Ny Alesund Research Articles

Hails in Ny Alesund, Svalbard-atmospheric vertical structure and dependence on circulation

Hails observed at Ny Alesund, Svalbard in the Arctic during December–February 2018–19 is examined along with the atmospheric circulation patterns. When hail was noticed, surface warming and southwesterly—westerly winds were noticed. Atmospheric circulation pattern was characterised by high pressure anomaly over northwestern Europe. High clouds as well as excess liquid water were present when the high pressure systems were active over northwestern Europe. This is because winds blowing over ocean collect more moisture as well as transport nucleating particles to Svalbard. Also, hourly winds from ERA 5 reanalysis indicated vertical shear required for hail formation. When hails were observed, mixed precipitation types were recorded with the maximum intensities arising from the hails. The West Spitzbergen Current (WSC) induces a strong east west sea surface temperature (SST) gradient in the ocean west of Svalbard. A corresponding gradient in the atmospheric temperature is also maintained by the WSC in the west to east direction in the lower atmosphere. Moisture laden westerlies cross the SST gradient and induce strong frontal activity in the lower atmosphere resulting intense precipitation and hail. The upward vertical velocity noted in the lower troposphere supports the frontal activity. Human activities in the Arctic as elsewhere are bound to increase. Hence, there is a need to study the intense precipitation in the Arctic as well as its reasons as it can impact the Arctic environment and human activity. This calls for more continuous observations to clearly identify mechanisms and frequency of intense precipitation in the Arctic.

Comparative Study of the Influence of Full and Partial Halo Geomagnetic Storms on High Latitude Ionosphere

We have studied and compared the effects of full and partial halo geomagnetic storms on the high latitude ionosphere. The study used the total electron content (TEC) data obtained from the global positioning system (GPS) to examine the level of response of high latitude ionosphere around Ny Alesund, Norway to full and partial halo geomagnetic storms of June 23rd 2015 and January 1st 2016 respectively. This study was carried out using a dual frequency ground based GNSS observations at high latitude (NYAL: 78.56oN, 11.52oE) ionospheric station in Norway. The vertical TEC (VTEC) was extracted from Receiver Independent Exchange (RINEX) formatted GPS-TEC data using the GOPI Software developed by Seemala Gopi. The GOPI software is a GNSS-TEC analysis program which uses ephemeris data and differential code biases (DCBs) in estimating slant TEC (STEC) prior to its conversion to VTEC. From the results, the responses of the high latitude before the storm days were more positive than on the storm days. Also the overall response of the high latitude to the full halo geomagnetic storm was more positive with more impact than that of the partial halo geomagnetic storm.

Results from the PolarquEEEst missions

The PolarquEEEst scientific programme consists in a series of measurements of the cosmic ray flux up to the highest latitudes. It started in Summer 2018, when three telescopes made out of scintillators readout by SiPMs were built and installed in Italy, Norway and on a sailboat leaving from North Island, to circumnavigate the Svalbard archipelago and land in Tromsø. They collected data on a latitude range from 44° N up to 82° N, with a dense sampling of the Northernmost interval. The PolarquEEEst mission continued afterwards with a series of measurements in Italy, Southward reaching Lampedusa, and in Germany.In May 2019 the PolarquEEEst collaboration accomplished another important result, installing a cosmic ray observatory for the detection of secondary cosmic muons at Ny Alesund, at 79° N, made of three independent identical detectors positioned a few hundred meters from each other, and synchronized in order to operate together as a network. The configuration used will allow high precision measurements never performed before at these latitudes on a long term, also interesting for their connection with environmental phenomena. The network will also complement the existing stations for the detection of cosmic neutrons at the Svalbard archipelago, enlarging by far the physics scope that is possible to pursue in this field at this peculiar location.Here the various missions are presented, and some preliminary results from the measurements performed are shown.

