Bayelva river in the Arctic
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Bayelva river in the Arctic

by Antonello Provenzale, Institute of Geosciences and Earth Resources, Pisa, Italy

The Bayelva basin is in Spitsbergen, in the area of Konsfjorden close to the Ny Alesund research station. The two glaciers in the background (Austre and Vestre Brøggerbreen) were much more extended just a few decades ago, and are now rapidly retreating. The water is colored with the sediments transported from the upper valley. In the basin, polar bears are now more common because they have fewer opportunities for fishing from floating sea ice in the fjord.