This paper characterizes the processes that presently occur during freeze-up in the Alaskan Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, based on joint-industry investigations conducted in 2009-10, 2010-11, and 2011-12. The studies were designed to address five specific objectives: (1) describe the ice conditions that evolve during the freeze-up and early winter seasons; (2) locate and map features of potential importance for offshore exploration and production activities, including ice movement lines, leads, polynyas, first-year ridges and rubble fields, and multi-year floes; (3) locate and quantify ice pile-ups on natural shorelines and man-made structures; (4) correlate significant changes in the ice cover with the corresponding meteorological conditions; and (5) compare present-day freeze-up processes with those that occurred in the 1980s. Each study included an analysis of meteorological data, ice charts, and satellite imagery in concert with a series of aerial reconnaissance missions. The study findings are presented in seven categories: (1) air temperatures, (2) first-year ice growth, (3) the timing of freeze-up, (4) landfast ice, (5) multi-year ice, (6) ice pile-ups, and (7) extraordinary ice features discovered off the Chukchi Sea coast.
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