The Optimisation of the Kongsfjorden Rijpfjorden Observatory Program
One of the longest marine time series in Arctic waters is the Kongsfjorden Rijpfjorden Observatory Program (KROP), established by UiT, UNIS and SAMS. KROP has been monitoring the marine environment in the Atlantic-influenced Kongsfjorden and the Arctic Rijpfjorden for almost 20 years by maintaining an underwater observatory in both fjords. OpKROP will enable us to synthesize and assess the data collected by KROP to document physical changes and biological response in the two contrasting fjords to gain new insights into the drivers and effects of Atlantification on fjord hydrography, community structure, zooplankton behaviour, and vertical flux. We will also conduct new comprehensive surveys of Kongsfjorden using UiTs unmanned surface vehicle. Combining historical data with new observations will result in a detailed understanding of these fjords as it relates to Atlantification. OpKROP will determine if the processes observed in Svalbard fjords are representative of all fjords, the Svalbard region, and the larger Arctic Ocean. Furthermore, OpKROP will to develop sound, reproducible protocols and a detailed data management plan and develop a long-term plan to ensure the continuation of this valuable time series.
The project is led by Malin Daase, UiT The Arctic University of Norway / UNIS The University Centre in Svalbard.
We are back in Ny-Ålesund for the fourth field campaign this year.
Read more in our field blog
At the end of August we had the opportunity to go to Kongsfjorden for a few days with UiTs research vessel Helmer Hanssen. The main purpose was to recover the last ExFOBB mooring outside Kongsfjorden and to re-deploy the main KROP mooring. And since we had the time we also sampled zooplankton and took water samples at our main transect station where we sampled during our Ny-Ålesund campaign. We were a small group of three technicians, 2 researchers and 3 students, but everything is more efficient with a big boat, and we got everything done in just two days while enjoying lovely weather in Kongsfjorden.
A lovely evening to deploy a mooring. Conditions could not be better.
Our main moorings in Kongsfjorden and Rijpfjorden have been recovered this week during a cruise with Helmer Hanssen. After standing in the fjords for a year, all instruments could be recovered and it looks like most of them worked as intended! Hurray! Only the sediment trap in Kongsfjorden did not work optimal as the funnel was completely clogged with sediments, and no samples were collected from the end of May until recovery.
Daniel, our mooring technician, also managed to recover one of the additional moorings that was deployed further out in Kongsfjorden in connection with the International Kongsfjorden Year (2024-2025). The weather was too bad to recover the third mooring in Kongsfjorden, but we will make a new attempt at the end of the week when we are back in Kongsfjorden and will deploy the main Kongsfjorden mooring again. The mooring in Rijpfjorden was serviced and the instruments were deployed again right away.
Seasonal changes in fluorescences, light, salinity and water temperature in Kongsfjorden (upper graph) and Rijpfjorden (lower graph) from September 2024 to August 2025. The figures clearly show the temperature differences in both fjords (overall warmer in Kongsfjorden; long period of sub-zero temperatures in Rijpfjorden from December to June). The fluorescence shows the differences in the timing of the spring bloom as the peak occurs ca 2 month later in Rijpfjorden.
Note that these are preliminary data! The PAR and fluorescence sensor are not reliable after the onset of the bloom (biofouling)
Interannual variability in water temperature in Kongsfjorden (left) and Rijpfjorden (right) from October 2022 to August 2025.
2024 was a relative warm autumn in both fjords compared to the previous years. Preliminary data, not quality controlled!
We are back in Ny-Ålesund for the third field campaign.
Read more in our field blog
17-31 March we conducted the second of 4 seasonal surveys in Kongsfjorden. Based in Ny-Ålesund, we used UiTs unmanned surface vehicle “Apherusa” and Kings Bay’s small vessel “Teisten” to document the distribution of zooplankton and fish between the mooring site and the inner part of Kongsfjorden in relation to environmental parameters. The second campaign was timed to coincide with the spring equinox with at special focus on it’s effect on zooplankton behaviour.
Read more in our field blog
6-20 January we conducted the first of 4 seasonal surveys in Kongsfjorden. Based in Ny-Ålesund, we used UiTs unmanned surface vehicle “Apherusa” to document the distribution of zooplankton and fish between the mooring site and the inner part of Kongsfjorden. At the same time we measured optical properties of the water column and sampled zooplankton using Kings Bay’s small vessel “Teisten”.
Read more in our field blog
2024 had its challenges for some in the OpKROP Team, but overall we did achieve a lot in OPKROP
In June 2024 we had our first OpKROP field campaign in Kongsfjorden
While moored instruments generally provide data with very high temporal resolution, they only measure at one point in space. But how representative are these point measurements of the wider fjord system? To address this questions, we will have four dedicated seasonal surveys in 2025 with an unmanned surface vehicle in Kongsfjorden. The USV will conduct continuous sampling of the acoustics and periodic station profiling, extending form the mooring site to the inner fjord. These surveys will extend the geographical coverage of biological and biogeochemical observations by the mooring and provide first-of-their-kind data from the glacier front, a habitat that has until recently been inaccessible for scientific investigations because of safety regulations related to the use of a manned sampling platform. While the main surveys are planned for 2025, in June 2024 we had the opportunity to use UiT’s research vessel Helmer Hanssen to conduct a first field campaign in Kongsfjorden. We were super lucky with the weather, and managed not only to conduct USV surveys at the mooring site and at two of the glacier fronts, but we also serviced the two additional moorings we have currently placed in Kongsfjorden in collaboration with colleagues from the Norwegian Polar Institute and from AWI, conducted a CTD transect, took water and plankton samples and trawl for fish. In addition, we managed to take samples at long term stations in Isfjorden. All within 5 days!
In September 2024, we went again out with Helmer Hanssen, this time to recover and re-deploy the moorings in both Kongsfjorden and Rijpfjorden. Everything went smoothly, and the data showed a cold winter but warm summer in both fjords
In November, all oceanographic data from 2002-2024 from both Konsgjforden and Rijpfjorden (since 2006) had finally been publsihed in its entirety on our data portal! Hurra!