C23B-0788
Arctic Sea Ice Basal Melt Onset Variability and Associated Ocean Surface Heating
Tuesday, 15 December 2015
Poster Hall (Moscone South)
Ryon Atticus Merrick, Oregon State University, College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science, Corvallis, OR, United States and Jennifer K Hutchings, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, United States
Abstract:
The interannual and regional variability in Arctic sea ice melt has previously been characterized only in terms of surface melting. A focus on the variability in the onset of basal melt is additionally required to understand Arctic melt patterns. Monitoring basal melt provides a glimpse into the importance of ocean heating to sea ice melt. This warming is predominantly through seawater exposure due to lead opening and the associated solar warming at the ocean’s surface. We present the temporal variability in basal melt onset observed by ice mass balance buoys throughout the Arctic Ocean since 2003, providing a different perspective than the satellite microwave data used to measure the onset of surface melt. We found that melt onset varies greatly, even for buoys deployed within 100km of each other. Therefore large volumes of data are necessary to accurately estimate the variability of basal melt onset. Once the variability of basal melt onset has been identified, we can investigate how this range has been changing as a response to atmospheric and oceanic warming, changes in ice morphology as well as the intensification of the ice albedo feedback.
