Collaborative Research: Quantifying the effects of Langmuir Turbulence on Sea Ice and The Arctic Ocean

Brown University, Providence RI

Investigators

Abstract

This project will improve our capability for predicting how floating sea ice and the ocean evolve in the Arctic Ocean. To do this, we will develop a computer model for examining how ocean surface waves interact with sea ice and run simulations to improve predictions of how the heat and salt move up and down in the ocean. This new model will be shared for free, helping other scientists carry out new research into these processes, and making it easier for students to learn about the Arctic Ocean, its sea ice, and its changing behavior in a warming world. The project will support several early-career scientists in their training and research, including two students. Floating sea ice is an important part of the climate system as it reflects sunlight and acts as a barrier that separates the ocean from the atmosphere. The presence of sea ice is crucial in determining how warm the Arctic Ocean is and will become. The ocean surface also moves up and down due to waves, which are one of the main ways that the heat and salt of surface waters contact and mix with the deep ocean. Wave-related mixing is important across the global ocean, but we do not currently understand its impact in regions of sea ice. This is because sea ice changes the waves and their movement, affecting how surface and deep waters mix. This project addresses this uncertainty by identifying when and where wave-related mixing is occurring in the Arctic, and by understanding how floating sea ice impacts the strength of this mixing. We will use small-scale computer modeling experiments, informed by observations, to create a new way to account for this mixing in the global climate models used to predict Earth’s future. As part of this work, we will develop and publicly share a computer code that simulates ocean mixing under various Arctic conditions, including both ice and waves. This code will broadly aid Arctic oceanographers and will be used in classes to train ocean modelers at Oregon State University and Brown University. This project will support 5 people who are early in their scientific career, ranging from an undergraduate student to two assistant professors. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.