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
Barents Sea
The High Arctic pack ice extends into the northern Barents Sea. The sea ice has generally been drifting southeastward. Air temperatures are above the freezing point of sea ice, continuing the trend of melting sea ice. The net displacement of the ice edge slightly northward.
Bering Sea
A low concentration of old ice and first year ice has drifted around the Chukchi Peninsula from the Chukchi Sea and into the West Bering Sea, extending up to 30 nautical miles.
Canada East
Hudson Strait, Ungava Bay, Frobisher Bay and the Labrador Sea comprise bergy water. Gulf of Boothia is bergy water north of 70N; south of 70N contains some first-year ice. Foxe Basin contains mostly open water with first-year ice present along its western shores. The north eastern section is ice free. Western Davis Strait contains first-year ice with some old ice, while its eastern section is bergy water.
Canada North
Canada Basin and Nares Strait comprise old ice with some first-year ice. Eureka Sound contains small amount of first-year ice and some old ice. Jones Sound contains bergy water with first-year ice and some old ice along the northern shore of Devon Island. Lancaster Sound and Baffin Bay are bergy water. Davis Strait is bergy water with first-year ice with some old ice along the Baffin Island Coast near Cumberland Sound. Cumberland Sound is almost all bergy water except for a small area of old ice in the northeastern section.
Canada West
Along the Alaskan and Yukon coasts, bergy water extends along the coastline, followed farther offshore by a mix of first-year and old ice. In the Canada Basin, the eastern half contains a very close pack of old ice, while the western half is predominantly first-year ice with some old ice. A large area of bergy water persists from Mackenzie Bay to Liverpool Bay. In the Beaufort Sea, the pack, consisting predominantly of old ice, extends south into Franklin Bay, where a very open drift of old ice remains. From Amundsen Gulf through Coronation Gulf and into Queen Maud Gulf, Rae Strait, Franklin Strait, and most of Peel Sound, bergy water is present. M’Clure Strait and Viscount Melville Sound remain ice-covered, however there is bergy water at the heads of Richard Collinson Inlet and Hadley Bay. North of Banks Island and along Victoria Island, there is a very close pack that consists mainly of old ice with some first-year ice. South of Melville Island, a very close pack of first-year ice with a trace of old ice extends east into Barrow Strait. These ice types can also be found in western M’Clintock Channel and on the north coast of Prince of Wales Island. Areas of predominantly old ice remain south of Byam Martin Island and west of Stefansson Island. Fast ice remains between Borden Island and Mackenzie King Island, between Ellef Ringnes Island and King Christian and Amund Ringnes islands, and between Meighen Island and Axel Heiberg Island in Sverdrup Channel. The mobile ice in the western QEI is mostly old ice with some first-year ice, while the eastern QEI is mainly first-year ice with some old ice.
Chukchi Sea
Sea ice drift is southeastward along the Russian coast around the Chukchi Peninsula and into the Western Bering Sea. In the northern Chukchi Sea, sea ice drift is generally northward increasing the distance of ice free waters between Utqiagvik (Barrow) and the ice edge. The sea ice is composed of rotten old sea ice with some rotten first year ice.
East Siberian Sea
In the East Siberian Sea air temperatures range from 10°C in the south to 0°C over the pack ice in the north. The majority of the sea is ice free, with some first year ice around Anzhu Islands and to the north, and old ice in the east.
Greenland Sea
A large portion of the remaining fast ice in the northern Greenland Sea has detached from the coast. The Greenland Current continues to push old ice into warmer waters, causing it to deteriorate significantly.
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
Hudson Bay and James Bay are ice free. Southern Foxe Basin is mostly open water with some first-year ice, and is ice free along the coasts.
Kara Sea
In the Kara Sea rotten first year sea ice is located around the Taymyr Peninsula and Severnaya Zemlya. The remainder of the Kara Sea is ice free.
Laptev Sea
In the Laptev Sea rotten first year sea ice is located around the Taymyr Peninsula and Severnaya Zemlya. The pack ice is also composed of mostly rotten first year ice that has been drifting southeastward. In the eastern half of the Laptev Sea the ice edge is 150 to 180 nautical miles to the north of the Russian coastline.
