During the Arctic winter, a snow-pack forms over the sea ice. Typically 20-30 cm deep, it is thin relative to the thickness of the ice below. However, this snow layer plays a fundamental role in different domains. Snow is composed of small ice crystals surrounded by air. This very simple structure leads to two important physical properties: Continue reading Rapid, dramatic changes of surface sea ice
“April 20, 2016
Yesterday, Jaypootie Moesesie (Qikiqtarjuaq, GreenEdge team member), Eric Brossier (Captain of the Vagabond / GreenEdge camp manager) and I returned from a four-day, pre-icecamp ice thickness survey of the fast ice southeast of Qikiqtarjuaq. The objective of the survey was to map the variability of sea ice in the region, and to identify regions of thin ice where strong ocean currents erode the ice from underneath. Those regions are important for the ice and water ecosystem because they open up early in the melt season. They also create slush which makes over-ice travel slower and less safe.
