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Increasing Mobility of High Arctic Sea Ice Increases Marine Hazards Off the East Coast of Newfoundland
Author(s) -
Barber D. G.,
Babb D. G.,
Ehn J. K.,
Chan W.,
Matthes L.,
Dalman L. A.,
Campbell Y.,
Harasyn M. L.,
Firoozy N.,
Theriault N.,
Lukovich J. V.,
Zagon T.,
Papakyriakou T.,
Capelle D. W.,
Forest A.,
Gariepy A.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2017gl076587
Subject(s) - sea ice , oceanography , arctic ice pack , coast guard , archipelago , arctic , drift ice , geology , cryosphere , antarctic sea ice , arctic sea ice decline , iceberg , environmental science , environmental protection
Heavy ice conditions along Canada's east coast during spring 2017 presented hazardous conditions for the maritime industry and required the Canadian Coast Guard to pull its research icebreaker, CCGS Amundsen , off its scientific cruise to provide ice escort services and conduct search and rescue operations along Newfoundland's northeast coast. Greater ice concentrations and a thicker ice pack than are typical of this area created the anomalous ice cover. Within this paper we present in situ observations of the ice cover, confirming that pieces of multiyear sea ice from the high Arctic were present within the ice cover, and subsequently examine the transport pathway that connects the export of thick multiyear sea ice from the Lincoln Sea and Canadian Arctic Archipelago to coastal communities in Newfoundland. We conclude with a discussion on how an increasingly mobile Arctic sea ice cover may increase these ice hazards in the south.