Sea Ice Tide-Inertial Interaction: Observations and Modeling

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Funds are provided to support an observational and modeling program aimed at elucidating the physical mechanisms underlying the interaction of tides, boundary layer inertial oscillations, and the nonlinear mechanics of sea ice. The physical hypothesis underlying both the proposed observational studies and the modeling/data analysis efforts is that sea ice cover must be considered an intrinsic part of the oceanic boundary layer in models rather than a separate entity only transferring stress at the interface. This project will deploy two autonomous buoy arrays, as part of a collaborative ice-based observing system, to monitor mesoscale sea ice deformation in the East Siberian Sea and Beaufort Sea for one year. Evolution of sea ice thickness distribution at both drifting stations will be investigated, resolving both dynamic and thermodynamic processes. The study will elucidate the role of high frequency deformation in ocean-atmosphere fluxes, salt fluxes to the ocean, and ice mass balance. Coordination of observations with ice-ocean tidal-inertial modeling will provide insight into how nonlinear ice mechanics effects ice-ocean coupling and tidal characteristics. The principal investigators are developing a barotropic ice-ocean model including an upper ocean boundary layer with imbedded sea ice so that net Ekman transport in the upper ocean includes both ice and water. The focus of the modeling effort is on a detailed comparison with observations.