University Centre in Svalbard
Inorganic nutrient data from Svalbard coastal waters collected from a citizen science project in summers of 2018-2023
Recommended citation:
Raphaelle Descoteaux, Janne Søreide, Hana Spickova, Sebastian Andersen, Annika-Selma Liebig, Anna Vader
(2025)
Inorganic nutrient data from Svalbard coastal waters collected from a citizen science project in summers of 2018-2023
https://doi.org/10.21335/NMDC-1011340659
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Abstract
This dataset represents a collection of inorganic nutrient data (silicate, phosphate, nitrite and nitrite + nitrate) from coastal waters throughout the Svalbard archipelago collected onboard vessels of opportunity in the summers of 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2023. In 2018, 2022 and 2023, seawater samples were collected by graduate students from the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS) onboard expedition cruise vessels circumnavigating Svalbard for tourism. The dataset is also complemented by collections from a cruise onboard the Norwegian Coast Guard vessel KV Barentshav in 2021 at a time when the cruise industry halted due to the covid-19 pandemic. At each sampling location, seawater was collected using a Niskin bottle, typically at 15 m depth though some measurements are at other depths. A previously unused or acid-rinsed plastic vial was rinsed three times with Niskin water then filled and frozen at -20 °C until further processing. At the home laboratory, frozen water samples were thawed overnight in the dark at room temperature and loaded on a QuAAtro39 AutoAnalyzer (SEAL Analytical) for colorimetric measurements of silicate (SiO2), phosphate (PO4-), nitrite (NO2-) and nitrate+nitrire (NO23N). The detection limits for silicate were 0.02 µmol/L, for phosphate 0.02 µmol/L, for nitrite 0.01 µmol/L and for nitrate + nitrite 0.01 µmol/L. Note that the majority of the samples came from nutrient-depleted waters and that many values are thus below the detection limit of the instrument. A flag variable for each nutrient indicates 1 when the value is below the instrument detection limit and 0 when the value is greater than the detection limit. Nitrate (NO3-) concentrations can be calculated by subtracting the nitrite concentration from the nitrate + nitrite measurements but be mindful of instances where the nitrite and/or nitrate + nitrite are flagged (below detection level) as these can produce spurious nitrate calculated values. For most locations sampled in 2022, measurements were run in duplicates from the same Niskin, but other years only have one replicate per station/depth. This study was conducted in the frame of the project FACE-IT (The Future of Arctic Coastal Ecosystems – Identifying Transitions in Fjord Systems and Adjacent Coastal Areas). FACE-IT has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No 869154.
Scientific keywords:
EARTH SCIENCE> OCEANS> OCEAN CHEMISTRY> NITRATE
EARTH SCIENCE> OCEANS> OCEAN CHEMISTRY> NITRITE
EARTH SCIENCE> OCEANS> OCEAN CHEMISTRY> PHOSPHATE
EARTH SCIENCE> OCEANS> OCEAN CHEMISTRY> SILICATE
Key words:
marine chemistry, macronutrients, silicate, phosphate, nitrite, summer, Arctic, Svalbard
Data downloads
| Type | Description | URL |
| GET DATA | https://opendap1.nodc.no/opendap/hyrax/projects/NMDC/UNIS/FACE_IT/Nutrients/Svalbard_nutrients.nc | |
| PARENT | https://doi.org/10.21335/NMDC-1614531060 |