Suspended and solute transport in a small glaciated catchment Bertram River, Central Spitsbergen, in 2005–2006

Abstract

The paper presents data on hydrochemistry and suspended sediment dynamics from a small glaciated catchment in Svalbard. Such catchments, formerly omitted and neglected in investigations of polar and high-mountain geo-ecosystems, have become an important subject of environmental research in recent years. High sensitivity to global warming, relative ease of taking measurements, the variety of locations, and further possibilities of modelling, make the catchments important sites for studying glaciological, hydrological and geomorphological processes. Hydrochemical data from seasonal observations and complementary 24-hour measurements, together with detailed geomorphological mapping of river channels and their surroundings, served as a basis for scientific description of the conditioning of seasonal and diurnal variations in suspended and solute matter transport in a small High Arctic catchment. Bertram River is distinguished by a system of waterfalls which divides the 4.9 km² catchment in two parts: an upper glaciated part located on mountainous plateau, and a lower part where an abraided plain has been formed within the bottom of the Ebba River valley. On the basis of observations it is concluded that a particular role in the conditioning of glaciofluvial transport was played by an extreme weather event in the form of föhn-type wind, observed in the decline of ablation season and also by waterfalls which diversified the fluvial activity.

Keywords:

• glaciated catchment
• glaciofluvial transport
• High Arctic river systems
• hydrochemistry
• Spitsbergen

Acknowledgements

This work was funded by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education (grant no. PBZ-KBN-108/PO4/2004). Parts of this paper are based on material previously presented in my MSc thesis, which was supervised by Professor Andrzej Kostrzewski. I would like to thank Dr Grzegorz Rachlewicz and Dr Zbigniew Zwoliński for inspiration and support during two seasons of research and preparation for my thesis. I am grateful to Professor Andrzej Kostrzewski for inviting me to become a member of UAM expeditions and for discussions on glacifluvial matters. I also thank Marlena Makowska, an irreplaceable colleague during long and cold hours of fieldwork. Thanks also are due to all participants of the I.A.G./A.I.G. Regional Conference on Geomorphology ‘Geodiversity of Polar Landforms’, Longyearbyen, 1–5 August 2007, for interesting comments, and also one reviewer who provided constructive criticism of the ideas presented in this paper.

Notes

1. The analysed area of glaciated catchment, closed by a gauging station, was equal 4.9 km². The total catchment area was c.7.0 km²

2. Observations in the 2005 season lasted 67 days. Unfortunately a 3-day break was necessary due to an unexpected visit by a polar bear