Solar Heating of the Arctic Mixed Layer and Its Impact on Ocean/Ice Interaction

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This proposal is part of a systematic study of the Arctic environment and its role in global change which is promoted by NSF's Arctic System Science Program. It is a three year project utilize existing data sets and models in the evaluation heat and salt transfer at the ice-water interface and to gain fundamental insights into the roles of leads and thin ice in these processes. A model for the distribution of shortwave energy in ice and lead systems, combined with models of turbulent transfer in the upper ocean, will be utilized in the analyses of existing data and to quantify spatial and temporal variations in the flux of heat energy from the Arctic Ocean to the sea ice within the Arctic Basin. Other simulations will explore the relationship between summer ice conditions and mixed layer temperature, long-term implications of seasonal variations in the flux of heat from the ocean to sea ice, and possible situations that could lead to a disappearance of the arctic ice pack.