Sediment-laden sea ice in southern Hudson Bay: Entrainment, transport, and biogeochemical implications

Barber, David G.; Harasyn, Madison L.; Babb, David G.; Capelle, David; McCullough, Greg; Dalman, Laura A.; Matthes, Lisa; Ehn, Jens K.; Kirillov, Sergei; Kuzyk, Zou Zou A.; Basu, Atreya; Fayak, M.; Schembri, Sarah; Papkyriakou, Tim N.; Ahmed, Mohamed; Else, Brent; Guéguen, Céline; Meilleur, C.; Dmitrenko, Igor; Mundy, C. J.; Gupta, Kaushik; Rysgaard, Søren; Stroeve, Julienne; Sydor, Kevin

doi:10.1525/elementa.2020.00108

Cited by 16 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 76 publications

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“…5a) advect the ice cover southward through RWS towards Hudson Bay, although across-channel winds and tides drive an extensive flaw lead along the landfast ice edge on both sides of the channel. While new ice forms within the flaw leads, these leads are also the site of considerable sea ice deformation as the mobile ice pack is forced against the landfast ice edge, creating very thick pieces of ice (e.g., Barber et al, 2021). Radar imagery reveals that the bridges were predominantly composed of roughened ice, with large floes present amongst the ridges and rubble fields (Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…6). Heavily deformed floes within the ice pack, such as those observed in southern Hudson Bay by Barber et al (2021), may contribute to the stabilization of the bridge by becoming grounded on the shallow shoal near the southeastern end of the bridge, though with a depth of 20 m this would require an extremely thick piece of sea ice. While thick deformed ice makes the ice pack stronger and increases the likelihood of grounded ice stabilizing the bridge, if deformation has made the ice pack too rough, as it was in 2020, it may be impassable.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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On the Intermittent Formation of an Ice Bridge (Nunniq) across Roes Welcome Sound, Northwestern Hudson Bay, and Its Use to Local Inuit Hunters

Babb¹,

Kirillov²,

Kuzyk³

et al. 2022

ARCTIC

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Ice bridges are unique features that form when sea ice consolidates and remains immobilized within channels. They form in many locations throughout the Arctic and are typically noted for the polynyas that form on their lee side. However, ice bridges also provide a temporary platform that may be used by both humans and wildlife to cross otherwise impassable channels. For generations, Inuit in Coral Harbour, Nunavut, have used an ice bridge to cross Roes Welcome Sound and expand their hunting territory, though they report that the bridge only forms approximately every four years. Of interest both to Inuit and the scientific community is why the bridge forms so intermittently, by what mechanisms, and whether the frequency will change with ongoing warming and sea ice loss. Using satellite imagery, we determined that the bridge formed during 14 of the past 50 years (1971 – 2020). Generally, the bridge forms between January and March, during a cold period that coincides with neap tide, and after surface winds have rotated from the prevailing northerly (along-channel) winds to west-northwesterly (across-channel) winds. This rotation compresses the existing ice pack against Southampton Island, where it remains stationary because of the calm along-channel winds and low tidal range, and coalesces under cold air temperatures. Breakup occurs between mid-June and early July after the onset of melt. Overall, the bridge forms when a specific set of conditions occur simultaneously; however, a warming climate, specifically a reduction in very cold days, and shorter ice season may affect the frequency of bridge formation, thereby limiting Inuit travel.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the Intermittent Formation of an Ice Bridge (Nunniq) across Roes Welcome Sound, Northwestern Hudson Bay, and Its Use to Local Inuit Hunters

Babb¹,

Kirillov²,

Kuzyk³

et al. 2022

ARCTIC

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“…The sediment‐origin particles have been sometimes detected on the sea ice surface as “dirty ice” by field surveys and satellite remote sensing (Barber et al., 2021; Darby, 2003; Harasyn et al., 2019; Tucker et al., 1999). Hence, we also performed an experiment called the Ice Particle (IP) run, in which the vertical exchange of LM between the ocean surface layer and the overlying sea ice column was incorporated.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transport Processes of Seafloor Sediment From the Chukchi Shelf to the Western Arctic Basin

