A frigid scene awaited NASA’s Aqua satellite as it passed over Canada’s James Bay in mid-December, 2019.

Located in the southern reaches of Hudson Bay, James Bay lies between the provinces of Ontario (west) and Quebec (east) while the islands within the Bay, including the large, D-shaped Akimiski Island, belong to the territory of Nunavut. James Bay spends much of the year covered in ice, typically beginning to freeze in late October or November and wearing a coating of shifting until roughly August. Winds and currents can cause shifting of the ice, causing flotillas of pack ice to cluster in certain areas of the Bay, particularly while ice is freezing up or thawing. The rhythms of sea ice play a central role in the lives of the animals that live here, particularly polar bears. When the Bay is topped with ice, polar bears head out to hunt for seals and other prey. When the ice melts in the summer, the bears swim to shore, where they fast until sea ice returns.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board the Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of the icy western section of James Bay on December 15.

Snow covers the Ontario and Akimiski Island, which is rimmed in a bright white, highly reflective band of fast ice (ice connected to the shore). Most of the water of James Bay appears to be covered in a layer of ice, much of which appears darker in color than the fast ice. This color, along with the visible lines and cracks, suggests that the floating ice is not solid, but floats in large chunks of the surface of the Bay. Overlying the frozen water and land, clouds sweep across the scene.

Image Facts

Satellite: Aqua

Date Acquired: 12/15/2019

Resolutions: , ,

Bands Used: 1,4,3

Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC