Toward an integrated coastal sea-ice observatory: System components and a case study at Barrow, Alaska

Abstract

The morphology, stability and duration of seasonal landfast sea ice in Alaska's coastal zone is changing alongside large-scale ice thinning and retreat. The extent and complexity of change at the local level requires an integrated observing approach to assess implications of such change for coastal ecosystems and communities that rely on or make use of the sea-ice cover. Barrow, Alaska is an example of a community that experiences and utilizes a broad range of sea-ice types and conditions. The local population is increasingly forced to adapt to less stable sea ice, loss of multiyear ice and a shorter ice season. We are working toward an integrated coastal ice observatory to monitor landfast and adjacent pack ice and to maximize the usefulness of information to the community. The observatory includes: (1) satellite remote-sensing datasets distributed in near real-time; (2) a coastal sea-ice radar and webcam that monitor ice movement and evolution; (3) a mass-balance site that provides temperature profiles and thickness information for ice and snow; (4) sea-level measurements; (5) periodic ice thickness surveys using direct drilling and electromagnetic induction sounding; and (6) a program of regular, undirected observations by Iñupiat sea-ice experts. We examine two significant landfast ice breakout events off Barrow in spring of 2007. During these events, Barrow's subsistence whaling community partook in a successful hunting season observing and responding to these breakout events and their impacts on ice stability. Using local expert knowledge to parse geophysical datasets obtained from the observatory has provided deeper insight into different approaches for assessing ice stability, and integrating information on ice growth, origin, morphology, and dynamics, as well as winds, weather, and currents.