Hornsund

Hornsund (77.000°N x 15.330°E) is southwestern most fjord in Spitsbergen, Svalbard. It is 30 km long and 12 km wide at its widest with an average depth of 90 m. The surrounding water masses are made up of cold Arctic and warm Atlantic currents.

The Hornsund area falls within the borders of the Sørspitsbergen Nasjonalpark and is protected by law.The Polish Stanislaw Siedlecki research station is the only one permanent research station in the area.

Hornsund hosts a large population of the little auk (ca 500 000 breeding pairs). Brünnich’s guillemots and black-legged kittiwakes can also be found breeding in small colonies within the fjord. Research activity is mainly focused on the little auks, and has been since 1960 but the current monitoring of breeding biology and foraging ecology in the colony at Ariekammen slope, was established in 2001.

Hornsund was established as a SEATRACK-locality in 2015, when logger deployment on little auks was initiated.