The public and scientific interest in fjords

Fjords are diverse with respect to topography, hydrography, current regimes, tidal influence, chemistry, sediment input and transport, oxygen conditions, trophic status, productivity, human impact, commercial utilization, etc. This implies that we need to understand how fjords work as systems taking into account their natural differences as well as anthropogenic impacts. 

The long residence time of the bottom water also makes fjords suitable for examining the importance of sediment-water interactions (Sternbeck etal., 1999), including the release of re-mineralized nutrients to the bottom water, the release of contaminants from sediments, and the exchange of gases. 

Silled fjords are not necessarily stagnant. Where tidal energy and winds are sufficient to provide efficient and frequent vertical mixing, the bottom water is exchanged frequently and its residence time is too short for the oxygen content 

In addition to fish farming, which is a relatively recent phenomenon, hydroelectric power dependent chemical industry has been using fjords as recipient for waste for more than 50 years, particularly in Scandinavia and Canada. Smelters located at the head of fjords have contaminated water, sediments, and organisms with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy metals (Naes etal., 1995). The level of contamination in fish and shellfish exceeds safety levels established by the World Health Organization in 15 fjord locations in Norway, and their use for human consumption has been restricted. These 

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