Canada's last epishelf lake disappears after ice sheet collapse

Canada’s last large epishelf lake has completely disappeared following the collapse of the Milne Ice Sheet. Located on northern Ellesmere Island in Nunavut, the Milne Fiord lake was a rare freshwater body that floated directly above the denser saltwater of the Arctic Ocean.

In July 2020, the Milne Ice Sheet, which acted as a natural dam, lost more than 40% of its surface area in just two days. Without the ice sheet to trap the meltwater runoff, the freshwater lake drained into the ocean within months.

A study published in the journal Scientific Reports used satellite imagery to reconstruct the lake's demise. Scientists noted that epishelf lakes host unique ecosystems where freshwater organisms live directly above marine species, separated only by a thin boundary. The loss of this lake serves as a significant indicator of the vulnerability of Arctic sea ice to rising global temperatures.