In 2018, Fisheries and Oceans Canada initiated the Multidisciplinary Arctic Program (MAP) – Last Ice, the first ecosystem study of the poorly characterized region of the Lincoln Sea in the Marine Protected Area of Tuvaijuittuq, where multiyear ice still resides in the Arctic Ocean. MAP-Last Ice takes a coordinated approach to integrate the physical, biochemical, and ecological components of the sea ice-ocean connected ecosystem and its response to climate and ocean forcings. The cross-disciplinary program establishes baseline ecological knowledge for Tuvaijuittuq and, in particular, for its unique multiyear ice ecosystem. The database provides baseline data on the abundance of bacteria and viruses in multi- and first-year ice and in surface waters of the Lincoln Sea in Tuvaijuittuq, and their relation to bio-physical conditions. The data were collected during the 2018 spring field campaign of the MAP-Last Ice Program, at an ice camp offshore of Canadian Forces Station (CFS) Alert.

In 2018, Fisheries and Oceans Canada initiated the Multidisciplinary Arctic Program (MAP) – Last Ice, the first ecosystem study of the poorly characterized region of Tuvaijuittuq, where multiyear ice still resides in the Arctic Ocean. The program MAP-Last Ice takes a coordinated approach to integrate the physical, biochemical, and ecological components of the sea ice-ocean connected ecosystem and its response to climate and ocean forcings. This program provides baseline ecological knowledge for Tuvaijuittuq and, in particular, for its unique multiyear ice ecosystem. The database provides baseline data on fatty acid composition and stable isotopes signatures of sea ice communities in multi- and first-year ice in Tuvaijuittuq. The data were collected during the 2018 spring field campaign of the MAP-Last Ice Program, offshore of Canadian Forces Station (CFS) Alert, in the Lincoln Sea.

This record contains two-weekly minimum sea ice concentration images of the Canadian Beaufort Sea at 1.1 km resolution. The dataset originated from the Canadian Ice Service (CIS) Digital Archive weekly regional charts for the western Arctic (See “additional credit” for a link to these data), created by synthesis of remotely-sensed, ship and airborne observations (Fequet, 2005). These vector ice charts were gridded at 1.1 km resolution and aggregated into two-week composites by calculating the minimum sea-ice concentration at each grid cell over each two-week interval in each year. Week numbers were defined using the ISO 8601 convention, and sea-ice concentration isrepresented in tenths (with 0/10 corresponding to an ice-free pixel, ranging to 10/10 corresponding to 100% pixel coverage with sea-ice). The result is 12 composite images per year in 1998 through 2020 (23 years), corresponding to https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/ee27e86f-7b18-4e3f-8444-0c5efb6110a4. For further details, see Galley et al., 2022.

Seasonal and annual multi-model ensembles of projected change (also known as anomalies) in sea ice concentration based on an ensemble of twenty-eight Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) global climate models are available for 1900-2100. Sea ice concentration is represented as the percentage (%) of grid cell area. Therefore, projected change in sea ice concentration is with respect to the reference period of 1986-2005 and expressed as a percentage (%). The 5th, 25th, 50th, 75th and 95th percentiles of the ensembles of sea ice concentration change are available for the historical time period, 1900-2005, and for emission scenarios, RCP2.6, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, for 2006-2100. Twenty-year average changes in sea ice concentration (%) for four time periods (2021-2040; 2041-2060; 2061-2080; 2081-2100), with respect to the reference period of 1986-2005, for RCP2.6, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 are also available in a range of formats. The median projected change across the ensemble of CMIP5 climate models is provided. Note: Projections among climate models can vary because of differences in their underlying representation of earth system processes. Thus, the use of a multi-model ensemble approach has been demonstrated in recent scientific literature to likely provide better projected climate change information.

The Global Ice-Ocean Prediction System (GIOPS) produces global sea ice and ocean analyses and 10 day forecasts daily. This product contains time-mean sea ice and ocean forecast fields interpolated to two grids. One of the grids is a 0.2° resolution regular latitude-longitude grid covering the global ocean (north of 80° S). The other grid is in north-polar stereographic projection with a 5-km spacing at the standard parallel 60° N and covers the Arctic Ocean and the neighbouring sub-polar seas. Data is available for 50 depths. The data files are in netCDF format and comply with the Climate and Forecast Conventions.

