Satellite-derived sea ice export and its impact on Arctic ice mass balance

• Published in: The Cryosphere
• Main Authors: Ricker, Robert, Girard-Ardhuin, Fanny, Krumpen, Thomas, Lique, Camille
• Other Authors: Laboratoire d'Océanographie Physique et Spatiale (LOPS), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2018
• Subjects: [SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics]; Arctic; Fram Strait; North Atlantic; North Atlantic oscillation; Sea ice; The Cryosphere
• Online Access: https://insu.hal.science/insu-03683067; https://insu.hal.science/insu-03683067/document; https://insu.hal.science/insu-03683067/file/tc-12-3017-2018.pdf; https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-3017-2018

International audience Sea ice volume export through the Fram Strait represents an important freshwater input to the North Atlantic, which could in turn modulate the intensity of the thermohaline circulation. It also contributes significantly to variations in Arctic ice mass balance. We present the first estimates of winter sea ice volume export through the Fram Strait using CryoSat-2 sea ice thickness retrievals and three different ice drift products for the years 2010 to 2017. The monthly export varies between -21 and -540 km 3 . We find that ice drift variability is the main driver of annual and interannual ice volume export variability and that the interannual variations in the ice drift are driven by large-scale variability in the atmospheric circulation captured by the Arctic Oscillation and North Atlantic Oscillation indices. On shorter timescale, however, the seasonal cycle is also driven by the mean thickness of exported sea ice, typically peaking in March. Considering Arctic winter multi-year ice volume changes, 54 % of their variability can be explained by the variations in ice volume export through the Fram Strait.