Sea ice melt and meteoric water distributions in Nares Strait, Baffin Bay, and the Canadian Arctic Archipelago

2010 ◽  
Vol 68 (6) ◽  
pp. 767-798 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew B. Alkire ◽  
Kelly K. Falkner ◽  
Timothy Boyd ◽  
Robie W. Macdonald
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Meteoric Water ◽  
Canadian Arctic ◽  
Canadian Arctic Archipelago ◽  
Baffin Bay ◽  
Ice Melt ◽  
Nares Strait

scholarly journals Dimethylsulfide dynamics in first-year sea ice melt ponds in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaux Gourdal ◽  
Martine Lizotte ◽  
Guillaume Massé ◽  
Michel Gosselin ◽  
Michael Scarratt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Canadian Arctic ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
First Year ◽  
Canadian Arctic Archipelago ◽  
Ice Melt ◽  
Melt Pond ◽  
Potential Source ◽  
Melt Ponds ◽  
Cover Up

Abstract. Melt pond formation is a natural seasonal pan-Arctic process. During the thawing season, melt ponds may cover up to 90 % of the Arctic first year sea ice (FYI) and 15 to 25 % of the multi-year sea ice (MYI). These pools of water lying at the surface of the sea-ice cover are habitats for microorganisms and represent a potential source of the biogenic gas dimethylsulfide (DMS) for the atmosphere. Here we report on the concentrations and dynamics of DMS in nine melt ponds sampled in July 2014 in the Eastern Canadian Arctic. DMS concentrations were under the detection limit (

Increased Arctic Ocean sea ice loss through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago under a warmer climate

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Howell ◽  
Mike Brady
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Canadian Arctic ◽  
Open Water ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Canadian Arctic Archipelago ◽  
Nares Strait ◽  
The Arctic Ocean ◽  
Important Pathway

<p>The ice arches that ring the northern Canadian Arctic Archipelago have historically blocked the inflow of Arctic Ocean sea ice for the majority of the year. However, annual average air temperature in northern Canada has increased by more than 2°C over the past 65+ years and a warmer climate is expected to contribute to the deterioration of these ice arches, which in turn has implications for the overall loss of Arctic Ocean sea ice. We investigated the effect of warming on the Arctic Ocean ice area flux into the Canadian Arctic Archipelago using a 22-year record (1997-2018) of ice exchange derived from RADARSAT-1 and RADARSAT-2 imagery. Results indicated that there has been a significant increase in the amount of Arctic Ocean sea ice (10<sup>3</sup> km<sup>2</sup>/year) entering the northern Canadian Arctic Archipelago over the period of 1997-2018. The increased Arctic Ocean ice area flux was associated with reduced ice arch duration but also with faster (thinner) moving ice and more southern latitude open water leeway as a result of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago’s long-term transition to a younger and thinner ice regime. Remarkably, in 2016, the Arctic Ocean ice area flux into the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (161x10<sup>3</sup> km<sup>2</sup>) was 7 times greater than the 1997-2018 average (23x10<sup>3</sup> km<sup>2</sup>) and almost double the 2007 ice area flux into Nares Strait (87x10<sup>3</sup> km<sup>2</sup>). Indeed, Nares Strait is known to be an important pathway for Arctic Ocean ice loss however, the results of this study suggest that with continued warming, the Canadian Arctic Archipelago may also become a large contributor to Arctic Ocean ice loss.</p>

scholarly journals Thermodynamic and dynamic ice thickness contributions in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago in NEMO-LIM2 numerical simulations

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1233-1247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xianmin Hu ◽  
Jingfan Sun ◽  
Ting On Chan ◽  
Paul G. Myers
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Canadian Arctic ◽  
Horizontal Resolution ◽  
Scale Model ◽  
Ice Thickness ◽  
Canadian Arctic Archipelago ◽  
High Concentration ◽  
Baffin Bay ◽  
Ice Growth ◽  
Ice Volume

