Seasonal evolution of the Arctic marginal ice zone and its power-law obeying floe size distribution
Abstract
A thickness, floe size, and enthalpy distribution (TFED) sea ice model, implemented numerically into the Pan-arctic Ice-Ocean Modeling and Assimilation System (PIOMAS), is used to investigate the seasonal evolution of the Arctic marginal ice zone (MIZ) and its floe size distribution. The TFED sea ice model, by coupling the Zhang et al. [2015] sea ice floe size distribution (FSD) theory with the Thorndike et al. [1975] ice thickness distribution (ITD) theory, simulates 12-category FSD and ITD explicitly and jointly. A range of ice thickness and floe size observations were used for model calibration and validation. The model creates FSDs that generally obey a power law or upper truncated power law, as observed by satellites and aerial surveys. In this study, we will examine the role of ice fragmentation and lateral melting in altering FSDs in the Arctic MIZ. We will also investigate how changes in FSD impact the seasonal evolution of the MIZ by modifying the thermodynamic processes.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2017
- Bibcode:
- 2017AGUFM.C33C1205Z
- Keywords:
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- 0736 Snow;
- CRYOSPHERE;
- 0750 Sea ice;
- CRYOSPHERE;
- 0770 Properties;
- CRYOSPHERE;
- 4540 Ice mechanics and air/sea/ice exchange processes;
- OCEANOGRAPHY: PHYSICAL