Temperature and precipitation during winter in NyÅlesund, Svalbard and possible tropical linkages

Winter (DJF) temperature and precipitation variability in an Arctic Archipelago, Svalbard is investigated for an extreme event during December 2015 as well as on interannual time scales. During December 2015–16, a strong high pressure anomaly over northern Europe channelised warm and moist air into Ny Ålesund (∼79°N and ∼11°E) resulting in extreme temperature and precipitation. This high pressure anomaly was a result of wave trains associated with the Madden Julian Oscillation (MJO). On interannual time scales, the observation site, Ny Ålesund was characterised by an increasing trend in precipitation and temperature. A composite of SLP anomalies associated with the temperature and precipitation anomalies was characterised by a high pressure anomaly over northern Europe. The second mode in the EOF of SLP anomalies during winter (DJF) also indicated the presence of a high pressure anomaly over northern Europe, extending into the Pacific. The mode was correlated significantly with the ENSO. During the study period, more than 50% of the ENSO events influenced temperature and precipitation in Ny Alesund. In the present study, the EOF-2 temporal pattern correlated strongly with La Nina in the Pacific, suggesting the generation of a high/low pressure anomaly during negative/positive ENSO phases. On interannual timescales, extremes were conspicuous, particularly when La Nina coincided with active MJO. This may be due to the fact that both processes generate similar pressure anomalies in northern Europe and reinforce each other. This study also suggests that the influence of El Nino is weaker than La Nina. It is also noted that decadal oscillations in the Pacific, particularly the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO) also enhance the high-pressure anomalies over northern Europe. Thus, the temperature and precipitation in a high Arctic location, Ny Ålesund is interconnected, at least hemispherically and is defined by processes of different time scales.

Observations on diatoms inhabiting natural and artificial substrates in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard, the Arctic

The most dramatic effects of global climate change are predicted for the Arctic, and there is a raising concern about the lack of baseline information on microalgal biodiversity. The present study was motivated by the general lack of information on species distribution of Arctic benthic diatoms and particularly studies providing photographs to facilitate morphological species identification. Diatoms were studied in samples collected from Ny Alesund, Spitsbergen, Svalbard, during summer 2006 and spring 2008. Two types of samples were examined: diatoms scraped from ceramic tiles, immersed at 0.5 m depth (2006), and diatoms extracted from surface sediment, collected at 0.5 to 3 m depth (2008). A total number of 75 taxa belonging to 45 genera were encountered. Sixty-eight species were found in the sediment samples and 48 on the ceramic tiles, of which 41 species were found on both substrata. Common species of the tile assemblages were Fragilariopsis spp., Licmophora spp., Odontella aurita, Synedropsis hyperborea and Trachyneis aspera, while Thalassiosira spp., Diploneis spp. and Navicula spp. were common in the sediment samples. Twenty-five percent of the observed diatom species belonged to freshwater taxa brought to the fjord from surrounding meltwater and river discharges.

The interaction of biotic and abiotic factors at multiple spatial scales affects the variability of CO2 fluxes in polar environments

Climate change may turn Arctic biomes from carbon sinks into sources and vice versa, depending on the balance between gross ecosystem photosynthesis, ecosystem respiration (ER) and the resulting net ecosystem exchange (NEE). Photosynthetic capacity is species specific, and thus, it is important to quantify the contribution of different target plant species to NEE and ER. At Ny Alesund (Svalbard archipelago, Norway), we selected different Arctic tundra plant species and measured CO2 fluxes at plot scale and photosynthetic capacity at leaf scale. We aimed to analyze trends in CO2 fluxes during the transition seasons (beginning vs. end of the growing season) and assess which abiotic (soil temperature, soil moisture, PAR) and biotic (plot type, phenology, LAI, photosynthetic capacity) factors influenced CO2 emissions. NEE and ER differed between vegetation communities. All communities acted as CO2 sources, with higher source strength at the beginning than at the end of the growing season. The key factors affecting NEE were soil temperature, LAI and species-specific photosynthetic capacities, coupled with phenology. ER was always influenced by soil temperature. Measurements of photosynthetic capacity indicated different responses among species to light intensity, as well as suggesting possible gains in response to future increases in atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Species-specific adaptation to low temperatures could trigger significant feedbacks in a climate change context. Our data highlight the need to quantify the role of dominant species in the C cycle (sinks or sources), as changes of vegetation composition or species phenology in response to climate change may have great impact on the regional CO2 balance.

