Early ocean ice break-up

"We used to have snowmobile races on the ocean ice in front of Elim during the first weekend in April but we cannot have any races this year."

Observation by Leigh Takak:

This early ocean ice break-up or decay is unusual because we typically have at least a mile of ice from the beach to the edge around this time of year. But this year it is only approximately 1/4 mile. It has been kind of windy lately. We used to have snowmobile races on the ocean ice in front of Elim during the first weekend in April but we cannot have any races this year. Around the time of freeze-up there was a storm that piled ice cakes on the beach which didn't really happen in previous years.

Comment by LEO Network editors:

This is the first early break up post (coastal) received by LEO Network in 2022. We have shared this observation with LEO Network partners in the Norton Sound Region and with the science community for their input and comment. Based on the satellite imagery we reviewed from NASA there was over 30 days of at least partially clear weather over Elim between March 4, 2022 and April 4, 2022. There was an earlier extended high pressure system in late January - early February (see article from KNOM). These extended high pressure systems brought not just amazing satellite images but also days of wind which contributed to the ice break up. We are sharing the observation from Leigh Takak with National Snow and Ice Data Center and National Weather Service as well as our friends at the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy at UAF. M. Brubaker / M. Brook

Comment by Rick Thoman, Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy:

Repeated strong east to northeast winds in Norton Sound in February and March resulted in movement of sea ice out of Norton Sound and in the Bering Sea. As a result, sea ice was continually having to reform but was moved westward before it could thicken significantly. The same winds resulted in frequent leads beyond the shorefast ice along the southern Seward Peninsula and eastern Norton Sound coasts. The true color satellite image from Suomi NPP obtained from UAF's Geographic Information Network of Alaska from the afternoon of March 24 shows very thin new ice offshore of much of the southern Seward Peninsula coast.

Comment by Gay Sheffield, Alaska Sea Grant:

Rick Thoman just gave a Strait Science about the regional ice conditions if that helps...? See April 7, 2022 Strait Science Webinar Link