The state
The distinctive feature of the atmospheric circulation was an intensification of the Arctic anticyclone during spring and summer, which caused a southward shift of Atlantic cyclone tracks and prevalence of northerly and easterly winds over the Barents Sea.
The Atlantic Water temperature was higher than the average throughout the year of 2008, but colder than in the previous two years. The positive temperature anomalies gradually decreased from January-March to August-September, and then increased again during the autumn.
Several species of bottom dwellers are found anchored or crawling on the sea bottom, or living in between already existing communities of benthic animals creating a multi-species habitat. By-catch in bottom trawl indicates that the current distribution of megabenthos in the Barents Sea is highly variable from area to area, with “hot spots” at the Tromsø Flake (mainly sponges), on the Spitsbergen B...
Altogether 15 species of seabirds were monitored in 2008 at 18 different locations in the western and southern Barents Sea and the White Sea. The 2008 season was characterized by decrease in the breeding populations of several species in the western Barents Sea, especially along the mainland coast of Norway, from Nordkapp and westwards.
