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Sea-ice thickness from field measurements in the northwestern Barents Sea: SEA-ICE THICKNESS, NW BARENTS SEA

Journal Article · · Journal of Geophysical Research. Oceans
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JC012199· OSTI ID:1461446
 [1];  [2];  [1];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [1]
  1. Norwegian Polar Institute, Tromsø (Norway). Fram Centre
  2. Norwegian Polar Institute, Tromsø (Norway). Fram Centre; Univ, of Bremen, Bremen (Germany). Inst. of Environmental Physics
  3. Univ, of Bremen, Bremen (Germany). Inst. of Environmental Physics; York Univ., Toronto, ON (Canada). Dept. of Earth and Space Science and Engineering; Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven (Germany)
  4. Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven (Germany)
  5. Universität Hamburg, Institut für Meereskunde, Hamburg (Germany). Sea Ice Observations Research Group, Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability
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The Barents Sea is one of the fastest changing regions of the Arctic, and has experienced the strongest decline in winter-time sea-ice area in the Arctic, at 22364% decade21. Sea-ice thickness in the Barents Sea is not well studied. We present two previously unpublished helicopter-borne electromagnetic(HEM) ice thickness measurements from the northwestern Barents Sea acquired in March 2003 and 2014.The HEM data are compared to ice thickness calculated from ice draft measured by ULS deployed between1994 and 1996. These data show that ice thickness varies greatly from year to year; influenced by the thermodynamic and dynamic processes that govern local formation vs long-range advection. In a year with a large inflow of sea-ice from the Arctic Basin, the Barents Sea ice cover is dominated by thick multiyear ice;as was the case in 2003 and 1995. In a year with an ice cover that was mainly grown in situ, the ice will be thin and mechanically unstable; as was the case in 2014. The HEM data allow us to explore the spatial and temporal variability in ice thickness. In 2003 the dominant ice class was more than 2 years old; and modal sea-ice thickness varied regionally from 0.6 to 1.4 m, with the thinner ice being either irst-year ice, or multiyear ice which had come into contact with warm Atlantic water. In 2014 the ice cover was predominantly locally grown ice less than 1 month old (regional modes of 0.5–0.8 m). These two situations represent two extremes of a range of possible ice thickness distributions that can present very different conditions for shipping traffic; or have a different impact on heat transport from ocean to atmosphere.
Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
OSTI ID:
1461446
Journal Information:
Journal of Geophysical Research. Oceans, Journal Name: Journal of Geophysical Research. Oceans Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 122; ISSN 2169-9275
Publisher:
American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (9)

The observed recent surface air temperature development across Svalbard and concurring footprints in local sea ice cover journal February 2020
Winter storms accelerate the demise of sea ice in the Atlantic sector of the Arctic Ocean journal June 2019
The observed recent surface air temperature development across Svalbard and concurring footprints in local sea ice cover text January 2020
Assessment of Marine Litter in the Barents Sea, a Part of the Joint Norwegian–Russian Ecosystem Survey journal March 2018
A weekly Arctic sea-ice thickness data record from merged CryoSat-2 and SMOS satellite data journal January 2017
Interannual sea ice thickness variability in the Bay of Bothnia journal January 2018
Comparison of ERA5 and ERA-Interim near-surface air temperature, snowfall and precipitation over Arctic sea ice: effects on sea ice thermodynamics and evolution journal January 2019
A Weekly Arctic Sea-Ice Thickness Data Record from merged CryoSat-2 and SMOS Satellite Data posted_content January 2017
Interannual sea ice thickness variability in the Bay of Bothnia posted_content May 2018

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