Demersally drifting invertebrates from Kongsfjorden, Svalbård (Arctic Ocean)–a comparison of catches from drift-pump and drift-nets

Demersally drifting organisms were collected at Ny Alesund (Svalbard–Arctic Ocean) to study the taxon composition and relative abundances in the Arctic summer. Catch potentials of two collection devices for demersal drift were compared. A lowvolume submersible drift-pump and a drift-net unit were employed for the collection of demersally drifting biota, particularly for shallow aquatic habitats. With the exception of Appendicularia, Chaetognatha, Coelenterata, and Ctenophora, which were damaged at times, the pump catches were in good condition and sufficient for identification and quantification of less mobile fauna. A comparison of the two devices revealed that the drift-pump collected more specimens than the drift-net. However, the drift-net may have caused an underestimation of the abundances of invertebrates. No differences in identified taxon number and indices of richness, evenness and diversity were found. However, the proportion of invertebrate animals in the two devices was different for the three groups: zooplankton, macrofauna and meiofauna. At Svalbard, zooplankton, larvae of macrofauna, and meiofauna were successfully collected by the two collecting devices. However, the catchibility of the two devices in collecting various invertebrate taxa was different and, therefore, a sound ‘Device Effect’ was revealed.

Integrated Precipitable Water Vapour Measurements At Polish Polar Station Hornsund From GPS Observations Verified By Aerological Techniques

Abstract We present results of the comparison of integrated precipitable water measurements from GPS solution and aerological techniques: CIMEL-318 sun-photometer and radiosoundings (RAOB). Integrated Precipitable Water (IPW) - important meteorological parameter is derived from GPS tropospheric solutions by known procedure for GPS station at Polish Polar Station, Hornsund (Svalbard). The relation between 2 m temperature and the mean temperature of atmosphere above, used to convert from wet part of tropospheric delay (ZWD) to IPW, has been derived using local radiosonde data at Ny Alesund. Sunphotometer data have been provided by AERONET. Quality of dedicated tropospheric solutions has been verified by comparison with EPN tropospheric combined product. Several IPW comparisons and analyses lead to determination of systematic difference between techniques: GPS IPW and sunphotometer data (not present in case of RAOBs). IPW measured by CIMEL is on average 5% bigger (0.5 mm) than IPW from GPS. This bias changes seasonally and is a function of atmospheric temperature what signals some systematic deficiencies in solar photometry as IPW retrieval technique. CIMEL IPW show some temperature dependent bias also in relation to radiosoundings.

Effects of ship emissions on summertime aerosols at Ny–Alesund in the Arctic

Selected trace elements, ionic species and organic/elemental carbon in aerosols were measured in summer at Ny–Alesund in the Arctic, and an interpreted approach combining elemental ratios, back–trajectories and enrichment factors was used to assess the sources of aerosols observed at this location. Aerosol samples influenced by ship emissions were featured by elevated concentrations of non–crustal (nc) vanadium (V), nc–nickel (nc–Ni), non–sea salt (nss) sulfate (SO42−) and ratios of nc–Ni/nc–V (1.7) and nss–SO42−/nc–V (200). When two cruise ships with more than 1 500 passengers visited Ny–Alesund in July 2012, the total suspended particulate (TSP) mass reached 2 290ng m−3, almost three times the median TSP concentration (609ng m−3) measured during the study period. The nc–V concentration reached 0.976ng m−3, about 38–fold higher compared to the mean value of the sampling period, and this value was even higher than the annual mean value observed at Zeppelin station and the values measured during Haze events at North American Arctic and Norwegian Arctic. The concentrations of nc–Ni and nss–SO42− were 0.572ng m−3 and 203ng m−3, which were 8–fold and 2–fold higher than the median values of the sampling period. While in the few–ship period, defined as the period with none or only one cruise ship with less than 1 000 passengers being present, aerosols at this location could be affected by a mixed impact of local emissions and long–range transport, reflected by the nc–Mn/nc–V ratios and element enrichment factors often found in the air masses from North America Arctic, Iceland and North Eurasia. Results from this study suggest that cruise ship emissions contributed significantly to atmospheric particulate matter at Ny–Alesund in the summer, effecting air quality in this area.

