Environmental Monitoring in the Kapp Linné-Grønfjorden Region

This is chapter 3 of the State of Environmental Science in Svalbard (SESS) report 2019 (https://sios-svalbard.org/SESS_Issue2).

The Kapp Linné–Grønfjorden region is an ideal and strategic location for an interdisciplinary long-term environmental observatory in the coastal region of western Spitsbergen at the mouth of Isfjorden. The regional climate is greatly influenced by its maritime setting with higher mean annual air temperature and greater precipitation than the more continental interior regime in central Spitsbergen. With the recent intensified Atlantification of the northern Barents Sea, environmental monitoring studies along the west Spitsbergen coast may serve as an early warning system in a changing climate.

The Kapp Linné Environmental Observatory (KLEO) was formulated as an international collaborative site within the Svalbard Integrated Arctic Earth Observing System (SIOS) as a regional centre with a research focus on hydroclimate, snow and ice cover, permafrost, ecology and paleoclimate. KLEO research sites extend from the west coast of Spitsbergen at the mouth of Isfjorden, to the eastern shore of Grønfjord.

The Kapp Linné Environmental Observatory provides an ideal training ground for the next generation of arctic scientists who will take on the challenges of the 21st century. The proximity to the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS) and the AARI Barentsburg Research Station provides a highly motivated and well-trained workforce for addressing critically important environmental research issues.