1. 2007: Record ice year in Alaska?
From June 2007, amount of open water at record high through Nov
Barrow air temperature normal in early summer, above-normal (records broken on 5 days) in late summer

2. Barrow ice breakout event April 1 & May 28, 2007
• thin, saline ice: high permeability - no ponding
high porosity
low strength
• risk for over-ice travel at Barrow and in Bering Strait region

3. Break-up at Barrow - Observations by J. Leavitt, Iñupiaq sea-ice expert
June 18-24: broken off shore ice lingers and people hunt seals; shorefast ice left eastward of Browerville; “ice takes off early this year, last year mid July”
July 2: last of shorefast ice gone out
July 2-6: hunters go north to the ice for seals
July 7-31: few signs of ice (few pieces or very far away)
July 30: “hunters still need more bearded seals. Waiting for ice, or they can catch them in open water on really calm days”
Aug 1-29: No signs of ice (w/ exception of report on Aug 12)
Aug 29: people report huge herds of walrus at Peard Bay on beach and at Pt. Lay beach
Barrow Sea Ice Cam, 2006/07