Canadian Arctic Marine Transportation Issues, Opportunities and Challenges ...

• Main Authors: Lasserre, Frédéric, Bartenstein, Kristin
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: The School of Public Policy Publications 2022
• Subjects: Arctic; Arctic Ocean; Baffin Bay; Greenland; Baffin; Canadian Archipelago; Global warming; Iceberg*; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.11575/sppp.v15i1.72626; https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/sppp/article/view/72626

Melting sea ice Although ice will always be present in the Arctic in winter, global warming induces a steady decline of the extent of sea ice and a rapid decrease in the share of multi-year ice, giving way to younger, thinner sea ice and giving credit to modelled scenarios of ice-free summers during the 21st century. However, ice remains a hazard and an impediment to navigation. Thinner and more fragmented ice moves faster and in patterns that are difficult to predict. It also seems more prone to building compression ridges. Ice arches preventing hard multi-year ice of the Arctic Ocean basin from penetrating into the Canadian Archipelago are weakening. In Baffin Bay, accelerated iceberg calving from Greenland is likely to increase the number of growlers, which pose a serious risk for navigation. From this emerges a nuanced picture of shipping conditions in the Canadian Arctic. Expanding commercial shipping Shipping in the Canadian Arctic is mainly driven by fishing, mining activities and community resupply, ... : The School of Public Policy Publications, Vol. 15 No. 1 (2022) ...