The optical properties of greenlandic coastal waters: Modelling light penetration in a changing climate

• Main Authors: Stedmon, Colin, Markager, S.S., Pedersen, T.J., Sejr, M.K.
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English
• Published: 2012
• Subjects: /dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/life_below_water; SDG 14 - Life Below Water; /dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/life_on_land; SDG 15 - Life on Land; Arctic; Arctic Ocean; Greenland; Godthåbsfjord; greenlandic; Phytoplankton; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://orbit.dtu.dk/en/publications/2b3d2612-dee6-4b11-8f9a-770ebecb7751; http://www.sgmeet.com/osm2012/viewabstract2.asp?AbstractID=10913

Greenlandic fjords are very productive and pristine ecosystems, which the local population is both intrinsically linked to and dependent on through heritage, industrial fisheries, and tourism. The availability and spectral quality of light are key parameters controlling the productivity of these waters. Although solar elevation and sea ice cover play an important role, during the summer month’s light is also regulated by water constituents such as dissolved and particulate organic matter, phytoplankton and suspended sediments. The relative importance of each of these constituents varies depending on the influence of shelf water entering the fjords, extent of glacial ice melt and the size and vertical distribution of the phytoplankton biomass. In this study the data from two contrasting sites are compared: Young Sound, a fjord system in Northeast Greenland that imports shelf waters with a considerable amount of terrestrial dissolved organic matter (DOM) from the Arctic Ocean; and Godthåbsfjord a fjord in Southwest Greenland where strong tides ensure a regular supply of warm shelf water which melt glacial ice before it can leave the fjord