The Nares Strait thread

[oren]

Isn't the current hugging the right side a result of the Coriolis effect?

[blumenkraft]

Hans Island is mostly steep-sided limestone or dolomite, so it likely erodes mostly from the sides.  Ice floes will basically cause below water line erosion, while freeze-thaw action, chemical weathering and surface runoff will affect the subaerial surface.  Per the internet chemical weathering of maybe "one-twentieth of a centimeter every 100 years" could be expected, but this would be in a more temperate climate, so I'll guess a 0.25 to 0.5 cm of loss this past 2,000 years from chemical weathering.

I'm really just guessing, but 500 good bumps or scrapes per year, so in 2,000 years, what, on the order of a centimeter or two?

In this Sentinel shot, there is still ice on the shores of Hans. I wonder if this ice is somehow compressed and acts as a bumper?

[blumenkraft]

Isn't the current hugging the right side a result of the Coriolis effect?

That's a possibility i never considered. Added to my variables list.

[be cause]

well worth a peek back to 2009 on Worldview .. forward thru the next week .. a mega-floe arrives at the entrance .. b.c.

[blumenkraft]

B.C., do you mean the fast ice monster in the north of Greenland? It barely moved west though.

[blumenkraft]

Surface current has stopped again.

There are northwards winds atm.

[be cause]

B.C., do you mean the fast ice monster in the north of Greenland? It barely moved west though.

Hi bl ..
 I mean the 50x50 km block arriving at Nares entrance .. it has all entered Nares by the 13th .. b.c.

[blumenkraft]

B.C., do you mean the fast ice monster in the north of Greenland? It barely moved west though.

Hi bl ..
 I mean the 50x50 km block arriving at Nares entrance .. it has all entered Nares by the 13th .. b.c.

Ok 

Now i see it too. Had to rotate the display to see it.

[blumenkraft]

Calving in Kane basin as we speak.

[blumenkraft]

Stranded icebergs in Kane basin.

From 01.08 without cloudy days.

(Give it a click)

[uniquorn]

Polarview sentinel 1 yesterday

[johnm33]

Slightly ot, interesting animations of arctic tides, though i think they've developed, showing the surge out of Nares into Lincoln. http://fvcom.smast.umassd.edu/2014/01/27/4-research-tidal-simulation/

[blumenkraft]

Those are beautiful animations. Thanks for sharing John.

[uniquorn]

<interesting animations of arctic tides>
m2_ar in Lincoln looking pretty close to the shape of yesterday's polynya (though it matches the bathy as well)

[blumenkraft]

I'm positive the polynya in Lincoln is caused by tides, Uniquorn. It forms when there is no southwards surface current in Nares.

[uniquorn]

yes, tend to agree, but at the moment it's caused by melt rather than an arch. So maybe mixing caused by tides.

[blumenkraft]

Yes, agreed. There is a lot of melting going on in all of the Strait. Warm water might get pushed south.

Edit: Add SST from Windy (ECMWF).

[blumenkraft]

DMI-crop animation.

I think the polynya has closed at the moment - or is this dust in the last frame?

However, the whole pack came down a little.

[blumenkraft]

Those grounded icebergs in Kane Basin are somewhat of a mystery to me. With all the swirls and tides and standing waves going on there, one would think they can't last long.

Too sad Rammb doesn't pick them up. I would love to see how they move in tides or how they behave when a floe runs into them. I've seen them wiggling around on Sentinel, but with a daily resolution, it's hard to see what's going on.

[blumenkraft]

Here are two of those icebergs.

Seems like the left one made it loose.

The time frame here is 01.08. to 11.08 without cloudy days.

[blumenkraft]

I think the polynya has closed at the moment - or is this dust in the last frame?

Likely dust?

DMI-crop 09/10/11.08. The pack moved east during this time frame. Click it!

[blumenkraft]

Those grounded icebergs in Kane Basin

Looks like this on radar btw.

I see a wavy pattern. As if there were dune-like structures below?

[blumenkraft]

Wikipedia article on Kane Basin has this picture from 2008

[blumenkraft]

Ladies and gentleman, Elisha Kent Kane (February 3, 1820 – February 16, 1857)

[blumenkraft]

A couple of clear days. YEY!

I2 Band, click to play.

[blumenkraft]

Lower strait had 3 clear days in a row causing a big file size - sorry for that.

I2 band, click to play.

