No Sea Ice

Observation: South winds blew out most of the sea ice. Going to be bad ice if it refreezes for spring hunt.

Sea Ice Group at the Geophysical Institute Consult: Dr. Hajo Eicken, Professor of Geophysics writes, "Thank you for passing on the observation about ice conditions at Shishmaref. Looking at satellite images, looks like these are unusual conditions since normally (as you describe) shorefast ice should extend further out. Nevertheless, there have been a few occasions in the past 20 years or so where ice has been lacking like this year as well. There’s a bit more shorefast ice at Wales and Winton Weyapuk, Jr. from Wales describes in his daily ice observations how winds and currents help build pressure ridges in mid-January that then helped set up the shore-fast ice. Did you ever have any shorefast ice this winter that then blew out at Shishmaref? From the satellite images it’s difficult to tell." Source: Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks

Figures 1 & 2 content: Hajo Eicken, UAF

Figure 1: Normal shorefast ice extent for the month of March. Note that a typical ('mean") ice extent is much further from shore, grounded on a shoal between Wales and Shishmaref. However, extreme minimum extent with very little or no shorefast ice has occurred in the past 20 years or so.

Figure 2: Ice conditions in Bering Strait region from Satellite image for February 28, 2015 (3pm AK time). Note the little spur of shorefast ice extending out from Wales and absence of shorefast ice east of Wales.