Abstract. Sea ice thickness evolution within the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA) is of great interest to science, as well as local communities and their economy. In this study, based on the NEMO numerical framework including the LIM2 sea ice module, simulations at both 1∕4 and 1/12∘ horizontal resolution were conducted from 2002 to 2016. The model captures well the general spatial distribution of ice thickness in the CAA region, with very thick sea ice (∼ 4 m and thicker) in the northern CAA, thick sea ice (2.5 to 3 m) in the west-central Parry Channel and M'Clintock Channel, and thin (<2 m) ice (in winter months) on the east side of CAA (e.g., eastern Parry Channel, Baffin Island coast) and in the channels in southern areas. Even though the configurations still have resolution limitations in resolving the exact observation sites, simulated ice thickness compares reasonably (seasonal cycle and amplitudes) with weekly Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) New Ice Thickness Program data at first-year landfast ice sites except at the northern sites with high concentration of old ice. At 1∕4 to 1/12∘ scale, model resolution does not play a significant role in the sea ice simulation except to improve local dynamics because of better coastline representation. Sea ice growth is decomposed into thermodynamic and dynamic (including all non-thermodynamic processes in the model) contributions to study the ice thickness evolution. Relatively smaller thermodynamic contribution to ice growth between December and the following April is found in the thick and very thick ice regions, with larger contributions in the thin ice-covered region. No significant trend in winter maximum ice volume is found in the northern CAA and Baffin Bay while a decline (r2 ≈ 0.6, p < 0.01) is simulated in Parry Channel region. The two main contributors (thermodynamic growth and lateral transport) have high interannual variabilities which largely balance each other, so that maximum ice volume can vary interannually by ±12 % in the northern CAA, ±15 % in Parry Channel, and ±9 % in Baffin Bay. Further quantitative evaluation is required.

scholarly journals Changing sea ice melt parameters in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago: Implications for the future presence of multiyear ice

2008 ◽  
Vol 113 (C9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen E. L. Howell ◽  
Adrienne Tivy ◽  
John J. Yackel ◽  
Brent G. T. Else ◽  
Claude R. Duguay
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Canadian Arctic ◽  
Canadian Arctic Archipelago ◽  
Ice Melt ◽  
The Future ◽  
Multiyear Ice

scholarly journals Dimethyl sulfide dynamics in first-year sea ice melt ponds in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (10) ◽  
pp. 3169-3188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaux Gourdal ◽  
Martine Lizotte ◽  
Guillaume Massé ◽  
Michel Gosselin ◽  
Michel Poulin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Dimethyl Sulfide ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Canadian Arctic ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
First Year ◽  
Canadian Arctic Archipelago ◽  
Ice Melt ◽  
Melt Ponds ◽  
Arctic Atmosphere

Abstract. Melt pond formation is a seasonal pan-Arctic process. During the thawing season, melt ponds may cover up to 90 % of the Arctic first-year sea ice (FYI) and 15 to 25 % of the multi-year sea ice (MYI). These pools of water lying at the surface of the sea ice cover are habitats for microorganisms and represent a potential source of the biogenic gas dimethyl sulfide (DMS) for the atmosphere. Here we report on the concentrations and dynamics of DMS in nine melt ponds sampled in July 2014 in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. DMS concentrations were under the detection limit (< 0.01 nmol L−1) in freshwater melt ponds and increased linearly with salinity (rs = 0.84, p ≤ 0.05) from ∼ 3 up to ∼ 6 nmol L−1 (avg. 3.7 ± 1.6 nmol L−1) in brackish melt ponds. This relationship suggests that the intrusion of seawater in melt ponds is a key physical mechanism responsible for the presence of DMS. Experiments were conducted with water from three melt ponds incubated for 24 h with and without the addition of two stable isotope-labelled precursors of DMS (dimethylsulfoniopropionate), (D6-DMSP) and dimethylsulfoxide (13C-DMSO). Results show that de novo biological production of DMS can take place within brackish melt ponds through bacterial DMSP uptake and cleavage. Our data suggest that FYI melt ponds could represent a reservoir of DMS available for potential flux to the atmosphere. The importance of this ice-related source of DMS for the Arctic atmosphere is expected to increase as a response to the thinning of sea ice and the areal and temporal expansion of melt ponds on Arctic FYI.

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