The most remote point method for the site selection of the future GGOS network

The Global Geodetic Observing System (GGOS) proposes 30–40 geodetic observatories as global infrastructure for the most accurate reference frame to monitor the global change. To reach this goal, several geodetic observatories have upgrade plans to become GGOS stations. Most initiatives are driven by national institutions following national interests. From a global perspective, the site distribution remains incomplete and the initiatives to improve this are up until now insufficient. This article is a contribution to answer the question on where to install new GGOS observatories and where to add observation techniques to existing observatories. It introduces the iterative most remote point (MRP) method for filling in the largest gaps in existing technique-specific networks. A spherical version of the Voronoi-diagram is used to pick the optimal location of the new observatory, but practical concerns determine its realistic location. Once chosen, the process is iterated. A quality and a homogeneity parameter of global networks measure the progress of improving the homogeneity of the global site distribution. This method is applied to the global networks of VGOS, and VGOS co-located with SLR to derive some clues about where additional observatory sites or additional observation techniques at existing observatories will improve the GGOS network configuration. With only six additional VGOS-stations, the homogeneity of the global VGOS-network could be significantly improved by more than $$45\,\%$$ . From the presented analysis, 25 known or new co-located VGOS and SLR sites are proposed as the future GGOS backbone: Colombo, Easter Island, Fairbanks, Fortaleza, Galapagos, GGAO, Hartebeesthoek, Honiara, Ibadan, Kokee Park, La Plata, Mauritius, McMurdo, Metsahovi, Ny Alesund, Riyadh, San Diego, Santa Maria, Shanghai, Syowa, Tahiti, Tristan de Cunha, Warkworth, Wettzell, and Yarragadee.

Molecular Phylogeny of Arctic Microbes Using Metagenomic Approach

Metagenomic approach to the characterization of uncultured and mixed bacterial consortium has been used in this study for a few arctic micro-organisms. Arctic soil, collected from one spot at Ny Alesund in Svalbard was used as the source of such organisms and enriched in culture medium. Only psychrotrophic microbes were chosen which could grow from 5&degC to 20&degC. Total genomic DNA isolated from the consortium was used as template for amplifying the 16S rRNA genes using the conserved forward and reverse primers. The amplified mixture of 1.4 kb DNA was cloned in pGEMT Easy vector and individual 16S rDNA sequences were determined by automated sequencing. A phylogenetic tree was constructed using MEGA 5 software which enlists 19 isolates in the consortium. Most of these arctic bacteria were Bacillus species as these were isolated from a single spot.

