Dynamics of extreme ice in the coastal arctic cryosphere

北极是地球上变暖最快的地区之一，这对它所支持的冰冻圈和生态系统产生了重大影响。 我的研究考察了加拿大北方海岸沿着的“极端”（极厚和广泛）冰特征。 这些冰特征在过去十年中迅速减少。 这包括在此期间，加拿大超过30%的冰架破裂，沿着损失了数千平方公里的多年固定海冰。 厚冰的移除导致了北方半球除了一个外的所有大陆架上的湖泊（漂浮在海岸和冰架之间的海洋上的淡水层）的消失。 冰岛从冰架上崩解和漂移也引起了人们对北极沃茨石油平台和运输的关注。 我的研究计划将通过采用创新的遥感技术来研究这些极端沿海冰类型的范围和厚度的变化，这将更好地限制气候和沿海冰冻圈变化之间的关系。 我将评估的作用，外陆架湖泊的破碎和极端沿海冰的增长，我将探索新的战略，以确定和跟踪极端冰的功能，因为他们向南漂移在北极浮冰。 我的项目将提供最先进的遥感分析和加拿大最北部海岸沿着实地研究的研究生培训。 这项研究将有助于确定北极目前正在发生的深刻环境变化的影响。

The Arctic is one of the most rapidly warming regions on Earth and this is having a substantial impact on the cryosphere and ecosystems that it supports. My research examines 'extreme' (extremely thick and extensive) ice features along the northern coast of Canada. These ice features have been in rapid decline over the last decade. This includes the breakup of >30% of Canada's ice shelves during this period, along with the loss of thousands of square kilometres of multiyear landfast sea ice. The removal of thick ice has resulted in the loss of all but one of the Northern Hemisphere's epishelf lakes (a layer of freshwater that floats on the ocean between the coast and an ice shelf). The calving and drifting of ice islands from the ice shelves has also raised concern for oil platforms and transportation in Arctic waters. My research program will examine changes in extent and thickness of these extreme coastal ice types by employing innovative remote sensing technology that will better constrain the relationship between climate and coastal cryospheric change. I will evaluate the role of epishelf lakes in the break-up and growth of extreme coastal ice and I will explore new strategies for identifying and tracking extreme ice features as they drift southward within Arctic pack ice. My program will provide graduate training in state-of-the-art remote sensing analysis and field research along the northernmost coasts of Canada. This research will help determine the implications of the profound environmental transformation now underway in the Arctic.