Polar Bear Sea Ice Habitat Near Late Arctic Spring 2023 • Is it possible to grow?

news7g06/09/2023

4 1 minute read

Susan Crockford

Arctic sea ice is starting to melt and late spring is approaching. mating season has passed for polar bears as well as devouring young seals in most areas as the weaned cubs enter open water to feed themselves. Only one adult and semi-adult seals knowledgeable about predators remain on the ice while they shed a new coat, so successful hunting because most polar bears will become increasingly uncommon (eg, Obbard et al. 2016).

Close-up of wild polar bears on ice in the Arctic sea

Arctic sea ice in general

sea ice thickness

Where are the red bits? 5m . thick and even green/yellow is 2.5-3.5m. This thick layer of ice is unlikely to melt during the summer, but it can be broken up by winds and ocean currents and washed away from the Arctic, where it will melt in warmer waters.

The chart below shows the sea ice range for May 2023, according to NSIDC compared with previous years only slightly worse than in 1989 and 1995:

Canadian sea ice

Open water pathways and polynyas in sea ice, clearly visible in the ice graph below, are now important areas for polar bears to attempt to hunt, because these highly productive areas collect sucking seals (Stirling et al. 1981).

Barents Sea and Kara, East Greenland

Svalbard . sub-region

The ice extent around Svalbard is decreasing, like every year around this time:

However, there is still plenty of ice in the eastern and northern regions around Svalbard for polar bears to continue their hunting efforts:

Presenter

Obbard, I, Cattet, MRI, Howe, EJ, Middel, KR, Newton, EJ, Kolenosky, GB, Abraham, KF and Greenwood, CJ 2016. Trends in body condition in polar bears (Ursus maritimus) from the Southern Hudson Bay subpopulation associated with sea ice changes. Arctic Science 2:15-32. 10.1139/AS-2015-0027 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/AS-2015-0027#.VvFtlXpUq50

Stirling, I, Cleator, H. and Smith, TG 1981. Marine mammals. In: Polynyas in the Canadian Arctic, Stirling, I. and Cleator, H. (eds), pg. 45-58. Wildlife Service Canada Occasional Newspapers No. 45. Ottawa. Pdf of appropriate excerpts from Stirling and Cleator This.