Sensitivity of air-sea heat exchange to lead width, orientation, and model resolution

• Main Authors: Spengler, T., Spensberger, C.
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English
• Published: 2023
• Subjects: Sea ice
• Online Access: https://gfzpublic.gfz-potsdam.de/pubman/item/item_5016766

Modeling air-sea interactions through leads poses a major challenge due to of the vast range of scales and physical processes involved. Using idealised experiments with the WRF model, we investigate how the transformation of a cold air mass moving across lead-fractured sea ice depends on (a) lead width, (b) lead orientation relative to the atmospheric flow, and (c) model resolution. The extent to which leads are resolved in WRF strongly affects the overall air-sea heat exchange. In fact, even the direction of the heat flux is dependent on model resolution. Further, the dependence of the overall heat exchange on model resolution is strongly non-linear, with the worst representation of the heat exchange through leads occuring when they are just about to become resolved by the model grid. In addition, the orientation of the leads relative to the atmospheric flow affects the air-sea heat exchange. Heat exchange is least effective when the leads are oriented perpendicular to the atmospheric flow.