Kongsfjord, Spitzbergen
Spitsbergen is the largest island in the Svalbard archipelago, the area of which covers around 62,500km2. The climate here is strongly influenced by two oceanic currents: The West Spitsbergen Current (the Northernmost branch of the Gulf Stream) and the East Greenland Current (branching off the Norwegian Atlantic Current) The WSC carries warm, salty water into the interior Arctic. The cooler EGC carries pack ice as it flows, making the Fram Strait the northernmost ocean area having ice-free conditions throughout the year in all of the global ocean Read more about global change in Polar Regions.
Year: 2015
From album: Sea Ice, Icebergs, Glaciers, Snow and Permafrost in the Arctic Region
Photographer: Peter Prokosch