Sea ice and snow evolution in Rijpfjorden, Svalbard, and the importance of superimposed ice formation
Abstract
Many Svalbard fjords are usually covered or partly covered by seasonal landfast ice during winter and spring months, which provides a stable research platform for studying sea ice properties. In winter 2010/2011 Rijpfjorden (80°N, 22°E), a fjord at the north coast of the Nordaustlandet (Svalbard), was covered by landfast sea ice from early November 2010 to 11 July 2011. To monitor spring sea ice evolution in this fjord, an Ice Mass Balance (IMB) buoy was deployed between April and June 2011. Ice cores were collected at the time when the IMB was installed and recovered. From April to June, there was no significant change at the ice bottom in terms of bottom freezing or melting. However, the ice core samples suggested a growth of superimposed ice of about 6 cm at ice/snow interface, which account for 86% of the total variation of ice thickness between April and June. A one-dimensional thermodynamic sea ice model was applied to simulate snow and ice thicknesses, and the snow/ice transition during the freezing and melting season in Rijpfjorden using external forcing from a nearby shore-based weather station and the operational analysis and short-term forecasts of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). Atmospheric conditions under which transformation from snow to ice occur are described. The findings improve our understanding of Arctic sea ice evolution, and they also help for better interpretation of satellite ice thickness products.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2013
- Bibcode:
- 2013AGUFM.C41A0574W
- Keywords:
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- 0750 CRYOSPHERE Sea ice;
- 0736 CRYOSPHERE Snow;
- 0762 CRYOSPHERE Mass balance 0764 Energy balance;
- 0798 CRYOSPHERE Modeling