPI’s base in Ny- climate change, arctic stratospheric ozone represented by the Marine Lab Project Ålesund and is available to the interna- layer depletion, air pollution, and Group, chaired by NPI research scientist tional research community. A permanent distribution of radioactive contaminants. Haakon Hop. 4