Arctic Ice Shelves and Ice Islands

About this book

This book provides an overview of the current state of knowledge of Arctic ice shelves, ice islands and related features. Ice shelves are permanent areas of ice which float on the ocean surface while attached to the coast, and typically occur in very cold environments where perennial sea ice builds up to great thickness, and/or where glaciers flow off the land and are preserved on the ocean surface. These landscape features are relatively poorly studied in the Arctic, yet they are potentially highly sensitive indicators of climate change because they respond to changes in atmospheric, oceanic and glaciological conditions. Recent fracturing and breakup events of ice shelves in the Canadian High Arctic have attracted significant scientific and public attention, and produced large ice islands which may pose a risk to Arctic shipping and offshore infrastructure. Much has been published about Antarctic ice shelves, but to date there has not been a dedicated book about Arctic ice shelves or ice islands. This book fills that gap.

Contents

Part 1. Distribution and Characteristics of Arctic Ice Shelves
Chapter 1. Arctic Ice Shelves: an Introduction (Julian A. Dowdeswell)
Chapter 2. The Ellesmere ice shelves, Nunavut, Canada (Martin O. Jeffries)
Chapter 3. Eurasian Arctic Ice Shelves and Tidewater Ice Margins (Julian A. Dowdeswell)
Chapter 4. Greenland Ice Shelves and Ice Tongues (Niels Reeh)

Part 2. Physical Processes and Historical Changes of Arctic Ice Shelves
Chapter 5. Changes in Canadian Arctic Ice Shelf Extent Since 1906 (Derek Mueller)
Chapter 6. The Surface Mass Balance of the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf and Ward Hunt Ice Rise, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada (Carsten Braun)
Chapter 7. Holocene History of Arctic Ice Shelves (John England)
Chapter 8. An Overview of Paleoenvironmental Techniques for the Reconstruction of Past Arctic Ice Shelf Dynamics (Dermot Antoniades)
Chapter 9. Arctic Ice Shelf Ecosystems (Anne D. Jungblut)

Part 3. Arctic Ice Shelf Calving Processes and Ice Islands
Chapter 10. Factors Contributing to Recent Arctic Ice Shelf Losses (Luke Copland)
Chapter 11. Ice Island Drift Mechanisms in the Canadian High Arctic (Wesley Van Wychen)
Chapter 12. Recent Changes in Sea Ice Plugs along the Northern Canadian Arctic Archipelago (Luke Copland)
Chapter 13. The Military Importance and Use of Ice Islands During the Cold War (William F. Althoff)
Chapter 14. Russian Drifting Stations on Arctic Ice Islands (Igor M. Belkin)
Chapter 15. Risk Analysis and Hazards of Ice Islands (Mark Fuglem)

Customer Reviews

Biography

Dr. Luke Copland is a Professor and Director of the Laboratory for Cryospheric Research in the Department of Geography, Environment and Geomatics at the University of Ottawa. His research is focused on understanding the dynamics and recent changes of ice shelves, glaciers and ice caps across northern Canada, and he currently runs field research programs in the Yukon and on Axel Heiberg and Ellesmere Islands.

Dr. Derek Mueller is a Professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Carleton University in Ottawa. He has conducted research on the Ellesmere Island ice shelves since 2001, first on their biology during his doctoral studies, and then on their disintegration using remote sensing, climate and field observations. He continues to do field work at Canada's northernmost coast where he is focused on ice-ocean interactions. He also examines the drift and deterioration of ice islands and icebergs in the Arctic and along the East Coast of Canada.