HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE INCIDENCE OF SEA ICE ON THE SCOTIAN SHELF AND THE GULF OF ST. LAWRENCE

• Main Authors: Brian T. Hill, Alan Ruffman, Ken Drinkwater
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Canada; Sea ice
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.573.3170; http://researchers.imd.nrc.ca/~hillb/icedb/st_lawrence/Hill_etal_16.pdf

An historical record of the incidence of sea ice on the Scotian Shelf and the Gulf of St. Lawrence of Atlantic Canada has been compiled on an annual basis from the early 1800’s to 1962. A variety of data sources were used in the compilation of ice records including ice patrol and shipping reports, local newspapers, lighthouse records and other holdings in the U.S. and Canadian National Archives. In the order of 25,000 ice records were found and used in the plotting of monthly ice charts for the region. This current work was undertaken to lengthen an existing sea ice database covering the years from 1963 to near present. Natural gas development is well under way in the Sable Island area of the Scotian Shelf and while no ice has visited this island’s shores in recent memory, it is clear from the ice record that intrusions that far south are not unusual, historically.