The Beauty of Sea Ice in Canada
Credit: Arctus. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel-2 data processed by ESA
- Location: North Cape, Prince Edward Island
- Company: Arctus
The coastal ice that lines these shores provides natural protection against winter storms. A decrease in its extent or a delay in its formation in early winter could make the coast and its ecosystems more vulnerable, and threaten coastal infrastructure. Year after year, the disappearance of winter white from these images attests to the changes in the coastal environment. Thanks to satellite imagery, Arctus and its partners are developing environmental monitoring products to help with classifying sea and coastal ice, tracking changes along the coastline, and establishing erosion and accretion zones.
The false colours of this Sentinel-2 image of , reveal the changing face of Prince Edward Island's maritime landscape in the winter. Here in sepia, the white lands of the tip of North Cape stand in contrast to the ice and the turquoise frazil transported by sea currents and to the inky, ice-free waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
In addition to revealing the splendours of Earth as seen from space, geographer Thomas Jaegler studies the coastal marine environment. As a remote sensing specialist, he uses images captured by Earth observation satellites to better understand and preserve that environment.