Articles | Volume 13, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-627-2019
© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-627-2019
© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
20 Feb 2019
Research article |
| 20 Feb 2019
| 20 Feb 2019
Leads and ridges in Arctic sea ice from RGPS data and a new tracking algorithm
Alfred-Wegener-Institut, Helmholtz Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Bremerhaven, Germany
Lorenzo Zampieri
Alfred-Wegener-Institut, Helmholtz Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Bremerhaven, Germany
Martin Losch
Alfred-Wegener-Institut, Helmholtz Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Bremerhaven, Germany
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Nils Hutter and Cecilia M. Bitz
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Polar oceans are covered by many pieces of floating ice, called floes, that vary in size, shape and thickness. This study focuses on how fracturing caused by stresses from wind and ocean currents changes floe sizes. Using satellite images, we track ice motion and floe sizes, and study floe shapes and how deformation alters the distribution of floe sizes. We find that stronger deformation creates more small floes and present a formula to include this effect in sea-ice models.
Jean-François Lemieux, Mathieu Plante, Nils Hutter, Damien Ringeisen, Bruno Tremblay, François Roy, and Philippe Blain
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In sea ice models, the flow rule determines how sea ice deforms (opening, closing and shearing) when critical stresses are reached. We implemented in CICE a novel approach to define the flow rule. This is a useful capability as it allows to independently optimize critical stresses and deformations. As opposed to the standard flow rule, the novel approach can lead to a thicker and more active sea ice cover with narrower deformations.
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To measure Arctic ice thickness, we often check how much ice sticks out of the water. This method depends on knowing the ice's density, which drops significantly in summer. Our study, validated with sonar and laser data, shows that these seasonal changes in density can complicate melt measurements. We stress the importance of considering these density changes for more accurate ice thickness readings.
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Leads (openings in sea ice cover) are created by sea ice dynamics. Because they are important for many processes in the Arctic winter climate, we aim to detect them with satellites. We present two new techniques to detect lead widths of a few hundred meters at high spatial resolution (700 m) and independent of clouds or sun illumination. We use the MOSAiC drift 2019–2020 in the Arctic for our case study and compare our new products to other existing lead products.
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Information on sea ice surface topography is important for studies of sea ice as well as for ship navigation through ice. The ICESat-2 satellite senses the sea ice surface with six laser beams. To examine the accuracy of these measurements, we carried out a temporally coincident helicopter flight along the same ground track as the satellite and measured the sea ice surface topography with a laser scanner. This showed that ICESat-2 can see even bumps of only few meters in the sea ice cover.
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Climate simulations help us understand the Earth system and its evolution. The models used to perform these simulations are highly complex, require significant programming expertise to build and consume a lot of energy. A key component of climate models is their sea ice components. In this work, we present a sea ice model that offers an easier development process while maintaining strong performance. The model is able to run on a computer's graphics card, which greatly reduces its energy usage.
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The sea ice cover in the Arctic and in the Southern Ocean strongly varies spatially due to the formation of leads and pressure ridges. Leads and pressure ridges are formed when sea ice fails because forces inside the ice cover reach critical values. This work describes how the representation of leads and ridges in sea ice models should be modified when different critical forces are used.
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Sea ice moves and deforms as wind and ocean currents push it around, creating narrow fracture lines on the surface. To accurately reproduce these fracture patterns in computer models used for climate predictions and navigation, we tested a mathematical approach to sea ice dynamics, common in other fields but rare in sea ice modeling, to see if it could better capture these patterns. Our results show this approach could improve fracture representation, though it requires more computing power.
Nils Hutter and Cecilia M. Bitz
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Polar oceans are covered by many pieces of floating ice, called floes, that vary in size, shape and thickness. This study focuses on how fracturing caused by stresses from wind and ocean currents changes floe sizes. Using satellite images, we track ice motion and floe sizes, and study floe shapes and how deformation alters the distribution of floe sizes. We find that stronger deformation creates more small floes and present a formula to include this effect in sea-ice models.
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In sea ice models, the flow rule determines how sea ice deforms (opening, closing and shearing) when critical stresses are reached. We implemented in CICE a novel approach to define the flow rule. This is a useful capability as it allows to independently optimize critical stresses and deformations. As opposed to the standard flow rule, the novel approach can lead to a thicker and more active sea ice cover with narrower deformations.
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Luisa von Albedyll, Stefan Hendricks, Nils Hutter, Dmitrii Murashkin, Lars Kaleschke, Sascha Willmes, Linda Thielke, Xiangshan Tian-Kunze, Gunnar Spreen, and Christian Haas
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Leads (openings in sea ice cover) are created by sea ice dynamics. Because they are important for many processes in the Arctic winter climate, we aim to detect them with satellites. We present two new techniques to detect lead widths of a few hundred meters at high spatial resolution (700 m) and independent of clouds or sun illumination. We use the MOSAiC drift 2019–2020 in the Arctic for our case study and compare our new products to other existing lead products.
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Information on sea ice surface topography is important for studies of sea ice as well as for ship navigation through ice. The ICESat-2 satellite senses the sea ice surface with six laser beams. To examine the accuracy of these measurements, we carried out a temporally coincident helicopter flight along the same ground track as the satellite and measured the sea ice surface topography with a laser scanner. This showed that ICESat-2 can see even bumps of only few meters in the sea ice cover.
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We developed a new atmosphere–ocean coupled climate model, AWI-CM3. Our model is significantly more computationally efficient than its predecessors AWI-CM1 and AWI-CM2. We show that the model, although cheaper to run, provides results of similar quality when modeling the historic period from 1850 to 2014. We identify the remaining weaknesses to outline future work. Finally we preview an improved simulation where the reduction in computational cost has to be invested in higher model resolution.
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Short summary
Arctic sea ice is an aggregate of ice floes with various sizes. The different sizes result from constant deformation of the ice pack. If a floe breaks, open ocean is exposed in a lead. Collision of floes forms pressure ridges. Here, we present algorithms that detect and track these deformation features in satellite observations and model output. The tracked features are used to provide a comprehensive description of localized deformation of sea ice and help to understand its material properties.
Arctic sea ice is an aggregate of ice floes with various sizes. The different sizes result from...
