Back to Search Start Over

An Examination of the Non-Formation of the North Water Polynya Ice Arch

Authors :
Ron F. Vincent
Source :
Remote Sensing, Volume 12, Issue 17, Pages: 2712, Remote Sensing, Vol 12, Iss 2712, p 2712 (2020)
Publication Year :
2020
Publisher :
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 2020.

Abstract

The North Water (NOW), situated between Ellesmere Island and Greenland in northern Baffin Bay, is the largest recurring polynya in the Canadian Arctic. Historically, the northern border of the NOW is defined by an ice arch that forms annually in Kane Basin, which is part of the Nares Strait system. In 2007 the NOW ice arch failed to consolidate for the first time since observations began in the 1950s. The non-formation of the NOW ice arch occurred again in 2009, 2010, 2017 and 2019. Satellite Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometry data shows that large floes broke off from the normally stable landfast ice in Kane Basin for each of these years, impeding ice arch formation. A closer analysis of a 2019 event, in which 2500 km2 of ice sheared away from Kane Basin, indicates that significant tidal forces played a role. The evidence suggests that thinning ice from a warming climate combined with large amplitude tides is a key factor in the changing ice dynamics of the NOW region. The non-formation of the NOW ice arch results in an increased loss of multiyear ice through Nares Strait.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
20724292
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
Remote Sensing
Accession number :
edsair.doi.dedup.....c725898cae41bda21188358336391818
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12172712