The Arctic 2030 Project: Feasibility and Reliability of Shipping on the Northern Sea Route and Modeling of an Arctic Marine Transportation & Logistics System 3-rd. Industry Seminar: Sea-Ice & Operational Conditions for Ships on the NSR Sea Ice Characteristics and Operational Conditions for Ships Working in the Western Zone of the NSR Mr. Sergey Balmasov, Head of CHNL s NSR Information Office (sergey@chnl.no) Monday 30 May, 2016, Busan, South-Korea
NSR climatic areas The NSR crosses 3 climatic areas: 1. Atlantic region (Barents Sea, western part of Kara Sea and Arctic Basin part placed in the North from Barents and Kara Seas). Here is maximum cyclone frequency, variable weather in winter and cloudy weather, often fog and precipitation in summer. 2. Siberian region (eastern part of Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, western part of East Siberian Sea). Siberian anti-cyclone influences winter in this region. Winter air temperature is lower here that in regions around and almost the same through the whole area. Temperature rises significantly in summer in southern parts of the seas, especially near the coast. In the northern parts of the area temperature remain law in this time. 3. Pacific region (eastern part of East Siberian Sea, Chukchi Sea). Pacific cyclones influence winter strongly. Air temperature is higher, wind strength and precipitation s amount are greater in this region than in the others nearby. Cyclone frequency for the area of cross voyage in the NSR in summer is the highest, large range of temperature. Fog occurs more frequently in the southern part than in the other regions nearby. Among numerous characteristics that reflect weather conditions in Arctic seas are wind, visibility and air temperature. These factors affect navigation directly.
NSR climatic areas
NSR Climate Air temperature. Abrupt and large variations of air temperature are not common for the region. Period when temperature is above zero along the parallel 75 N is mostly the same, it is 40 days. Maximum temperature in open sea does not exceed 5 C. Temperature increases sometimes very rapidly only in coastal regions of Arctic seas which are warmed up by continent. Fogs. In summer period visibility may get worse because of precipitation, but more often it reduced by fog. There is high fog frequency in summer. Usually fog is not near the shore, but at close ice edge. July and August are the foggiest months. On small islands in the NSR area amount of such foggy days is a bit less (22-24 days per month). Fog usually occurs during sea winds. Wind. Direction, speed, persistence of wind and its rapid increase influence successful navigation directly. Wind is divided into types in accordance with the nature of its effect on drift ice: pushing-off and pushing-to winds. Pushing-off winds facilitate better ice conditions (weaken ice conditions or reject pressure in close ice) in every area of the NSR, pushing-to winds have opposite effect. Along practically the whole NSR, except for certain areas, unfavorable (pushing-to) winds are blowing from the northern quarters. Pushing-to winds usually shift to pushing-off ones or gentle winds during 3 days, sometimes this shifting continues 8 days, in areas that in west and east from Vilkitski Strait and in area of New Siberian Islands this period takes 15 days. Winds with speed of 12 m/s (gusts to 15 m/s) are the most frequent in the highnorth areas of the NSR
Flat costal surface. NSR Climate
Western Zone of the NSR Climat Presence of drifting ice during the whole year Frequent fog and overcast sky Icing of vessels in September December Heating influence of the Barents Sea through Yugorskiy Shar and Kara Gates Straits makes western part of the Sea warmer. The Ob and the Yenisey Rivers also influence the Sea bringing much warm water. Eastern part of the Kara Sea is cooled with the Laptev Sea through Borisa Vilkitskogo and Shokalskogo Straits. Fogs in open sea and on shore are more often in July-August (20-30%). There is low visibility because of fog in July-August (20-35%). Wind currents and flood currents are constant.
Climat low temperatures in winter period. Presence of drifting ice during the whole year Reduced last decades
Icing of vessels in September December Climat
Heating influence of the Barents Sea through Yugorskiy Shar and Kara Gates Strait. The Ob and the Yenisey Rivers also influence the Sea bringing much warm water. Eastern part of the Kara Sea is cooled with the Laptev Sea through Borisa Vilkitskogo and Shokalskogo Straits.
