Last Ice Area

{{Short description|Region of the Arctic}}

{{Short description|Region of the Arctic}}

[[File:Last Ice Area NOW.tif|thumb|Portion of the Last Ice Area - the North Water polynya (NOW) situated between Ellesmere Island and Greenland. Anomalous ice formation were recorded on the Smith Sound ice in 2007 (c) and 2009 (d).]]

[[File:Last Ice Area NOW.tif|thumb|Portion of the Last Ice Area - the North Water polynya (NOW) situated between Ellesmere Island and Greenland. Anomalous ice formation were recorded on the Smith Sound ice in 2007 (c) and 2009 (d).]]

The '''Last Ice Area''' is broadly the large interior polar region of the [[Arctic Circle]] covering an area between the northern edge of Greenland and the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and is the most northerly coastal zone of the world.{{Cite journal|last1=Vincent|first1=Warwick F.|last2=Mueller|first2=Derek|date=2020|title=Witnessing ice habitat collapse in the Arctic|url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abe4491|journal=Science|language=en|volume=370|issue=6520|pages=1031–1032|doi=10.1126/science.abe4491|pmid=33243873|bibcode=2020Sci...370.1031V|s2cid=227171547|issn=0036-8075|url-access=subscription}} In this area, the oldest and thickest [[sea ice]] in the Arctic is expected to persist longest.{{Cite journal|last1=Newton|first1=Robert|last2=Pfirman|first2=Stephanie|author-link2=Stephanie Pfirman|last3=Tremblay|first3=L. Bruno|last4=DeRepentigny|first4=Patricia|date=2021|title=Defining the "Ice Shed" of the Arctic Ocean's Last Ice Area and Its Future Evolution|journal=Earth's Future|language=en|volume=9|issue=9|article-number=e2021EF001988|doi=10.1029/2021EF001988|bibcode=2021EaFut...901988N|s2cid=239150777|issn=2328-4277|doi-access=free}} Towards the northern side, it consists of the [[Tuvaijuittuq Marine Protected Area]], which is the [[Protected areas of Canada|largest protected area in Canada]] and among the [[List of largest protected areas|largest protected areas in the world]].{{Cite web|last=Government of Canada|first=Fisheries and Oceans Canada|date=2019-09-18|title=Tuvaijuittuq Marine Protected Area (MPA)|url=https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/oceans/mpa-zpm/tuvaijuittuq/index-eng.html|access-date=2021-12-05|website=www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca}} It is one of the major centres of environmental concerns that is bound to have global impact. The [[Arctic Council]]'s 2017 report ''Snow, Water, Ice and Permafrost. Summary for Policy-makers'' predicted that current rate of climate change will cause the complete disappearance of the ice within a century.{{Cite web|work=[[Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme]] (AMAP)|date=2017-04-25|title=Snow, Water, Ice and Permafrost. Summary for Policy-makers|url=https://www.amap.no/documents/doc/snow-water-ice-and-permafrost.-summary-for-policy-makers/1532|access-date=2021-12-05|language=en-GB}}{{Cite web|last=WWF|date=2017-04-25|title=Changed Arctic, changed world|url=https://arcticwwf.org/newsroom/stories/changed-arctic-changed-world/|access-date=2021-12-05|website=arcticwwf.org|language=en}}

