Sea surface temperature (SST) data were taken from http://iridl.ldeo.columbia.edu/ and averaged over the Bear Island – Svalbard area (74-79ºN, 08-25ºE), central (71-74ºN, 20-40ºE) and southeastern Barents Sea (69-73ºN, 42-55ºE). The SST shows much of the same variations as the air temperatures. During winter, over most of the Barents Sea, SST was higher-than-normal, with maximum anomalies of 1.2-1.4...

The temperature and the volume flux of the inflowing Atlantic Water in the Fugløya-Bear Island Section do not always vary in phase. The temperature is mainly determined by variations upstream in the Norwegian Sea, while the volume flux to a large degree varies with the wind conditions in the western Barents Sea. The volume flux varies with periods of several years, and was significantly lower duri...

Throughout most of the year of 2008, the sea ice extent was less than normal, but more than in 2007. In comparison with the previous year, the ice coverage (expressed as a percentage of the sea area) was 2-6 % more in January-March and twice as much by June. In May, a polynya started to form south of the Franz Josef Land archipelago and in July the ice massif was finally broken. Come September, th...

Since 2002, there has been a gradual increase in oxygen saturation of the bottom layers in the southern Barents Sea, – and this continued in 2008. The oxygen saturation anomaly in the bottom layer was 0.65 % during the first nine months of 2008, while during the same period in 2007 the anomaly was 0.14 % (Figure 4.2.13).