Ecology Of Fjords And Coastal Waters

The International Symposium on the Ecology of Fjords and Coastal Waters held in December 1994, was divided into various sessions which included: physical processes and seasonal patterns; fronts, advection and distributional patterns; harmful algae; and fish ecology and stock interactions.

Fjords are both an interface and a buffer between glaciated continents and the oceans. They exhibit a very wide range in environmental conditions, both in dynamics and geography. Some are truly wonders of the world with their dizzying mountain slopes rising sharply from the ocean edge. Others represent some of the harshest conditions on earth, with hurricane winds, extremes in temperature, and catastrophic earth and ice movements. Fjords are unique estuaries and represent a large portion of the earth's coastal zone. Yet they are not very well known, given the increasing population and food pressures, and their present industrial and strategic importance. Temperate zone estuaries have had many more years of intense study, with multiyear data available. Most fjords have not been impacted by man but, if history repeats itself, that condition will not last long. Fjords present some unique environmental problems, such as their usually slow flushing time, a feature common to many silled environments. Thus there is presently a need for management guidelines, which can only be based on a thorough knowledge of the way fjords work. Fjords are, in many respects, perfect natural oceanographic and geologic lab oratories. Source inputs are easily identified and their resulting gradients are well developed. Throughout this book, we emphasize the potential of modeling pro cesses in fjords, with comparisons to other estuary, lake, shelf and slope, and open ocean environments.

The first comprehensive overview of the enormous ecological diversity of Baltic coastal ecosystems is presented in this volume provides. A short introduction into the Baltic Sea as a reference ecosystem is followed by detailed descriptions of the characteristics of coastal ecosystems. Ecological case studies from four regions illustrate the different reactions of these ecosystems to natural and anthropogenic influences.

Over the last decade or two marine scientists have become more aware of the role of freshwater outflow in coastal waters. Some have raised the question whether or not regulation of river flow may change the biological productivity in coastal marine ecosystems. The idea of organising a workshop to deal with this problem, arose from parallel concern in Norway and Canada, but it was soon recognised that the scientific interests were also shared by research groups in other countries. After the initial contacts had been made, it was agreed to establish a committee which should assist the workshop director in organising the workshop. The Organising committee consisted of K.F. Drinkwater, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Canada; S. Skreslet (workshop director), Nordland College, Norway; V.S. Smetacek, Institut fur Meereskunde an der Universitat Kiel, Germany; and H. Svendsen, University of Bergen, Norway. An Advisory committee was established to provide terms of reference for the Organising committee, with regard to the programme and selection of participants. This committee con sisted of J.B.L. Matthews (chairman), Scottish Marine Bio logical Association, U.K.; T.R. Parsons, University of British Columbia, Canada; R. S~tre, Institute of Marine Research, Nor way; M.M. Sinclair, Fisheries and Oceans, Canada; and W.S. Wooster, University of Washington, Canada.

Fjords are deep, glacia11y carved estuaries that are pecu1iar to certain coast1ines, and have severa1 characteristics that dist inguish them from sha110wer embayments. At higher latitudes they indent the western coast1ines of Scandinavia, North and South America, and New Zea1and. They are a1so a common feature of much of the arctic coast1ine. The papers contained in this vo1ume were presented at a workshop funded by the NATO Advanced Studies Institute in Victoria, British Co1umbia. It may seem curious to the reader that this specia1 c1ass of estuaries shou1d have attracted an international gathering of oceanographers from severa1 different discip1ines. The reas on for this interest stems from both practica1 and scientific considerations. On the one hand, fjords are a feature common to the coast1ines of severa1 countries that depend heavi1y on the oceans for communication, fisheries and other resources. The impact of man's activities on these coasts has created a demand for new know1edge of the physica1, bio10gica1 and chemica1 aspects of fjords. Sometimes man's inf1uence on the ocean is intentiona1 as, for examp1e, in the artificia1 contro1 of ice cover; often it is the more insidious bui1d-up of toxic wastes that is of concern. These prob1ems are particu1ar1y acute where the conf1icting demands of fisheries, industria1 deve10pment and re creation meet in a sing1e fjord; and indeed, this is a common occurence a10ng severa1 of the fjords in Scandinavia and Canada.

This preface is being written at a time of exceptional public interest in the North Sea, following media head lines on toxic algal blooms, the mass mortality of common seals, and concern over pollution levels. These headlines may suggest that pollution of the North Sea is a recent event. This is not the case. Although no data are available (methods simply did not exist), it is safe to assume that emission (both into air and water) of heavy metals already started to increase in the 19th cen tury. The growth of cities and introduction of sewer sys tems led to the discharge of raw sewage and sewage sludge. The introduction of man-made (xenobiotic) organ ic chemicals and their subsequent emission into the North Sea commenced before the second world war. The shallower and coastal areas of the North Sea receive the highest concentrations of these pollutants. Not unexpectedly, these areas - some Norwegian fjords, the Dutch coast, the German Bight - show signs of ecosystem deterioration and eutrophication. A certain percentage of the pollutants does not remain in the North Sea but is "exported" to the Atlantic. The North Sea therefore con tributes to the global input of pollutants to the world's oceans. The major part of the pollutants accumulate in the North Sea and are incorporated in the bottom sediments. Although they are "out of sight", they should not be "out of mind".