scholarly journals Analysis of ice conditions of year-round navigation of Arc7 vessels in the southwestern part of the Kara Sea

2021 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
pp. 236-248
Author(s):  
T. A. Alekseeva ◽  
S. V. Frolov ◽  
V. Ye. Fedyakov ◽  
E. I. Makarov ◽  
E. U. Mironov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Kara Sea ◽  
Southwestern Part ◽  
The North ◽  
Northern Sea Route ◽  
Ice Conditions ◽  
Ice Regime ◽  
Ice Navigation ◽  
New Generation ◽  
Hydrometeorological Conditions

Since 2006, a new generation of reinforced ice class Arc7 vessels has been operating on the Northern Sea Route. Safe and efficient sailing of this type of vessels in sea ice demands a detailed study of ice conditions. Accumulation and analysis of data on ice and hydrometeorological conditions for the entire Arctic in comparison with ice conditions along the route of vessels is an essential part of the development of optimal variants and optimal routes for ice navigation.The main aim of the study was to generalize the conditions of ice navigation of Norilskiy Nickel vessels along the optimal navigational routes in the south-western part of the Kara Sea. Based on the reports on sailing obtained from vessels of the “Norilskiy Nickel” type for the 2006–2014 period, we calculated the probability of choosing the optimal route along the Murmansk – Dudinka passage: through the Kara Gate Strait (seaward, central or coastal route) or the north of Cape Zhelaniya. During the year, vessels move predominantly through the Kara Gate. However, for three month per year, from April to June, the most appropriate route lies to the north of the Zhelaniya Cape. In April – May it is, on average, every second navigation, and in June – more than 80 % of all navigation. The features of the ice regime determining the choice of the specific navigation route, are described. The speeds of vessels of the “Norilskiy Nickel” type along various navigation routes in drifting sea ice of the Kara Sea are calculated. The fastest speed in drifting ice was recorded in the winter navigations of 2007–2008 and 2011–2012, in the January-May of these years the average speed was 10.2 and 11.2, correspondingly. The minimum speed in these years, even during the months of maximum ice cover growth, was not less than 4.8 knots. In other years, the average speeds were in the range of 9.2–9.8 knots. During the whole period of study, ice conditions that were extremely difficult for navigation formed three times: at the end of May 2009, at the end of March 2010 and in the middle of March 2011, these are considered in more detail in the present article.

Winter navigation in the Northern Sea Route using RADARSAT data

Polar Record ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 36 (199) ◽  
pp. 335-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vitali Yu. Alexandrov ◽  
Stein Sandven ◽  
Ola M. Johannessen ◽  
Lasse H. Pettersson ◽  
Øyvind Dalen
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Kara Sea ◽  
Pixel Size ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Sar Images ◽  
Northern Sea Route ◽  
Ice Conditions ◽  
Ice Navigation ◽  
Near Future ◽  
Wide Swath

AbstractThe results are presented of the first winter ice navigation demonstration, using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images from the Canadian satellite RADARSAT, onboard the nuclear icebreaker Sovetskiy Soyuz in the Kara Sea region in April–May 1998. While ERS SAR data only could cover part of the sea ice in this large area, the demonstration showed that RADARSAT ScanSAR images with 100 m pixel size could be used to map all relevant ice areas with a few 500 × 500 km scenes. SAR images transferred onboard icebreakers in near real time offer an excellent possibility to select optimal sailing routes in difficult ice conditions such as those that were encountered by this expedition. SAR images were also used for planning of operations prior to the expedition. This study compares sub-satellite sea-ice observations with RADARSAT SAR as well as Okean side-looking radar (SLR) signatures of the major ice types and features found in the Kara Sea during winter. Wide-swath SAR images will become available from several new satellites in the near future, such as Envisat, scheduled in 2001, and RADARSAT-2, in 2002. Satellite SAR images will therefore play an increasingly important role in operational ice monitoring both in the Northern Sea Route and in other ice areas.

