An official website of the United States government
Abstract Hudson Strait is seasonally ice covered and is the only part of the Canadian Arctic where winter shipping takes place. Yet, very little is known about the thickness and dynamics of this ice pack. During winter operations, icebreakers often face besetting events, which can slow or immobilize vessels for up to a few days. Using in situ observations of ice draft and drift collected by moored sonars at two sites in Hudson Strait from 2005 to 2009, we provide the first detailed analysis of sea ice dynamics within Hudson Strait and provide insights into the processes that dictate ice thickness and internal pressure along this unique winter shipping corridor. Prevailing northwesterly winds drive south‐southeastward ice motion within the Strait, maintaining polynyas along Baffin Island on the north side of the Strait, and compressing the ice pack against Nunavik on the southern side. As a result, ice on the northern side remains young and thin throughout winter ( = 1.25 m), whereas ice on the southern side is older, heavily deformed and ∼60% thicker by March ( = 2.01 m). Intermittent reversals to southeasterly winds decompress the ice pack on the southern side, increasing the presence of leads and easing navigation through the ice pack to the port in Deception Bay. The spatial variability in sea ice thickness elucidated by the moorings is corroborated at the regional scale using satellite observations from ICESat‐2 during winter 2019, 2020, and 2021, and complimented by high‐resolution fields of sea ice motion during winter 2021.
more »
« less
Mapping vessel traffic patterns in the ice-covered waters of the Pacific Arctic
Abstract Recent climate change has caused declines in ice coverage which have lengthened the open water season in the Arctic and increased access to resources and shipping routes. These changes have resulted in more vessel activity in seasonally ice-covered regions. While traffic is increasing in the ice-free season, the amount of vessel activity in the marginal ice zone (ice concentration 15–80%) or in pack ice (>80% concentration) remains unclear. Understanding patterns of vessel activities in ice is important given increased safety challenges and environmental impacts. Here, we couple high-resolution ship tracking information with sea ice thickness and concentration data to quantify vessel activity in ice-covered areas of the Pacific Arctic (northern Bering, Chukchi, and western Beaufort Seas). This region is a geo-strategically critical area that contains globally important commercial fisheries and serves as a corridor for Arctic access for wildlife and vessels. We find that vessel traffic in the marginal ice zone is widely distributed across the study area while vessel traffic in pack ice is concentrated along known shipping routes and in areas of natural resource development. Of the statistically significant relationships between vessel traffic and both sea ice concentration and thickness, over 99% are negative, indicating that increasing sea ice is associated with decreasing vessel traffic on a monthly time scale. Furthermore, there is substantial vessel traffic in areas of high concentration for bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus), and traffic in these areas increased four-fold during the study period. Fishing vessels dominate vessel traffic at low ice concentrations, but vessels categorized as Other, likely icebreakers, are the most common vessel type in pack ice. These findings indicate that vessel traffic in areas of ice coverage is influenced by distant policy and resource development decisions which should be taken into consideration when trying to predict future vessel-ice interactions in a changing climate.
more »
« less
- PAR ID:
- 10428719
- Publisher / Repository:
- Springer Science + Business Media
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Climatic Change
- Volume:
- 176
- Issue:
- 7
- ISSN:
- 0165-0009
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
Abstract As Arctic open water increases, shipping activity to and from mid- and western Russian Arctic ports to points south has notably increased. A number of Arctic municipalities hope increased vessel traffic will create opportunities to become a major transshipment hub. However, even with more traffic passing these ports, it might still be economically cheaper to offload cargo at a more southern port, which may also result in lower emissions. Ultimately, the question of whether to use a transshipment in the Arctic versus an established major European port is determined by the relative costs (or emissions) of sea versus land travel. This study calculates the relative competitiveness of six Norwegian coastal cities as multimodal hubs for shipments. We quantify the relative prices and CO2emissions for sea and land travel for routes starting at the Norwegian–Russian sea border with an ultimate destination in central Europe and find that all existing routes are not competitive with routes using the major existing Port of Rotterdam (Netherlands); even with investments in port expansion and modernization, they would be underutilized regardless of an increase in vessel traffic destined for central Europe. We then examine under what relative prices (emissions) these routes become economically viable or result in lower emissions than using existing southern ports. Notably, the cheapest routes generally produce