Ice leads in the Beaufort Sea
Suomi-NPP and NOAA-21 VIIRS Infrared Window (11.45 µm) images, from 1636 UTC on 10 February to 2053 UTC on 12 February [click to play animated GIF]
Surface wind stress was the primary influence affecting the motion and evolution of these ice leads. Surface analyses (below) showed that a tighter pressure gradient developed across the Beaufort Sea during the 3-day period — between high pressure centered over the Siberian Sea and broad cyclonic flow across the Bering Sea and interior/northern Alaska — which would have induced a stronger easterly flow across much of the VIIRS image domain displayed above.
6-hourly surface analyses, from 1200 UTC on 10 February to 1800 UTC on 12 February [click to play animated GIF]
Daily VIIRS Sea Ice Lead Detections, from 10-12 February [click to enlarge]