Wave energy delivery to the shores of Hornsund fjord, Svalbard

National Science Centre of Poland grant no. 2021/40/C/ST10/00146 (SONATINA 5)
Project timespan: 15.12.2021 - 14.12.2024

Project scope:
This study focuses on modelling wave energy delivery to the shores of Hornsund, a ~300 km² fjord of SW Spitsbergen, Svalbard, through 1) a fjord-scale modelling of wind wave transformation that incorporates the role of sea ice in wave attenuation, and 2) a beach-scale empirical modelling of water level maxima. The overall goal is to understand how changing climate, namely sea ice decline and increasing storminess, impacts Arctic shores, and to predict shoreline water levels at present and in future.

RiS ID 11928
IG PAS Data Portal page

Team:

• Zuzanna Swirad, Institute of Geophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences (PI)


• Agnieszka Herman, Institute of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Sciences


• Malin Johansson, Department of Physics and Technology, UiT The Arctic University of Norway


• Mateusz Moskalik, Institute of Geophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences


• Gareth Rees, Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge, UK

Project outcomes:

Scientific papers:

• Swirad Z.M., Moskalik M. & Herman, A. 2023. Wind wave and water level dataset for Hornsund, Svalbard (2013–2021). Earth System Science Data: 15, 2623-2633. https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-2623-2023
• Swirad Z.M., Johansson A.M. & Malnes E. 2024. Extent, duration and timing of the sea ice cover in Hornsund, Svalbard, from 2014–2023. The Cryosphere 18: 895-910. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-895-2024
• Herman A., Swirad Z.M. & Moskalik M. In review. Increased exposure of the shores of Hornsund (Svalbard) to wave action due to a rapid shift in sea ice conditions. Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene. http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.13028.39046

Conference presentations:

• Swirad Z.M., Moskalik M. & Herman A. Recent wave conditions in Hornsund, Svalbard from in situ measurements. AGU Fall Meeting, 2022: Online. (iPoster)
• Swirad Z.M., Moskalik M. & Herman A. Continuous wind wave data in Hornsund since 2013. Polar Night Week, 2023: Longyearbyen, Norway. (poster)
• Swirad Z.M., Herman A., Johansson A.M., Rees G. & Moskalik M. Incorporating sea ice into a nearshore wind wave transformation model (Hornsund, Svalbard). 11th International Workshop on Sea Ice Modelling, Assimilation, Observations, Predictions and Verification, 2023: Oslo, Norway. (poster)
• Swirad Z.M., Moskalik M., Herman A., Johansson A.M. & Rees G. Sea ice, wind waves and coastal erosion in Hornsund, Svalbard. EGU General Assembly, 2023: Vienna, Austria. (poster) abstract
• Swirad Z.M. Wind wave and water level data in nearshore Hornsund since 2013. 3rd SIOS Marine Infrastructure Workshop, 2023: Online. (oral)
• Swirad Z.M., Johansson A.M., & Malnes E. High-resolution near-daily sea ice distribution in Hornsund, Svalbard in 2014-2023. AGU Fall Meeting, 2023: San Francisco, CA, USA. (poster)
• Malnes E., Swirad Z.M. & Johansson A.M. Sea ice presence, extent and duration in Hornsund, Svalbard in 2014-2023. Arctic Frontiers, 2024: Tromsø, Norway. (poster)
• Swirad Z.M., Herman A. & Moskalik M. Impact of increasing storminess and decreasing sea ice cover on high-latitude beach erosion (Hornsund, Svalbard). EGU General Assembly, 2024: Vienna, Austria. (oral) abstract
• Swirad Z.M., Herman A. & Moskalik M. Marine forcing on the gravel beach erosion in hornsund, Svalbard. Arctic Circle Assembly, 2024: Reykjavík, Iceland. (oral - invited)
• Swirad Z.M. Status of the water level and wind wave monitoring in Hornsund. 4th SIOS Marine Infrastructure Workshop, 2024: Online. (oral)
• Swirad Z.M. Beach erosion in warmer and stormier Arctic. GEOPLANET – Earth and Planetary Research Centre Conference, 2024: Sopot, Poland. (oral - invited)

Invited talks/seminars:

• Swirad Z.M. From sea ice to coastal erosion in Svalbard. Centre for Integrated Remote Sensing and Forecasting for Arctic Operations (CIRFA), UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway, 13.04.2023
• Swirad Z.M. On the sea ice, storms and beach change in Hornsund, Svalbard. Polar Ecosystems Seminar, Faculty of Biology, University of Gadansk, Poland, Online, 17.01.2024
• Swirad Z.M. Arctic beaches in a changing climate. Géosciences Environnement Toulouse, France, 5.12.2024

Outreach:

• Talk for high school students at the Museum of Polar Research, Puławy, Poland, 7.03.2024 (Swirad Z.M. Co się dzieje na plażach Arktyki? [in Polish])
• Project featured in 'Once the ice is gone' documentary by Kuba Witek (2024)

Datasets:

• Swirad Z.M., Moskalik M. & Głowacki O. 2022. Sea pressure and wave monitoring datasets in Hornsund fjord. IG PAS Data Portal. https://doi.org/10.25171/InstGeoph_PAS_IGData_NBP_2022_005
• Swirad Z.M., Moskalik M. & Herman A. 2023. In situ wind wave and water level measurements in Hornsund, Svalbard in 2013-2021. PANGAEA. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.954020
• Swirad Z.M., Johansson A.M. & Malnes E. 2023. Ice distribution in Hornsund fjord, Svalbard from Sentinel-1A/B (2014-2023). PANGAEA. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.963167
• Swirad Z.M., Johansson A.M. & Malnes E. 2024. Ice distribution in Hornsund fjord, Svalbard from RADARSAT-2 (2012-2016). PANGAEA. https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.969031
• Herman A., Swirad Z.M., & Moskalik M. 2024. SWAN wave model simulations for Hornsund, Svalbard, 07.2015-06.2023. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13871928