Response of an Arctic Sediment Nitrogen Cycling Community to Increased CO2

Ocean acidification influences sediment/water nitrogen fluxes, possibly by impacting on the microbial process of ammonia oxidation. To investigate this further, undisturbed sediment cores collected from Ny Alesund harbour (Svalbard) were incubated with seawater adjusted to CO2 concentrations of 380, 540, 760, 1,120 and 3,000 µatm. DNA and RNA were extracted from the sediment surface after 14 days' exposure and the abundance of bacterial and archaeal ammonia oxidising (amoA) genes and transcripts quantified using quantitative polymerase chain reaction. While there was no change to the abundance of bacterial amoA genes, an increase to 760 µatm pCO2 reduced the abundance of bacterial amoA transcripts by 65 %, and this was accompanied by a shift in the composition of the active community. In contrast, archaeal amoA gene and transcript abundance both doubled at 3,000 µatm, with an increase in species richness also apparent. This suggests that ammonia oxidising bacteria and archaea in marine sediments have different pH optima, and the impact of elevated CO2 on N cycling may be dependent on the relative abundances of these two major microbial groups. Further evidence of a shift in the balance of key N cycling groups was also evident: the abundance of nirS-type denitrifier transcripts decreased alongside bacterial amoA transcripts, indicating that NO3− produced by bacterial nitrification fuelled denitrification. An increase in the abundance of Planctomycete-specific 16S rRNA, the vast majority of which grouped with known anammox bacteria, was also apparent at 3,000 µatm pCO2. This could indicate a possible shift from coupled nitrification–denitrification to anammox activity at elevated CO2.

Molecular Markers of Biomass Burning in Arctic Aerosols

Biomass burning is one of the most important sources of organic matter in the atmosphere as it affects the absorption and scattering of solar radiation, creates cloud condensation nuclei and possibly influences ice and snow albedo. Here we created and validated an analytical method using HPLC/(-)-ESI-MS/MS to determine phenolic compounds (PCLCs): vanillic acid, isovanillic acid, homovanillic acid, syringic acid, syringaldehyde, ferulic acid, p-coumaric acid, and coniferyl aldehyde at trace levels in particulate matter. We analyzed eighteen high-volume air samples from Ny Ålesund (Svalbard) collected during the boreal spring and summer of 2010. Biomass burning molecules including PCLCs (<0.49 μm, mean atmospheric concentration 6 pg m(-3)), levoglucosan (0.004 to 0.682 ng m(-3)) and acrylamide (32 fg m(-3) to 166 fg m(-3)) were present in the sampled aerosols. Levoglucosan concentrations, an unambiguous cellulose combustion tracer, derived from 2010 Russian fires. PCLCs levels in the Ny Alesund atmosphere in different size fractions reflected both long-range transport linked to biomass burning and a terrigenous local source.

Dynamics of snow-air mercury exchange at Ny Ålesund during springtime 2011

Continuous time series of flux measurements were carried out in Ny Alesund, Spitsbergen, during a springtime field campaign from 31 of March to 3 of May, 2011. Flux measurements were integrated with mercury speciation analysis in order to understand the fate of mercury during atmospheric elemental gaseous mercury depletion events (AMDEs). Moreover a methodology for quality assurance of flux measurements is presented. Measurements were made at Gruvebadet, 1 km west from the Ny-Alesund village (78°55' N, 11°56' E) at an elevation of 18 m above sea level. Ambient concentrations of gaseous elemental mercury, divalent reactive gaseous mercury and particulate phase mercury were semicontinuously measured using an integrated Tekran system. Mercury depletion events were observed during the month of April and were characterized by an incomplete mercury destruction. Indeed Hg0 concentration was never below 0.49 ng m -3 .

First Observations of Energy Budget and Bulk Fluxes at Ny Ålesund (Svalbard) during a 2010 Transition Period as Analyzed with the BEAR Station

A small-size meteorological mast, BEAR (Budget of Energy for Arctic regions) has been developed as a part of a new autonomous buoy for monitoring the sea ice mass balance. BEAR complements observations of the thickness and thermodynamic properties of the ice/snow pack determined by the so-called Ice-T (Ice-Thickness) buoy, giving access to bulk fluxes and energy budget at the surface, using meteorological measurements. The BEAR mast has been tested with success during ten days in April-May 2010 at Ny Alesund, in the Svalbard archipelago (Norway) showing that meteorological data were close to measurements at the same level of the Italian Climate Change Tower (CCT) from the ISAC-CNR. A discussion is undertaken on bulk fluxes determination and uncertainties. Particularly, the strategy to systematically use different relevant fluxes parameterizations is pointed out to explore flux range uncertainty before to analyze energy budget. Net radiation, bulk fluxes and energy budget are estimated using as average 10 minutes, 24 hours and the ten days of the experiment. The observation period was very short, but we observe a spring transition when the net radiation begins to warm the surface while the very small turbulent heat flux cools the surface.

