Effect of salinity on sea ice motion

Abstract

We combined large eddy simulation (LES) with a thermodynamic slab ice model to simulate and study the sea ice motion and frazil ice dynamics in the ocean mixed layer in the Arctic winter. To show the accurate representation of leads in models, fluxes distributed laterally beneath leads and sea ice need to be parameterized. The 3-D LES model, which is developed from a 2-D turbulence model, is used to model the convection of beneath leads and sea ice. The experiments were then achived by combining the LES model with the ice model. The concentration of frazil ice was modeled using the Omstedt and Svensson model. The ice crystal radius and growth rates were assumed to be constant and the temperature and salinity changes with depth were taken into account. Salinity distribution and frazil ice concentration were influenced by ice motion, and variations in ocean salinity during freezing and thawing were also investigated. Entrained flow caused by the movement of sea ice has a significant influence on the eddy. Sea ice roughness is also important in the formation of the eddy current, and the values of the ice crystal rise velocity and the ice concentration source term coefficient influence frazil ice dynamics. The effects of sea ice thermodynamic dissipation on the sea is more remarkable, affecting the heat transfer to the atmosphere. The brine rejected during ice crystal formation and dilution of seawater are other important mechanisms of marine cyclical shocks.

Large-eddy simulations of the ice-shelf–ocean boundary layer near the ice front of Nansen Ice Shelf, Antarctica

“…Therefore, the LES for the IOBL flow is required to analyze the detailed IOBL structure and reveal fundamental information about the basal melting phenomenon occurring below the ice shelves (Jenkins, 2016;Vreugdenhil and Taylor, 2019). The LES has been successfully applied to investigate the role of turbulence in the ice-ocean interactions in Greenland (Carsey and Garwood, 1993;Denbo and Skyllingstad, 1996) and the Arctic Sea (Glendening, 1995;Skyllingstad and Denbo, 2001;Matsumura and Ohshima, 2015;Ramudu et al, 2018;Li et al, 2018). However, studies on the application of LES to the IOBL under a sub-ice-shelf environment are limited due to lack of observations (Dinniman et al, 2016).…”

Large-eddy simulation of the ice shelf-ocean boundary layer and heterogeneous refreezing rate by sub-ice shelf plume

“…The LES has been successfully applied to investigate the role of turbulence in the ice-ocean interaction within the IOBL for cases in Greenland (Carsey and Garwood, 1993;Denbo and Skyllingstad, 1996) and the Arctic Sea (Glendening and Burk, 1992;Glendening, 1995;Skyllingstad and Denbo, 2001;Matsumura and Ohshima, 2015;Ramudu et al 2018;Li et al 2018).…”