The Oceans Surrounding Qeqertalik, Greenland
Today's article will discuss the oceans surrounding the Greenlandic state of Qeqertalik. Qeqertalik is the south central part of Greenland. It is shaped somewhat like a square & is an independent administrative zone. Greenland is an island off the coast of northern Canada which is owned by the European country of Denmark. The indigenous peoples of Greenland collectively call Greenland Kalaallit Nunaat. This roughly translates into “The land of the people”, However, that translation cannot be 100% confirmed. Qeqertalik is one of the smallest municipalities of Greenland, it is shaped rectangularly. It is an incredibly unique & diverse marine due to it being rather untouched by most humans & due to the abundance of natural resources. The municipality of Qeqertalik is 538.26 Nautical / Marine miles (619.418546 miles or 996.85752 kilometers) from mainland Canada at its closest points. Qeqertalik is also 1298.35 Nautical / Marine miles (1494.114496 miles or 2404.5442 kilometers from the continental United States. This does not include the islands of Canada, this is only the continental areas of Canada. Including islands, Greenland is a mere 12.34 Nautical / Marine Miles (14.200618 miles or 22.85368 kilometers) from Canadian territory. Due to Greenland's placement, it is often assumed that Greenland does not have very exciting marine life. It is also assumed that Greenland doesn’t have a diverse marine ecosystem. However, Greenland in fact does have many marine animals that live around the isle. One of the best examples of creatures that live around Qeqertalik in particular are narwhals which are found in very few other parts of the world. Not only does it have diverse fauna, but it has many unique strains of algae found around Qeqertalik. However, the majority of these marine species are incredibly hard to observe. This will be discussed throughout the article. In this article we will not be discussing all of Greenland's oceans, we will only be discussing the specific oceans around Qeqertalik. In this article, we will discuss the salinity, temperature, marine geography & terrain, the most important marine ecosystems, the documented marine flora & fauna, & the utilization of the marine resources of Qeqertalik. With that being said, let us delve into the frigid waters of Qeqertalik.
The Salinity, Temperature, Tides, Basic Information, & Marine Geography Of Qeqertalik
The average salinity in the waters surrounding Qeqertalik is 33.75 parts per thousand on average at any given time. The lowest measured salinity is 33 parts per thousand & the highest measured salinity is 34.5 parts per thousand. Salinity is measured in 1,000 grams of water. For every 1000 grams of water, there will be a certain number of grams that are pure salt. This is how salinity or saline level is measured. Greenland sits in the Arctic Ocean. The Arctic Ocean has the lowest salinity out of all existing oceans. This makes the existence of brine pools or salty deposits of water very unlikely. There are no ongoing factors that would contribute to the Salinity level being rapidly changed. The water temperature of Qeqertalik is found on a plethora of websites but the easiest one to navigate is https://www.tideschart.com. This contains both the water temperature & tidal charts. Due to Qeqertaliks' placement, the tides usually never get over 12.1391 feet tall (3.7 meters). However, for the Greenlandic Sea, the tide is not the same. Instead having an average high tide of 14.4357 feet (4.4 meters). These waves are usually the reason for ice packs not being near shore. The reason for that is due to these waves destroying & breaking apart the ice packs. The highest tide is usually the second tide of the day. The deepest oceanic point within 5 Nautical / Marine miles of Qeqertalik, is 1640.4 feet (499.99392 meters) deep. There is also somewhat of a current around Qeqertalik. This current flows to northern Greenland however it is extremely weak. There is also no riptide to the point where it would be dangerous to any swimmers. Swimming is not a common activity as it is extremely cold even in the summer months. There are not very many recreational marine activities that take place around Qeqertalik. The most popular recreational activity is to go out commercial sailing to look for marine animals. Water pollution is not very bad as most tourists don’t go to Qeqertalik & most boats do not pass through here. Most of the oceanic floor consists of mud, rock, & occasionally sand. There are hard coral reefs however those are off the coast of southern Greenland. There are no known coral reefs around Qeqertalik. However, this may change in the future.
