Spatial differences in the distribution of leads in the ice cover in the Atlantic sector of the Arctic basin

• Published in: Ice and Snow
• Main Authors: L. N. Dyment, S. M. Losev
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Russian
• Published: Nauka 2020
• Subjects: западная арктика; ледяной покров; морской лёд; плотность разрывов; разрывы; удельная длина разрывов; Science; Q; Arctic; Arctic Basin; Lincoln Sea; Sea ice; Арктика; Морской лёд
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.31857/S2076673420040061; https://doaj.org/article/001ab3231b364fef85f176b953db2505

We analyzed data on the spatial distribution (density) of large breaks (gaps) in the drifting sea ice cover in the Western Arctic for the period from October 2005 to September 2017, obtained through decoding of lowresolution images from the NOAA satellites. The specific length of gaps, which is the total length of them over an area of 1 km2, is used as a characteristic of the spatial density. It was found that along the continental slope, approximately from the meridian 70° E to the Lincoln Sea, there is a well-defined area of high density, which remains throughout most part of the ice cycle. In this area, the values of the specific gap length averaged over two-month periods exceeded 24 m/km2. In the near-polar region, the density of breaks was smaller throughout the whole ice cycle. The least values of the specific length take place in May–June that is caused by changes in the general state of the ice cover. It was determined that the density of gaps in this area of the Arctic basin well correlated with the speed of wind drift of ice: the more intensive the drift, the larger the density. On the continental slope, two local zones with maximum values of the specific length of breaks reaching 32 m/km2 are considered. It is suggested that the stability of their location in space and time is connected with the increased influence of tidal processes on the deformation of the ice cover over local bottom elevations on the continental slope. A correlation between the bottom profile and the values of the specific length of the gaps along two conditional lines passing through the maximum value zones did show that the largest values of the density are noticed in areas with significant gradients of the depth.