On the boundary conditions applied to the sea-ice coupled model

• Published in: Journal of Geophysical Research
• Main Authors: Huang, Rui Xin, Jin, Xiangze
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: American Geophysical Union 2007
• Subjects: Sea ice; Natural boundary condition; Freshwater flux; Arctic; Arctic Ocean; Antarc*; Antarctica; Climate change
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/1912/3590

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2007. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research 112 (2007): C04S12, doi:10.1029/2006JC003735. The formulation of suitable boundary conditions at the water-ice interface during ice formation (melting) is an important aspect of the sea-ice coupled model. The transfer of water and salt through the water-ice can be posed as different boundary conditions. Behavior of the model under these boundary conditions is illustrated through simple analytical models and a numerical model based on pressure-η coordinate. It is emphasized that the correct handling of the boundary conditions associated with sea ice formation requires an accurate treatment of the equivalent pressure on the top of water column and the total volume (mass) of the water column in the ice formation regime. Improper treatment of these boundary conditions may lead to an artificial loop current near the edge of ice in numerical simulations of oceanic circulation in the Arctic Ocean or near the Antarctica. This study was supported by the Institute of Ocean and Climate Change Institute of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.