Skarnsundet & the Trondheim Fjord · Norway · Coral garden
Skarnsundet Reef
Deep-sea Lophelia coral growing on a ridge within scuba range
Photo: Heine Jensen · CC BY 4.0
Skarnsundet Reef is a Lophelia cold-water coral reef on a narrow ridge in the Skarnsundet strait of the Trondheim Fjord, lying at 43 m (140 ft). The tide limits it to two short windows a day, when the current slackens. Technical divers come to see reef-building corals that normally live in the dark deep sea.
Also known as Skarnsundet, Skarnsund.
Where it is and how deep
63.8566° N, 11.0637° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The reef can only be dived twice a day, in the pause when the current slackens before the tide turns, and that slack window can be as short as 15 minutes. Teams descend a line from the boat into dark water and drop to the white Lophelia mounds on the ridge at 43 m (140 ft). The current returns as the tide changes, and teams leave the ridge before it builds.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Prime | Prime | Good | Good |
Season follows Skarnsundet & the Trondheim Fjord: Diving runs all year; September and October give the best odds of fine weather and clear water, while spring and summer plankton blooms can cut visibility.
Know before you go
- Slack water over the ridge can last as little as 15 minutes before the tidal current picks up again.
- At 43 m (140 ft) the dive needs decompression, cold-water and technical skills.
Dive videos
Cold water coral habitats in Skarnsundet, Trondheim fjord. Fan corals & velvet belly lanternshark · Nina Åxman on YouTube
Sources
- The Dark Side — Scuba Diving
- Skarnsundet — Wikipedia
- Dive Center in Skarnsundet, Norway | Bare Dykk — Bare Dykk
Photo credits
- A white nudibranch with lilac-tipped tufts and a grey tube on its back, resting on orange branching coral over a black background by Heine Jensen, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
More dive sites in Skarnsundet & the Trondheim Fjord
Wreck
An upright 5,900-ton wartime freighter sloping from stern to bow
Wreck
Two wartime seaplanes resting in silt beside the Trondheim dock
Coral garden
White Lophelia coral over about 100 square metres
Yellow-orange sea fans hosting Grieg's tritonia nudibranchs
Similar dives elsewhere
Coral gardens across the island's southern tip, 15 m to 40 m
Coral garden off Apolima Island, dropping from 8 m to 40 m
Ghost pipefish, odd shrimps and nudibranchs in the coral
Hole-in-the-roof entry to coral blocks rising from 10 to 40 m to the surface