This was the last lake of its kind in Canada. Now it’s gone
Scientists have confirmed the total disappearance of Canada's last epishelf lake, a unique freshwater ecosystem floating on saltwater in Nunavut. The lake's drainage is attributed to climate change and the collapse of the Milne Ice Shelf, marking the end of a 4,000-year-old geological era.
Why it matters
The loss of this rare ecosystem serves as a significant indicator of the rapid and irreversible environmental changes occurring in the Arctic due to global warming.
Jérémie Bonneau tries to free a probe called a mooring from the ice of the Milne Fiord epishelf lake in 2018. The lake was ice-covered year-round and was the last of its kind in Canada until it drained into the ocean in 2020. (Yulia Antropova/Water and Ice Research Laboratory/Carleton University)
Photo: (Yulia Antropova/Water and Ice Research Laboratory/Carleton University)
Canada's only remaining epishelf lake — made up of freshwater floating on saltwater — is gone, along with the unique ecosystem it supported, scientists confirmed in a new study.
Jérémie Bonneau, the lead author and an assistant professor at Laval University in Quebec City, said its loss is sad, as the Milne Fiord epishelf lake on Ellesmere Island in Nunavut was the last thing like that in Canada.
Suddenly, it's … drained away and then everything that was living in there is gone.
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