Comparison of meteorological conditions in Svalbard fjords: Hornsund and Kongsfjorden

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a comparison of basic meteorological parameters in two Arctic fjords situated on the west coast of Spitsbergen, the main island of the Svalbard archipelago. Air temperature, wind speed and direction, humidity and cloud cover from the period 2005 to 2016 are described and compared with previous (from 1975) analyses of meteorological conditions in the investigated region. Such a choice of dates coincides with the time the GAME project measurements were carried out. The main goal of this study was to compare meteorological conditions in two fjords: Hornsund and Kongsfjorden, during the time of rapid climate changes. The results are collated with research results available in literature from previous years. We discovered that in the investigated period the climate of the Hornsund region is more oceanic than in Kongsfjorden. The stable level of the difference in climate elements is manifested and is evident mainly through greater amplitudes in air temperatures in Kongsfjorden, and in stronger winds in Hornsund.

Keywords

• Arctic meteorology
• GAME
• Svalbard