[blumenkraft]

Warm waters creeping up the strait.

[oren]

Lower strait had 3 clear days in a row causing a big file size - sorry for that.

I2 band, click to play.

Nice animations. I wonder how long that ice in Kane basin will survive, I can't believe it will last the season.

[be cause]

This time last year ..
  https://forum.arctic-sea-ice.net/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=2278.0;attach=106452;image

  Uniquorn's work .. b.c.

[Espen]

Lower strait had 3 clear days in a row causing a big file size - sorry for that.

I2 band, click to play.

Nice animations. I wonder how long that ice in Kane basin will survive, I can't believe it will last the season.

That ice is a mix of glacier ice (from Humboldt Glacier) and sea ice from the north somewhere, I doubt the sea ice is from Nares, the glacier ice will survive at least half year if it gets out of Nares and into Baffin Bay before seasonal shutdown.

[blumenkraft]

Nice animations. I wonder how long that ice in Kane basin will survive, I can't believe it will last the season.

Thanks Oren.

Most floes in the basin are likely melting out - they will be pushed into the warm water sooner or later.

But as Espen said, a lot of stuff is grounded icebergs. I don't think they will melt this season.

[blumenkraft]

Zoom in on Kane via RAMMB.

A rather lame tidal wave the day after the full moon.

Click it.

[blumenkraft]

DMI Lincoln and Kennedy crop.

Floes are entering hesitantly. Are they pushed in from the ice pack above, or is there a mellow current?

If there is a current, Alphabet Hotel called it a few days ago!

Nares Strait export may be starting again. This is yesterday vs. today.

[johnm33]

Ice on the [other right] side of the strait, my take

going from the pole to southern greenland is about 30⁰ the difference in tangential surface speed is 500mph+ so about 17mph/27kph per degree, the only way the ice gains speed is to spend a little time on Ellesmeres coast.

[blumenkraft]

Great graph! Thanks for sharing, John. Indeed another piece of the puzzle i bet.

[blumenkraft]

There was no DMI Kennedy/Lincoln crop for yesterday. Meh -.-

So this GIF is missing the 20th. No southwards surface current (yet) i say.

[Espen]

Hanseatic Nature was visiting Hans Ø today, talking about masstourisme?

[blumenkraft]

Holy shit. 

I guess they don't even do some measurements?

[DrTskoul]

Mass tourism in the Arctic. Can you imagine the year after BOE?

[Espen]

Here is a few images from the visit of Hanseatic Nature August 22 2019:

[Espen]

Smith Sund, the entrance to Nares Stræde this morning (looking south), Kap Alexander (Greenland to the left):

[Espen]

Another image of Dodge Gletscher a few minutes ago (Hanseatic Nature) read more about  Dodge Gletscher at Mauris Blog:

https://blogs.agu.org/fromaglaciersperspective/2013/01/12/dodge-glacier-and-storm-glacier-retreat-northern-greenland/

[Shared Humanity]

Looking at Hans, it is no mystery why flows shatter when they slam up against it.

[blumenkraft]

Thanks so much for sharing, Espen. Great to have this perspective for once. Not too shabby they went there after all.

The wind north Nares / Lincoln is blowing northwards pretty hard at the moment and that seems to push the ice out of the channel. We will have strong winds in this direction for two days straight.

In this GIF i have increased the contrast to veil dust. I think this works well. If you like the originals better, let me know.

[Espen]

Now out of Nares Stræde, but just south of Smith Sund, we got the mystirous Carey Øer and in the mist like in a Von Trier setting, its amazing what you can collect from a deck on a cruise liner nowadays:

You may spend a some 15,000 USD or more for this trip, wawes are not excluded

[DrTskoul]

Woe wawes ...

And fro the navele doun al covered was / With wawes grene, and brighte as any glas.

[blumenkraft]

Apparently, the floes are, driven by wind, moving north at the moment. And look, they are confined to the right side of the floating direction.

Your comments and thoughts, please.

[Jim Hunt]

It's amazing what you can collect from a deck on a cruise liner nowadays

The artifacts produced by the "panoramic" webcam when the wind gets up are most intriguing!

[blumenkraft]

SST in Kane basin went down.

Is it reasonable to think that the storm there has mixed the water layers?

[blumenkraft]

Another thing the storm caused is a huge polynya at the entrance. I'm stunned there are still floes in the strait.