Arctic Regional Synopsis
Regional charts and associated synopsis write-up capture ice and environmental conditions throughout the Arctic which are based on the U.S. National Ice Center’s weekly analysis. Charts and synopses are updated weekly on Fridays. Note: Baltic Sea analysis is provided by the Finnish Meteorological Institute. The Canadian Archipelago (Canada East, Canada North, Canada West, and Hudson Bay) analysis is provided by the Canadian Ice Service.
Regional Quick Access
Baltic Sea
The last ice in the Bay of Bothnia are melting. In the northern Bay of Bothnia small remnants of rotten drift ice west of Merikallat. Elsewhere ice-free.
Barents Sea
Sustained air temperatures around -5°C encourage degradation of the sea ice throughout the Barents Sea. The large polynya along Franz Josef Land continues to expand, allowing further mobility, and thus melt, of the surrounding ice.
Bering Sea
Fast ice persists in the sheltered bays along the Kamchatka Peninsula. Sea ice has been drifting southwestward in the Shelikov Gulf. In the Bering Sea, air temperatures generally remain above freezing, allowing sea ice polynyas to expand by nearly 40 nautical miles, up to 100 nautical miles in the eastern region.
Canada East
The Labrador Sea is bergy water, while the ice along the Labrador coast is a mixture of first-year ice with a trace of old ice. Frobisher Bay has a mix of first-year ice and new ice. Cumberland Sound contain a mixture of first-year, young and new ice. Along the coast of Greenland, ice conditions consist mainly of first-year ice. Davis Strait also contains mostly first-year ice, with some old ice. Foxe Basin is dominated by first-year ice with some young ice present along northern Southampton Island and in its northwestern section. Cumberland Sound contains a mixture of new, young, and first-year ice.
Canada North
The Arctic Ocean is predominantly covered by immobile old ice, with some first-year ice present along the northern Queen Elizabeth Islands. Eureka Sound and Jones Sound are characterized by fast ice composed mainly of first-year ice, along with some old ice. Nares Strait contains fastened old and first-year ice. South of this fast ice, in Smith Sound, there is a mixture of first-year, young, and new ice. Lancaster Sound features a mix of young and new ice, with some first-year ice in the eastern section. In contrast, the western section is dominated by fast first-year ice with a trace of old ice. Baffin Bay is largely covered by first-year ice, with some old ice present. The Gulf of Boothia is covered by first-year ice, while Prince Regent Inlet is primarily fast first- year ice with a trace of old ice. A small amount of old ice is also present in the northern Gulf of Boothia and southern Prince Regent Inlet, where the ice remains mobile.
Canada West
The waters surrounding the Queen Elizabeth Islands comprise fast old ice and first-year ice. M’Clure Strait contains predominantly fast old ice, first-year ice, and some new and young ice at the western extents. Barrow Strait, M’Clintock Channel and Peel Sound are fast first-year ice with a trace of old ice. Amundsen Gulf, Coronation Gulf and Queen Maud Gulf are fast first-year ice, with an area of new and young ice west of Sachs Harbour. Canada Basin is primarily old ice with some first-year ice and an area of young ice formation between mobile and consolidated old ice north of Prince Patrick Island. The Beaufort Sea is first-year ice with some old ice and an area of new and young ice north of Tuktoyaktuk.
Chukchi Sea
Multi-year ice in the eastern Chukchi Sea drifted westward up to 35 NM over the past week. Polynyas are developing along the fast ice edge on Alaska’s North Slope, remaining largely open, with only limited new ice formation due to temperatures hovering around –4°C.
East Siberian Sea
Openings are forming along the fast ice edge, primarily around the New Siberian Islands. These openings are quickly refreezing with new and young ice due to temperatures between -8°C and -12°C in the area.
Greenland Sea
Northern and eastern Greenland experienced average ice drift of 45–55 NM over the past week. In southern Greenland, currents slowed slightly compared to last week, with only 50 NM of movement during the same period. Temperatures in the south rose to 4°C, resulting in further ice deterioration.
High Arctic
No synopsis write-up for the High Arctic as it remains consistent throughout this part of the year. A synopsis write-up will begin during summer months as ice retreats and becomes more dynamic in the region.
Hudson Bay
James Bay contains first-year ice. Hudson Bay comprises first-year ice with some young ice long its northwestern shore and northeastern section. Areas of open water formed along the eastern shore. Hudson Strait contains mostly first-year ice with new ice present in its northern section. Ungava Bay contains a mixture of first-year ice with some young ice in the southern section.
Kara Sea
A low pressure system over the southern Barents Sea has drifted sea ice in the southern Kara Sea westward, compacting it against Novaya Zemlya. In the northern Kara Sea, however, sea ice has drifted north-northwestward. Polynyas continue to form on the lee side of islands and the fast ice edge as air temperatures promote minimal refreeze.
Laptev Sea
Openings are forming along the fast ice edge, primarily around Severnaya Zemlya. These openings are quickly refreezing with new and young ice due to temperatures between -8°C and -12°C in the area.
Sea of Japan
Fast ice remains within the Tartar Strait.
Sea of Okhotsk
The fast ice remains stable along Sakhalin Island and within its sheltered bays. Above freezing air temperatures, 0°C to +4°C, continue to encourage melt of the remaining pack ice.
