Publication Date:
2022-07-05
Description:
Simulating sea ice drift and deformation in the Arctic Ocean is still a challenge because of the
multiscale interaction of sea ice floes that compose the Arctic Sea ice cover. The Sea Ice Rheology Experiment
(SIREx) is a model intercomparison project of the Forum of Arctic Modeling and Observational Synthesis
(FAMOS). In SIREx, skill metrics are designed to evaluate different recently suggested approaches for
modeling linear kinematic features (LKFs) to provide guidance for modeling small-scale deformation. These
LKFs are narrow bands of localized deformation that can be observed in satellite images and also form in
high resolution sea ice simulations. In this contribution, spatial and temporal properties of LKFs are assessed
in 36 simulations of state-of-the-art sea ice models and compared to deformation features derived from
the RADARSAT Geophysical Processor System. All simulations produce LKFs, but only very few models
realistically simulate at least some statistics of LKF properties such as densities, lengths, or growth rates. All
SIREx models overestimate the angle of fracture between conjugate pairs of LKFs and LKF lifetimes pointing
to inaccurate model physics. The temporal and spatial resolution of a simulation and the spatial resolution of
atmospheric boundary condition affect simulated LKFs as much as the model's sea ice rheology and numerics.
Only in very high resolution simulations (≤2 km) the concentration and thickness anomalies along LKFs are
large enough to affect air-ice-ocean interaction processes.
Repository Name:
EPIC Alfred Wegener Institut
Type:
Article
,
NonPeerReviewed
Format:
application/pdf
