Polar Bears
Chukchi Sea ice that didn’t melt this summer is now 2+m thick between Wrangel Island and the shore
From Polar Bear Science
Dr. Susan Crockford
Thick multiyear ice between Wrangel Island and the shore is now more than 2m thick, potentially impacting fall feeding for bears that routinely summer on Wrangel or the north coast of Chukotka.
Rapidly-forming sea ice in the Laptev and East Siberian Seas this fall – generated by cold winds from Siberia in late October despite warmer than ususal temperatures earlier in the month – has trapped a number of Russian ships that are being rescued by ice-breakers (below), according to a report in the Barents Observer earlier this week.
As I mentioned last month, much of the ice along the Russian coast of the Chukchi Sea adjacent to Wrangel Island (see map above) where Pacific walrus have hauled out in recent years remained covered in ice all summer and thus unavailable to walrus. By the middle of October, as new ice began to form in the area, that ice officially became ‘multiyear’ ice.
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2021/11/19/chukchi-sea-ice-that-didnt-melt-this-summer-is-now-2m-thick-between-wrangel-island-and-the-shore/
