Shore lead

NOAA Ship Surveyor in 1977.

A shore lead (or coastal lead) is an oceanographic term for a waterway opening between pack ice and shore. While the gap of water[1] may be as narrow as a tide crack if closed by wind or currents, it can be as wide as 1,000 feet (300 m).[2] Its formation can be influenced by tidal action, or subsurface conditions, such as current and ocean floor.[2] Commonly, a shore lead is navigable by surface vessels.[3]

An opening ("lead") between pack ice and fast ice is referred to as a flaw lead.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Annual Ice". eoearth.org. Retrieved 2008-10-30.
  2. 1 2 Aufderheide, A.C.; Pitzl, G., Plaisted Polar Expedition 1968 (1968). "Observations on Ice Regions of the Arctic Ocean" (PDF). Arctic (ucalgary.ca) 23 (2): 135, 136. ISSN 0066-6963. OCLC 183414927. Cite uses deprecated parameter |coauthors= (help)
  3. 1 2 "Lead". dbcp.noaa.gov. Retrieved 2008-10-30.


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