TY - JOUR
T1 - Iceberg production and characteristics around the Prince of Wales Icefield, Ellesmere Island, 1997-2015
AU - Dalton, Abigail
AU - Copland, Luke
AU - Tivy, Adrienne
AU - Van Wychen, Wesley
AU - Cook, Alison
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019, © 2019 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
The author was not affiliated to SAMS at the time of publication
Funding Information:
Support for this research has been provided by the University of Ottawa, the Canadian Ice Service (CIS), Natural Resources Canada (Program of Energy Research and Development), ArcticNet, the Northern Scientific Training Program, the Canadian Space Agency (Radarsat Constellation Mission Data Utilization and Application Plan), MEOPAR, NSERC, Canada Foundation for Innovation, Ontario Research Fund, Polar Continental Shelf Program and Transport Canada. Support for travel to conferences and attendance of courses was generously provided by the ArcticNet Training Fund, GlacioEx, and the SIU High North Fellowship. We thank the communities of Grise Fiord and Resolute Bay for permission to undertake fieldwork in our study region.
Funding Information:
Support for this research has been provided by the University of Ottawa, the Canadian Ice Service (CIS), Natural Resources Canada (Program of Energy Research and Development), ArcticNet, the Northern Scientific Training Program, the Canadian Space Agency (Radarsat Constellation Mission Data Utilization and Application Plan), MEOPAR, NSERC, Canada Foundation for Innovation, Ontario Research Fund, Polar Continental Shelf Program and Transport Canada. Support for travel to conferences and attendance of courses was generously provided by the ArcticNet Training Fund, GlacioEx, and the SIU High North Fellowship. We thank the communities of Grise Fiord and Resolute Bay for permission to undertake fieldwork in our study region.
PY - 2019/12/1
Y1 - 2019/12/1
N2 - Since the 1960s, warming air and sea surface temperatures have led to decreasing sea ice extent and longer periods of open water in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA), together with changes in glacier discharge patterns. An important question, therefore, is whether there is a relationship between changing sea ice conditions, glacier dynamics, and iceberg production in this region. Using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) (Radarsat-1, Radarsat-2, and ALOS PALSAR) and optical (Landsat 7 and 8) satellite imagery, iceberg plume events and sea ice break-up/freeze-up dates between 1997 and 2015 are investigated for 40 tidewater glaciers around the Prince of Wales (POW) Icefield, Ellesmere Island. Results show a clear relationship between the presence of sea ice and the production of icebergs, with ~49% of total iceberg plume events occurring during the 3–4 month long summer open water season and ~51% of events when sea ice was present the remaining 8–9 months of the year. There is no clear evidence of recent increases in iceberg production on a regional basis, but on a local, individual glacier scale there has been a connection between periods of increased iceberg plume events and: (a) acceleration in the surface velocity of Trinity and Wykeham glaciers; (b) increase in terminus retreat rates for glaciers which have not accelerated in flow speed over the past ~5–10 years. Comparisons with ocean temperature, surface air temperature from NCEP-NCAR reanalysis, and tidal data showed no clear relationship with iceberg plume events.
AB - Since the 1960s, warming air and sea surface temperatures have led to decreasing sea ice extent and longer periods of open water in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA), together with changes in glacier discharge patterns. An important question, therefore, is whether there is a relationship between changing sea ice conditions, glacier dynamics, and iceberg production in this region. Using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) (Radarsat-1, Radarsat-2, and ALOS PALSAR) and optical (Landsat 7 and 8) satellite imagery, iceberg plume events and sea ice break-up/freeze-up dates between 1997 and 2015 are investigated for 40 tidewater glaciers around the Prince of Wales (POW) Icefield, Ellesmere Island. Results show a clear relationship between the presence of sea ice and the production of icebergs, with ~49% of total iceberg plume events occurring during the 3–4 month long summer open water season and ~51% of events when sea ice was present the remaining 8–9 months of the year. There is no clear evidence of recent increases in iceberg production on a regional basis, but on a local, individual glacier scale there has been a connection between periods of increased iceberg plume events and: (a) acceleration in the surface velocity of Trinity and Wykeham glaciers; (b) increase in terminus retreat rates for glaciers which have not accelerated in flow speed over the past ~5–10 years. Comparisons with ocean temperature, surface air temperature from NCEP-NCAR reanalysis, and tidal data showed no clear relationship with iceberg plume events.
KW - Canadian Arctic
KW - glacier dynamics
KW - iceberg production
KW - sea ice conditions
KW - synthetic aperture radar
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85071979036&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/15230430.2019.1634442
DO - 10.1080/15230430.2019.1634442
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85071979036
SN - 1523-0430
VL - 51
SP - 412
EP - 427
JO - Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research
JF - Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research
IS - 1
ER -