Sea ice and snow phenology in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago from 1997 to 2018

The multiple islands and narrow channels that form the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA) complicate snow/ice monitoring, as coarse resolution satellite observations are unable to resolve smaller-scale changes in snow/ice cover. We present the first study showing the utility of the Interactive Multis...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Arctic Science
Main Authors: Alicia L.A. Dauginis, Laura C. Brown
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
French
Published: Canadian Science Publishing 2021
Subjects:
ims
geo
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2020-0024
https://doaj.org/article/823b511a0d4148258a1daa8f897a3d50
Description
Summary:The multiple islands and narrow channels that form the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA) complicate snow/ice monitoring, as coarse resolution satellite observations are unable to resolve smaller-scale changes in snow/ice cover. We present the first study showing the utility of the Interactive Multisensor Snow and Ice Mapping System (IMS) 24 km (1997–2018) and 4 km (2004–2018) products to investigate changes in sea ice and snow phenology together in the CAA. Although ice break-up and snow retreat are shifting earlier (p > 0.05), on par with other Arctic regions, the final summer clearing of ice is shifting later. This, combined with trends towards earlier ice freeze and snow fall (p < 0.05), result in shorter open water and snow free seasons in the CAA. Spatial links between sea ice and snow are evident as significant clusters of trends were identified for all phenology parameters. The western regions were dominated by shifts towards shorter snow/ice seasons, whereas eastern regions tended to exhibit longer cover. Our research highlights the considerable regional and interannual variability in the timing of sea ice and snow advance/retreat within the CAA and emphasizes how the ice and snow dynamics in this complex region are responding to ongoing changing climate conditions.