Fogs in open sea and on shore are more often in July-August (20-30%). Climat
Pushing-off and pushing-to winds Climat
Low temperatures in winter period. Climat
Ice conditions There is drifting ice and fast ice of regional origin for the most of a year. Ice formation in north-eastern part starts 15 September among fields of remained ice and expands to south and west In south-west part it starts 20 October, in the Kara Gate and the Yugorskiy Shar in the middle of November In winter under influence of southern wind drifting ice splits off from fast ice edge to north, so flaw polynyas appear. Usually they are covered with young ice. There is active melting in these places in summer. Polynyas are often used for vessel escort in winter. From 1977 year-round navigation has carried out. Particularly dangerous event in winter is ice pressure. The heaviest ice pressure is in coastal regions, near islands and fast ice edge. Length of area with ice pressure can be 5-20 miles, and duration from several minutes to 2-3 days. The causes of ice pressure are wind, strong flood currents. In summer navigation ice is drifting because of wind and current, ice removes to the north and west.
Approaches to Kara gate
Kara Sea
Yenisei river
Ice conditions In the beginning of summer in the Kara Sea 3 main ice massifs are formed: Novozemelsky, Northern Kara, Severozemelsky Novozemelsky massif is located in the south-western part of the Sea. It consists of oneyear ice and young ice. It can hold a location in the west, in the middle or in the east. It holds western location the most often. Compacted ice borders to the Eastern coast of the Novaya Zemlya Islands and blocks the Kara Gate and the Yugorskiy Shar Straits. Western location of the massif isn t favorable for early start of navigation and vessels passage. There is open ice or ice-free water in the straits when the massif is located in the middle or in the east. Novozemelsky massif can join to Northern Kara when north-eastern wind occurs. The massifs are divided in the end of July at the favorable scenario.
Ice conditions Northern Kara massif consists of one-year heavy ice. It is great obstacle for navigation to the Vize Islands. It breaks more slowly than other massifs. Severozemelsky massif is formed when fast ice fractures and it consists of fast ice of regional origin. The massif is located right on the route between Dikson Island and the Boris Vilkitskiy Strait in the Laptev Sea. Ice conditions on western routs to straits of Novaya Zemlya are not serious obstacle for icebreakers and vessels with high ice class. When Novozemelskiy massif is pressed with wind to the Novaya Zemlya, flaw polynyas are formed along the coast. If this massif is located further east than the Severnaya Zemlya, navigation along the coast is complicated. In winter navigation is difficult because of low temperatures and often strong winds, which induce significant ice compacting.
The way how to escort a vessel in the beginning of summer period mostly depends on prevailing winds and location of ice fields. Ice river is very dangerous phenomena which happens in autumn and winter. It is intensive drifting line of small ice cake near a border of fast ice or stationary massif that drifts with high speed of high concentrated ice, with compacting of ice and small ice cake in straits, bays and open regions of freezing sea. Ice river can have width up to 1 mile and move with speed up to 5 knots along coast and fast ice edge. Ice river is huge ice mass adjoined to a vessel. A vessel cannot move and an icebreaker cannot assist. Causes of formation: geographic (narrowing in straits, near fast ice in open water, etc.), meteorological (strong wind, temperature s jump or fall), salinity, water density, geophysics (speed up of flood stream, general or local denivellation), calving of fast ice. Forecasting of ice stream is impossible. Ice streams appear everywhere along the NSR. Icing of vessels: occurs during the whole year, but it is dangerous in July-October. Icing is mostly intensive in September-October, dangerous for small size vessels. Low temperature, wind, precipitation. Icing can be very fast (more than 3 cm per hour), fast (1-3cm/hour) or slow (less than 1 cm/hour). Description of ice and hydrometeorological information is contained on 156 pages of Russian pilot books to Arctic Seas.
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