SIMBA data acquired during IAOOS drifts from the North-Pole to Fram Strait in 2013 ...

• Main Authors: Sennechael, Nathalie, Provost, Christine, Gascard, Jean-Claude, Calzas, Michel, Drezen, Christine, Garracio, Magali
• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: SEANOE 2019
• Subjects: sea ice; snow melt; melt pond; false bottom; mass balance; ice topography; Arctic; Fram Strait; North Pole; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.17882/58796; https://www.seanoe.org/data/00476/58796/

We report continuous observations in the high Arctic (north of 84°N) over the full 2013 summer season at two nearby sites with distinct initial snow depth, ice thickness and altitude with respect to the local ice topography. The two sites subject to similar atmospheric conditions that did not favor strong ice melt showed a contrasted evolution. One site, with an initial thin sea ice (1.40 m) at a low location of the floe, witnessed the formation of a spectacular 1.20 m-deep melt pond, a pond-enhanced erosion of the ice surface and a sudden pond drainage into the ocean. Then, the outpoured fresh water rapidly froze, heated the old ice from below and also acted as a temporary shield from the ocean heat flux while it was progressively ablated through dissolution. Eventually, the site almost recovered its initial ice thickness. In contrast, the other site, with an initial thicker sea ice (1.75 m) at a high location of the floe, did not support any significant melt water and underwent over 0.5 m of continuous ...