Driving Mechanisms of an Extreme Winter Sea Ice Breakup Event in the Beaufort Sea
Abstract The thick multiyear sea ice that once covered large parts of the Arctic is increasingly being replaced by thinner and weaker first‐year ice, making it more vulnerable to breakup by winds. We use the neXtSIM sea ice model to investigate the driving mechanisms behind a large breakup event in...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2022-06-01
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| Series: | Geophysical Research Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL099024 |
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| author | Jonathan W. Rheinlænder Richard Davy Einar Ólason Pierre Rampal Clemens Spensberger Timothy D. Williams Anton Korosov Thomas Spengler |
| author_facet | Jonathan W. Rheinlænder Richard Davy Einar Ólason Pierre Rampal Clemens Spensberger Timothy D. Williams Anton Korosov Thomas Spengler |
| author_sort | Jonathan W. Rheinlænder |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The thick multiyear sea ice that once covered large parts of the Arctic is increasingly being replaced by thinner and weaker first‐year ice, making it more vulnerable to breakup by winds. We use the neXtSIM sea ice model to investigate the driving mechanisms behind a large breakup event in the Beaufort Sea during winter 2013. Our simulations are the first to successfully reproduce the timing, location, and propagation of sea ice leads associated with wind‐driven breakup and highlight the importance of accuracy of the atmospheric forcing, sea ice rheology, and changes in sea ice thickness. We found that the breakup resulted in enhanced export of multiyear ice from the Beaufort Sea. Overall, this leads to a relatively thinner and weaker simulated ice cover that potentially preconditions earlier breakup in spring and accelerates sea ice loss. Finally, our simulations indicate that large breakup events could become more frequent as Arctic sea ice continues to thin. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d88abdb855ca4cdfa40c2648254d9d6a |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0094-8276 1944-8007 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geophysical Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-d88abdb855ca4cdfa40c2648254d9d6a2025-01-22T14:38:16ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072022-06-014912n/an/a10.1029/2022GL099024Driving Mechanisms of an Extreme Winter Sea Ice Breakup Event in the Beaufort SeaJonathan W. Rheinlænder0Richard Davy1Einar Ólason2Pierre Rampal3Clemens Spensberger4Timothy D. Williams5Anton Korosov6Thomas Spengler7Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center and Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research Bergen NorwayNansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center and Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research Bergen NorwayNansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center and Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research Bergen NorwayInstitut de Géophysique de l’Environnement Université Grenoble Alpes/CNRS/IRD/G‐INP Grenoble FranceGeophysical Institute University of Bergen, and Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research Bergen NorwayNansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center and Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research Bergen NorwayNansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center and Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research Bergen NorwayGeophysical Institute University of Bergen, and Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research Bergen NorwayAbstract The thick multiyear sea ice that once covered large parts of the Arctic is increasingly being replaced by thinner and weaker first‐year ice, making it more vulnerable to breakup by winds. We use the neXtSIM sea ice model to investigate the driving mechanisms behind a large breakup event in the Beaufort Sea during winter 2013. Our simulations are the first to successfully reproduce the timing, location, and propagation of sea ice leads associated with wind‐driven breakup and highlight the importance of accuracy of the atmospheric forcing, sea ice rheology, and changes in sea ice thickness. We found that the breakup resulted in enhanced export of multiyear ice from the Beaufort Sea. Overall, this leads to a relatively thinner and weaker simulated ice cover that potentially preconditions earlier breakup in spring and accelerates sea ice loss. Finally, our simulations indicate that large breakup events could become more frequent as Arctic sea ice continues to thin.https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL099024Arctic sea icewind‐induced breakupextreme eventsBeaufort Seaice growthsea ice leads |
| spellingShingle | Jonathan W. Rheinlænder Richard Davy Einar Ólason Pierre Rampal Clemens Spensberger Timothy D. Williams Anton Korosov Thomas Spengler Driving Mechanisms of an Extreme Winter Sea Ice Breakup Event in the Beaufort Sea Geophysical Research Letters Arctic sea ice wind‐induced breakup extreme events Beaufort Sea ice growth sea ice leads |
| title | Driving Mechanisms of an Extreme Winter Sea Ice Breakup Event in the Beaufort Sea |
| title_full | Driving Mechanisms of an Extreme Winter Sea Ice Breakup Event in the Beaufort Sea |
| title_fullStr | Driving Mechanisms of an Extreme Winter Sea Ice Breakup Event in the Beaufort Sea |
| title_full_unstemmed | Driving Mechanisms of an Extreme Winter Sea Ice Breakup Event in the Beaufort Sea |
| title_short | Driving Mechanisms of an Extreme Winter Sea Ice Breakup Event in the Beaufort Sea |
| title_sort | driving mechanisms of an extreme winter sea ice breakup event in the beaufort sea |
| topic | Arctic sea ice wind‐induced breakup extreme events Beaufort Sea ice growth sea ice leads |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL099024 |
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