Modelling the interannual variability of the Arctic sea ice cover

• Main Author: Arfeuille, Gilles.
• Other Authors: Mysak, Lawrence A. (advisor)
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: McGill University 1998
• Subjects: Physical Geography; Physical Oceanography; Physics; Atmospheric Science; Arctic; Tremblay; Arctic Basin; Fram Strait; North Atlantic; Sea ice
• Online Access: http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=21505

A thermodynamic-dynamic sea ice model based on the granular material rheology of Tremblay and Mysak is used to study the interannual variability of the Arctic sea ice cover during the 41-year period 1958--1998. The sea ice model is coupled to both a mixed layer ocean model and a one-layer thermodynamic atmospheric model. The model is first run with monthly climatology for most of the thermodynamic and dynamic forcing components to obtain a stable periodic seasonal cycle. For the 41-year run, the monthly wind stress forcing is derived from analyzed sea level pressures from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP Reanalysis) data. The atmospheric thermodynamic forcings are based on monthly climatology. In this thesis we explore the high-latitude sea ice circulation and thickness changes due to year-to-year variations in the wind field. We focus our study on the interannual variability of the sea ice. volume in the Arctic Basin, and the subsequent changes in the export of sea ice from the Arctic Basin into the northern North Atlantic via Fram Strait. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)