et al. 2022

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The processes of seafloor sediment transport from the Chukchi shelf to the western Arctic basin were investigated using a pan‐Arctic sea ice‐ocean model and sediment‐trap measurements at four mooring stations: North of Barrow Canyon, North of Hanna Canyon, Northwind Abyssal Plain, and Chukchi Abyssal Plain. The available sediment‐trap data verified that the sinking flux of lithogenic material (LM) originally resuspended from the seafloor for 2010–2020 was simulated reasonably well in the four mooring areas. The model results were analyzed to quantify the spatiotemporal variability of LM and to reveal its background mechanisms. Analysis indicated that the Barrow Canyon throughflow, Chukchi Slope Current (CSC), and mesoscale eddies played important roles in LM redistribution. The CSC controlled the westward transport of LM from the mouth of Barrow Canyon to the Chukchi Borderland. The mesoscale eddies generated north of Barrow Canyon efficiently transported shelf‐origin LM toward the southern Canada Basin. The sinking flux of particulate organic carbon (POC) averaged from September 2010 to August 2020, which was estimated statistically from the simulated LM flux, was 0.13–0.30 gC m−2 yr−1 at 200‐m depth in the southern Canada Basin. This finding reveals that lateral transport of sediment from the Chukchi shelf bottom has a considerable effect on the sinking flux of POC in the western Arctic basin, and suggests that the western Arctic marine biogeochemical cycle is strongly influenced by shelf‐basin exchange that depends on the relative strength of the CSC and mesoscale eddy activity.

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“…At Lena, the enhanced MVBS at 6.5 and 9.5 m depth in June 1999 (Figures 9C,D) was likely associated with release of sediments from the sedimentladen landfast ice. The formation of the sediment-laden seaice presumably occurred during fall and early winter due to suspension freezing in the coastal polynya (e.g., Ito et al, 2019;Barber et al, 2021). At Lena, the artificial reduction of sea-ice concentration in June 1999 (Figure 9A) was attributed to the formation of melt ponds on top of the landfast ice that confirms sea-ice melt occurred during June.…”

Section: Acoustic Scattering During Polar Daymentioning

confidence: 98%

Coastal Polynya Disrupts the Acoustic Backscatter Diurnal Signal Over the Eastern Laptev Sea Shelf

et al. 2021

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The diel vertical migration (DVM) of zooplankton is one of the largest species migrations to occur globally and is a key driver of regional ecosystems and the marine carbon pump. The dramatic changes in the Arctic environment in recent years, mainly associated with sea-ice decline, may have wide significance for the Arctic shelf ecosystems including DVM. Observations have revealed the occurrence of DVM in ice-covered Arctic waters, however, there have yet to be observations of DVM from the extensive Siberian shelves in the Eurasian Arctic and no analysis of how the sea-ice decline may affect DVM. Here, 2 yearlong time series of acoustic backscatter, collected by moored acoustic Doppler current profilers in the eastern Laptev Sea from August 1998 to August 1999, were used to examine the annual cycle of acoustic scattering, and therefore the annual cycle of DVM in the area. The acoustic time series were used along with atmospheric and oceanic reanalysis and satellite data. Our observations show that DVM did not occur during polar night and polar day, but is active during the spring and fall transition periods when there is a diurnal cycle in light conditions. DVM began beneath the fast ice at the end of polar night and increased in intensity through spring. However, the formation of a large polynya along the landfast ice edge in late March 1999 caused DVM to abruptly cease near the fast ice edge, while DVM persisted through spring to the start of polar day at the onshore mooring. We associate this cessation of synchronized DVM ∼1 month ahead of polar day with a predator-avoidance behavior of zooplankton in response to higher polar cod abundance near the polynya. During polar day, the intensity of acoustic scattering was attributed to the riverine suspended particles. Overall, our results highlight the occurrence of DVM on the Siberian shelves, the cessation of synchronized DVM when a polynya opens up nearby, and the potential impact of significant trends toward a more extensive Laptev Sea polynya as part of changing ice conditions in the Eurasian Arctic and their impact on the Arctic shelf ecology.

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Sediment-laden sea ice in southern Hudson Bay: Entrainment, transport, and biogeochemical implications

Cited by 16 publications

References 76 publications

On the Intermittent Formation of an Ice Bridge (Nunniq) across Roes Welcome Sound, Northwestern Hudson Bay, and Its Use to Local Inuit Hunters

On the Intermittent Formation of an Ice Bridge (Nunniq) across Roes Welcome Sound, Northwestern Hudson Bay, and Its Use to Local Inuit Hunters

Transport Processes of Seafloor Sediment From the Chukchi Shelf to the Western Arctic Basin

Coastal Polynya Disrupts the Acoustic Backscatter Diurnal Signal Over the Eastern Laptev Sea Shelf

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