Sea ice circulation in the Laptev Sea and ice export to the Arctic Ocean: Results from satellite remote sensing and numerical modeling

Sea ice circulation in the Laptev Sea and ice exchange with the Arctic Ocean have been studied based on remote sensing data and numerical modeling. Ice drift patterns for short- and long-term periods were retrieved from successive Okean radar images and Special Sensor Microwave/Imager data for the winters 1987/1988 and 1994/1995. Seasonal and interannual variabilities of ice drift in the Laptev Sea and ice exchange with the Arctic Ocean during the period from 1979 to 1995 were studied with a large-scale dynamic-thermodynamic sea ice model. During an "average year," sea ice was exported from the Laptev Sea through its northern and eastern boundaries, with maximum and minimum export occurring in February and August, respectively. The winter ice outflow from the Laptev Sea varied between 251,000 km² (1984/1985) and 732,000 km² (1988/1989) with the mean value of 483,000 km². Sea ice was exported into the East Siberian Sea mostly in summers with the mean value of 69,000 km². Out of the 17 investigated summers, 12 were characterized by sea ice import from the Arctic Ocean into the Laptev Sea through its northern boundary. Magnitude and direction of ice export from the Laptev Sea corresponded with the large-scale Arctic Ocean drift patterns during periods of prevailing cyclonic or anticyclonic circulation. Based on a semiempirical method that has been validated with the large-scale model and satellite data, ice exchange between the Laptev Sea and the Arctic Ocean during the period from 1936 to 1995 has been estimated as 309,000km² with strong interannual variability and no significant trend apparent.