Variability in ice phenology on Great Bear Lake and Great Slave Lake, Northwest Territories, Canada, from SeaWinds/QuikSCAT: 2000–2006

The temporal evolution of the backscatter coefficient, sigma-nought (σ°) from QuikSCAT was evaluated for monitoring ice phenology on Great Bear Lake (66°N, 121°W) and Great Slave Lake (61°40′N, 114°W), Northwest Territories, Canada. Results indicated that σ° from QuikSCAT can be used to detect melt onset, water clear of ice and freeze onset dates on both lakes. An ice phenology algorithm was then developed to assess the spatiotemporal variability on both lakes from QuikSCAT for the period 2000–2006. Results showed that for Great Slave Lake, the average melt onset date occurred on year day (YD) 123, the average water clear of ice date was on YD164, and the average freeze onset date was on YD330. On Great Bear Lake, the average melt onset date occurred on YD139, the average water clear of ice date was YD191, and the average freeze onset date was YD321. Ice cover remained present for at least five weeks longer on Great Bear Lake than on Great Slave Lake and most of the difference can be explained by earlier ice melt on Great Slave Lake. Spatially, on Great Bear Lake, melt onset took place first in the eastern arm, water clear of ice occurred first in southeastern and western arms, and freeze onset appeared first in the northern arm and along the shorelines. On Great Slave Lake, melt onset began first in the central basin and then progressed to the northern and eastern arms later in the season. The central basin of Great Slave Lake cleared earlier than the periphery due to the discharge from the Slave River. Freeze onset on Great Slave Lake occurred first within the east arm, closely followed by the north and west arms, and then finally in the centre of the main basin.