Arctic ice pack difficult to “heal” massive Beaufort fractures

$Barrow Beaufort ice pack fractures 2008$ click to enlarge

I mentioned this in a comment at Where is… Bethel ice pack but the images are important. One of the significant aspects to this on-going event is that it indicates the lengthy homeostatic process– that is, adjustments by the physical environment to environmental change are not immediate. The lack of a land-fast sea ice will have consequences for the cultural and biological systems. Last year the city of Barrow had large-scale erosion and storm damage.

Eventually a new homeostasis will be reached but it may be difficult for the day to day living. I think this image of a relatively small phenomenon helps to comprehend the enormity of the environmental systemic change we are undergoing. [Let's hope. Governing bodies, one of our collective means of adapting to change, haven't responded in the previous decade(s)]

If anyone can express this better than I can (or interpret the images better) please do. Does anyone know if the energy involved in the ice pack has been compared to the energy involved in hurricane Katrina?

In December 2007, a massive fracture of the Beaufort Ice pack was observed west of Banks island. The image above clearly shows this fracture.

This is the daily image of the ice fractures (from NOAA via Environment Canada)

$Daily sat view of fractured Beaufort Arctic ice$

Read the story here

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/north/story/2008/01/15/science-beaufort-ice.html

David Barber, a climate scientist with the University of Manitoba, said the central ice pack normally moves away from the coast during the winter as coastal ice expands and pushes it into the sea. But usually when this occurs, there is enough old ice in the central ice pack to resist the coastal ice.

That’s not the case this year, said Barber, who noted coastal ice pushed by high pressure systems has sent the central ice pack deep into the Beaufort Sea and towards Siberia, creating a massive fissure.

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Teachers of the Tundra

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3 Responses to “Arctic ice pack difficult to “heal” massive Beaufort fractures”

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1 mpb 2008 April 16 at 11:32 pm

And here on the other side of the Arctic Rim (Ellesmere)–
Cracks in Arctic ice shelves even worse than feared: scientist Last Updated: Wednesday, April 16, 2008 The scientists found cracks up to 12 metres wide in some ice shelves.

They discovered an 18-kilometre-long crack on the Ward Hunt ice shelf, located on the north coast of Ellesmere Island, Mueller said.

It was one of the High Arctic’s largest ice shelves before it was split by a large central crack between 2000 and 2002.

2 mpb 2008 July 30 at 7:23 am

This is from the Greenland side of the bowl.

Canadian Arctic Sheds Ice Chunk

from BBC News Online

A large chunk of an Arctic ice shelf has broken free of the northern Canadian coast, scientists say.

Nearly 20 sq km (eight sq miles) of ice from the Ward Hunt shelf has split away from Ellesmere Island, according to satellite pictures. It is thought to be the biggest piece of ice shed in the region since 60 sq km of the nearby Ayles ice shelf broke away in 2005.

Scientists say further splitting could occur during the Arctic summer melt. The polar north is once again experiencing a rapid ice retreat this year, although many scientists doubt the record minimum extent of 4.13 million sq km (1.59 million sq miles) of sea-ice seen in 2007 will be beaten.

http://snipurl.com/37nlt

3 Burr 2009 January 6 at 7:08 pm

Well, it’s only early January 09 and its all healed. Amazing what a bit of cold will do.

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