GREENLAND FJORD

Disclaimer: Copyright infringement not intended.

Context:

A ship that sunk off Greenland's coast caused a diesel fuel spill into the Nanortalik fjord.

What is fjord?

A fjord is a deep, narrow and elongated sea or lake drain, with steep land on three sides. The opening toward the sea is called the mouth of the fjord, and is often shallow. The fjord's inner part is called the sea bottom. If the geological formation is wider than it is long, it is not a fjord. Then it is a bay or cove.

Geographical distribution

Fjords are found mainly in Norway, Chile, New Zealand, Canada, Greenland, and the U.S. state of Alaska.

Formation

Fjords were created by glaciers. In the Earth's last ice age, glaciers covered just about everything. Glaciers move very slowly over time, and can greatly alter the landscape once they have moved through an area. This process is called glaciation.

Glaciation carves deep valleys. This is why fjords can be thousands of meters deep. Fjords are usually deepest farther inland, where the glacial force was strongest. A fjord is thus a U-shaped undersea valley.

Features and biodiversity

Some features of fjords include coral reefs (cold-water reefs ) and rocky islands called skerries. They are rich in black mud containing hydrogen sulfide.

Cold-water reefs

Some of the largest coral reefs are found at the bottom of fjords in Norway. They are home to several types of fish, plankton and sea anemones. Some coral reefs are also found in New Zealand. Organisms in cold-water reefs have also adapted to life under high pressure. At the bottom of a fjord, the water pressure can be hundreds or even thousands of kilograms per square meter. Few organisms can survive in this cold, dark habitat.

Skerries

Skerries are also found around fjords. A skerry is a small, rocky island created through glaciation. Most of the Scandinavian coastline is cut into thousands of little blocks of land. These jagged bits of coastline are skerries. The U.S. states of Washington and Alaska also have skerries.

Famous fjords

The longest fjord in the world is Scoresby Sund in Greenland (350 km), second and third longest are from Norway namely the Sognefjord (203 km), and the Hardanger Fjord (179 km).

Ilulissat Icefjord in Greenland was given UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 2004.

Must read articles

High-risk glacial lakes: https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/high-risk-glacial-lakes

Glacial algae: https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/glacial-algae

 Source:

https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/fjord/

https://www.fjordnorway.com/en/inspiration/what-is-a-fjord

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/fuel-slick-from-sunk-ship-spreads-to-greenland-fjord/articleshow/113541702.cms 

PRACTICE QUESTION Q.Fjords are associated with which of the following landforms? A. Karst landforms B. Glacial Landforms C. Desert landforms D. Volcanic landforms Answer: B Explanation: Fjords commonly are deeper in their middle and upper reaches than at the seaward end. This results from the greater erosive power of the glaciers closer to their source, where they are moving most actively and vigorously. Because of the comparatively shallow thresholds of fjords, the bottoms of many have stagnant water and are rich in black mud containing hydrogen sulfide.