Thin ice, deep snow and surface flooding in Kotzebue Sound: landfast ice mass balance during two anomalously warm winters and implications for marine mammals and subsistence hunting
The inaugural data from the first systematic program of sea-ice observations in Kotzebue Sound, Alaska, in 2018 coincided with the first winter in living memory when the Sound was not choked with ice. The following winter of 2018–19 was even warmer and characterized by even less ice. Here we discuss...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2021-12-01
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Series: | Journal of Glaciology |
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Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143021000496/type/journal_article |
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author | Andrew R. Mahoney Kate E. Turner Donna D. W. Hauser Nathan J. M. Laxague Jessica M. Lindsay Alex V. Whiting Carson R. Witte John Goodwin Cyrus Harris Robert J. Schaeffer Roswell Schaeffer Sarah Betcher Ajit Subramaniam Christopher J. Zappa |
author_facet | Andrew R. Mahoney Kate E. Turner Donna D. W. Hauser Nathan J. M. Laxague Jessica M. Lindsay Alex V. Whiting Carson R. Witte John Goodwin Cyrus Harris Robert J. Schaeffer Roswell Schaeffer Sarah Betcher Ajit Subramaniam Christopher J. Zappa |
author_sort | Andrew R. Mahoney |
collection | DOAJ |
description | The inaugural data from the first systematic program of sea-ice observations in Kotzebue Sound, Alaska, in 2018 coincided with the first winter in living memory when the Sound was not choked with ice. The following winter of 2018–19 was even warmer and characterized by even less ice. Here we discuss the mass balance of landfast ice near Kotzebue (Qikiqtaġruk) during these two anomalously warm winters. We use in situ observations and a 1-D thermodynamic model to address three research questions developed in partnership with an Indigenous Advisory Council. In doing so, we improve our understanding of connections between landfast ice mass balance, marine mammals and subsistence hunting. Specifically, we show: (i) ice growth stopped unusually early due to strong vertical ocean heat flux, which also likely contributed to early start to bearded seal hunting; (ii) unusually thin ice contributed to widespread surface flooding. The associated snow ice formation partly offset the reduced ice growth, but the flooding likely had a negative impact on ringed seal habitat; (iii) sea ice near Kotzebue during the winters of 2017–18 and 2018–19 was likely the thinnest since at least 1945, driven by a combination of warm air temperatures and a persistent ocean heat flux. |
first_indexed | 2024-04-10T04:39:31Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-617078ce448f49218badd0bdc70b4013 |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 0022-1430 1727-5652 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-04-10T04:39:31Z |
publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
publisher | Cambridge University Press |
record_format | Article |
series | Journal of Glaciology |
spelling | doaj.art-617078ce448f49218badd0bdc70b40132023-03-09T12:41:10ZengCambridge University PressJournal of Glaciology0022-14301727-56522021-12-01671013102710.1017/jog.2021.49Thin ice, deep snow and surface flooding in Kotzebue Sound: landfast ice mass balance during two anomalously warm winters and implications for marine mammals and subsistence huntingAndrew R. Mahoney0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8699-3175Kate E. Turner1Donna D. W. Hauser2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8236-7372Nathan J. M. Laxague3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0373-9236Jessica M. Lindsay4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0738-7856Alex V. Whiting5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0664-490XCarson R. Witte6https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1004-2442John Goodwin7Cyrus Harris8Robert J. Schaeffer9Roswell Schaeffer10Sarah Betcher11Ajit Subramaniam12https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1316-5827Christopher J. Zappa13https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0041-2913University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, USAUniversity of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, USA National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Wellington, New ZealandUniversity of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, USAUniversity of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USAUniversity of Washington, Seattle, WA, USANative Village of Kotzebue, Kotzebue, AK, USAColumbia University, New York, NY, USANative Village of Kotzebue, Kotzebue, AK, USANative Village of Kotzebue, Kotzebue, AK, USANative Village of Kotzebue, Kotzebue, AK, USANative Village of Kotzebue, Kotzebue, AK, USAFarthest North Films, Homer, AK, USAColumbia University, New York, NY, USAColumbia University, New York, NY, USAThe inaugural data from the first systematic program of sea-ice observations in Kotzebue Sound, Alaska, in 2018 coincided with the first winter in living memory when the Sound was not choked with ice. The following winter of 2018–19 was even warmer and characterized by even less ice. Here we discuss the mass balance of landfast ice near Kotzebue (Qikiqtaġruk) during these two anomalously warm winters. We use in situ observations and a 1-D thermodynamic model to address three research questions developed in partnership with an Indigenous Advisory Council. In doing so, we improve our understanding of connections between landfast ice mass balance, marine mammals and subsistence hunting. Specifically, we show: (i) ice growth stopped unusually early due to strong vertical ocean heat flux, which also likely contributed to early start to bearded seal hunting; (ii) unusually thin ice contributed to widespread surface flooding. The associated snow ice formation partly offset the reduced ice growth, but the flooding likely had a negative impact on ringed seal habitat; (iii) sea ice near Kotzebue during the winters of 2017–18 and 2018–19 was likely the thinnest since at least 1945, driven by a combination of warm air temperatures and a persistent ocean heat flux.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143021000496/type/journal_articleIce thickness measurementssea icesea-ice growth and decaysea-ice modelingsnow/ice surface processes |
spellingShingle | Andrew R. Mahoney Kate E. Turner Donna D. W. Hauser Nathan J. M. Laxague Jessica M. Lindsay Alex V. Whiting Carson R. Witte John Goodwin Cyrus Harris Robert J. Schaeffer Roswell Schaeffer Sarah Betcher Ajit Subramaniam Christopher J. Zappa Thin ice, deep snow and surface flooding in Kotzebue Sound: landfast ice mass balance during two anomalously warm winters and implications for marine mammals and subsistence hunting Journal of Glaciology Ice thickness measurements sea ice sea-ice growth and decay sea-ice modeling snow/ice surface processes |
title | Thin ice, deep snow and surface flooding in Kotzebue Sound: landfast ice mass balance during two anomalously warm winters and implications for marine mammals and subsistence hunting |
title_full | Thin ice, deep snow and surface flooding in Kotzebue Sound: landfast ice mass balance during two anomalously warm winters and implications for marine mammals and subsistence hunting |
title_fullStr | Thin ice, deep snow and surface flooding in Kotzebue Sound: landfast ice mass balance during two anomalously warm winters and implications for marine mammals and subsistence hunting |
title_full_unstemmed | Thin ice, deep snow and surface flooding in Kotzebue Sound: landfast ice mass balance during two anomalously warm winters and implications for marine mammals and subsistence hunting |
title_short | Thin ice, deep snow and surface flooding in Kotzebue Sound: landfast ice mass balance during two anomalously warm winters and implications for marine mammals and subsistence hunting |
title_sort | thin ice deep snow and surface flooding in kotzebue sound landfast ice mass balance during two anomalously warm winters and implications for marine mammals and subsistence hunting |
topic | Ice thickness measurements sea ice sea-ice growth and decay sea-ice modeling snow/ice surface processes |
url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143021000496/type/journal_article |
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