Intermittency of Arctic-midlatitude teleconnections: the stratospheric pathway between autumn sea ice and the winter NAO

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Yu Feng Siew ◽  
Camille Li ◽  
Stefan Sobolowski ◽  
Martin King
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Causal Effect ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Kara Sea ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
Winter Climate ◽  
The North ◽  
Nao Index ◽  
Ice Conditions ◽  
The North Atlantic Oscillation

<p>An observed relationship linking Arctic sea ice conditions in autumn to the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index the following winter has potential relevance for seasonal predictions of European and North American climate. The physical pathway most often invoked to explain this particular teleconnection passes through the stratosphere. A Causal Effect Networks (CEN) approach is used to explore this stratospheric pathway between late autumn Barents-Kara sea ice and the February NAO, focusing on its seasonal evolution, timescale-dependence, and robustness. This pathway is statistically detectable in the satellite period, explaining 26% of the interannual variability in the February NAO. However, a bootstrap-resampling test reveals that the pathway is highly intermittent: the whole pathway emerges in only 15% of the bootstrapped samples. The intermittent nature of the pathway is consistent with the weak signal-to-noise ratio of the atmospheric response in the sea ice perturbation experiments, and suggests that a background state is important in determining whether the pathway is active. Higher frequency synoptic interactions between Barents-Kara sea ice and sea level pressure over Urals potentially interfere with the stratospheric pathway. Such interference likely reduces the potential for using the ice-NAO relationship for predicting midlatitude winter climate. This study helps quantify the robustness of linkages within the stratospheric pathway, and provides insight into which linkages are most subject to sampling issues within the relatively short observational record.</p>

Northern Sea Route: Modern State and Challenges

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nataliya Marchenko
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Chukchi Sea ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Economic Feasibility ◽  
Asia Pacific ◽  
Russian Arctic ◽  
The North ◽  
Technical Requirements ◽  
Northern Sea Route ◽  
Ice Conditions

It is well-known that navigating the waterway from the primary trade hubs in northern Europe to the Asia-Pacific ports and contrariwise along the Russian Arctic Coast (Northern Sea Route - NSR) is much shorter and faster, than southern ways via Suez or around Africa. The NSR can significantly save costs (through saving time and fuel) and avoids the risk of attack by pirates. In addition, an increase in oil and gas activity in the North, forecasts of global warming and an ice-free Arctic have stimulated interest in Arctic navigation. However, Arctic transportation poses significant challenges because of the heavy ice conditions that exist during both the winter and summer. The profitability of using the NSR is called into question if possible high tariffs are included in the cost estimates. For many years, the NSR was principally used for internal Russian transport and since the end of the 1980s up until 2010, it was in stagnation with total amount of cargo transported annually stood at less than two million tons. Important political decisions in the 90s and increased economic feasibility intensified traffic and freight turnover. In 2013, the NSR Administration (NSRA) was established, new rules for navigation were approved and tariff policies were modified. In 2013, the NSRA issued 635 permits to sail in NSR waters, and 71 transit voyages have since been completed. The total amount of transit cargo was 1.36 million tons. More than 40% of the total number of permits were issued to vessels without ice class [1] according to the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping [2]. There are strong technical requirements for vessels attempting to sail the NSR; regardless, several accidents occurred in 2012–2013. Two vessels were dented by ice in the Chukchi Sea in 2012. A tanker was holed in September 2013 and created a real danger of an ecological disaster from fuel leakage for several days. Despite the expectation of an ice-free Arctic, the ice conditions in 2013 were rather difficult, and the Vilkitsky Strait (a key strait in the NSR between the Kara and Laptev seas) was closed by ice for almost the entire navigation period. In this paper, we review the current situation in the Russian Arctic, including political and administrative actions, recent accidents and the associated conditions and lessons learned.

scholarly journals Month-to-Month Variability of Winter Temperature over Northeast China Linked to Sea Ice over the Davis Strait–Baffin Bay and the Barents–Kara Sea

