Ice shove

An ice shove (also known as fast ice, an ice surge, ice push, ice heave, shoreline ice pileup, ice piling, ice thrust, ice tsunami,^[1] ice ride-up, or ivu in Iñupiat) is a surge of ice from an ocean or large lake onto the shore.^[2] Ice shoves are caused by ocean currents, strong winds, or temperature differences pushing ice onto the shore,^[3] creating piles up to 12 metres (40 feet) high. Ice shoves can be caused by temperature fluctuations, wind action, or changing water levels^[3] and can cause devastation to coastal Arctic communities. Cyclical climate change will also play a role in the formation and frequency of ice shove events; a rise in global temperatures leads to more open water to facilitate ice movement. Low pressure systems will destabilize ice sheets and send them shoreward.^[1] Also referred to as "landfast ice", it is an essential component to the coastal sea ice system, including the sediment dynamics. Arctic peoples utilize these ice shoves to travel and hunt. Ringed seals, an important prey for polar bears, are specifically adapted to maintain breathing holes in ice shoves, which lack the same openings usually used by marine mammals in drifting ice packs. The mere fact that the Ringed seal is uniquely adapted to utilizing ice shoves for breathing holes, and that polar bears have adapted to this behaviour for hunting, as well as the fact that the Iñupiat have a distinct term for the phenomena, indicates that ice shoves are a regular and continuing phenomena in the Arctic.^[4]