Abstract
The North Water is a recurrent polynya in the High Arctic situated between Northwest Greenland and Ellesmere Island of Canada. The North Water makes a dynamic space, where various processes may enhance or obstruct each other, accelerating or halting particular modes of human–animal relations in the region, where life itself depends on the North Water. This will be discussed in four steps. The first step posits the North Water as a perceived oasis for explorers and whalers hailing from Europe or America in the nineteenth century. The second step concentrates on the diverse rhythms inherent in the ice conditions, as affected by trends that are set in motion elsewhere. The third step highlights the implications of the dynamics of the ice and sea currents for animal life in the region. The fourth step gives an overview of human settlement patterns around the North Water across the ages. The article shows how natural and social features are deeply implicated in each other, even if they are not directly co-variant.
Highlights
The central figure in this Special Issue is the North Water (Pikialasorsuaq), a recurrent High Arctic polynya at the top of Baffin Bay between Northwest Greenland (Avanersuaq) and Ellesmere Island and Baffin Island on the Canadian coast, roughly covering the area between 76°N to 79°N and 70°W to 80°W at its peak (Fig. 1)
The polynya responds to these factors; it expands or contracts and caters for different life forms at different times; it is these dynamics, including the present global warming, that cause destabilization of ice edges at seasons where they used to be stable
The Thule region is named from the Thule trading station that was established in 1910 at the ancient site of Uummannaq, at the heart of the region’s hunting grounds
Summary
The central figure in this Special Issue is the North Water (Pikialasorsuaq), a recurrent High Arctic polynya at the top of Baffin Bay between Northwest Greenland (Avanersuaq) and Ellesmere Island and Baffin Island on the Canadian coast, roughly covering the area between 76°N to 79°N and 70°W to 80°W at its peak (Fig. 1). Keywords Arctic exploration Á Human migration Á Ice dynamics Á Living resources Á Sea–ice community Á Thule region
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