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (19) ◽  
pp. 6365-6384 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haixia Dai ◽  
Ke Fan ◽  
Jiping Liu
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Northeast China ◽  
Rossby Waves ◽  
Kara Sea ◽  
Negative Phase ◽  
Baffin Bay ◽  
The North ◽  
Davis Strait ◽  
The North Atlantic

Abstract This study focuses on the month-to-month variability of winter temperature anomalies over Northeast China (NECTA), especially the out-of-phase change between December and January–February (colder than normal in December and warmer than normal in January–February, and vice versa), which accounts for 30% of the past 37 years (1980–2016). Our analysis shows that the variability of sea ice concentration (SIC) in the preceding November over the Davis Strait–Baffin Bay (SIC_DSBB) mainly affects NECTA in December, whereas the SIC over the Barents–Kara Sea (SIC_BKS) significantly impacts NECTA in January–February. A possible reason for the different effects of SIC_DSBB and SIC_BKS on NECTA is that the month-to-month increments (here called DM) of SIC over these two areas between October and November are different. A smaller DM of SIC_DSBB in November can generate eastward-propagating Rossby waves toward East Asia, whereas a larger DM of SIC_BKS can affect upward-propagating stationary Rossby waves toward the stratosphere in November. Less than normal SIC_DSBB in November corresponds to a negative phase of the sea surface temperature tripole pattern over the North Atlantic, which contributes to a negative phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO)-like geopotential height anomalies via the eddy-feedback mechanism, ultimately favoring cold conditions over Northeast China. However, positive November SIC_BKS anomalies can suppress upward-propagating Rossby waves that originate from the troposphere in November, strengthening the stratospheric polar vortex and leading to a positive phase of an Arctic Oscillation (AO)-like pattern in the stratosphere. Subsequently, these stratospheric anomalies propagate downward, causing the AO-like pattern in the troposphere in January–February, favoring warm conditions in Northeast China, and vice versa.

A model study of St. Marys River ice navigation

1977 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 380-391 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. E. Cowley ◽  
J. W. Hayden ◽  
W. W. Willis
Keyword(s):  
Lake Superior ◽  
Model Tests ◽  
Lake Huron ◽  
Scale Model ◽  
River Ice ◽  
Model Study ◽  
Highly Effective ◽  
Ice Conditions ◽  
Ice Regime ◽  
Ice Navigation

Ice conditions on the St. Marys River hamper winter navigation between Lake Superior and Lake Huron. Vessel movements in the river during winter months lead to changes in the river ice regime and affect local ferry service across the river. A hydraulic scale model of a 7300-m length of the waterway extending downstream from the Soo Locks was used to compare alternatives for relieving these effects. Methods for representing ice behavior were a key element in the model study.An arrangement of ice booms with an open ship passage which does not impede navigation was developed and recommended on the basis of model tests. That boom arrangement was installed at the end of 1975 and proved to be highly effective under the ice conditions experienced in the 1975–1976 and 1976–1977 winter seasons.

scholarly journals Dynamics and Impacting Factors of Ice Regimes in Latvia Inland and Coastal Waters

2016 ◽  
Vol 70 (6) ◽  
pp. 400-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Māris Kļaviņš ◽  
Zanita Avotniece ◽  
Valērijs Rodinovs
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Sea Water ◽  
Inland Waters ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
Ice Regime ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The sea ice regime is considered to be a sensitive indicator of climate change. This study investigates long-term changes in the ice regimes of the Gulf of Riga along the coast of Latvia in comparison with those of inland waters. The ice regime of the studied region indicates the impact of climate change related to increasing air and sea water temperatures. Ice cover duration on both the sea and inland waters has decreased during recent decades. In addition, long-term records on ice break in the studied region exhibit a pattern of periodic changes in the intensity of ice regime, while trends of the sea ice regime are not consistent between periods of time. Alternating mild and severe winters also occur. The ice regime was shown to be strongly influenced by large-scale atmospheric circulation processes over the North Atlantic, as indicated by close correlation with the North Atlantic Oscillation index.

