| Summary: | This thesis examines shipping accessibility in the seasonally ice-covered waters of Hudson Bay, James Bay, Hudson Strait, and Foxe Basin, and discusses the social and environmental implications of shipping in the study area. Shipping accessibility was analyzed for 1980 to 2016 by characterizing the timing of breakup, freeze-up, and the open water season using sea ice concentration thresholds of 15 or 20%, approximating navigable conditions for open water vessels. Research was channeled through three manuscripts. Findings indicate that there is considerable spatiotemporal variation in shipping accessibility in the study area. For example, the open water season currently varies between 64 and 224 days across the area. Shipping accessibility has generally increased since 1980, and spatial variation in the trends has altered the patterns of breakup and freeze-up in the area. Finally, research reveals that shipping has an important social role in the study area that is offset by potential environmental impacts. October 2017
|
|---|