Seasonality and timing of sea ice mass balance and heat fluxes in the Arctic transpolar drift during 2019–2020
Bibliographic Data
Sea ice growth and decay are critical processes in the Arctic climate system, but comprehensive observations are very sparse. We analyzed data from 23 sea ice mass balance buoys (IMBs) deployed during the Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) expedition in 2019–2020 to investigate the seasonality and timing of sea ice thermodynamic mass balance in the Arctic Transpolar Drift. The data reveal four stages of the ice season: (I) onset of ice basal freezing, mid-October to November; (II) rapid ice growth, December–March; (III) slow ice growth, April–May; and (IV) melting, June onward. Ice basal growth ranged from 0.64 to 1.38 m at a rate of 0.004–0.006 m d–1, depending mainly on initial ice thickness. Compared to a buoy deployed close to the MOSAiC setup site in September 2012, total ice growth was about twice as high, due to the relatively thin initial ice thickness at the MOSAiC sites. Ice growth from the top, caused by surface flooding and subsequent snow-ice formation, was observed at two sites and likely linked to dynamic processes. Snow reached a maximum depth of 0.25 ± 0.08 m by May 2, 2020, and had melted completely by June 25, 2020. The relatively early onset of ice basal melt on June 7 (±10 d), 2019, can be partly attributed to the unusually rapid advection of the MOSAiC floes towards Fram Strait. The oceanic heat flux, calculated based on the heat balance at the ice bottom, was 2.8 ± 1.1 W m–2 in December–April, and increased gradually from May onward, reaching 10.0 ± 2.6 W m–2 by mid-June 2020. Subsequently, under-ice melt ponds formed at most sites in connection with increasing ice permeability. Our analysis provides crucial information on the Arctic sea ice mass balance for future studies related to MOSAiC and beyond
Antarctic sea ice · Arctic · Arctic ice pack · Atmospheric sciences · Climatology · Cryosphere · Drift ice · Fast ice · Geomorphology · Melt pond · Sea ice · Sea ice growth processes · Sea ice thickness · Snow · Arctic and Antarctic ice dynamics · Climate change and permafrost · Cryospheric studies and observations · Environmental Science · Geology · Oceanography
Snow thermal conductivity and conductive flux in the Central Arctic
The Eurasian Arctic Ocean along the MosaiC drift in 2019–2020
The MosaiC Distributed Network
The two radiative states of the Arctic atmosphere and their impacts on the surface energy budget of sea ice
Quantifying false bottoms and under-ice meltwater layers beneath Arctic summer sea ice with fine-scale observations
Sea ice and snow characteristics from year-long transects at the MosaiC Central Observatory
Spatial variability in surface brightness and solar energy deposition of Arctic sea ice
Different mechanisms of Arctic first-year sea-ice ridge consolidation observed during the MosaiC expedition
Relationships between summertime surface albedo and melt pond fraction in the central Arctic Ocean
Sea ice heat and mass balance measurements from four autonomous buoys during the MosaiC drift campaign
Temporal evolution of under-ice meltwater layers and false bottoms and their impact on summer Arctic sea ice mass balance
Thin and transient meltwater layers and false bottoms in the Arctic sea ice pack—Recent insights on these historically overlooked features
Sea ice mass balance during the MosaiC drift experiment
| Unique citing works | 13 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 3.25 |
| Citation span | 2022 - 2026 (5) |
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