Traditional Inuit Ice Treks Guided From Space

Roland Piquepaille writes "When the Arctic floe melts at spring, the Inuit are going for thousands of years to its edges for fishing and finding game. Now, they are helped by the European Space Agency (ESA) and its satellite which provide accurate maps of ice and its extent. These maps are also useful for tour guides and to improve safety. "The ESA-backed Northern View Floe Edge Information Service provides regularly updated ice maps of inlets around Lancaster Sound, part of Baffin Bay within Canada's Nunavut Territory. Users can access maps from the Floe Edge service directly via a dedicated website, or else consult printouts posted for the public by the local Parks Canada Office." This overview contains more details and references. It also includes an image generated by the Northern View Floe Edge product showing ice conditions."

Comments

Fishing? At the floe edge?

[FlyingOrca]

Not much fishing to be done there! Polar cod are tiny, and about the only fish I've seen the Inuit go after are lake trout and char, anyway.

Hunting at the floe edge is pretty good, though, usually for seal and walrus. Tons of fun.

Take me back to my childhood in Resolute and on Hudson Bay...

Re:Tense, people.

[FlyingOrca]

Um... bear in mind that, given the submitter's name, he's probably French-Canadian. IIRC tense works a bit differently in French. At any rate, he's doing a better job speaking my language (and yours) than I would do speaking his. Of course, YMMV. ;-)