Sunday, March 12, 2023

Kennedy Channel the new super highway of broken sea ice, absent Nares Strait long existing circular frozen floe edge let alone a very important ecological ice bridge

~Nares Strait circular floe edge stemming from solid steady sea ice use to form earlier than November,  can't see it now during the coldest of winter

~A very ancient once, very important for wildlife and people,  steady ice bridge does not seem to form as well 

 December 1988 ,  the very noticeable circular floe edge between Northeast Ellesmere and Northwest 'Greenland in Nares Strait,  Kennedy Channel is Southwards the flow of sea water goes towards Kane Basin:

                    1988 December 8,          notice the ice bridge just here -------^^^^,  it was the traditional crossing  point for Inuit spanning centuries.  Who did cross the last time from memory in the 90's.  Was nice to have visitors from Qaanaaq Greenland cross over,  and even an adventurous Canadian from Ellesmere for a visit to Greenland.  A wildlife critical crossing point.  If it exists now a days....  its been so long since I have seen it,  I almost forgot it,  I doubt it does exist,  but if it forms,  it lasts a far shorter time span than prior to 25 years ago. 
  
 In 1850, famous in the Arctic Qitdlarssuaq ,  Qillajuaq,  the Inuk shaman  from North Baffin Island,    mainly the Pond Inlet area,  crossed the ice bridge,  not once but at least twice. with many followers, Canadian Inuit re-introduced the kayak along with other top notch Inuit  technologies to local Greenlandic Inuit.  The trek was legendary,  
    [same photo zoomed]   Back to the ring of circular floe edges,   it was essentially caused by the 
flow of sea water, broken by tides and current.  The ice surrounding it was similar to fast ice,  not moving,  and thick, a large ice shelf spanning from Ellesmere to Greenland,  totally blocking pack ice from the Arctic Basin to escape South. 


  Now look at this:

    Polarview January 17 to March 6 2023, at coldest winter minimum temperatures,  as if the circular ringed floe edge never existed.  


February 28 to March 4 2023,  sea ice is hemorrhaging Southwards,  the  once circular floe edge merely demonstrated how thick and consolidated sea ice was,   It's in transition towards extinction,  causing
reverberations throughout the Arctic. 

OK  further astounding proof:


              November 14 1988


November 07 1988
                                                               
July 22 1988 ,  Kane Basin fast ice bridge,.   Fast ice is frozen ice from open water attaching to land, from 1987-88 winter past,  surviving in July!

                July 17 1988,  no longer Nares Strait rings but an open floe edge surrounded by steady sea ice 

                                               July 11 1988,  Kane Basin fast ice ice is not pack ice yet.   

                                How much this world has changed!

 WD March 12-13 2023


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