Historical Variability and Drivers of Sea Ice Along Coastal Labrador

This work aims to gather baseline data about polynyas and other open water features along coastal Labrador. Dr. Renkl’s role will be to assess the historical variability and long-term trends of sea ice in this region and identify its large-scale drivers over the past 50 years. Sea ice along the coast of Labrador provides travel routes for coastal Indigenous communities. Areas of open water surrounded by sea ice, also known as polynyas or locally as ‘rattles’ or ‘inggiganik’, are areas of high biological productivity that serve as a habitat for marine animals. These open water features provide local hunting and fishing grounds to Indigenous communities. Under a warming climate, changes in ice conditions can lead to unpredictable travel conditions whereby past knowledge of the environment is no longer applicable. Therefore, information about ice conditions are needed to assure the safety of travel routes and sustainability of traditional subsidence cultures. The targeted population of this project is the Indigenous communities in coastal Labrador who are directly involved in the project.

This research is embedded in the “Community-Based Hazard Mapping of Polynyas and Ice Features” project led by Paul McCarney of the Nunatsiavut Government of northern Labrador, in partnership with Dr. Eric Oliver and Bird’s Eye Inc., an Inuit-owned company.