Articles | Volume 19, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-1413-2025
© Author(s) 2025. 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-19-1413-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Spring 2021 sea ice transport in the southern Beaufort Sea occurred during coastal-lead opening events
MacKenzie E. Jewell
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
Jennifer K. Hutchings
College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
Angela C. Bliss
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Cryospheric Sciences Laboratory, Greenbelt, MD, USA
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MacKenzie E. Jewell, Jennifer K. Hutchings, and Cathleen A. Geiger
The Cryosphere, 17, 3229–3250, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3229-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3229-2023, 2023
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Sea ice repeatedly fractures near a prominent Alaskan headland as winds move ice along the coast, challenging predictions of sea ice drift. We find winds from high-pressure systems drive these fracturing events, and the Alaskan coastal boundary modifies the resultant ice drift. This observational study shows how wind patterns influence sea ice motion near coasts in winter. Identified relations between winds, ice drift, and fracturing provide effective test cases for dynamic sea ice models.
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This preprint is open for discussion and under review for The Cryosphere (TC).
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When sea ice melts, narrow cracks called leads expose the ocean to wind and waves, altering air–sea exchange. Using computer simulations, we show that wind and waves mix water beneath the lead and drive circulation around it. Waves intensify vertical mixing, deepen sinking plumes, create upward flows under adjacent ice, and change heat and freshwater exchange. We develop equations linking these processes to system parameters, improving understanding of Arctic climate impacts.
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Sea ice repeatedly fractures near a prominent Alaskan headland as winds move ice along the coast, challenging predictions of sea ice drift. We find winds from high-pressure systems drive these fracturing events, and the Alaskan coastal boundary modifies the resultant ice drift. This observational study shows how wind patterns influence sea ice motion near coasts in winter. Identified relations between winds, ice drift, and fracturing provide effective test cases for dynamic sea ice models.
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Coherent flow patterns in sea ice have a significant influence on sea ice fracture and refreezing. We can better understand the state of sea ice, and its influence on the atmosphere and ocean, if we understand these structures. By adapting recent developments in chaotic dynamical systems, we are able to approximate ice stretching surrounding individual ice buoys. This illuminates the state of sea ice at much higher resolution and allows us to see previously invisible ice deformation patterns.
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Short summary
We quantify the contribution of sea ice drift during coastal-lead events to seasonal ice transport in the Beaufort Sea. Data from GPS tracker buoys deployed as part of the Sea Ice Dynamic Experiment (SIDEx) in spring 2021 show that sea ice in the southern Beaufort Sea became more responsive to wind forcing during fracturing events detected from satellite observations. Nearly all the spring 2021 sea ice transport occurred during these events, highlighting their importance at seasonal timescales.
We quantify the contribution of sea ice drift during coastal-lead events to seasonal ice...