Evaluation and Intercomparison of Cloud Fraction and Radiative Fluxes in Recent Reanalyses over the Arctic Using BSRN Surface Observations

Abstract With continual advancements in data assimilation systems, new observing systems, and improvements in model parameterizations, several new atmospheric reanalysis datasets have recently become available. Before using these new reanalyses it is important to assess the strengths and underlying biases contained in each dataset. A study has been performed to evaluate and compare cloud fractions (CFs) and surface radiative fluxes in several of these latest reanalyses over the Arctic using 15 years (1994–2008) of high-quality Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) observations from Barrow (BAR) and Ny-Alesund (NYA) surface stations. The five reanalyses being evaluated in this study are (i) NASA's Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA), (ii) NCEP's Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR), (iii) NOAA's Twentieth Century Reanalysis Project (20CR), (iv) ECMWF's Interim Reanalysis (ERA-I), and (v) NCEP–Department of Energy (DOE)'s Reanalysis II (R2). All of the reanalyses show considerable bias in reanalyzed CF during the year, especially in winter. The large CF biases have been reflected in the surface radiation fields, as monthly biases in shortwave (SW) and longwave (LW) fluxes are more than 90 (June) and 60 W m−2 (March), respectively, in some reanalyses. ERA-I and CFSR performed the best in reanalyzing surface downwelling fluxes with annual mean biases less than 4.7 (SW) and 3.4 W m−2 (LW) over both Arctic sites. Even when producing the observed CF, radiation flux errors were found to exist in the reanalyses suggesting that they may not always be dependent on CF errors but rather on variations of more complex cloud properties, water vapor content, or aerosol loading within the reanalyses.

Chemical composition and sources of aerosol particles at Zeppelin Mountain (Ny Ålesund, Svalbard): An electron microscopy study

Abstract Aerosol particles were collected at the Zeppelin Mountain Atmospheric Research Station (474 m asl) near Ny Alesund (Svalbard, Norway) on 27 different days between July 2007 and December 2008. The size, morphology and chemical composition of 57,617 individual particles were studied by high-resolution scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis. Based on chemical composition, morphology, mixing state and stability under electron bombardment, the particles were assigned to one of the following groups: sea salt, aged sea salt, Ca sulphates, Na sulphates, carbonates, soot, silicates, fly ashes, secondary aerosol, secondary aerosol plus sodium, secondary aerosol plus soot, mixed particles and others. Sea salt, aged sea salt, silicates and mixed particles (mixtures of sea salt, silicates and Ca sulphates) are the most abundant groups for particles with aerodynamic diameters > 0.5 μm, secondary aerosol, mixed particles and secondary aerosol with soot inclusions below 0.5 μm. Silicate fly ashes (major source coal burning) and metal fly ashes (from metallurgical high temperature processes) occur only at very low number concentrations. In contrast to previous work, the fly ash abundance is not correlated with air masses that crossed industrialized regions in Central and Eastern Europe, Scandinavia or Russia. These observations indicate a significant reduction of long-range transport of heavy metals to Svalbard. Soot (external and internally mixed with secondary aerosol) shows a pronounced seasonal pattern with a much lower abundance during summer compared to spring, autumn and winter. The soot abundance is not correlated with the air mass back-trajectories. During summer (July and August), soot was only observed when cruise ships were present in the area around Ny Alesund (Kongsfjorden). Pronounced seasonal patterns were observed for the abundance of the mineral dust component which is generally lower in summer compared to the other seasons. The observed seasonal dependence of anthropogenic primary particles (soot, fly ashes) is in good agreement with the Arctic circulation pattern.

