Observations of Air-Ice and Air-Ocean Interactions During Arctic Freeze-Up

Abstract:

Surface energy fluxes are key to the annual summer melt and autumn freeze-up of Arctic sea ice, but are strongly modulated by interactions between atmospheric, ocean, and sea-ice processes. This presentation will examine direct observations of energy fluxes during autumn freeze-up from three recent field programs: the international Arctic Clouds in Summer Experiment (ACSE) on board the R/V Oden in 2014, the Japanese MR14-05 cruise of the R/V Mirai in 2014, and the ONR-funded Sea State cruise of the R/V Sikuliaq in 2015. The R/V Oden obtained measurements in open water and multi-year ice north of the New Siberian Islands, the R/V Mirai’s measurements were at a fixed point near the ice edge in the western Canada Basin, and the measurements from the Sikuliaq were obtained at the advancing ice edge in the Canada Basin/Beaufort Sea. Though measurement types varied, all three cruises made atmospheric measurements with radiosondes and remote sensing at high temporal resolution, obtained measurements or estimates of all terms in the surface energy budget equation, obtained upper-ocean thermodynamic measurements with frequent CTDs, and were able to characterize the evolving air-ocean and air-ice interfaces. The 2014 cruises document processes producing autumnal heat loss in the upper ocean just before and at the very incipient stages of ice formation, while the third cruise documented processes responsible for ice formation during the main freeze-up period. Ocean freeze-up was observed when the near-surface ocean temperature had reached its freezing point and energy loss to the atmosphere continued (Fig. 1). This important loss of energy to the atmosphere from the ocean mixed layer was modulated by a number of local and regional atmospheric processes and some ocean processes, producing significant variability. The different energy budgets over the existing sea ice and adjacent open water also played a major role in the freeze-up processes. This presentation will attempt to quantify the relative impacts of the various processes and provide a coherent scenario for the Arctic autumnal freeze-up from initial ocean heat loss in mid-September to the time when the sea-ice edge approaches the Arctic Ocean coast in early November. Some implications for modelling these processes will also be discussed.