Formation and Melt of Ridged Sea Ice

Ingram Research Group, Earth and Ocean Sciences, UBC

Collaborators: Trish Amundrud (now at FRS, Scotland), Humfrey Melling (IOS), and Grant Ingram
Project Timeline: 2001-2004

In order to predict the evolution of the Arctic ice pack in the face of generally warming climate, we must understand the evolution of its components, level ice, open water, and large ridged features. During winter, ice thickens and is compacted into ridges, increasing the Arctic ice volume. In summer, ridging is accompanied by ice melt processes, which act to decrease ice volume. Current ice-atmosphere-ocean models cannot reproduce the evolution of the ridged ice fraction, suggesting that ridging or melt may be inappropriately parameterized. To increase our understanding of ridged ice evolution, we have investigated the factors that constrain the ridging and melt processes by comparing observations from the Beaufort Sea collected by Humfrey Melling with numerical models of sea ice draft evolution.

Observations of ice draft from the Beaufort Sea can provide evidence of ridged ice formation and melt.

Ridging Processes >>
Melt Processes >>