Barrow Sea Ice Webcam

icecam@gi.alaska.edu

This image has been recorded by a web cam overlooking the landfast ice (or coastal ocean during the ice-free period in summer) from atop the bank building in downtown Barrow, Alaska. The camera is looking approximately North.

Apart from providing a visual impression of the sea-ice conditions off Barrow, these images establish a longer-term record of key dates in the seasonal evolution of the sea-ice cover, such as: onset of fall ice formation, formation of a stable ice cover, onset of spring melt, appearance of melt ponds, beginning of ice break-up in early summer, removal or advection of sea ice during the summer months.

To learn more about coastal sea-ice cover as it relates to climate variability and Inupiat Eskimo subsistence activities,
click here

Webcam location: 71° 17′ 33″ N, 156° 47′ 18″ W.
Contact: Please send comments to icecam@gi.alaska.edu

Recent events captured by the webcam:

Webcam video of an ice shove that occurred on Feb. 17-18, 2011: .mov .mp4 .wmv.
This event resulted in 8m high piles of ice on the beach in some areas close to Barrow (one image every 5 minutes).

Archived movies of annual sea ice cycles: