We describe observations of ambient sound beneath landfast ice in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and interpret its evolution over the period June--August in terms of ice cracking and disintegration. The data were recorded on six bands between 50 and 14,500 Hz for the period April 2 to August 7, 1986, in Dolphin and Union Strait. The frequency dependence of the attenuation of sound in water allows separation of distant and local noise sources. In conjunction with satellite imagery and meteorological data, it is shown that strong signals in the acoustic time series are associated with major breakup events. The acoustic signal can provide predictive information about ice conditions and the approach of breakup. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1988