Beaufort Sea
In December 2007, a massive fracture of the Beaufort Ice pack was observed west of Banks island. The image below clearly shows this fracture.
NOAA Image for January 09 2008
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Below we can view a NOAA animation. This animation starts with an image on December 08, 2007 and is updated on a regular basis.
NOAA Animation
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Other interesting features are shown in the quikscat animation from Sept 7th, 2007 to 08 June, 2008 below. During the Arctic summers, due to increased levels of humidity over the Arctic Ocean, the imagery becomes less reliable and therefore we will cease the production of this animation in early June. However we will begin a new animation later this summer or as soon as atmospheric conditions become more favourable.
- The progression of the old ice edge towards the pole from the eastern Siberian side of the arctic.
- An open water area from the Bering Strait to the Chukchi Sea persisted longer than surrounding areas. This open water area can be identified from the beginning of November (around day 305) and persisted until about mid-December (day 350)
- The amount of ice through Fram Strait with the southern edge near the southern tip of Greenland during the first week of January.
- The fracture of the ice pack off the western shore of Banks Island.
- The unusual extent of sea ice in the Eastern Labrador Sea.
Please Note: This new updated animation covers the period from June through January 2009. Summer months have reduced image quality but the ice edge is still visible.
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| Quikscat 07 Sept 2007 - 08 June 2008 |
Quikscat 01 June 2008 - 31 January 2009 |
Also included for comparison are quikscat images for January 4th for 2006, 2007 and 2008
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QuikScat Image
04 Jan 2006 |
QuikScat Image
04 Jan 2007 |
QuikScat Image
04 Jan 2008 |
The ice motion can also be observed by monitoring the buoys of the International Arctic Buoy Program at http://iabp.apl.washington.edu/dailymap.basin.60day.jpg
