Measuring ice thickness with EISFlowTM, a fixed-mounted helicopter electromagneticlaser system

ABSTRACT A helicopter-borne ice thickness sensor, mounted on the nose of an MBB B0105 helicopter, was developed for the Canadian Coast Guard in support of its ice breaking operations. The sensor utilises low-frequency electromagnetic induction measurements, coupled with a precise laser altimeter, to measure snow plus ice thickness over seawater to centimetre-level accuracy with the helicopter skids on the ice. The system can also be operated in a profiling mode, yielding similar mean ice thickness accuracy over the sensor's footprint. For 1 m thick ice the footprint's diameter increases from 6 m for soft-landing to 12 m for profiling mode of operations. Soft-landing mode of observations are made with the helicopter's skids on the ice but not with the helicopter's weight on the ice

Perennial pack ice in the southern Beaufort Sea was not as it appeared in the summer of 2009. Geophys

[1] In September 2009 we observed a much different sea icescape in the Southern Beaufort Sea than anticipated, based on remotely sensed products. Radarsat derived ice charts predicted 7 to 9 tenths multi-year (MY) or thick first-year (FY) sea ice throughout most of the Southern Beaufort Sea in the deep water of the Canada Basin. In situ observations found heavily decayed, very small remnant MY and FY floes interspersed with new ice between floes, in melt ponds, thaw holes and growing over negative freeboard older ice. This icescape contained approximately 25% open water, predominantly distributed in between floes or in thaw holes connected to the ocean below. Although this rotten ice regime was quite different that the expected MY regime in terms of ice volume and strength, their near-surface physical properties were found to be sufficiently alike that their radiometric and scattering characteristics were almost identical

Calcium carbonate saturation states in the waters of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and the Labrador Sea

Ocean acidification is predicted to occur first in polar oceans. We investigated the saturation state of waters with respect to calcite (Wcal) and aragonite (Warg) in six sections along an Arctic outflow pathway through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA) and into the northwestern Atlantic using dissolved inorganic carbon and total alkalinity measurements from 2003 to 2005. The study area, a key region connecting the Arctic and the North Atlantic, includes Smith Sound, Barrow Strait, Baffin Bay, Davis Strait, Hudson Strait, and the Labrador Sea. The average Warg in the Arctic outflow was 1.18 ± 0.17 in Barrow Strait and 1.31 ± 0.14 in Smith Sound, with areas where Warg < 1. The Arctic outflow through the CAA has a high content of Pacific waters, which have a low saturation state. These waters can be traced along the western Baffin Bay to Davis Strait. South of Davis Strait, this outflow is modified by mixing with slope and offshore waters of Atlantic origin and with the outflow from Hudson Strait. Despite the mixing, low saturation state water can still be identified on the southern Labrador Shelf. The aragonite saturation horizon is found at ∼150 m in Barrow Strait; at 200 m in Baffin Bay, Davis Strait, and Hudson Strait; and at 2300 m in the Labrador Sea. This study provides baseline data of the saturation states for the waters of the CAA and the northwest Atlantic. It also illustrates the downstream evolution of low saturation state Arctic outflow in the northwest Atlantic.Keywords: Labrador Sea, Calcium carbonate saturation state, Canadian arctic archipelagoKeywords: Labrador Sea, Calcium carbonate saturation state, Canadian arctic archipelag

Prospects for seasonal forecasting of iceberg distributions in the North Atlantic

An efficient approach to ocean–iceberg modelling provides a means for assessing prospects for seasonal forecasting of iceberg distributions in the northwest Atlantic, where icebergs present a hazard to mariners each spring. The stand-alone surface (SAS) module that is part of the Nucleus for European Modelling of the Ocean (NEMO) is coupled with the NEMO iceberg module (ICB) in a “SAS-ICB” configuration with horizontal resolution of 0.25°. Iceberg conditions are investigated for three recent years, 2013–2015, characterized by widely varying iceberg distributions. The relative simplicity of SAS-ICB facilitates efficient investigation of sensitivity to iceberg fluxes and prevailing environmental conditions. SAS-ICB is provided with daily surface ocean analysis fields from the global Forecasting Ocean Assimilation Model (FOAM) of the Met Office. Surface currents, temperatures and height together determine iceberg advection and melting rates. Iceberg drift is further governed by surface winds, which are updated every 3 h. The flux of icebergs from the Greenland ice sheet is determined from engineering control theory and specified as an upstream flux in the vicinity of Davis Strait for January or February. Simulated iceberg distributions are evaluated alongside observations reported and archived by the International Ice Patrol. The best agreement with observations is obtained when variability in both upstream iceberg flux and oceanographic/atmospheric conditions is taken into account. Including interactive icebergs in an ocean–atmosphere model with sufficient seasonal forecast skill, and provided with accurate winter iceberg fluxes, it is concluded that seasonal forecasts of spring/summer iceberg conditions for the northwest Atlantic are now a realistic prospect