The '''Last Ice Area''' is broadly the large interior polar region of the [[Arctic Circle]] covering an area between the northern edge of Greenland and the Canadian [[Arctic Archipelago]] and is the most northerly coastal zone of the world.{{Cite journal|last1=Vincent|first1=Warwick F.|last2=Mueller|first2=Derek|date=2020|title=Witnessing ice habitat collapse in the Arctic|url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abe4491|journal=Science|language=en|volume=370|issue=6520|pages=1031–1032|doi=10.1126/science.abe4491|pmid=33243873|bibcode=2020Sci...370.1031V|s2cid=227171547|issn=0036-8075|url-access=subscription}} In this area, the oldest and thickest [[sea ice]] in the Arctic is expected to persist longest.{{Cite journal|last1=Newton|first1=Robert|last2=Pfirman|first2=Stephanie|author-link2=Stephanie Pfirman|last3=Tremblay|first3=L. Bruno|last4=DeRepentigny|first4=Patricia|date=2021|title=Defining the "Ice Shed" of the Arctic Ocean's Last Ice Area and Its Future Evolution|journal=Earth's Future|language=en|volume=9|issue=9|article-number=e2021EF001988|doi=10.1029/2021EF001988|bibcode=2021EaFut...901988N|s2cid=239150777|issn=2328-4277|doi-access=free}} Towards the northern side, it consists of the [[Tuvaijuittuq Marine Protected Area]], which is the [[Protected areas of Canada|largest protected area in Canada]] and among the [[List of largest protected areas|largest protected areas in the world]].{{Cite web|last=Government of Canada|first=Fisheries and Oceans Canada|date=2019-09-18|title=Tuvaijuittuq Marine Protected Area (MPA)|url=https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/oceans/mpa-zpm/tuvaijuittuq/index-eng.html|access-date=2021-12-05|website=www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca}} It is one of the major centres of environmental concerns that is bound to have global impact. The [[Arctic Council]]'s 2017 report ''Snow, Water, Ice and Permafrost. Summary for Policy-makers'' predicted that current rate of climate change will cause the complete disappearance of the ice within a century.{{Cite web|work=[[Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme]] (AMAP)|date=2017-04-25|title=Snow, Water, Ice and Permafrost. Summary for Policy-makers|url=https://www.amap.no/documents/doc/snow-water-ice-and-permafrost.-summary-for-policy-makers/1532|access-date=2021-12-05|language=en-GB}}{{Cite web|last=WWF|date=2017-04-25|title=Changed Arctic, changed world|url=https://arcticwwf.org/newsroom/stories/changed-arctic-changed-world/|access-date=2021-12-05|website=arcticwwf.org|language=en}}

== Geography and conservation ==

== Geography and conservation ==

The Last Ice Area covers the central area of the Arctic Circle, thereby representing the most northerly coastal zone of the world. It is so named because of its old and thick ice sheet which is expected to last the longest as a sea ice in the Arctic. The northern side falling under the [[Government of Canada]] is declared the [[Tuvaijuittuq Marine Protected Area]], the [[Protected areas of Canada|largest protected area in Canada]]. Due to its environmental concerns and ecological impact it can have, a number of areas are proposed for protection, including Tallurutiup Imanga National Conservation Area, Pikialasorsuaq, and Nunavut protected areas.{{Cite web|last=WWF|date=2021|title=The Last Ice Area|url=https://arcticwwf.org/places/last-ice-area/|access-date=2021-12-05|website=arcticwwf.org|language=en}}

The Last Ice Area covers the central area of the Arctic Circle, thereby representing the most northerly coastal zone of the world. It is so named because of its old and thick ice sheet which is expected to last the longest as a sea ice in the Arctic. The northern side falling under the [[Government of Canada]] is declared the [[Tuvaijuittuq Marine Protected Area]], the [[Protected areas of Canada|largest protected area in Canada]]. Due to its environmental concerns and ecological impact it can have, a number of areas are proposed for protection, including Tallurutiup Imanga [[National Conservation Area]], Pikialasorsuaq, and Nunavut protected areas.{{Cite web|last=WWF|date=2021|title=The Last Ice Area|url=https://arcticwwf.org/places/last-ice-area/|access-date=2021-12-05|website=arcticwwf.org|language=en}}

== Ecology ==

== Ecology ==

The Last Ice Area is a natural habitat to endemic animals including bowhead whales, polar bear, Peary caribou, and muskoxen. Walrus, narwhal, and beluga whales are also living here.{{Cite web|last=WWF|date=2010|title=Last Ice Area Factsheet|url=https://arcticwwf.org/newsroom/publications/last-ice-area-factsheet-en/|access-date=2021-12-05|website=arcticwwf.org|language=en}}

The Last Ice Area is a natural habitat to endemic animals including bowhead whales, polar bear, [[Peary caribou]], and muskoxen. Walrus, narwhal, and beluga whales are also living here.{{Cite web|last=WWF|date=2010|title=Last Ice Area Factsheet|url=https://arcticwwf.org/newsroom/publications/last-ice-area-factsheet-en/|access-date=2021-12-05|website=arcticwwf.org|language=en}}

== Environmental concerns ==

== Environmental concerns ==