Science and earth science

Polish Polar Research

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Polish Polar Research | 2023 | vol. 44 | No 3 : Special Issue to celebrate 50 years anniversary of Stanislaw Baranowski Polar Station in Spitsbergen: Part 2

Authors and Affiliations

Mateusz C. Strzelecki
1
ORCID: ORCID
Marek Kasprzak
1
ORCID: ORCID
Piotr Owczarek
1
ORCID: ORCID
Łukasz Stachnik
1
ORCID: ORCID

  1. Alfred Jahn Cold Regions Research Centre, Institute of Geography and Regional Development, University of Wroclaw, pl. Uniwersytecki 1, 50-137 Wroclaw, Poland
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Abstract

Small Arctic catchments that are sensitive to climate change reinforced by Arctic amplification remain poorly studied. Since the end of the Little Ice Age (LIA) glaciers on Svalbard have been retreating, and thus, many catchments have transformed from glaciated or partly glaciated to ice-free conditions. Our study focuses on changes that have occurred since the end of the LIA in a small High Arctic mountain catchment, Bratteggdalen. In this study, we traced changes in the Bratteggbreen glacier areal extent since 1976 with parallel vegetation analysis using Landsat and Sentinel data. The geomorphology of Bratteggdalen was mapped and basic morphometric analyses, such as long profile, hypsometric curve, slope and aspect orientation analyses were carried out. We also present a map of landforms in Bratteggdalen based on a fieldwork in 2018 and an analysis of orthophotomaps. Through this research, we enhance the knowledge of small catchments in polar regions.
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Authors and Affiliations

Aleksandra Wołoszyn
1
ORCID: ORCID
Marek Kasprzak
1
ORCID: ORCID

  1. Institute of Geography and Regional Development, University of Wrocław, pl. Uniwersytecki 1, 50-137 Wrocław, Poland
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Abstract

The soils of Arctic regions are of great interest due to their high sensitivity to climate change. Kvartsittsletta coast in the vicinity of the Baranowski Research Station of the University of Wrocław constitutes a sequence of differently aged sea terraces covered with different fractions of beach material. It is a parent material for several developing soil types. Despite the low intensity of the modern soil-forming processes, the soil cover is characterized by high diversity. Soil properties are formed mainly by geological and geomorphological factors, which are superimposed by the influence of climate and living organisms.
The degree of development of soil is usually an indicator of its relative age. This article highlights the dominant influence of lithology and microrelief over other soil-forming factors, including the duration for which the parent material was exposed to external factors. The soils on the highest (oldest) terrace steps of the Kvartsittsletta rarely showed deep signs of soil-forming processes other than cryoturbations. On the youngest terraces, deep-reaching effects of soil processes associated with a relatively warm climate, including the occurrence of cambic horizons, were observed. Their presence in Arctic regions carries important environmental information and may be relevant to studies of climate change.
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Authors and Affiliations

Bartosz Korabiewski
1

  1. Department of Physical Geography, Institute of Geography and Regional Development, University of Wrocław, Plac Uniwersytecki 1, 50-137 Wrocław, Poland
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Abstract

The talus slopes occur in all climatic zones on the Earth. These forms are sensitive to climate fluctuations, therefore they may be indicators of changes in the environment and contain the record of the geomorphological events after the deglaciation period. Both in the past and nowadays, slopes in area of the High Arctic have been developing in the specific conditions of periglacial zone. This is caused by simultaneously occurring different processes of weathering and deposition. The article presents the methodological approach and the results of the sedimentological measurements and geomorphological studies of the eight talus cones located in SW Spitsbergen. The study was conducted in the non-glaciated valley near the Stanislaw Baranowski Polar Station in Spitsbergen. The aim of the investigation was to determine the modern mechanisms of material transport on talus slopes and their impact on relief of slope surface in the polar environment. The obtained results and literature data allowed to indicate four separate zones of talus slope environment and develop a conceptual model for talus slope development in the Brattegg Valley, SW Spitsbergen.
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Authors and Affiliations

Krzysztof Senderak
1
ORCID: ORCID

  1. Institute of Geography and Regional Development, University of Wroclaw, Pl. Uniwersytecki 1, 50-137 Wroclaw, Poland
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Abstract

