University of Ottawa professor finds that surface area of Ellesmere Island ice shelves has been almost halved in past 6 years

Professor Luke Copland on the Milne Glacier, northern Ellesmere Island (May 2011). Photo by student Adrienne White.

The results of studies conducted in the northern part of our continent by Professor Luke Copland, Department of Geography, show that its ice shelves are breaking up and moving away from the land masses more and more rapidly.

This disturbing news, which was picked up last month by several news media around the world, is the result of the numerous visits since 2005 by Luke Copland and his team to these ice shelves in northern Canada.

For example, Professor Copland’s figures indicate that in 1906 the ice shelves along Canada’s Ellesmere Island covered an area measuring approximately 10,000 km². By the time he and his team started collecting information in the field, this figure had fallen dramatically, to 1,043 km². This year, barely six years later, it was down to 560 km².

““The ice shelves which have been there for about 5,000 years, all of them are just collapsing; all of them are breaking apart,” noted the scientist.

Unlike a glacier that, by definition, rests on the ground, ice shelves form where the ocean meets land. Given that they can become extraordinarily large, the pieces that split off and float away are a source of concern to Luke Copland.

“If you imagine a piece of ice the size of Manhattan, or bigger, and then ten stories thick, that’s how much ice we’re losing in one time,” explains the professor, who is particularly concerned about the phenomenon because it is happening at such a rapid rate.

Besides the dangers associated with the movement on water of these giant “ice islands,” which could come into contact with oil companies’ equipment and cause oil spills in the Arctic Ocean, Professor Copland mentions two other possible concerns.

First of all, some of the unique ecosystems that have formed under the extreme conditions in northern Canada could be damaged, which for Luke Copland would be “a big scientific loss.” Not to mention that when parts detach, Canada’s outline changes, and maps have to be redrawn.

Adrienne White, a master’s student in physical geography, studied the changes in these ice shelves with Professor Copland. “It has been a great honour to work with Dr. Copland, studying the ice shelves of northern Canada. I have had the opportunity to travel to one of the most remote locations in Canada and experience one of the most beautiful landscapes in the world,” she says.

Student Adrienne White on the Milne Ice Shelf (May 2011). Photo by Dr. Luke Copland.

Unfortunately, there are no easy solutions. There is no way to dispose of the wandering ice islands. There are no ships or explosives that can handle these enormous icebergs. And even though it only took a century for approximately 95% of these ice shelves to disappear they could take “decades to centuries to even longer” to form once again, in the scientist’s opinion.

“It’s kind of strange to see things change so dramatically and quickly,” he adds, intent on remaining objective even as he watches the place that is his home for a month every year disappear before his very eyes.

Over the next few years, Luke Copland and his colleagues will attempt to explain why the change is happening so fast, by analyzing snowfall and melt, as well as the ice shelves’ movements and workings.

“The rate of collapse of these ice shelves over the past ten years has been very dramatic, and it is amazing to think that our research team may be the last people to ever see and set foot on these unique features,” concludes Adrienne White.