Tag Archives: Atlantic Canada

Map of Eastern Canada battered by Fiona’s hurricane-force winds and storm surges

Posted on September 24, 2022 | Comments Off on Map of Eastern Canada battered by Fiona’s hurricane-force winds and storm surges

Port aux Basques in SW Newfoundland has been particularly badly hit by Fiona, called ‘total devastation’. I know this region well from researching my latest science-based novel, UPHEAVAL, about a sea ice tsunami that hits Cape Breton Island and the Port aux Basques region in 2026 causing similar but more extensive damage. I discovered that many coastal areas in the Gulf of St. Lawrence are only 10m or so above sea level and since houses are often built close to shore, they are extremely vulnerable to high wave heights and storm surges.

Port aux Basques house falling into the sea, 24 September 2022. Rene Roy photo/Wreckhouse Press.

Some waves along Nova Scotia’s Eastern Shore could build to be more than 10 metres, with waves along southern Newfoundland on Saturday morning reaching higher heights. “Waves over eastern portions of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Cabot Strait could be higher than 12 metres,” Environment Canada said. CBC News 24 September 2022.

I may post updates as more information comes in. See the map below to orient yourself regarding news reports.

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My new novel set in the Gulf of St. Lawrence has a surprising twist

Posted on October 23, 2020 | Comments Off on My new novel set in the Gulf of St. Lawrence has a surprising twist

My fictional story about sea ice, polar bears and upheaval in 2026 – a followup to EATEN – is coming soon. Prepare for the unexpected.

CTV news_Cathy Erlene sealer heavy ice off North Sydney_Saturday March 28 2009

A video to help set the mood…

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Posted in Book promotion, Life History, Polar bear attacks, Sea ice habitat

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Davis Strait polar bear habitat well above average for the first week of winter

Posted on January 7, 2016 | Comments Off on Davis Strait polar bear habitat well above average for the first week of winter

The region inhabited by the Davis Strait subpopulation of polar bears dips as far south as James Bay and has a history of highly variable sea ice coverage.

Canadian Arctic Jan 7 2016_CIS

For the last two years Davis Strait sea ice in March has been well above average, while other years it been well below. You might be surprised to hear that 1969 had the lowest February/March ice coverage over the entire the 1969-2002 record (Johnston et al. 2005: 211), which ice charts show now extend to 2015 (see below). Reports of sealers working north of Newfoundland and in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in the first few decades of the 20th century show this variability has likely always been a characteristic of the area (Ryan 2014).

Remarkably, this year’s ice coverage for the first week in January is well above what they were in 2014 and 2015 – even though those two years were above average by March. In fact, there hasn’t been this much polar bear habitat in the Southern Labrador Sea in the first week of January since at least 1993.
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2015 was a great year for polar bears and for EATEN

Posted on December 31, 2015 | Comments Off on 2015 was a great year for polar bears and for EATEN

Not only did we see plenty of great news about polar bears but EATEN (my first novel) is now well on it’s way to being a resounding success. Don’t let your friends and colleagues have all the nightmares! Fabulous read for a long cold NH winter’s night but also an excellent choice for the beach…perhaps fewer nightmares?

polar_bear570 ONTARIO MINISTRY OF NATURAL RESOURCES

The Canadian Ice Service predictions for winter 2016 off eastern Canada (where my novel takes place) is for extensive ice for the third year in a row. That means only nine years to go for the situation in 2025 to meet my speculations regarding a most terrifying onslaught of starving polar bears in Newfoundland.

I don’t ask for donations here at PolarBearScience – if you appreciate my efforts (418 posts and almost 630,000 views since late July 2012) and would like to see more of the same, please buy a copy or two of my book (and don’t forget to go back and leave a brief review; only the number of stars count). Paperback editions here and here; Ebooks for immediate gratification (Kindle; All other e formats).

EATEN-cover-front_thumbnail

In 2015, the Arctic Fallacy was exposed, there were official admissions of population increases (here and here) – all after we had Twenty Good Reasons Not to Worry About Polar Bears.

More of the same for 2016!

A heartfelt Happy New Year to you and yours, from a Canadian zoologist not afraid to wonder ‘what if’ but honest enough to call the output fiction.

Susan

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Posted in Conservation Status, Population, Sea ice habitat

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