Towards high resolution estimates of East Antarctic pack ice thickness ...

• Main Author: Steer, AD
• Format: Thesis
• Language: unknown
• Published: University Of Tasmania 2023
• Subjects: Antarctic; Southern Ocean; Antarc*; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.25959/23240135; https://figshare.utas.edu.au/articles/thesis/Towards_high_resolution_estimates_of_East_Antarctic_pack_ice_thickness/23240135

The area of the Southern Ocean covered by sea ice is relatively well described by a longterm time series of satellite observations spanning over 35 years. Throughout the seasonal cycle, Antarctic sea-ice cover varies between approximately 3 x 10‚ÄövÖ‚àÇ km¬¨‚⧠at the end of summer to approximately 20 x 10‚ÄövÖ‚àÇ km¬¨‚⧠during winter. This has profound implications for ocean-atmosphere heat and momentum exchange and also for global oceanic circulation induced by sea-ice production and melt. However, the thickness distribution of Antarctic sea-ice is poorly described. Without detailed knowledge of the distribution of sea-ice thickness (and hence volume) it is difficult to assess the magnitude of its influence, and its feedback within the ocean-ice-atmosphere system. Current estimates of the sea-ice thickness distribution derived from satellite-based altimetry rely on empirical models describing the relationship between sea-ice topography, snow depth and sea-ice draft. The input to these empirical models ...