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Description
The Arctic region is extremely sensitive to climate fluctuations, and the trend of air temperature changes is several times higher than the average for other areas of the globe. The current intensification of climate change affects the entire Arctic natural environment, which is reflected in the noticeable glaciers retreat, degradation of permafrost and the disappearance of sea ice. These three factors seem to have the strongest influence on the development of Arctic river deltas, but the scale and course of this interaction have not been thoroughly studied.During SVELTA project, we want to tackle this challenge and answer the question of how the river delta systems in Svalbard Archipelago have responded to the last several decades of accelerated global warming and what might happen in the future when temperatures rise even faster. Using a mosaic of remote sensing methods and geographic information systems in combination with geomorphological mapping and river catchment monitoring, we will describe the current state of deltas supplied with water and sediments by glacier-fed river, snowmelt-fed streams, and rivers draining valley systems controlled by permafrost. Remote sensing data showing delta changes since the end of the Little Ice Age along with the results of seasonal change mapping (2021-2022) will support our work on modeling of Svalbard deltas future reactions and design a new delta landscape model developing in the warmer Arctic scenario. SVELTA will result in the construction of a new research team focused on the processes controlling Svalbard delta evolution by joining leading polar teams from Poland, Czechia, Norway and partners from France and the United States.
Summary of project results
The project focused on describing and explaining the dynamics of coastal areas of Svalbard with special focus on deltas. Deltas represent the most dynamic part of the coastline where the terrestrial material enters the marine shallow environment through fluvial transport. Svalbard, as one of the hotspots of environmental change connected to recent massive climate warming, is expected to show important shifts in sediment transport and its reworking. The project was inspired by a study in Greenland where substantial changes in the coastal zone were detected. We used historic photographs and maps to detect changes throughout the 20th century up to present, but also short-term dynamics detectable by remote sensing applications in the last decade. We also targeted to study intra seasonal dynamics of individual deltas with use of high resolution drone mapping and timelapse recording during the project implementation.
The project has aimed at two major issues: remote sensing analysis and fieldwork. Remote sensing analysis took advantage of availability of numerous historical records to reveal the long-term development of coastal zones especially in connection with retreating marine-terminating glaciers. We also used multispectral imagery to study short-term sediment transport dynamics in a coastal zone of highly glaciated catchments and reveal the intra and inter seasonal variability of sediment input in the fjord system. The fieldwork part of the project aimed at high resolution mapping with use of drones, timelapse cameras and automatic water level monitoring loggers. This was intended to explain the role of extreme events in the overall sediment input in the coastal zone and its reworking during extreme weather events such as storms with high energy waves.
As an output we presented several research articles in prestigious peer reviewed journals and geo-database of high-resolution drone imagery of selected deltas around the Svalbard. These might be used in the future to reveal any changes in spatial distribution of river networks within the deltas, its shoreline position or other terrain alterations.
The project shed light on currently understudied coastal zone processes in the high Arctic region and the interconnections of retreating glaciers and the coastal zone dynamics and its long-term development. These processes and linkages are crucial for local ecosystems as the terrestrial/marine interface is often the hotspot of marine life. This is certainly true for the marine-terminating glaciers with their icebergs and upwelling of nutrient rich meltwater from beneath the glacier terminus. Knowing the past and present dynamics of these crucial zones may help us to protect these sensitive areas in the future. The outcomes can be thus used in the environmental protection policy and decision making.