A simple model for the evolution of melt pond coverage on permeable Arctic sea ice
As the melt season progresses, sea ice in the Arctic often becomes permeable enough to allow for nearly complete drainage of meltwater that has collected on the ice surface. Melt ponds that remain after drainage are hydraulically connected to the ocean and correspond to regions of sea ice whose surf...
Published in: | The Cryosphere |
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Copernicus Publications
2017
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ftnonlinearchiv:oai:noa.gwlb.de:cop_mods_00010190 2023-05-15T13:10:54+02:00 A simple model for the evolution of melt pond coverage on permeable Arctic sea ice Popović, Predrag Abbot, Dorian 2017-05 electronic https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1149-2017 https://noa.gwlb.de/receive/cop_mods_00010190 https://noa.gwlb.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/cop_derivate_00010147/tc-11-1149-2017.pdf https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/11/1149/2017/tc-11-1149-2017.pdf eng eng Copernicus Publications The Cryosphere -- ˜Theœ Cryosphere -- http://www.bibliothek.uni-regensburg.de/ezeit/?2393169 -- http://www.the-cryosphere.net/ -- 1994-0424 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1149-2017 https://noa.gwlb.de/receive/cop_mods_00010190 https://noa.gwlb.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/cop_derivate_00010147/tc-11-1149-2017.pdf https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/11/1149/2017/tc-11-1149-2017.pdf uneingeschränkt info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess article Verlagsveröffentlichung article Text doc-type:article 2017 ftnonlinearchiv https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1149-2017 2022-02-08T22:57:09Z As the melt season progresses, sea ice in the Arctic often becomes permeable enough to allow for nearly complete drainage of meltwater that has collected on the ice surface. Melt ponds that remain after drainage are hydraulically connected to the ocean and correspond to regions of sea ice whose surface is below sea level. We present a simple model for the evolution of melt pond coverage on such permeable sea ice floes in which we allow for spatially varying ice melt rates and assume the whole floe is in hydrostatic balance. The model is represented by two simple ordinary differential equations, where the rate of change of pond coverage depends on the pond coverage. All the physical parameters of the system are summarized by four strengths that control the relative importance of the terms in the equations. The model both fits observations and allows us to understand the behavior of melt ponds in a way that is often not possible with more complex models. Examples of insights we can gain from the model are that (1) the pond growth rate is more sensitive to changes in bare sea ice albedo than changes in pond albedo, (2) ponds grow slower on smoother ice, and (3) ponds respond strongest to freeboard sinking on first-year ice and sidewall melting on multiyear ice. We also show that under a global warming scenario, pond coverage would increase, decreasing the overall ice albedo and leading to ice thinning that is likely comparable to thinning due to direct forcing. Since melt pond coverage is one of the key parameters controlling the albedo of sea ice, understanding the mechanisms that control the distribution of pond coverage will help improve large-scale model parameterizations and sea ice forecasts in a warming climate. Article in Journal/Newspaper albedo Arctic Global warming Sea ice The Cryosphere Niedersächsisches Online-Archiv NOA Arctic The Cryosphere 11 3 1149 1172 |
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English |
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article Verlagsveröffentlichung |
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article Verlagsveröffentlichung Popović, Predrag Abbot, Dorian A simple model for the evolution of melt pond coverage on permeable Arctic sea ice |
topic_facet |
article Verlagsveröffentlichung |
description |
As the melt season progresses, sea ice in the Arctic often becomes permeable enough to allow for nearly complete drainage of meltwater that has collected on the ice surface. Melt ponds that remain after drainage are hydraulically connected to the ocean and correspond to regions of sea ice whose surface is below sea level. We present a simple model for the evolution of melt pond coverage on such permeable sea ice floes in which we allow for spatially varying ice melt rates and assume the whole floe is in hydrostatic balance. The model is represented by two simple ordinary differential equations, where the rate of change of pond coverage depends on the pond coverage. All the physical parameters of the system are summarized by four strengths that control the relative importance of the terms in the equations. The model both fits observations and allows us to understand the behavior of melt ponds in a way that is often not possible with more complex models. Examples of insights we can gain from the model are that (1) the pond growth rate is more sensitive to changes in bare sea ice albedo than changes in pond albedo, (2) ponds grow slower on smoother ice, and (3) ponds respond strongest to freeboard sinking on first-year ice and sidewall melting on multiyear ice. We also show that under a global warming scenario, pond coverage would increase, decreasing the overall ice albedo and leading to ice thinning that is likely comparable to thinning due to direct forcing. Since melt pond coverage is one of the key parameters controlling the albedo of sea ice, understanding the mechanisms that control the distribution of pond coverage will help improve large-scale model parameterizations and sea ice forecasts in a warming climate. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Popović, Predrag Abbot, Dorian |
author_facet |
Popović, Predrag Abbot, Dorian |
author_sort |
Popović, Predrag |
title |
A simple model for the evolution of melt pond coverage on permeable Arctic sea ice |
title_short |
A simple model for the evolution of melt pond coverage on permeable Arctic sea ice |
title_full |
A simple model for the evolution of melt pond coverage on permeable Arctic sea ice |
title_fullStr |
A simple model for the evolution of melt pond coverage on permeable Arctic sea ice |
title_full_unstemmed |
A simple model for the evolution of melt pond coverage on permeable Arctic sea ice |
title_sort |
simple model for the evolution of melt pond coverage on permeable arctic sea ice |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1149-2017 https://noa.gwlb.de/receive/cop_mods_00010190 https://noa.gwlb.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/cop_derivate_00010147/tc-11-1149-2017.pdf https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/11/1149/2017/tc-11-1149-2017.pdf |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
albedo Arctic Global warming Sea ice The Cryosphere |
genre_facet |
albedo Arctic Global warming Sea ice The Cryosphere |
op_relation |
The Cryosphere -- ˜Theœ Cryosphere -- http://www.bibliothek.uni-regensburg.de/ezeit/?2393169 -- http://www.the-cryosphere.net/ -- 1994-0424 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1149-2017 https://noa.gwlb.de/receive/cop_mods_00010190 https://noa.gwlb.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/cop_derivate_00010147/tc-11-1149-2017.pdf https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/11/1149/2017/tc-11-1149-2017.pdf |
op_rights |
uneingeschränkt info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1149-2017 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
1149 |
op_container_end_page |
1172 |
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1766245149046734848 |