the lowest emissions, and the most expensive routes tend to have the largest emissions. Communities should consider relative competitiveness prior to making large infrastructure investments. While some choices are physically possible, they may not be economically viable. Significance StatementClimate change, while disruptive, can also create new opportunities. Many Arctic cities hope to become a major transshipping hub as declining sea ice opens new shipping routes from western and mid-Russian Arctic ports to European ports. This paper quantifies the relative competitiveness of six Norwegian coastal cities as multimodal transportation hubs and finds that they are uncompetitive with the more southern port in Rotterdam (Netherlands). We also show that the most economically competitive routes have lower direct emissions. Thus, while Arctic ports provide critical services in support of local and regional economic activity, even with year-round Arctic navigation Arctic ports’ development into major transshipment hubs for cargo destined for more distant locations may be neither economically viable nor desirable.more » « less
-
Many uncertainties and a complex suite of drivers of change are influencing the future of Arctic marine operations and commercial shipping. Most notably, the well-documented reduction of Arctic sea ice extent and thickness and the transition from thick, multi-year to seasonal, first-year ice are profound responses to anthropogenic climate change. The Arctic Ocean is becoming more navigable, with greater marine access now attained in most regions. The possibilities for longer seasons of marine navigation during spring, summer, and autumn are real, but the vision of new, year-round (routine) Arctic shipping that could alter global trade routes remains highly implausible. Arctic shipping remains largely destinational, with ships traveling into the Arctic Ocean to conduct an economic activity (Lasserre, 2019).more » « less
-
Phytoplankton blooms in the Arctic marginal ice zone (MIZ) can be prolific dimethylsulfide (DMS) producers, thereby influencing regional aerosol formation and cloud radiative forcing. Here we describe the distribution of DMS and its precursor dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) across the Baffin Bay receding ice edge in early summer 2016. Overall, DMS and total DMSP (DMSPt) increased towards warmer waters of Atlantic origin concurrently with more advanced ice-melt and bloom stages. Relatively high DMS and DMSPt (medians of 6.3 and 70 nM, respectively) were observed in the surface layer (0–9 m depth), and very high values (reaching 74 and 524 nM, respectively) at the subsurface biomass maximum (15–30 m depth). Microscopic and pigment analyses indicated that subsurface DMS and DMSPt peaks were associated with Phaeocystis pouchetii, which bloomed in Atlantic-influenced waters and reached unprecedented biomass levels in Baffin Bay. In surface waters, DMS concentrations and DMS:DMSPt ratios were higher in the MIZ (medians of 12 nM and 0.15, respectively) than in fully ice-covered or ice-free conditions, potentially associated with enhanced phytoplanktonic DMSP release and bacterial DMSP cleavage (high dddP:dmdA gene ratios). Mean sea–air DMS fluxes (micromol m–2 d–1) increased from 0.3 in ice-covered waters to 10 in open waters (maximum of 26) owing to concurrent trends in near-surface DMS concentrations and physical drivers of gas exchange. Using remotely sensed sea-ice coverage and a compilation of sea–air DMS flux data, we estimated that the pan-Arctic DMS emission from the MIZ was 5–13 Gg S yr–1. North of 80 oN, DMS emissions might have increased by around 10% yr–1 between 2003 and 2014, likely exceeding open-water emissions in June and July. We conclude that DMS emissions from the MIZ must be taken into account to evaluate plankton-climate feedbacks in the Arctic.more » « less
-
Abstract The Atlantic multidecadal variability (AMV) and Pacific multidecadal variability (PMV) can influence Arctic sea ice and modulate its trend, but to what extent the AMV and PMV can affect Arctic sea ice and which processes are dominant are not well understood. Here, we analyze the Community Earth System Model, version 1, idealized and time-varying pacemaker ensemble simulations to investigate these issues. These experiments show that the sea ice concentration varies mainly over the marginal Arctic Ocean, while the sea ice thickness variations occur over the entire Arctic Ocean. The internal components of AMV and PMV can enhance or weaken the decadal sea ice loss rates over the marginal Arctic Ocean by more than 50%. The AMV- or PMV-induced anomalous atmospheric energy transport and downward longwave radiation related to low clouds (thermodynamical processes) and sea ice motion (dynamical processes) contribute to the Arctic surface air temperature and sea ice concentration and thickness changes. Anomalous oceanic heat flux is mainly a response to rather than a cause of sea ice variations. The dynamic processes contribute to the winter Arctic sea ice variations as much as the thermodynamic processes, but they contribute less (more) to the summer Arctic sea ice variability than the thermodynamic processes over the marginal Arctic Ocean (parts of the central Arctic Ocean). Sea ice loss enhances air–sea heat fluxes, which cause oceanic heat convergence and warm near-surface air and the lower troposphere, which in turn melt more sea ice.more » « less