scholarly journals Sea ice and the stability of north and northeast Greenland floating glaciers

2001 ◽  
Vol 33 ◽  
pp. 474-480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niels Reeh ◽  
Henrik Højmark Thomsen ◽  
Anthony K. Higgins ◽  
Anker Weidick
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
Aerial Photographs ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
The North ◽  
Glacier Ice ◽  
Ice Conditions ◽  
Fast Ice ◽  
Break Up ◽  
The Stability

AbstractThe interaction between sea ice and glaciers has been studied for the floating tongue of Nioghalvfjerdsfjorden glacier, northeast Greenland (79°30’N, 22° W). Information from glacial geological studies, expedition reports, aerial photographs and satellite imagery is used to document the glacier front position and fast-ice conditions on millennial to decadal time-scales. The studies indicate that the stability of the floating glacier margin is dependent on the presence of a protecting fast-ice cover in front of the glacier. In periods with a permanent fast-ice cover, no calving occurs, but after fast-ice break-up the glacier responds with a large calving activity, whereby several years of accumulated glacier-ice flux suddenly breaks away. Climate-induced changes of sea-ice conditions in the Arctic Ocean with seasonal break-up of the near-shore fast ice could lead to disintegration of the floating glaciers. The present dominant mass loss by bottom melting would then to a large extent be taken over by grounding-line calving of icebergs. The local influx of fresh water from the north Greenland glaciers to the sea would be reduced and the local iceberg production would increase.

scholarly journals Climate variability of the Kara sea ice massifs

2017 ◽  
pp. 37-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. O. Karklin ◽  
A. V. Yulin ◽  
M. V. Sharatunova ◽  
L. Р. Mоchnova
Keyword(s):  
Climate Variability ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Kara Sea ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Ice Conditions ◽  
Marine Applications ◽  
First Time

The difficulty of ice conditions and their impact on various marine applications are mainly related to fluctuations in ice massifs areas that are subject not only to interannual, but also to climate variability. The article presents for the first time the analysis of the areas of the Kara Sea ice massifs in the summer during for the “cold” (1954–1985) and “warm” (1986–2017) climatic periods in the Arctic. The typical changes in ice massifs areas and frequency of their absence in different climatic periods can be used to characterize the predicted type of ice conditions in the Kara Sea.

scholarly journals Seasonal sea ice predictions for the Arctic based on assimilation of remotely sensed observations

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 5521-5554 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Kauker ◽  
T. Kaminski ◽  
R. Ricker ◽  
L. Toudal-Pedersen ◽  
G. Dybkjaer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Numerical Models ◽  
Remotely Sensed ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Ice Thickness ◽  
Initial State ◽  
The North ◽  
Independent Observations ◽  
Ice Conditions

Abstract. The recent thinning and shrinking of the Arctic sea ice cover has increased the interest in seasonal sea ice forecasts. Typical tools for such forecasts are numerical models of the coupled ocean sea ice system such as the North Atlantic/Arctic Ocean Sea Ice Model (NAOSIM). The model uses as input the initial state of the system and the atmospheric boundary condition over the forecasting period. This study investigates the potential of remotely sensed ice thickness observations in constraining the initial model state. For this purpose it employs a variational assimilation system around NAOSIM and the Alfred Wegener Institute's CryoSat-2 ice thickness product in conjunction with the University of Bremen's snow depth product and the OSI SAF ice concentration and sea surface temperature products. We investigate the skill of predictions of the summer ice conditions starting in March for three different years. Straightforward assimilation of the above combination of data streams results in slight improvements over some regions (especially in the Beaufort Sea) but degrades the over-all fit to independent observations. A considerable enhancement of forecast skill is demonstrated for a bias correction scheme for the CryoSat-2 ice thickness product that uses a spatially varying scaling factor.

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