Premium
Observations of the summer breakup of an Arctic sea ice cover
Author(s) -
Arntsen Alexandra E.,
Song Arnold J.,
Perovich Donald K.,
RichterMenge Jacqueline A.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2015gl065224
Subject(s) - sea ice , arctic ice pack , buoy , geology , beaufort sea , antarctic sea ice , sea ice thickness , climatology , arctic , breakup , drift ice , cryosphere , satellite imagery , melt pond , oceanography , environmental science , psychology , psychoanalysis
The Arctic sea ice cover evolves dramatically through the summer melt season. Floe size distribution (FSD) is a critical parameter used to examine this change as the ice cover transitions from large rectilinear plates in spring to an ensemble of discrete rounded floes by midsummer. The FSD at a given time impacts the dynamic and thermodynamic behavior of the ice cover. Focusing on the seasonal marginal ice zone in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas from May to September 2014, we present qualitative and quantitative results derived from National Technical Means high‐resolution imagery and supported by ice mass balance buoy data. Results indicate that as melt accelerates, floe breaking pattern, and therefore FSD, is heavily influenced by the distribution of melt ponds. Discrete element model results using morphological conditions derived from analyzed satellite imagery confirmed that breaking occurs along ponds and perpendicular to applied stress.