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部海岸的“极端”（极厚和广泛）冰特征。在过去的十年里，这些冰的特征一直在迅速减少。这包括在此期间加拿大30%的冰架破裂，以及数千平方公里的多年陆地海冰的损失。厚冰的消失导致除了一个外的北半球冰架湖（漂浮在海岸和冰架之间的海洋上的一层淡水）全部消失。冰架上冰岛的崩解和漂流也引起了人们对北极水域石油平台和运输的担忧。我的研究计划将通过采用创新的遥感技术来检查这些极端沿海冰类型的范围和厚度的变化，这将更好地约束气候和沿海冰冻圈变化之间的关系。我将评估大陆架湖泊在极端海岸冰的破裂和生长中的作用，我将探索识别和跟踪极端冰特征的新策略，因为它们在北极浮冰中向南漂移。我的项目将为研究生提供最先进的遥感分析和加拿大最北部海岸的实地研究方面的培训。这项研究将有助于确定正在北极进行的深刻的环境变化的影响。

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.