Scoresby Sound (Danish: Scoresby Sund, Greenlandic: Kangertittivaq) is a large fjord system of the Greenland Sea on the eastern coast of Greenland. It has a tree-like structure, with a main body approximately Scoresby Sund, Encyclopædia Britannica on-line long that branches into a system of fjords covering an area of about . The longest of the fjords extends inland from the coastline. The depth is in the main basin, but depths increase to up to in some fjords. It is one of the largest and longest fjord systems in the world.Archaeology, p. 7

The name of the sound honours English explorer William Scoresby, who in 1822 mapped the fjord area in detail. The name “Sound” comes from the Scandinavian word “Sund” for “strait”, which is commonly used to describe narrow waterways between landmasses.

Geography Scoresby Sound lies between Jameson Land to the north, and King Christian IX Land to the south. To the west beyond Milne Island is the Renland peninsula. The land surrounding the fjord is mostly mountainous, with steep rising edges. The mouth is 29 km wide between the Kangikajik (Cape Brewster, 70°09' N) at the end of the Savoia Peninsula and Uunarteq (Cape Tobin 70°24' N). Its southern part is a steep, tall wall of basalt, and the northern side is lower and more rounded. The sound extends for about to the west of the mouth, turns northwest, widens, and forms a basin called Hall Bredning.

Settlements On the northern side of the mouth of the Scoresby Sound stands Ittoqqortoormiit, the only permanent settlement in the region, with a population of 326 in 2026. At Nordost Bugt on Jameson Land is the Gurreholm research station (),Gurreholm Research Station at geonames.org; retrieved 25 July 2021 founded in 1937.Gurreholm Research Station at arcticphoto.com; retrieved 25 July 2021 During the Second World War it was the site of the US Coastguard’s Bluie East Three weather station.

Main fjords The Hall Bredning basin splits into several branches including the Nordvestfjord, Ofjord (Øfjord)—which splits into the Rype Fjord and Hare Fjord, Rode Fjord (Røde Fjord), Gase Fjord (Gåsefjord) and Fonfjord (Fønfjord). Between the Ofjord and Fonfjord lies the largest island of the system, Milne Land.

Fonfjord (Fønfjord) Rode Fjord (Røde Fjord) Vestfjord Gaasefjord (Gåsefjord) Hurry Inlet Ofjord (Øfjord) Hare Fjord Rype Fjord Snesund Nordvestfjord Flyver Fjord

Islands Among the islands in the Scoresby Sound, the largest by far is Milne Land, with the other islands in the sound near it. Milne Land has an area of and is located in the west-center part of the basin. Other islands are Storo and Sorte Island off the northwestern shore of Milne Land, Rode Island further south in Rode Fjord, Danmark Island off Milne Land's southern coast, and the Bjorne Islands off the northeastern headland of Milne Land.

Climate The climate is Arctic, with long, cold winters and severe storms. The temperatures of January–March vary between and with the average between and over the period 1971–1981. The mean summer temperatures are below .Archaeology, p. 8 Precipitation is low, at about per month.Archaeology, p. 11 Tides are semidiurnal, with the amplitude of .

Fauna

The fauna of the region is unusually rich for Greenland. This is because of several factors, such as availability of open water in the mouth, with polynyas not freezing even in winter, protection from the winds by the high relief, and relatively fertile land. The land animals include muskox, Arctic fox, stoat, mountain hare and lemming. Reindeer and Greenland wolf used to live in the area, but disappeared around the early 20th century.Archaeology, p. 18

Birds are represented by barnacle goose, pink-footed goose, snow goose, whooper swan, king eider, common eider, long-tailed duck, Brunnich's guillemot, black guillemot, little auk, puffin, fulmar, herring gull, glaucous gull, great black-backed gull, kittiwake, Arctic tern, red-throated diver, great northern diver, red-breasted merganser, ptarmigan, raven, snowy owl, Greenlandic gyrfalcon, etc. Most of them are migrating species and form large colonies which may contain up to millions of individuals (for little auk).Archaeology, pp. 19-20

Fishes of the area include Arctic char, Greenland halibut, polar cod, cuttlefish, wolf fish and Greenland shark.Archaeology, p. 21 Aquatic mammals are dominated by seals (ringed, hooded, harbor, bearded and harp seal) which feed on fish in winter (mostly polar cod) and crustaceans in summer.Archaeology, pp. 12-14 Larger species include Atlantic walrus, narwhal and sometimes beluga whale. Atlantic walrus feeds on mussels, fish and ringed seals, making it advantageous for ringed seals to disappear from the area when walruses are present for prolonged periods. Narwhals consume polar cod, Greenland halibut, cuttlefish, and pelagic crustaceans.Archaeology, p. 15

MuskoxArctic foxLittle aukAtlantic puffinstoat

See also List of fjords of Greenland List of research stations in the Arctic Scoresby Land

References

Bibliography

External links

Detailed map of the Scoresby Sund