Hydrophysical characteristics of the northern Norwegian coast and fjords

• Main Author: Mankettikkara, Rahman
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: University of Tromsø 2013
• Subjects: VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Geosciences: 450::Oceanography: 452; VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Geofag: 450::Oseanografi: 452; Arctic; Balsfjord; Malangen; Norway; Orga; Northern Norway
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10037/5426

It is evident that, both due to the large water volumes they hold and that they stretches from coast to inland, it is to be expected that the northern Norwegian fjords plays an important role in a climatic scientific context. Also generally northern regions are considered as a choke point in the regional as well as the global climate. In my opinion it is therefore surprising to find thorough physical oceanographical examinations of these areas are scarce or missing. Since large data sets are compiled in the present thesis, it is my hope that it will contribute and trigger further investigations and interpretations. Due to the large spread of data in time and space, it is clear that my physical oceanographical interpretations are far from comprehensive. The periodic collection of hydrophysical data along the northern Norwegian coast (from Malangen to Porsangerfjord) started in the beginning of the 20th century and some of the oldest stations are still in operation by the “Havmiljødata” sampling programme orga nized by BFE/UIT. One of the the main aims of the current PhD project was to organize and systematize the datasets and analyze for long term trends and also aspects of shorter period variations. The complete database from 1920–2012 has been digitalized and pre sented to the general public and scholars on the website http://purl.org/hmd. The results of the research demonstrates some significant differences in the hydrophysical characteristics between the investigated fjords. There are also hydrographic variations between Inner fjords and Outer fjords. The hydrographic features of the fjords of northern Norway notably differ from the Arctic and Southern ones in many ways. The peak surface temperatures in the northern Norwegian fjords were recorded in July–August whereas the highest bottom temperatures were measured in November–December. In terms of temperature and salinity variations, Balsfjord demonstrates the highest range of temperature and salinity among the fjords, followed by Altafjord. Malangen shows a ...