Articles | Volume 16, issue 10
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4447-2022
© Author(s) 2022. 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-16-4447-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
20 Oct 2022
Research article |
| 20 Oct 2022
| 20 Oct 2022
Wave-triggered breakup in the marginal ice zone generates lognormal floe size distributions: a simulation study
Nicolas Guillaume Alexandre Mokus
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
Fabien Montiel
Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
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Arctic sea ice recedes, and is thus more exposed to waves, which can fracture continuous pack ice into smaller floes. These are more mobile and easier to melt. Ice fracture itself is not well understood, because of harsh field conditions. We propose a novel criterion parametrising this process, and incorporate it into a numerical model that simulates wave propagation. This criterion can be compared to existing ones. We relate our results to lab experiments, and find qualitative agreement.
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Arctic sea ice recedes, and is thus more exposed to waves, which can fracture continuous pack ice into smaller floes. These are more mobile and easier to melt. Ice fracture itself is not well understood, because of harsh field conditions. We propose a novel criterion parametrising this process, and incorporate it into a numerical model that simulates wave propagation. This criterion can be compared to existing ones. We relate our results to lab experiments, and find qualitative agreement.
Sébastien Kuchly, Baptiste Auvity, Nicolas Mokus, Matilde Bureau, Paul Nicot, Amaury Fourgeaud, Véronique Dansereau, Antonin Eddi, Stéphane Perrard, Dany Dumont, and Ludovic Moreau
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During February and March 2024, we realized a multi-instrument field campaign in the St. Lawrence Estuary, to capture swell-driven sea ice fragmentation. The dataset combines geophones, wave buoys, smartphones, and video recordings with drones, to study wave-ice interactions under natural conditions. It enables analysis of ice thickness, wave properties, and ice motion. Preliminary results show strong consistency across instruments, offering a valuable resource to improve sea ice models.
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Short summary
On the fringes of polar oceans, sea ice is easily broken by waves. As small pieces of ice, or floes, are more easily melted by the warming waters than a continuous ice cover, it is important to incorporate these floe sizes in climate models. These models simulate climate evolution at the century scale and are built by combining specialised modules. We study the statistical distribution of floe sizes under the impact of waves to better understand how to connect sea ice modules to wave modules.
On the fringes of polar oceans, sea ice is easily broken by waves. As small pieces of ice, or...