Seasonal and annual multi-model ensembles of projected change (also known as anomalies) in sea ice thickness, based on an ensemble of twenty-six Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) global climate models are available for 1900-2100. Projected change in sea ice thickness is with respect to the reference period of 1986-2005 and expressed as a percentage (%). The 5th, 25th, 50th, 75th and 95th percentiles of the ensemble of sea ice thickness change are available for the historical time period, 1900-2005, and for emission scenarios, RCP2.6, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, for 2006-2100. Twenty-year average changes in sea ice thickness (%) for four time periods (2021-2040; 2041-2060; 2061-2080; 2081-2100), with respect to the reference period of 1986-2005, for RCP2.6, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 are also available in a range of formats. The median projected change across the ensemble of CMIP5 climate models is provided. Note: Projections among climate models can vary because of differences in their underlying representation of earth system processes. Thus, the use of a multi-model ensemble approach has been demonstrated in recent scientific literature to likely provide better projected climate change information.

Moored instrument time series data include current velocity, temperature, salinity, oxygen, fluorescence, transmissivity, turbidity, and particle capture of carbon, nitrogen, and silicon as well as sediment trap, ice drift and ice draft data.These data were collected by researchers from the Institute of Ocean Sciences, Sidney, BC, from locations ranging from the North Pacific, the Beaufort Sea, and across the Canadian Arctic Archipelago to Baffin Bay.

Multi-model ensembles of sea ice concentration based on projections from twenty-eight Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) global climate models are available for 1900-2100. Specifically, the 5th, 25th, 50th, 75th and 95th percentiles of the monthly, seasonal and annual ensembles of sea ice concentration as represented as the percentage (%) of grid cell area, are available for the historical time period, 1900-2005, and for emission scenarios, RCP2.6, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, for 2006-2100. Note: Projections among climate models can vary because of differences in their underlying representation of earth system processes. Thus, the use of a multi-model ensemble approach has been demonstrated in recent scientific literature to likely provide better projected climate change information.

Moored instrument time series data include current velocity, temperature, salinity, oxygen, fluorescence, transmissivity, turbidity, and particle capture of carbon, nitrogen, and silicon. Also included are sediment trap, ice drift and ice draft data.These data were collected by researchers from the Institute of Ocean Sciences, Sidney, BC, from locations ranging from the Beaufort Sea, and across the Canadian Arctic Archipelago to Baffin Bay.The data links below are only a representative sample of the entire collection. If you require more data, please send your request to the data contact.

PURPOSE:Ringed seals (Pusa hispida) rely on sea ice as habitat throughout their life history and inhabit a broad latitudinal range with diverse sea-ice conditions. Anthropogenic climate warming is triggering poleward species redistributions, highlighting the importance of understanding how species distributions and abundance vary along latitudinal gradients. Using ringed seals as a model species, the purpose was to estimate density via aerial surveys along a latitudinal gradient in the eastern Canadian Arctic to investigate latitudinal trends in the ringed seals response to regional variation in sea-ice conditions. DESCRIPTION:Ringed seals (Pusa hispida) rely on sea ice as habitat throughout their life history and inhabit a broad latitudinal range with diverse sea-ice conditions, making them a model species to study patterns in density along a spatial-environmental gradient. We estimated the density of ringed seals from systematic aerial surveys along a latitudinal gradient in the eastern Canadian Arctic to investigate latitudinal trends in the ringed seals response to regional variation in sea-ice conditions. Ringed seals exhibited similar densities at lower and intermediate latitudes, while higher latitudes displayed an order of magnitude lower ringed seal density. This shift is concurrent with the transition in ice conditions from predominantly first-year ice at lower latitudes to primarily multiyear ice at higher latitudes. These findings indicate that the variation in icescapes across the ringed seal’s vast range influences their density. The shift in sea-ice conditions may also have consequences for biological productivity that supports their diet. Our results highlight a likely non-uniform response of ringed seals to ongoing sea-ice recession across the Arctic.