Negative sea ice-circulation feedback along Arctic marginal ice zones

University Of Utah, Salt Lake City UT

Investigators

Abstract

It is increasingly important to understand how sea ice interacts with the overlying atmospheric circulation. Funds are proided to investigate a negative feedback process over and around the Arctic marginal ice zone (MIZ) involving variability in sea ice, surface heat flux, and surface wind stress. In this negative feedback process, sea ice anomalies in the MIZ are hypothesized to generate local wind patterns that act to counter the initial sea ice anomalies, providing a regulatory mechanism on the retreat and advance of the MIZ on weekly time scales. This work will quantify the MIZ local negative feedback process and determine its effects under contemporary and projected sea ice conditions. A detailed three-year study in observations and modeling environments will realize the following research objectives: 1) determine and map the response of surface wind stress to sea ice extent anomalies in the MIZ, 2) determine and map the sea ice response to wind stress anomalies generated by local sea ice anomalies, 3) evaluate the statistical significance of the sea ice-wind stress negative feedback in observations and coupled simulations, and 4) determine the effects of the feedback by turning it on and off in a coupled model. This project will provide research support for a new, young investigator, as well as support for the additional training of a female graduate student and an undergraduate student. The project also includes outreach to k-12 students.