The Impact of an Intense Cyclone on Short‐Term Sea Ice Loss in a Fully Coupled Atmosphere‐Ocean‐Ice Model
Abstract
Arctic cyclones may be associated with periods of locally enhanced sea ice loss during the summer, and some studies have found that an intense cyclone in August 2012 resulted in a rapid sea ice retreat. This study uses a coupled atmosphere‐ocean‐ice model (Navy‐ESPC) to explore the relationship between the 2012 cyclone and short‐term sea ice melting. There are two mechanisms of cyclone‐induced melting in Navy‐ESPC: turbulent mixing of a warm layer located at 15‐ to 35‐m depth increases bottom melting and warm air advection by the strong surface winds increases surface melting. Although the rate of sea ice melt is substantially increased in association with the cyclone, this effect is confined to a relatively small region and only lasts for a few days. There is no clear signature of the cyclone on the overall Arctic sea ice extent in Navy‐ESPC.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Feb 12, 2020
- Source ID
- 10.1029/2019gl085580
Entities
People
- Daniel P. Stern
- E. Joseph Metzger
- James D. Doyle
- Neil P Barton
- Peter M. Finocchio
- William A. Komaromi
Organizations
- National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Naval Research Laboratory
- University Corporation for Atmospheric Research