The oceanography of Milne Fiord

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Despite the existence of ice shelves and glacier tongues along the northern coast of Ellesmere Island, Canada, for the majority of the past 4000 years recent atmospheric warming has contributed to collapse of the remaining ice shelves and the loss of rare ice-shelf dammed lakes (Epishelf lakes). An Epishelf lake is a layer of fresh water overlying seawater that forms between an ice shelf and the coast. Epishelf lakes were once prevalent along the ice shelf fringed northern coast of Ellesmere Island but with recent ice shelf collapse, only one such lake remains. The Epishelf Lake in Milne Fiord has reduced in thickness over time and is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate and ocean warming. We will study the oceanography of Milne Fjord and its Epishelf lake using an unmanned, untethered, underwater robot as well as conventional field data gathering techniques.