Evidence of Abrupt Transitions Between Sea Ice Dynamical Regimes in the East Greenland Marginal Ice Zone

Sea ice modulates the energy exchange between the atmosphere and the ocean through its kinematics. Marginal ice zone (MIZ) dynamics are complex and are not well resolved in routine observations. Here, we investigate sea ice dynamics in the Greenland Sea MIZ using two Lagrangian drift datasets. We fi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inGeophysical research letters Vol. 50; no. 15
Main Authors Watkins, Daniel M., Bliss, Angela C., Hutchings, Jennifer K., Wilhelmus, Monica M.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Goddard Space Flight Center Wiley Open Access/American Geophysical Union 16.08.2023
John Wiley & Sons, Inc
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Wiley
Subjects
Air-ice-ocean coupling
Anomalies
Arctic sea ice
Atmospheric models
Boundary currents
Continental shelves
Datasets
Deformation
Drift
Dynamics
Earth Resources and Remote Sensing
Energy exchange
Energy transfer
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
Ice drift
Ice models
Kinematics
Movement
Ocean circulation
Ocean currents
Ocean floor
Oceans
Remote sensing
Satellite imagery
Sea currents
Sea ice
Sea ice dynamics
Sea ice models
Shelf edge
Tidal currents
Topography
Variability
Velocity
Velocity gradient
Velocity gradients
Wind effects
Winds
Greenland Sea
Greenland
Online AccessGet full text
ISSN0094-8276
1944-8007
DOI10.1029/2023GL103558

Cover

More Information
Summary:Sea ice modulates the energy exchange between the atmosphere and the ocean through its kinematics. Marginal ice zone (MIZ) dynamics are complex and are not well resolved in routine observations. Here, we investigate sea ice dynamics in the Greenland Sea MIZ using two Lagrangian drift datasets. We find evidence of tidal currents strongly affecting sub-daily sea ice motion. Velocity anomalies show abrupt transitions aligned with gradients in seafloor topography, indicating changes in ocean currents. Remote-sensed ice floe trajectories derived from moderate resolution satellite imagery provide a view of small-scale variability across the Greenland continental shelf. Ice floe trajectories reveal an west-east increasing velocity gradient imposed by the East Greenland Current, with maximum velocities aligned along the continental shelf edge. These results highlight the importance of small scale ocean variability for ice dynamics in the MIZ.
Bibliography:GSFC
Goddard Space Flight Center
ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 14
USDOE
National Science Foundation (NSF)
SC1301652; 13016524
US Department of the Navy, Office of Naval Research (ONR)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
ISSN:0094-8276
1944-8007
DOI:10.1029/2023GL103558