The Effect of Sea Ice on Tidal Propagation in the Kitikmeot Sea, Canadian Arctic Archipelago

Abstract

Tidal dynamics have significant implications in Arctic environments, particularly in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA). Tidal currents influence the sea-ice distribution, thickness, and concentration throughout the Arctic by fracturing and mobilizing sea ice (Holloway & Proshutinsky, 2007;Luneva et al., 2015) and by interaction with bottom topography, which can enhance vertical mixing, bringing subsurface heat to the surface and reducing sea-ice growth. Together, these tidal processes drive the formation of leads and polynyas (Holloway & Proshutinsky, 2007;Melling et al., 2015;Williams et al., 2007), which form in narrow and shallow straits across the CAA (Hannah et al., 2009). Amplified upward mixing can also lead to higher nutrient fluxes toward the surface which may lead to localized elevated biological productivity.The presence of sea ice also influences the tides. Seasonal tidal modulation has been observed in several regions across the Arctic. In the Kara Sea, the M 2 tidal amplitude is damped by about 7% during ice cover (Volkov et al., 2002). M 2 amplitude seasonal changes in the White Sea are also small; both winter increases and decreases of 7%-9% are observed (Kulikov et al., 2018). Very large seasonal changes in M 2 elevation

InSAR Monitoring of Arctic Landfast Sea Ice Deformation Using L-Band ALOS-2, C-Band Radarsat-2 and Sentinel-1

“…The Atlantic tides from the east and Arctic tides from the west drive the formation of leads and polynyas and mobilizing of the sea ice in the channel of the study area. Although the tidal amplitude reached its minimum of the year in March at about 9 cm due to the total landfast ice blockage in the channel [45], we think the large variation of east-west deformation detected in this study was associated with the tidal forcing.…”

New distribution records of kelp in the Kitikmeot Region, Northwest Passage, Canada, fill a pan-Arctic gap

“…The study area is an oceanographically unique part of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago due to its massive freshwater input relative to the area's size (Brown et al 2020), and its shallow (< 30 m) bounding sills at Dolphin-Union (west) and Victoria straits (to the northeast) that constrain surface outflows of low salinity waters and sub-surface inflows of more saline waters (Williams et al 2018;Nelson et al 2019). Strong tidal currents through shallow sills and narrow passages (Hannah et al 2009;Rotermund et al 2021) are thought to enhance vertical heat and nutrient flux and maintain ice-free or near ice-free conditions in these places in winter and early melt in spring, as demonstrated by satellite images and Indigenous knowledge (Williams et al 2018). Substrates include a variety of types including rocky and gravelly coasts, interrupted by sedimentary river estuaries with low-gradient shores and mixed sediments (pers.…”

“…Water velocity is a relevant measure because it can enhance nutrient supply and thereby support seaweed growth (Hepburn et al 2007). The model had variable horizontal resolution of down to 200 m in narrow straits, thereby even resolving passages through the Finlayson Islands, to as much as 10 km in wide gulfs (details in Rotermund et al 2021). To characterize seasonal variability in temperature and salinity, data from an oceanographic mooring in Dease Strait (Unihiktak Passage) were used.…”

Canadian Arctic Archipelago Shelf‐Ocean Interactions: A Major Iron Source to Pacific Derived Waters Transiting to the Atlantic

“…In the Kitikmeot region (southern CAA), the damping may account for up to a 50% reduction of tidal amplitude, while a moderate tidal reduction is modeled in western CAA (20%-30%). Nonetheless, in the rest of the CAA (i.e., eastern Parry Chanel, Nares Strait) tidal damping is small to negligible (10% at most; Rotermund et al, 2021).…”

“…The barotropic tidal speeds were extracted and interpolated by Epstein (2018) from the MOG2D-G hydrodynamic gravity waves model (Carrère & Lyard, 2003). It is worth considering that significant seasonal tidal variation, linked to wintertime sea-ice cover, has been recently described in the CAA (Rotermund et al, 2021). In the Kitikmeot region (southern CAA), the damping may account for up to a 50% reduction of tidal amplitude, while a moderate tidal reduction is modeled in western CAA (20%-30%).…”