{"id":316070,"date":"2024-04-03T20:15:20","date_gmt":"2024-04-03T18:15:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=316070"},"modified":"2024-04-03T20:15:23","modified_gmt":"2024-04-03T18:15:23","slug":"a-good-year-for-svalbard-polar-bears-due-to-abundant-sea-ice-coverage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=316070","title":{"rendered":"A good year for Svalbard polar bears due to abundant sea ice coverage"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From polarbearscience<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A sow and a pair of half-grown cubs recently paid a visit to the Polish Research Station in southwestern Svalbard without causing any more trouble than racing heart-rates, according to a report in\u00a0The Guardian<\/em>\u00a0today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Money quote<\/a> <\/strong>from the leader of the expedition [my bold]:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year the team had seen more polar bears than usual,<\/strong> he added. Usually there were around 20 bear sightings a year, but this year there had been close to 40 sightings since June<\/strong> and they expected to see more in their final three months.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo far, we have not observed any clearly emaciated individuals<\/strong>. This year is probably a good year for Svalbard\u2019s polar bears because there is a lot of sea ice here compared to recent years<\/strong>,\u201d he said<\/em> [The Guardian<\/em>, 2 April 2024<\/a>, see photo above].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Polish Research Station, Hornsund<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Svalbard sea ice above average<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of the ice around Svalbard is mobile pack ice, and\u00a0contrary to expectations<\/a>\u00a0given reported global temperatures, coverage has been hovering about average since September last year, depending on winds, with levels dropping briefly in early winter but rebounding to above average over the last week or so. The chart below hasn\u2019t been updated since 27 March but daily reports to\u00a02 April<\/a>\u00a0from the Norwegian Ice Service confirms that readings are still above the long-term 1991-2020 average:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Svalbard ice chart<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note the abundant ice off the southwest coast, where the Polish Research Station is located:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I\u2019m surprised we haven\u2019t heard reports of bear sightings around the weather station on Bear Island (Bj\u00f8rn\u00f8ya) to the south, which has been surrounded by ice for more than a week now. The last sighting on Bear Island I\u2019m aware of during March\u00a0occurred in 2019<\/a>\u00a0(photo below).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

However, as suggested in the report by the Polish crew, it\u2019s likely many such sightings take place that don\u2019t make the news become they don\u2019t come with a headline-worthy photo opportunities. In May 2020, there was ice at Bear Island in early May<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Barents Sea charts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Svalbard sea ice in context for the wider region:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

NSIDC Masie data shows Barents Sea ice steadily rising since early March 2024:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It remains to be seen how long the sea ice will hang around. However, these spring months are when polar bears gorge themselves on baby seals. As long as the bears can consume enough fat during this time, they are protected from the adverse effects of fasting over the summer months when sea ice ice retreats into the Arctic Basin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It remains to be seen how long the sea ice will hang around. However, these spring months are when polar bears gorge themselves on baby seals. As long as the bears can consume enough fat during this time, they are protected from the adverse effects of fasting over the summer months when sea ice ice retreats into the Arctic Basin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":316084,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691828006,691828005,691828003,691828004],"class_list":{"0":"post-316070","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-bear-island-bjornoya","9":"tag-norwegian-ice-service","10":"tag-polish-research-station","11":"tag-svalbard-polar-bears","13":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/00ar250.jpg?fit=1280%2C854&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1kdU","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":424553,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=424553","url_meta":{"origin":316070,"position":0},"title":"Polar Bear Numbers Rising and Health Improving in Areas with the Most Rapid Sea Ice Decline","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"04\/02\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The study of a scientific paper titled \"Body condition among Svalbard Polar bears Ursus maritimus during a period of rapid loss of sea ice,\" published in Scientific Reports on January 29, 2026 explains Svalbard bears are resilient due to local factors: increased abundance of alternative prey like harbour seals, reindeer,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Barents Sea (BS)\"","block_context":{"text":"Barents Sea (BS)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=barents-sea-bs"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/OIG4-7.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/OIG4-7.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/OIG4-7.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/OIG4-7.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":210454,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=210454","url_meta":{"origin":316070,"position":1},"title":"Expert admits polar bears in Svalbard are thriving despite the greatest loss of sea ice in the Arctic","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"27\/07\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"In an article published last week, polar bear specialist Jon Aars is quoted as saying that Svalbard bears are \u201eunexpectedly\u201c thriving. 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