Sea ice of the northern Canadian Arctic Archipelago

Existing information concerning the pack ice and relevant climate variables of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago north of Parry Channel is summarized. This knowledge is enhanced by newly available data on ice thickness derived from 123,703 drill holes completed during the 1970s. Pack ice in this area is a mix of multiyear, second‐year, and first‐year ice types, with the latter subordinate except in the southeast. Ice remains land fast for more than half the year, and summertime ice concentration is high (7–9 tenths). In a typical year, less than 20% of the old ice and 50% of the first‐year ice melt. There are large interannual fluctuations in ice coverage and some suggestion of a decadal cycle. The average ice thickness in late winter is 3.4 m but subregional means reach 5.5 m. The pack is a mix of two populations, one consisting largely of multiyear ice imported from the zone of heavy ridging along the periphery of the Beaufort gyre and the other consisting of a mix of relatively undeformed first‐year, second‐year, and multiyear ice types that grow and age within the basin. The ice of the Sverdrup Basin is strongly influenced by a flux of heat (approximately 10 W m −2 ) that originates in the Atlantic‐derived waters of the Arctic Ocean. The drift of ice through the basin is controlled in the present climate by the formation of stable ice bridges across connecting channels. The drift is episodic. Relaxation of these controls in a warmer climate may cause deterioration in ice conditions in Canadian Arctic waters.