MULTIYEAR FAST ICE ALONG THE TAYMYR PENINSULA, SIBERIA

A 20 km wide zone of fast ice, reaching offshore to the 20 m isobath a nd sealing off coastal embayments along the Taymyr Peninsula, survived until at least 23 November 1993, becoming multiyear land-fast sea ice (MLSI). Barrier islands show characteristic recurved spits indicating dominant southwest direction of longshore transport in intermittent y ears. At the time of observation, the fast ice was undisturbed, only h eaving vertically with tides, protecting the coastal zone from wave re working. The 1 to 2 m thick ice cover affects light and oxygen, creati ng profound effects on marine life in the zone. A herd of walrus, in o ther summers reported to haul out on local beaches, was displaced by t he fast ice. We saw no evidence for sediment loading of the ice by riv ers or for eolian deposition on ice. MLSI is considered an incipient i ce shelf, which could grow in thickness and strength in successive win ters. Salinity and delta(18)O profiles in ice cores from some smaller areas of MLSI provide a record of environmental conditions during the first year of ice growth, such as local hydrography and contribution o f congealed snow to the solid fast ice. On ice charts we found no reco rd of waxing and waning MLSI in the area, and do not know whether the observed ice survived the next summer. Since arctic ice shelves have d eveloped from MLSI in the past, the observed phenomenon permits a view of how transitions from interglacial to full glacial conditions can b egin.