Arctic fjords are social-ecological systems
Glacier fronts and sea ice systems are hotspots of biodiversity. Their retreat will pose threats to Arctic coastal ecosystem function and eventually local livelihoods. The Arctic is a harbinger of the consequences of multiple global and regional environmental change on ecosystems and livelihoods: The overarching objective of FACE-IT is to enable adaptive co-management of social-ecological fjord systems in the Arctic in the face of rapid cryosphere and biodiversity changes.
Check out this video introduction to FACE-IT: The Changing Arctic Fjord Systems
14
International
institutions
7
Unique
sample sites
8
Countries
Latest Updates
FACE-IT insights at the “Fjords in a changing climate” workshop in Stalheim, Norway
June 5, 2025
Sarina Niedzwiedz (University of Bremen) and Tobias Vonnahme (Greenland Institute of Natural Resources) presented FACE-IT results at the "Fjords in a changing climate" workshop in Stalheim, Norway. This interdisciplinary workshop on the physical oceanography, biogeochemistry and biology of fjords in the past, present and future took place from 02 to 05 June 2025.
Cheshtaa Chitkara: Fourth PhD thesis defended within FACE-IT
May 28, 2025
On 28 May 2025, Cheshtaa Chitkara successfully defended her PhD thesis, entitled "Arctic marine microbial eukaryotes–Spatiotemporal drivers of community structure and ecological impacts of Atlantification". Prior to the defense, Cheshtaa presented a trial lecture with the title “Mixotrophy in plankton: ecological concepts and evidence with examples from the Arctic”.
Putting brakes on Expedition Cruise Tourism in Svalbard: exercising power at the expense of legitimacy?
May 25, 2025
Ecosystems in the Arctic are affected by multiple stressors caused by climate and environmental changes, increased pollution and human activities. The changes are unprecedented, with considerable scientific uncertainties over their potential consequences. In such a situation the use of the precautionary principle can be justified in environmental management.
Billefjorden’s benthic biodiversity: the impact of glacier retreat on faunal communities in a high Arctic fjord
May 19, 2025
Glaciers cover approximately 60% of the Svalbard archipelago, but despite extensive research on Svalbard’s glaciers and their retreat, little is known about the effect of glaciers with different termination points on fjordic benthic communities in the Arctic. Billefjorden, Svalbard, includes bays influenced by runoff from inland glaciers and Nordenskiöldbreen, a glacier that, due to retreat, has split into a marine- and a shore-terminating side since 2017.
Changes in the Coastal Wind Field and River Runoff Conditions Expose Kongsfjorden (Svalbard) to the Influence of Atlantic Water
May 8, 2025
Kongsfjorden is located in West Spitsbergen, Svalbard archipelago. Its hydrography is influenced by the West Spitsbergen Current (WSC) transporting warm and saline Atlantic Water (AW) toward the Arctic basin. We assessed changes in fjord water properties over two decades (1999–2020) using summer hydrographic surveys performed by the Norwegian Polar Institute in the fjord, the adjacent shelf, and open ocean regions.
Luisa Düsedau: Third PhD thesis defended within FACE-IT
February 6, 2025
On 06 February 2025, Luisa Düsedau successfully defended her PhD thesis, entitled "Assessment of Macroalgal Biodiversity and Habitat Change in the European Arctic". Luisa worked within the FACE-IT project at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Germany).
Seasonality and interannual variability of an Arctic marine time series, IsA
January 29, 2025
Glacier fronts are hotspots of pelagic productivity due to upwelling of nutrient-rich water. As tidewater glaciers retreat into land, this subglacial circulation will disappear and sedimentation from terrestrial runoff will increase, leading to a decrease in pelagic productivity with a decline in the abundance of fish and zooplankton.
Loss of pelagic fish and zooplankton density associated with subglacial upwelling in high Arctic estuaries may be mitigated by benthic habitat expansion following tidewater glacier retreat
January 23, 2025
Glacier fronts are hotspots of pelagic productivity due to upwelling of nutrient-rich water. As tidewater glaciers retreat into land, this subglacial circulation will disappear and sedimentation from terrestrial runoff will increase, leading to a decrease in pelagic productivity with a decline in the abundance of fish and zooplankton.
Marine heatwaves in the Subarctic and the effect of acute temperature change on the key grazer Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis (Echinoidea, Echinodermata)
December 18, 2024
Subarctic fjord systems are facing a continuous temperature increase as well as more frequent and more intense marine heatwaves (MHWs). MHWs are periods of exceptionally high temperatures above the long-term average. In the Porsangerfjord (Northern Norway), the average water temperature ranges from 2.5°C in March to 10°C in August.