Sea ice transport and replenishment across and within the Canadian Arctic Archipelago: 2016–2022

• Published in: Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems
• Main Authors: Howell, Stephen E. L., Babb, David G., Landy, Jack C., Glissenaar, Isolde A., McNeil, Kaitlin, Montpetit, Benoit, Brady, Mike
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Copernicus Publications 2023
• Subjects: article; Verlagsveröffentlichung; Arctic; Arctic Ocean; Baffin Bay; Byam Martin Channel; Canadian Arctic Archipelago; Nares; Northwest Passage; Parry; Arctic Archipelago; Baffin; Nares strait; North Atlantic; Northwest passage; Parry Channel; Queen Elizabeth Islands; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2366; https://noa.gwlb.de/receive/cop_mods_00069828; https://noa.gwlb.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/cop_derivate_00068199/egusphere-2023-2366.pdf; https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2023/egusphere-2023-2366/egusphere-2023-2366.pdf

The Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA) serves as both a source and sink for sea ice from the Arctic Ocean, while also exporting sea ice into Baffin Bay. We use observations from Sentinel-1, RADARSAT-2, the RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM), and CryoSat-2 together with the Canadian Ice Service ice charts to quantify sea ice transport and replenishment across and within the CAA from 2016 to 2022. We also provide the first estimates of the ice area and volume flux within the CAA from the Queen Elizabeth Islands to the Parry Channel which spans the central region of the Northwest Passage shipping route. Results indicate that the CAA primarily exports ice to the Arctic Ocean and Baffin Bay with an average annual (October to September) ice area flux of 134±72x103 km2 and a volume flux of 40±74 km3. The CAA contributes a larger area but smaller volume of ice downstream to the North Atlantic than what is delivered via Nares Strait. The average annual ice area flux from the Queen Elizabeth Islands to the Parry Channel was 27±10x103 km2 and the volume flux was 34±12 km3, with a majority occurring through Byam Martin Channel which is directly above the central region of Northwest Passage. Over our study period, annual multi-year ice (MYI) replenishment within the CAA was resilient with an average of 16±49x103 km2 imported from the Arctic Ocean, and an average of 56±36x103 km2 of first-year ice (FYI) retained following the melt season. The considerable ice flux to the Parry Channel together with sustained MYI replenishment emphasizes the continued risk that sea ice poses to practical utilization of key shipping routes in the CAA, including the Northwest Passage.