With the recent focus on climate change, we have seen a renewed interest in sea ice climatology. This means that the Canadian Ice Service (CIS) continues to play a significant role in our understanding of ice conditions in Canada.

The CIS Digital Charts Database is used for most climatic ice studies in Canadian waters. It consists of the weekly Regional Ice Analysis charts since 1968 in .E00 GIS format for the Canadian Arctic as well as the East Coast of Canada and the Great Lakes.

This database has been used to produce various Climatic Ice Atlases depicting normal ice conditions in Canadian waters. The atlases are available in printed format and also as on-line publications.

The database was also used to create other climatic products such as the 30 Year Regional medians.

On-line Publications:

• Sea Ice Climatic Atlas - East Coast of Canada 1971-2000
• Sea Ice Climatic Atlas - Northern Canadian Waters 1971-2000
• Lake Ice Climatic Atlas - Great Lakes 1973-2002

Also available as on-line publication is the following:

• Annual Arctic Ice Atlas

Printed Publications
The following publications of the Canadian Ice Service are available in printed format:

• Ice Thickness Climatology
  This document provides a summary of ice thickness data over a 30-year period (from 1961 to 1990).
• Melting and Freezing Degree Days
  This document provides seasonal data for both melting and freezing degree-day accumulations over a 30-year period (from 1961 to 1990).
• Sea Ice Climatic Atlas - Northern Canadian Waters 1971-2000 (also in CD)
  Published in 2002, this Atlas aims to facilitate the understanding of climatic sea ice conditions in Northern Canadian waters as a whole (this includes the Canadian Arctic and Hudson Bay).
• Sea Ice Climatic Atlas - East Coast of Canada 1971-2000
  Published in 2001, this Atlas aims to facilitate the understanding of climatic sea ice conditions in Eastern Canadian waters. Please note however that this publication deals with sea ice, and thus does not attempt to describe the climatology of icebergs present in these waters.
• Lake Ice Climatic Atlas - Great Lakes 1973-2002
  Published in 2004, this Atlas aims to facilitate the understanding of climatic lake ice conditions in the Great Lakes.
• Annual Arctic Ice Atlas (CD only from 2003)
  The main objective of this publication is to maintain a climatological archive of winter ice conditions, thus providing a clearer understanding of variations in Arctic ice regimes both geographically and seasonally.

* Please note that the above publications are bilingual.
* Please note that handling charges apply when you order CIS publications.

To Order a Publication

If you wish to order a CIS publication, write to us at:

Client Services
Canadian Ice Service
373 Sussex Drive
Block E,3rd floor
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada K1A 0H3

Telephone: (613) 996-1550 or toll-free in Canada: 1-800-767-2885
Fax: (613) 947-9160
E-Mail: cis-scg.client@ec.gc.ca