Evidence of recent geomorphic processes within debris cones, their spatial distribution and diversification on cones surface are interpreted in the context of contemporary slope morphogenesis. The detailed inventory of relief features on debris cones in the SW Spitsbergen revealed their great spatial diversity. It is linked with a dominance of different morphological processes in adjacent areas. Spatial and temporal diversity of process-relief assemblages on cones is strongly related with local factors, like bedrock lithology, slope aspect and inclination, local circulation and climatic conditions. However, the potential role of debris cones and their topographic features as geoindicators archiving information about the environmental impact of global changes, cannot be explicitly estimated. Local constraints obscure the regional expression of any global trends, which could be detected on the basis of process-relief assemblages on debris cones in polar regions.
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Authors and Affiliations

Agnieszka Latocha-Wites
1
ORCID: ORCID
Krzysztof Parzóch
1
ORCID: ORCID

  1. Institute of Geography and Regional Development, University of Wroclaw, Pl. Uniwersytecki 1, 50-137 Wroclaw, Poland
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Abstract

Spitsbergen is the largest island in the Svalbard Archipelago (Norway) that has been permanently populated. The harsh Arctic climate prevents development of large vascular plants such as trees. A two-year aerobiological survey was conducted within the framework of two consecutive polar expeditions (2014 and 2015) in Spitsbergen (Calypsobyen, Bellsund). The air quality was measured continuously from June/July to August using a 7-day volumetric air sampler, Tauber trap and moss specimens. Collected air samples and gravimetric pollen deposits were processed following transfer to sterile laboratory conditions and analyzed with the aid of light microscopy. Days when pine pollen grains were detected in the air were selected for further analysis. Clusters of back-trajectories, computed using the Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory model in combination with ArcGIS software as well as the Flextra trajectory model, showed the movement of air masses to the sampling location at Hornsund, and thus indicated the likely origin of pollen grains. The GlobCover 2009 and CORINE Land Cover 2012 datasets were employed to establish the distribution of coniferous forests in the areas of interest. Conclusions were drawn based on the analyses of the circulation of air masses, using visualization of global weather conditions forecast to supercomputers. For the first time we have demonstrated that pine pollen grains occurring in pine-free Spitsbergen, could originate from numerous locations, including Scandinavia, Iceland, Siberia and northern Canada. Pollen grains were transported via air masses for distances exceeding ~2000 km. Both air samples and gravimetric pollen deposits revealed the same pattern of Pinus pollen distribution.
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Authors and Affiliations

Małgorzata Jędryczka
1
ORCID: ORCID
Beata Żuraw
2
ORCID: ORCID
Piotr Zagórski
3
Jan Rodzik
3
Karolina Mędrek
3
Irena Agnieszka Pidek
3
ORCID: ORCID
Weronika Haratym
4
ORCID: ORCID
Joanna Kaczmarek
1
ORCID: ORCID
Magdalena Sadyś
5
ORCID: ORCID

  1. Institute of Plant Genetics, Polish Academy of Science, Strzeszyńska 34, 60-479 Poznań, Poland
  2. Department of Hydrobiology and Protection of Ecosystems, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Dobrzańskiego 37, 20-295 Lublin, Poland
  3. Institute of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, al. Kraśnicka 2D, 20-718 Lublin, Poland
  4. Paderewski Private Grammar School, Symfoniczna 1, 20-853 Lublin, Poland
  5. Rothamsted Research, West Common, Harpenden, AL5 2JQ, UK

Instructions for authors


The quarterly Polish Polar Research invites original scientific papers dealing with all aspects of polar research. The journal aims to provide a forum for publication of high-quality research papers, which are of international interest.

We warmly welcome review papers and proposals for thematic Special Issues.

Articles must be written in English. Authors are requested to have their manuscript read by a person fluent in English before submission. They should not be longer than 30 typescript pages, including tables, figures and references. However, upon request, longer manuscripts may be considered for publication. All papers are peer-reviewed. With a submitted manuscript, authors should provide e-mail addresses of at least three suggested reviewers.


Submission of the manuscript should be supported with a declaration that the work described has not been published previously nor is under consideration by another journal.

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