Augmenting Inuit knowledge for safe sea-ice travel — The SmartICE information system

Abstract

Sea ice is a critical component of the Arctic coastal environment. For northern communities, it is a central part of culture, community, and livelihood. Recent changes in Arctic climate have led to greater unpredictability in sea ice conditions, making travel and hunting more hazardous, particularly during the dynamic freeze-up and break-up periods. If the recent trend of warmer Arctic winters is an indication of future climatic conditions, sea ice will become increasingly more dangerous for travel, especially for inexperienced travellers, and traditional knowledge of safe routes based on past climatic conditions will become less reliable. For northern resource industries (e.g., mining) and maritime shipping, the presence of sea ice represents added operational risk, particularly where shipping routes overlap with community on-ice travel routes, making route planning in these coastal areas less predictable and increasing the potential for delay and additional costs. Furthermore, northern resource extractive industries are expected to grow significantly in the future, leading to increased year-round shipping and greater potential for conflicting sea-ice use. The key to decreasing conflicts and ensuring safe and efficient winter travel for both local communities and industry is the timely availability of information describing sea ice conditions, at the relevant spatial scales, presented in a format that is appropriate for each user group. SmartICE represents a community-government-university-industry collaboration that integrates adapted technology, remote sensing, and Inuit Knowledge to promote safe travel for all stakeholders in northern coastal environments. The main elements of the SmartICE information system are: (i) A network of automated in situ sensors that measure sea-ice thickness and other characteristics; (ii) Repeat satellite imagery from which sea-ice surface conditions (e.g., concentration, roughness, water content) are mapped following user-defined classification systems; and (iii) Information technology that integrates the in situ and remotely sensed sea-ice data to generate raw and processed digital products that match the needs of user groups, from ice navigation managers to Inuit ice experts to recreational ice users. While community participation in SmartICE is key to addressing local needs and conditions, the program is intended to augment and integrate Inuit sea-ice knowledge, not replace it. Development and validation of the SmartICE technology and information system involve a multi-stage approach with simultaneous development of the ice monitoring technology and the Inuit-based ice type classification and remote sensing. The Nunatsiavut Government is a principal partner in SmartICE and our first phase of community sea-ice workshops, sea-ice classification and field truthing, sensor deployment and system validation is taking place in the Nunatsiavut communities of Nain and Rigolet. Nain is located to the north of Vale NL's Voisey's Bay mine site where winter ore shipping cuts a regular track through the coastal sea ice. Rigolet and a third study community, North West River, are located at the mouth and head of Lake Melville, respectively, an 150-km-long estuary that drains major rivers, including the Churchill River, to the Labrador Sea. Lake Melville sea ice is regularly used for subsistence harvesting and travel during winter and spring months. During the 2013/14 sea-ice season, workshops with sea-ice specialists were held in Nain and North West River. Sea-ice types deemed locally important for making decisions about on-ice travel were identified. Categories common to both communities included: rough ice (either due to ice or hard pack snow), smooth ice (again, due to a surface of ice or snow), open water, and water on-ice. Pack ice and the shear zone with landfast ice were only identified in Nain. The Canadian Ice Service (CIS) and C-CORE (through Polarview) provided high-resolution imagery for sea-ice classification. In addition, CIS have given full access to coarse resolution operational images. The sea-ice specialists in Nain and North West River have collected on-ice observations concurrent with image acquisition. Development of the sea-ice classification process is ongoing. SmartICE is developing two in situ sea-ice monitoring device types. Type 1, based on thermistor technology, will be deployed in the ocean prior to freeze-up and left in place until after breakup. Device prototypes were environmentally tested during the 2013-14 sea-ice season. Non-destructive ultrasonic sensor technologies are currently being explored for Type 2 devices, which will be deployed onto the ice surface.