A Ten-Year Record of Arctic Trace Gas Total Column Measurements at Eureka, Canada, from 1997 to 2006

This paper presents a long-term set of total column densities of N2O, CH4, HF, COF2, HCl, ClONO2, O3, NO, NO2 and HNO3, measured with an ABB Bomem DA8 Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer and a consistent methodology, during fall and spring at Eureka (80°N), Nunavut, Canada. The instrumentation, observations and retrievals of the column densities from infrared atmospheric solar absorption spectra are described in detail, including an estimate of the uncertainties in our retrieved column densities. This description also applies to the column data that we have archived on the Data Host Facility of the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC). The work presented here serves as an introduction to the entire dataset of atmospheric spectra recorded with the DA8 spectrometer at Eureka from 1993 to 2008. A few highlights from the results of our column retrievals for the years 1997 to 2006 are briefly discussed. One of these is the exceptionally low O3, HCl and HNO3 column amounts observed in the spring of 1997 which we ascribe to uptake of gaseous HNO3 on aerosols of type Ib Polar Stratospheric Clouds (PSCs), resulting in appreciable chlorine activation with subsequent chemical ozone depletion. Another is the anomalously high NO columns measured throughout the month of March 2004, the only time this was observed in our ten-year record presented here. We attribute this to the meso-thermospheric contribution by enhanced solar activity. Some comparisons with Ny Alesund observations at 79°N are also discussed.

Maribacter arcticus sp. nov., isolated from Arctic marine sediment

A Gram-negative, non-motile, aerobic bacterium, designated strain KOPRI 20941(T), was isolated from a sample of marine sediment from Ny Alesund, Spitsbergen, Norway. A phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that the Arctic isolate nested within the genus Maribacter and showed the highest sequence similarity (98.1 %) with respect to Maribacter orientalis KMM 3947(T). Chemotaxonomic data (DNA G+C content of 36 mol%; MK-6 as the major respiratory quinone and iso-C(17 : 0) 3-OH, C(16 : 1)omega7c/iso-C(15 : 0) 2-OH and iso-C(15 : 0) as the major fatty acids) supported the affiliation of strain KOPRI 20941(T) to the genus Maribacter. The results of phylogenetic analyses, physiological and biochemical tests and a DNA-DNA reassociation test (<54 % relatedness) allowed genotypic and phenotypic differentiation of the strain from the recognized species of the genus Maribacter. Therefore strain KOPRI 20941(T) represents a novel species of the genus Maribacter, for which the name Maribacter arcticus sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is KOPRI 20941(T) (=KCTC 22053(T)=JCM 14790(T)).

On the Identification and Documentation of Timing Errors: An Example at the KBS Station, Spitsbergen

The availability of high-quality digital seismic data has never been better than it is today. Through consortia such as the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) and Observatories and Research Facilities for European Seismology (ORFEUS), waveform data from stations of many worldwide networks are available via the Internet to the international community of seismologists. When a user examines a segment of data, it is assumed that the time displayed is the exact time in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) at which the motion was recorded. In general, when retrieving data segments from a waveform repository, there is no independent confirmation of the validity of the time stamp. In this paper, I discuss a case where a user discovered an erroneous time stamp on data from a single-site station. A fortuitous source of repeating seismic signals, together with data from another nearby station, facilitated measurement of the timing anomaly during the period in question. Erroneous timing on seismograms might be more widespread than assumed; the identification and documentation of such cases requires more attention. The IRIS/GEOFON/AWI seismic station at King's Bay Station (KBS) is situated near Ny Alesund, King's Bay, on the Arctic island of Spitsbergen (figure 1). The location is important in the context of nuclear-explosion monitoring due to the relative proximity of the Russian island of Novaya Zemlya, the site of numerous Soviet-era nuclear tests, the last known event being on 24 October 1990. Also on Spitsbergen, a highly sensitive small-aperture seismic array, SPITS, became operational in 1994 and is now a designated Auxiliary Seismic Array (AS72) of the International Monitoring System (IMS) of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban-Treaty Organization (CTBTO). However, the KBS station is still of great importance given both the high quality of the continuous seismic data and the availability of the historical data recorded at that site. …