Quantification of sea ice production in the southern Weddell Sea using a synergy of numerical simulations and remote sensing data

在威德尔海南部，海岸冰槽向大气的热传递对大气边界层、海冰的产生和高盐度陆架水（HSSW）的形成有很强的影响。冰间湖面积、冰间湖的薄冰覆盖率、大气强迫过程和海洋过程的知识对于海冰生成和HSSW形成的量化非常重要，它是海洋环流的主要驱动力，影响着菲尔希纳的基底融化率，伦讷冰架。该项目的总体目标是量化过去十年威德尔海南部的海冰和HSSW产量（2002-2012年）。作为一种新的方法，我们将使用大气/海洋/海冰模拟和高分辨率海冰厚度反演的协同作用。大气模式将采用COSMO-CLM群落气候模式，海冰/海洋模式将采用AWI的FESOM模式。从中分辨率成像光谱仪数据中检索的薄冰厚度将用于独立的冰生成计算和FESOM的同化。该项目的成果将是改进HSSW和冰产量的估计，以及对不同方法的误差评估。对南部威德尔海大陆架海冰形成率的量化不仅对海洋学和气象学相关问题很重要，而且还影响到对南极冰架和南极冰盖未来预测的稳健性。

In the southern Weddell Sea, the heat transfer of coastal polynyas to the atmosphere has strong effects on the atmospheric boundary layer, sea ice production and associated formation of High-Salinity Shelf Water (HSSW). The knowledge of polynya area, coverage of polynyas with thin ice, atmospheric forcing processes and oceanic processes is of high importance for the quantification of sea ice production and HSSW formation, which is a main driver of the ocean circulation and affects the basal melt rates at Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf.The overall goal of the project is the quantification of sea ice and HSSW production in the southern Weddell Sea for the last decade (2002-2012). As a novel approach, we will use a synergy of atmosphere/ocean/sea ice simulations and high-resolution sea ice thickness retrievals. The community climate model COSMO-CLM will be used as the atmospheric model, and the FESOM model of AWI as the sea-ice/ocean model. Thin-ice thicknesses retrievals from MODIS data will be used for independent ice production calculations and for the assimilation in FESOM. The outcome of the project will be an improved estimation of HSSW and ice production, and an error assessment of the different methods. This quantification of sea ice formation rates on the southern Weddell Sea continental shelf is not only important for questions related to oceanography and meteorology, but also affects the robustness of projections for the future of the Antarctic ice shelves and the Antarctic ice sheet.