Asymptotic expansions of the hypergeometric function for large values of the parameters

In chapter I known asymptotic forms and expansions of the hypergeometric function obtained by Erdélyi [5], Hapaev [10,11], Knottnerus [15L Sommerfeld [25] and Watson [28] are discussed. Also the asymptotic expansions of the hypergeometric function occurring in gas-flow theory will be discussed. These expansions were obtained by Cherry [1,2], Lighthill [17] and Seifert [2J]. Moreover, using a paper by Thorne [28] asymptotic expansions of ₂F₁(p+1, -p; 1-m; (1-t)/2), -1 1, are obtained as p-»» and m = -(p+ 1/2)a, where a is fixed and 0 < a < 1. The : expansions are in terms of Airy functions of the first kind. The hypergeometric equation is normalized in chapter II. It readily yields the two turning points t₁, i = 1,2. If we consider,the case the a=b is a large real parameter of the hypergeometric function ₂F₁(a,b; c; t), then the turning points coalesce with the regular singularities t = 0 and t = ∞ of the hypergeometric equation as | a | →∞. In chapter III new asymptotic forms are found for this particular case; that is, for ₂F₁ (a, a; c;t) , 0 < T₁ ≤ t < 1, and ₂F₁ (a,a+1-c; 1; t⁻¹), 1 < t ≤ T₂ < ∞ , as –a → ∞ . The asymptotic form is in terms of modified Bessel functions of order 1/2. Asymptotic expansions can be obtained in a similar manner. Furthermore, a new asymptotic form is derived for ₂F₁ (c-a, c-a; c; t), 0 < T₁ ≤ t < 1, as –a → ∞, this result then leads to a sharper estimate on the modulus of n-th order derivatives of holomorphic functions as n becomes large.Science, Faculty ofMathematics, Department ofGraduat

Ice Drift and Draft Measurements from Moorings at the Confederation Bridge

Instruments capable of measuring ice thickness and drift velocity were deployed near the Confederation Bridge during the winter months of 1999 and 2000. The instruments were moored inline with the main navigation channel, close to one of the bridge piers. The data were gathered, in part, to complement measurements of bridge pier tilt, being conducted by the National Research Council for studies of ice forces on structures. Data are presented on ice draft and speed as the ice approaches the bridge from both sides in a strong tidally driven environment with a mean flow to the southeast. Data are compared to ice thickness data collected by helicopter-borne sensors. Also presented are some of the challenges in processing data contaminated by flow around the piers

Observations in the Ocean

The chapter begins with an overview of the exploratory work done in the Arctic Ocean from the mid nineteenth century to 1980, when its main features became known and a systematic study of the Arctic Ocean evolved. The following section concentrates on the decade between 1980 and 1990, when the first scientific icebreaker expeditions penetrated into the Arctic Ocean, when large international programme were launched, and the understanding of the circulation and of the processes active in the Arctic Ocean deepened. The main third section deals with the studies and the advances made during the ACSYS decade. The section has three headings: the circulation and the transformation of water masses; the changes that have been observed in the Arctic Ocean, especially during the last decades; and the transports between the Arctic Ocean and the surrounding world ocean through the different passages, Fram Strait, Barents Sea, Bering Strait and the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. In section four, the Arctic Ocean is considered as a part of the Arctic Mediterranean Sea, and the impacts of possible climatic changes on the circulation in the Arctic Mediterranean and on the exchanges with the world ocean are discussed