Articles | Volume 15, issue 9
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4517-2021
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4517-2021
Research article
 | 
27 Sep 2021
Research article |  | 27 Sep 2021

Meltwater sources and sinks for multiyear Arctic sea ice in summer

Don Perovich, Madison Smith, Bonnie Light, and Melinda Webster

Data sets

Ice Mass Balance [Perovich, D., T. Grenfell, B. Light, J. Richter-Menge, T. Tucker, H. Eicken] D. Perovich, T. Grenfell, J. Richter-Menge, T. Tucker, T., and H. Eicken https://doi.org/10.5065/D6H130DF

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Short summary
During summer, Arctic sea ice melts on its surface and bottom and lateral edges. Some of this fresh meltwater is stored on the ice surface in features called melt ponds. The rest flows into the ocean. The meltwater flowing into the upper ocean affects ice growth and melt, upper ocean properties, and ocean ecosystems. Using field measurements, we found that the summer meltwater was equal to an 80 cm thick layer; 85 % of this meltwater flowed into the ocean and 15 % was stored in melt ponds.