The Seaway and ice coverage

Having a cold winter has taken it toll in many ways. Having the St. Lawrence River located in the North County, people can see how this winter has had an effect on the river and ice coverage.

“Ice coverage on the Great Lakes stood at more than 85 per cent Monday and is expected to peak in early March. Ice coverage in 2014 reached 92.6 per cent on March 6, the second highest level on record. But a more persistent cold in 2015 has some scientists suggesting the all-time record of almost 95 per cent ice coverage set in 1979 could be challenged this year” (Slow start of Seaway Shipping). The Great Lakes are not the only bodies of water that have ice coverage; the St. Lawrence also has ice coverage. So what does this mean for the opening of the Seaway, if the ice doesn’t melt in time, icebreaker might be sent in because the St. Lawrence River is part of the Seaway system.

When the icebreakers are used, it is interesting to watch but what about the environment effects that happened. The Joint Observational Study (JOS) trying to answer the question “Do icebreaking activities and/or ship transits in ice conditions within the study area cause; 1) Shoreline ice scour and/or 2) Land-fast ice to break away from shore prematurely?” (Joint Observational Study: Study Conclusions & Recommendations). What the JOS found was that icebreakers are not used every year and that “small scale” impacts have occurred in shallow shorelines with both natural ice break ups and clear-out. Also, “an inclusive process should continue to be used when setting the Seaway Opening Date, during which all stakeholders are consulted”, which hasn’t been set yet.

Sources:

Link to news article Ice Slows start of Seaway shipping, http://www.recorder.ca/2015/03/04/ice-slows-start-of-seaway-shipping

Link to Joint Observational Study, http://www.greatlakes-seaway.com/en/environment/observation.html