C069-03
The mass balance of landfast sea ice in Kotzebue Sound: addressing community-driven research questions through knowledge co-production
Thursday, 17 December 2020: 05:38
Virtual
Andrew R Mahoney1, Kate E Turner2, Donna Hauser3, Nathan Laxague4, Jessica Lindsay5, Alex Whiting6, Carson Witte7, John Goodwin8, Cyrus Harris8, Robert E Schaeffer8, Roswell Schaeffer Sr.8, Sarah Betcher9, Ajit Subramaniam10 and Christopher J Zappa7, (1)University of Alaska Fairbanks, Geophysical Institute, Fairbanks, AK, United States, (2)National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research, Wellington, New Zealand, (3)International Arctic Research Center, Fairbanks, AK, United States, (4)RSMAS, Miami, FL, United States, (5)University of Washington Seattle Campus, Seattle, United States, (6)Native Village of Kotzebue, Kotzebue, AK, United States, (7)Columbia University, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Palisades, NY, United States, (8)Community of Kotzebue, Kotzebue, United States, (9)Farthest North Films, Homer, United States, (10)Gordon and Betty Moore Found, Palo Alto, CA, United States
Abstract:
The Ikaaġvik Sikukun (
Ice bridges in Iñupiaq) project has adopted principles of knowledge coproduction to bridge the scientific and Indigenous communities and improve our understanding of the changing sea ice environment of Kotzebue Sound. Here, we combine the inaugural measurements from a sea ice observation program in Kotzebue Sound with a 1-D thermodynamic model to address a series of research questions developed in partnership with an advisory council of Indigenous Elders. These questions reflect the holistic concerns of local community members whose livelihoods and lifestyles are intimately linked with the sea ice of Kotzebue Sound. Each question is multifaceted and requires bringing together new data and knowledge from a variety of disciplines. Our analysis here addresses glaciological matters related to three of these questions:
1) What environmental factors control the length of the bearded seal hunting season in Kotzebue Sound?
2) What snow and ice surface properties promote ringed seal den integrity and pupping success?
3) Why was there so little sea ice in Kotzebue Sound in 2018 (and 2019)?
Our results show that the landfast sea ice that grew near Kotzebue during the 2017-18 and 2018-19 winters was likely the thinnest since at least 1945. Warm air temperatures were a contributing factor, but our results suggest there was a significant vertical ocean heat flux that stopped ice growth unusually early in the season. This heat flux is likely connected to record-breaking lack of sea ice the Bering and Chukchi Seas, including Kotzebue Sound at this time (Question 3). Near the community of Kotzebue, it appears this heat flux may be concentrated in the outflow channel of the Noatak and Kobuk Rivers. Break-up of sea ice in this channel is an important annual event that allows local subsistence hunters to begin hunting for bearded seals in springtime (Question 1). We also found widespread flooding of the sea ice caused by a combination of deep snow and thin ice. The resulting snow ice that formed when the flooded snow pack froze made up a significant fraction of the ice volume, but the flooding may have had a negative impact on ringed seal habitat (Question 2). Thus, through a knowledge co-production approach, we address questions of importance to the residents of Kotzebue while improving our understanding of sea ice in this rapidly changing region of Arctic.
