Scaling aspects of the sea-ice-drift dynamics and pack fracture

Abstract

Abstract. A study of the sea-ice dynamics in the periods of time prior to and during the cycles of basin-wide fragmentation of the ice cover in the Arctic Ocean is presented. The fractal geometry of the ice-sheets limited by leads and ridges was assessed using the satellite images, while the data on the correlated sea-ice motion were obtained in the research stations "North Pole 32" and "North Pole 33" established on the ice pack. The revealed decrease of the fractal dimension as a result of large-scale fragmentation is consistent with the localization of the fracture process (leads propagation). At the same time, the scaling properties of the distribution of amplitudes of ice-fields accelerations were insensitive to the event of sea-ice fragmentation. The temporal distribution of the accelerations was scale-invariant during "quiet" periods of sea-ice drift but disordered in the period of mechanical perturbation. The period of decorrelated (in time) ice-field motion during the important fracture event was interpreted as an inter-level transition in the hierarchic dynamical system. The mechanism of the long-range correlations in the sea-ice cover, including the fracture process, is suggested to be in relation with the self-organized oscillation dynamics inherent in the ice pack.

Variability of scaling time series in the sea ice drift dynamics in the Arctic Ocean

“…There were reported previously (Chmel et al, 2005(Chmel et al, , 2007 some time characteristics of the sea ice drift in the Arctic Ocean as revealed from the field observations that were carried out at the research station "North Pole 32" (NP 32) established on the ice pack in [2003][2004]. The sequences of events of accelerations of an individual ice field were found to be self-similar (or, in terms of the critical dynamics, fractal) during quasi-stationary periods of drift and fully disordered (truly random) when the great pack fragmentation occurred in the region of the NP 32 activity.…”

“…Recent studies of the sea ice drift and mechanical behavior of the ice pack, including its deformations and fragmentations, revealed that the Arctic sea ice cover (ASIC) exhibits well-pronounced scaling properties typical for the dynamics of the non-equilibrium, permanently critical systems (Marsan et al, 2004;Korsnes et al, 2004;Smirnov et al, 2006;Chmel et al, 2007;Rampal et al, 2008). The spatial, energy and temporal distributions of the mechanical events in the ASIC follow the power law with varying exponents thus indicating the existence of a latent relationship between the scaling features and underlying physical processes.…”

Nonextensive Dynamics of Drifting Sea Ice

“…e data on the local dri dynamics were collected in the Russian ice research camp North Pole 32 (NP 32) that was established on ice pack and dried in [2003][2004] in the region north from Franz Josef Land from 88 ∘ N to 84 ∘ N [8]. In this work, the time series of the kinetic energy variation of an individual ice �oe were analyzed using the Tsallis statistics in order to obtain a thermodynamic characteristic of the system of driing ice prior to and during large-scale sea ice fragmentations.…”