See also:

Spring break-up at Old Crow
 
Peel River Ice Bridge

Arctic Borderlands Ecological Knowledge Co-op

What is happening?

• This graph shows the date of spring break-up during the last seven years. The earliest date in the last seven years was May 19th and the latest date was June 5th.

Why is it happening?

• The timing of spring break-up is related to weather conditions in the river basin and should reflect long term changes in climate.

Why is it important?

• The date of spring break-up provides useful information of how weather conditions can vary between years in a particular watershed. Temperatures and snow depth both influence the thickness of ice cover while the timing of warm weather in spring affects the timing of break-up.
• The timing of break-up affects travel (by people and animals) along river corridors.

Technical Notes

• The data presented here were obtained from Dean McLeod at the Hamlet of Aklavik. The Hamlet has begun organizing a community ice pool each spring to guess the date and time when a marker fixed offshore on the ice will move down river past an observation marker (about 1/3 km down river near the "Point").