The first leg of an Arctic climate change study in the Hudson Bay is being canceled — because climate change has made sea ice conditions too perilous off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.

The Hudson Bay System Study, known as BaySys, is a collaboration between 40 scientists at five universities in Canada. The ship used for the expedition, Canadian Research Icebreaker CCGS Amundsen, is now needed to help other boats in need of search and rescue help.

“Considering the severe ice conditions and the increasing demand for Search And Rescue operations (SAR) and ice escort, we decided to cancel the BaySys mission,” said Dr. David Barber, the expedition’s chief scientist and scientific lead. “A second week of delay meant our research objectives just could not be safely achieved – the challenge for us all was that the marine ice hazards were exceedingly difficult for the maritime industry, the [Canadian Cost Guard], and science.” Read more....