Physical oceanography

Akvaplan-niva efforts are directed at understanding physical forcing mechanisms and their role in modulating arctic marine ecosystems. Topical areas are:

• Physical processes affecting marine ecosystem dynamics
• Continental shelf, fjords and coastal waters of Northern Norway, Svalbard and the Barents Sea
• Field oceanographic investigations and numerical modelling

Our research activities address physical oceanographic processes that affect marine biological production on lower trophic levels and ecosystem dynamics. Marine organisms, especially plankton, fish eggs and larvae, are passively dispersed by ocean currents, and variability in biological production can often be linked to changes in the physical environment. Ocean climate variability affects growth, reproduction and mortality of zooplankton and thus has impacts on ecosystem productivity, diversity and efficiency. Our main interests are to investigate mesoscale processes induced by complex topography (upwelling, downwelling, eddies, frontal instabilities etc.), as well as how the overall circulation patterns and ocean climate in the Barents Sea distributes the different zooplankton species.

Project Highlights

• Arctic Calanus in the Barents Sea ecosystems
• Dynamic forcing of biological production around canyons
• Wind-driven circulation in Van Mijenfjorden, West Spitsbergen

Main collaborators

• Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA)
• Norwegian Technical University (SINTEF)
• Geophysical Institute, University of Bergen (GFI)
• Norwegian College of Fisheries Sciences, University of Tromsø (NFH)
• The University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS)
• ARCTOS Network

Contact:

• Øyvind Leikvin
• Jofrid Skardhamar

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