Decoupling of ice production and ice extent in seasonally ice covered marginal seas

While the seasonally ice covered marginal seas are ice free in the summer, there may be substantial production and transport of ice during the winter. The predominant ice types in these seas are frazil/grease ice, pancake ice and thin sheet ice. Relative production of the different ice types has a dramatic effect on the amount of brine production and the local energy exchange rate between the ocean and the atmosphere. We have developed a model which utilizes daily observations of SMMR and SSM/I microwave radiometers to track the volume and areal ice concentrations of each ice type; allowing us to evaluate the contribution of each ice type to the ice mass, salt, and fresh water redistribution. From this framework, we have calculated the spatial distribution of the annual net salt and fresh water flux to the Bering Sea over a 15 year period. The results indicate there may be a de-coupling between sea ice coverage and sea ice production for the Bering Sea, with the ice production being much less variable than the sea ice coverage. These results are interesting because, to first order, ice production is not responsive to variability in atmospheric forcing from year to year. In this paper, we will discuss the relative importance of different causal mechanisms, and examine linkages and feedbacks between the sea ice, ocean and atmosphere.