A comprehensive view of Kara Sea polynya dynamics, sea‐ice compactness and export from model and remote sensing data

The Shelf Seas of the Arctic are known for their large sea‐ice production. This paper presents a comprehensive view of the Kara Sea sea‐ice cover from high‐resolution numerical modeling and space‐borne microwave radiometry. As given by the latter the average polynya area in the Kara Sea takes a value of 21.2 × 10 3 km 2 ± 9.1 × 10 3 km 2 for winters (Jan.–Apr.) 1996/97 to 2000/01, being as high as 32.0 × 10 3 km 2 in 1999/2000 and below 12 × 10 3 km 2 in 1998/99. Day‐to‐day variations of the Kara Sea polynya area can be as high as 50 × 10 3 km 2 . For the seasons 1996/97 to 2000/01 the modeled cumulative winter ice‐volume flux out of the Kara Sea varied between 100 km 3 a −1 and 350 km 3 a −1 . Modeled high (low) ice export coincides with a high (low) average and cumulative polynya area, and with a low (high) sea‐ice compactness in the Kara Sea from remote sensing data, and with a high (low) sea‐ice drift speed across its northern boundary derived from independent model data for the winters 1996/97 to 2000/01.