Spatial scaling of Arctic sea ice deformation

Arctic sea ice deformation arises from spatial gradients in the ice velocity field. This deformation occurs across a wide range of spatial scales, from meters to thousands of kilometers. We analyze 7 years of sea ice deformation data from the RADARSAT Geophysical Processor System (RGPS) covering the western Arctic Ocean. We find that the mean deformation rate is related to the spatial scale over which it is measured according to a power law with exponent ∼−0.2, over a scale range from 10 to 1000 km (e.g., deformation rate doubles for a 30‐fold reduction in scale). Both the exponent and the deformation rate have distinct annual cycles. The exponent becomes more negative in summer as the ice pack weakens and internal stresses are not as readily transmitted over long distances. The deformation rate reaches a minimum in late winter when the ice pack is strongest. The deformation also exhibits considerable localization, in which the largest deformation rates are confined to smaller and smaller areas as the scale of measurement decreases. This supports a model for sea ice based on granular or fracture mechanics. The scaling exponent in the power law relationship tends to be larger in magnitude where the concentration of multiyear ice is low, consistent with a thinner and weaker ice pack. With decreasing multiyear ice in the Arctic and a thinning ice pack, an increase in the deformation rate has already been documented (from buoy data). However, the net effect of several deformation/thickness feedbacks is still uncertain.