The Most Prominent Marine Ecosystems Of Qeqertalik
Ice Sleets
Ice sheets are thick sheets of ice that are found offshore. They are usually not permanent fixtures & will often break apart after a while. This is a common place for animals to congregate & breed. A good example is walruses, as they often are seen congregating on ice sleets. These are also common places for animals to give live birth. These sleets are found on shore & are often between 1 foot & 5 feet thick.
Rock Tunnels & Formations
These types of ecological systems are the majority of the underwater shelter for fish or squid. These usually consist of large underwater tunnels or small rocks that are often burrowed into. These systems often function as fish nurseries, breeding grounds, hunting grounds, & living spaces for animals. Seagrass meadows are often found nearby as well. These formations are usually found between 15-300 feet (4.572 to 91.44 meters) deep.
Hard Coral Reefs
Hard coral reefs have been found off the coast of Cape Desolation, this makes the possibility of hard coral reefs around Qeqertalik quite high. However, this has never been proven. Individual coral stocks have been found however actual reefs have not been found around Qeqertalik. If these coral reefs were to exist they would have hard limestone exoskeletons. There is only 1 known species of cold water coral that was found at the Cape Desolation coral reef. This species was Lophelia Pertusa, also known as stone coral. This would mean that the supposed coral reefs at Qeqertalik would most likely only have stone coral.
The Documented Marine Flora Of Qeqertalik
There is only 1 known species of seagrass that is found around Qeqertalik. This species of seagrass is known as Zostera Marina (Common Eelgrass). This seagrass grows in many places around Qeqertalik & Greenland. It also weakens the current & prevents water erosion. It prevents water erosion by not allowing the water to flow as quickly. The eelgrass acts as a sort of buffer against the ground. There are also various species of algae that bloom on glaciers & ice sleets. These are known as Ice algae. However, the actual species of these algae have yet to have been released to the public domain. These algae blooms are absolutely horrible for the environment. The reason for that is that they are rapidly speeding up the rate at which these glaciers & ice sleets melt. The algae does this by causing the glacier to need more solar energy to sustain the algae, which in turn causes the glaciers to melt. This type of algae is known as Ice algae, not Glacier Algae. Glacier algae are for surface snow environments, not sea Ice environments. It is unknown which one of these is present, or if they all are present. Other than the aforementioned examples, there are very few other marine flora species, if any.
The Documented Marine Fauna Of Qeqertalik
There are very few types of marine Fauna found around Qeqertalik. The few species that are found have extremely specialized features that allow them to survive. Most marine creatures who are found around here have blubber or a high-fat diet which makes them larger. This would provide them with insulation that is much needed. For the sake of this article, we will not be counting polar bears, or water birds on the list. This is due to the fact that they are not mostly or fully aquatic. There is a particularly high density of shrimp around this area. This attracts many species looking for prey, which in turn gives a high density of those species. These species are seals. There are many different species of seals around Greenland & this can be attributed to the high density of shrimp. The most prominent marine species of Qeqertalik are the following: Monodon Monoceros (Narwhal), Megaptera Novaeangliae (Humpback Whale), Orcinus Orca (Orca / Killed Whale), Phoca Hispada (Ringed seal), Phoca Groenlandica (Saddleback Seal), Phoca Vitulina, (Harbour seal), Gadus Morhua (Atlantic cod), Salmo Salar (Atlantic salmon), Salvelinus alphinus (Arctic char), Hippoglossus Hippoglossus (Atlantic Halibut), Reinhardtius Hippoglossoides (Greenland Halibut), Sebastes Marinus (Rose Fish), Pandalus Borealis (Greenland Shrimp) & finally Anarhichas Lupus (Seawolf).
How The Marine Resources Of Qeqertalik Were Used & How It Affected The Oceans
The most common use of the marine resources of Qeqertalik is fishing. Often people will commercial fish around Greenland for Halibut, Salmon, & Shrimp. This affects the environment by causing population depletion of the mentioned species. This also causes certain other species such as seals, to starve. Also, the creatures that the mentioned species consume or prey upon will grow in population. This may cause an environmental crisis similar to the Crown Of Thornes issue around Tutuila, American Samoa.
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