Long-term field tracking of icebergs in the eastern Canadian Arctic
Tidewater glaciers are those which terminate into the ocean and drain a significant proportion of the Greenland Ice Sheet and ice masses of the Canadian Arctic, providing the primary source of icebergs in Canadian waters. Once calved, there remains uncertainty concerning the processes controlling th...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Canadian Science Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Arctic Science |
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| Online Access: | https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/as-2023-0069 |
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| author | Abigail Dalton Adam Garbo Luke Copland Wesley Van Wychen Derek Mueller Adrienne Tivy Juliana M. Marson |
| author_facet | Abigail Dalton Adam Garbo Luke Copland Wesley Van Wychen Derek Mueller Adrienne Tivy Juliana M. Marson |
| author_sort | Abigail Dalton |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Tidewater glaciers are those which terminate into the ocean and drain a significant proportion of the Greenland Ice Sheet and ice masses of the Canadian Arctic, providing the primary source of icebergs in Canadian waters. Once calved, there remains uncertainty concerning the processes controlling their drift. This study uses a multi-year dataset (2011–2019) of in situ iceberg observations to characterize drift on a regional scale throughout Baffin Bay. We identify common grounding areas and quantify the influence of wind, ocean, and tidal currents using ERA5 climate reanalysis, global ocean reanalysis and simulations, and WebTide Tidal Prediction models. Icebergs in the Eastern Canadian Arctic consistently drifted southeast along the east coast of Baffin Island. We evaluate the assumption that icebergs drift at 2% of the wind speed and determine that this rule does not apply for the majority of icebergs in this study, which often exceeded 2% of the wind speed, in particular at low wind speeds. The highest speeds occurred during the winter and spring, reaching up to 2.3 m s−1 in Nares Strait. Our analysis indicates that iceberg drift patterns are controlled by a combination of local conditions including short-term wind events, ocean surface currents, and semi-diurnal tidal oscillations. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d3e5cfaca2fa46aabe54e7e451499bc6 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2368-7460 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Canadian Science Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Arctic Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-d3e5cfaca2fa46aabe54e7e451499bc62025-08-20T03:24:15ZengCanadian Science PublishingArctic Science2368-74602025-01-011112210.1139/as-2023-0069Long-term field tracking of icebergs in the eastern Canadian ArcticAbigail Dalton0Adam Garbo1Luke Copland2Wesley Van Wychen3Derek Mueller4Adrienne Tivy5Juliana M. Marson6Department of Geography, Environment, and Geomatics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON , CanadaDepartment of Geography, Environment, and Geomatics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON , CanadaDepartment of Geography, Environment, and Geomatics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON , CanadaDepartment of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, CanadaDepartment of Geography and Environmental Studies, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, CanadaCanadian Ice Service, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ottawa, ON, CanadaDepartment of Environment and Geography, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, CanadaTidewater glaciers are those which terminate into the ocean and drain a significant proportion of the Greenland Ice Sheet and ice masses of the Canadian Arctic, providing the primary source of icebergs in Canadian waters. Once calved, there remains uncertainty concerning the processes controlling their drift. This study uses a multi-year dataset (2011–2019) of in situ iceberg observations to characterize drift on a regional scale throughout Baffin Bay. We identify common grounding areas and quantify the influence of wind, ocean, and tidal currents using ERA5 climate reanalysis, global ocean reanalysis and simulations, and WebTide Tidal Prediction models. Icebergs in the Eastern Canadian Arctic consistently drifted southeast along the east coast of Baffin Island. We evaluate the assumption that icebergs drift at 2% of the wind speed and determine that this rule does not apply for the majority of icebergs in this study, which often exceeded 2% of the wind speed, in particular at low wind speeds. The highest speeds occurred during the winter and spring, reaching up to 2.3 m s−1 in Nares Strait. Our analysis indicates that iceberg drift patterns are controlled by a combination of local conditions including short-term wind events, ocean surface currents, and semi-diurnal tidal oscillations.https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/as-2023-0069icebergssatellite-trackingCanadian ArcticBaffin Bay |
| spellingShingle | Abigail Dalton Adam Garbo Luke Copland Wesley Van Wychen Derek Mueller Adrienne Tivy Juliana M. Marson Long-term field tracking of icebergs in the eastern Canadian Arctic Arctic Science icebergs satellite-tracking Canadian Arctic Baffin Bay |
| title | Long-term field tracking of icebergs in the eastern Canadian Arctic |
| title_full | Long-term field tracking of icebergs in the eastern Canadian Arctic |
| title_fullStr | Long-term field tracking of icebergs in the eastern Canadian Arctic |
| title_full_unstemmed | Long-term field tracking of icebergs in the eastern Canadian Arctic |
| title_short | Long-term field tracking of icebergs in the eastern Canadian Arctic |
| title_sort | long term field tracking of icebergs in the eastern canadian arctic |
| topic | icebergs satellite-tracking Canadian Arctic Baffin Bay |
| url | https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/as-2023-0069 |
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