During the summer, especially at the time of peak melting, Adventelva is moving large volumes of gravel, sand and suspended solids. The surface water in the fjord is muddy even at a considerable distance from the river mouth, where there is no current and even the fine-grained suspended sediment can settle down slowly. The river mouth is actually an estuary, influenced by tides and waves, where sweetwater and saltwater mix only slowly and over a large area; there is no sharp boundary between land and sea, between river and fjord. Instead, there is a large, very shallow area, that falls partly dry during low tide.
The muddy, brown water of Adventelva provide a strong contrast to the clear, blueish-grey saltwater of the fjord. Even with the suspended sediment, the sweetwater has a lower density than the seawater and remains thus as a thin layer at the surface and it takes quite some time, until both finally mix.
Location: Adventelva, 78.2124°N, 15.7972°E
A wild arctic river: Adentelva, Svalbard, Norway
Supported by the