Assessing the Long-Term Contribution of Landfast Ice to the Arctic Freshwater Budget

University Of Washington, Seattle WA

Investigators

Abstract

The proposed research will assess the interannual variability of Arctic Ocean landfast ice and its long-term contribution to the Arctic freshwater budget. Goals are to examine variability for the entire Arctic Basin, investigate spatial and temporal changes in fast ice growth, melt and brine fluxes, and analyze long-term ice volume change in terms of freshwater storage and in response to climate-scale variation in precipitation, surface air temperatures, winds and river discharge. The research approach will be to combine a 26-year landfast ice record, available from ice charts recently released by the National Ice Center, with a 1-D thermodynamic model. The work will emphasize a time series approach focussed on decadal change associated with the Arctic Oscillation and spatial variation among different sub-regions within the Arctic. Results on interannual variations in landfast ice will benefit both other investigators of the Arctic Freshwater Cycle and populations dwelling adjacent to Arctic water bodies.