Isfjorden Marine Observatory Svalbard

During the project Isfjorden Marine Observatory Svalbard (IMOS), Russian, Norwegian and Polish researchers has synthesized previous and new data on hydrography and plankton in Isfjorden to establish a high-Arctic plankton time series with seasonal resolution (winter, spring, summer and autumn). A simple, standard sampling protocol has been agreed upon so any research boat in the Isfjorden can easily collect samples for the IMOS time series. Results from the IMOS project are now in manuscript form and this work will be published in near future to motivate for continuation of this time series among scientists and stakeholders. IMOS data is currently secured in GreenSea's database (http://greenseas.eu/content/greenseasdataportal), and in future IMOS data will be secured in a new data portal that is currently under development at UNIS in close cooperation with SIOS and the larger national program Legacy Nansen. The IMOS project started in 2015 and has collected data minimum four times a year (winter, spring, summer and autumn) using Norwegian (RV Helmer Hanssen, RV Viking Explorer and UNIS Polaris) and Russian (RV Dalnie Zelentsy) ships. We aim for continuing the opportunistic IMOS sampling via regular UNIS student cruises and projects as well as sampling by other scientific ships visiting Isfjorden. The IMOS work has been presented at several conferences and there is an increasing interest in this high-arctic time series with seasonal resolution. So far, historical and recent data collected during the IMOS project have shown that an "Atlantification" is detectable among the protist and zooplankton communities, but that the long-term influence of southern immigrants is limited by the extreme light and thus algal food conditions during the long polar night and especially during the critical winter-spring transition period. Both for protist and zooplankton communities, we register a reset of the community to a more "Arctic" one through the winter transition. Our data show that high-resolution time series are essential to distinguish between natural variability and climate change in Arctic marine ecosystems. In Arctic, the zooplankton community is dominated by the relatively large and fat copepod of the genus Calanus. From our Isfjorden time series we see that the Arctic key zooplankton species Calanus glacialis has increased in number and biomass since 2011. This is somewhat surprising since it is predicted that the North Atlantic Calanus finmarchicus will outcompete C. glacialis as the Arctic is changing to a warmer place.

We aim for long-term synergistic cooperation between Russian and Norwegian scientists working in Svalbard by establishing a joint marine plankton observatory in Isfjorden, where both nations have marine research bases. Isfjorden Marine Observatory Svalbard (IMOS) aim to monitor the long-term dynamics in plankton in relation to sea ice, hydrography and meteorology in Isfjorden to study the impacts of climate change at the base of the Arctic marine food web. Our main objective is to initiate a high-Arctic time series which not only cover annual variation, but also capture seasonal dynamics. Such a long-term data series from the high-Arctic is currently none- existing due to logistical constrains. In Isfjorden at 78°N, however, with Barentsburg located close to the mouth of Isfjorden, Longyearbyen in the middle and Pyramiden in the innermost part of the fjord system in Billefjorden, we have the ability to sample regularly with relatively low costs and effort. Permanent settlements with marine infrastructure such as boats, sample equipment and laboratories are important factors for this proposed marine observatory to be established and successfully continued for decades. At present >15 years of plankton data from Isfjorden exist. These historical data will jump-start this Norwegian-Russian initiative to establish a long-term plankton database from Isfjorden. Through a close cooperation with SIOS, we will develop and execute a plan to ensure that the data gathered through this and other related projects are stored, managed and made available to the scientific community and stakeholders. In the RiS database we will place a link to all historical and new metadata from Isfjorden.