Seasonality of metals in Kongsfjorden zooplankton

Arctic glaciers have been particularly impacted by climate change, with increasing melt and retreat in conjunction with shifts in freshwater and sediment releases. Arctic fjords are the ultimate recipients of glacial releases and a plethora of heavy metals released from glacial environments. In fact, elevated concentrations of heavy metals have been found in coastal marine biota in Svalbard (Norway). However, there is currently very poor understanding of the fate and availability of heavy metals in downstream ecosystems, undergoing rapid change. The proposed project will significantly extend the end-to-end framework of the ongoing METALLICA project (MEltwater release of heavy meTALs from gLacIer to ocean in a Changing Arctic), which provides trans-disciplinary and integrated understanding of glacial drivers, transport pathways and impacts of heavy metals on the marine Kongsfjorden ecosystem, a well-recognized Natural Climate Change Laboratory. In 2024, an extensive field campaign was conducted, focusing mainly on fjord transect sampling and taking some seasonality into account (i.e., from April to August). Currently, the International Kongsfjorden Year provides a unique opportunity to pivot this focus and endeavour, for the first time, a seasonal focus on the availability of toxic metals in marine organisms, not only during the productive spring and summer season, but throughout an entire year, and hence during the poorly-documented polar night.