Climate change and sea ice: Shipping and accessibility on the marine transport corridor through Hudson Bay and Hudson Strait (1980 - 2014)

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorAndrews, Jonathan
dc.contributor.authorBabb, David
dc.contributor.authorBarber, David G.
dc.date.accessioned2020-07-07T18:12:32Z
dc.date.available2020-07-07T18:12:32Z
dc.date.issued2017-03-30
dc.date.submitted2020-07-07T18:12:31Zen_US
dc.description.abstractShipping traffic has been increasing in Hudson Strait and Hudson Bay and the shipping route through these waters to the Port of Churchill may soon become a federally-designated transportation corridor. A dataset on passive microwave-based sea ice concentration was used to characterize the timing of the ice on the shipping corridor to the Port between 1980 and 2014. Efforts were made to produce results in a readily accessible format for stakeholders of the shipping industry; for example, open water was defined using a sea ice concentration threshold of ≤ 15% and results are presented in terms of real dates instead of anomalies. Between 1980 and 2014, the average breakup date on the corridor was July 4, the average freeze-up date was November 25, and the average length of the open water season was 145 days. However, each of these three variables exhibited significant long-term trends and spatial variability over the 34-year time period. Regression analysis revealed significant linear trends towards earlier breakup (–0.66 days year–1), later freeze-up (+0.52 days year–1), and a longer open water season (+1.14 days year–1) along the shipping corridor between 1980 and 2014. Moreover, the section of the corridor passing through Hudson Strait displayed significantly stronger trends than the two sections in Hudson Bay (i.e., “Hudson Islands” and “Hudson Bay”). As a result, sea ice timing in the Hudson Strait section of the corridor has diverged from the timing in the Hudson Bay sections. For example, the 2010–2014 median length of the open water season was 177 days in Hudson Strait and 153 days in the Hudson Bay sections. Finally, significant linear relationships were observed amongst breakup, freeze-up, and the length of the open water season for all sections of the corridor; correlation analysis suggests that these relationships have greatest impact in Hudson Strait.en_US
dc.identifier.citationAndrews, J, et al 2017 Climate change and sea ice: Shipping accessibility on the marine transportation corridor through Hudson Bay and Hudson Strait (1980–2014). Elem Sci Anth, 5: 15, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.130 Introduction Aen_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1993/34763
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisherUniversity of California Pressen_US
dc.rightsopen accessen_US
dc.subjectClimate Changeen_US
dc.subjectSea Iceen_US
dc.subjectHudson Bayen_US
dc.subjectHudson Straiten_US
dc.subjectShippingen_US
dc.titleClimate change and sea ice: Shipping and accessibility on the marine transport corridor through Hudson Bay and Hudson Strait (1980 - 2014)en_US
dc.typeTechnical Reporten_US
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
andrews-et-al.-2017.pdf
Size:
5.67 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.71 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed to upon submission
Description:
Download
Collections
Research Documents and Reports