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Iceberg
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With summer fast approaching, you may think that ice and snow are no longer a concern. Well, for some this is a season when they must pay very close attention to ice. At Environment Canada, the Canadian Ice Service monitors the state, location and movement of ice in Canada, and the summer is a time when many changes are observed in ice in our northern waters.
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While being one of Canada's most familiar and fascinating features, ice is also one of its most hazardous. Where it is, how long it will be there and important characteristics such as thickness and concentration are critical information to many industries that rely on marine transportation. Supplying dependable information on the state of ice in Canadian waters ensures that maritime operations are safe and efficient.
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Satellite Image of the Gulf of St. Lawrence March 2001 |
Each year, Canada's freshwater and saltwater pack ice advances and recedes over an area half the size of the country's land mass. The Ice Service collects accurate and up-to-date information on ice conditions in all regions of the country affected by this cycle through a network of satellites, airborne radar and visual observations. In the summer, efforts focus on the Arctic and Hudson Bay regions; in the winter and spring, they turn to the Labrador Coast and east Newfoundland waters, the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway.
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The Service relies on several sources for the data it collects. Images taken by RADARSAT and the U.S National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellites give details about current ice conditions. Where satellite images are not available, the gaps can be filled by an overflight in a radar-equipped airplane. Specialists also inspect ice conditions while on board icebreakers.
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Larsen Icebreaker |
More than 8000 maps and 6000 bulletins are produced each year for a wide range of clients, including the Canadian Coast Guard, port authorities, commercial shippers and fishers. Ice Service personnel also maintain historic climatological data on ice and iceberg patterns, and help guide ships through dense pack ice.
Satellite images are a valuable tool for people living and working in the Arctic, such as wildlife officers or residents who are advised for example, on whether ice bridges have formed linking up the islands where they live. When the bridges are in place, they can cross from one island to another on snowmobiles to obtain supplies or go hunting. Since the bridges do not form every year, it is dangerous to venture forth in order to check whether the ice is solid enough to be crossed.
The success of a recent effort to track oil spills using satellite imagery has Ice Service scientists hopeful that, in the future, data collected for ice observations could also be used to detect other potentially hazardous phenomena--particularly those requiring an immediate response.
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Fast Facts
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Sea ice covers between approximately 7.5 and 15.0 million km2 of the Arctic Ocean with an average thickness of about three metres.
Nearly all Canadian navigable waters, with the exception of the west coast, are affected by an ice cover for some period during the winter.
The cryosphere is the portion of the world's climate system which consists of snow and ice deposits including ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers, sea ice, seasonal or permanent snow cover, lake and river ice, permafrost and frozen ground.
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Related sites
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Canadian Ice Service
Ice Terminology
The Science of Ice
Cryosphere and Climate Change
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