Nordicana D74 / DOI : 10.5885/45648CE-1A9AB63DFF91440B

Dynamics of ice cover over a far northern lake : Direct observations of Ward Hunt Lake, Canadian High Arctic, by automated camera.

Northern Ellesmere Island in the Global Environment (NEIGE)

Corresponding author : Auteur pour la correspondance / Corresponding author : Warwick F. Vincent (warwick.vincent@cen.ulaval.ca)

Abstract

Long-term monitoring of lakes and fjords on the northern coast of Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, provides information on the effects of climate change on these ecosystems and their seasonal and interannual dynamics. Lake ice cover is a sentinel variable with controlling effects on lake ecosystems, and it is especially sensitive to climate change. This dataset of ice imagery for Ward Hunt Lake (Ward Hunt Island) covers the period 2016-2022 and is a contribution to the NEIGE program (Northern Ellesmere Island in the Global Environment). Weather-resistant time-lapse cameras were installed on metal supports (rods) overlooking the lake in order to observe and document changes in the lake (ice and snow cover, water level) and its watershed (snow, vegetation, ground conditions, wildlife). The dataset has been separated into seasonal or monthly folders to facilitate downloading; note that there was a change of camera model and repositioning in 2017.

Data citation

NEIGE 2023. Dynamics of ice cover over a far northern lake : Direct observations of Ward Hunt Lake, Canadian High Arctic, by automated camera., v. 1.2.0 (2016-2022). Nordicana D74, doi: 10.5885/45648CE-1A9AB63DFF91440B.

Location map

Key references

Antoniades, D., Crawley, C., Douglas, M.S.V., Pienitz, R., Andersen, D., Doran, P.T., Hawes, I., Pollard, W. and Vincent, W.F. 2007. Abrupt environmental change in Canada’s northernmost lake inferred from diatom and fossil pigment stratigraphy. Geophysical Research Letters 34, L18708. DOI: 10.1029/2007GL030947.

Paquette, M., Fortier, D., Mueller, D.R., Sarrazin, D., and Vincent, W.F. 2015. Rapid disappearance of perennial ice on Canada’s most northern lake. Geophysical Research Letters 42: 1433-1440. DOI: 10.1002/2014GL062960.

Vincent, W.F., Fortier, D., Lévesque, E., Boulanger-Lapointe, N., Tremblay, B., Sarrazin, D., Antoniades, D., and Mueller, D.R. 2011. Extreme ecosystems and geosystems in the Canadian High Arctic: Ward Hunt Island and vicinity. Ecoscience 18: 236-261. DOI: .

Contributors

Vincent, Warwick (Centre d'études nordiques, Université Laval)

Sarrazin, Denis (Centre d'études nordiques, Université Laval)

Paquette, Michel (Centre d'études nordiques, Université de Montréal)

Matveev, Alex (Centre d'études nordiques, Université Laval)

Bégin, Paschale (Centre d'études nordiques, Université Laval)

Larochelle, Sophie (Centre d'optique, photonique et laser, Université Laval)

Culley, Alexander (Centre d'études nordiques, Université Laval)

Fortier, Daniel (Centre d'études nordiques, Université de Montréal)

Acknowledgements

We thank Parks Canada for the use of facilities, Polar Continental Shelf Program for logistic support and ArcticNet, NSERC and Sentinel North (CFREF) for funding.