Dynamic Sea Research Articles

Bonded Discrete Element Simulations of Sea Ice With Non‐Local Failure: Applications to Nares Strait

AbstractThe discrete element method (DEM) can provide detailed descriptions of sea ice dynamics that explicitly model floes and discontinuities in the ice, which can be challenging to represent accurately with current models. However, floe‐scale stresses that inform lead formation in sea ice are difficult to calculate in current DEM implementations. In this paper, we use the ParticLS software library to develop a DEM that models the sea ice as a collection of discrete rigid particles that are initially bonded together using a cohesive beam model that approximates the response of an Euler‐Bernoulli beam located between particle centroids. Ice fracture and lead formation are determined based on the value of a non‐local Cauchy stress state around each particle and a Mohr‐Coulomb fracture model. Therefore, large ice floes are modeled as continuous objects made up of many bonded particles that can interact with each other, deform, and fracture. We generate particle configurations by discretizing the ice in MODIS satellite imagery into polygonal floes that fill the observed ice shape and extent. The model is tested on ice advecting through an idealized channel and through Nares Strait. The results indicate that the bonded DEM model is capable of qualitatively capturing the dynamic sea ice patterns through constrictions such as ice bridges, arch kinematic features, and lead formation. In addition, we apply spatial and temporal scaling analyses to illustrate the model's ability to capture heterogeneity and intermittency in the simulated ice deformation.

Rigorous Analysis and Dynamics of Hibler’s Sea Ice Model

This article develops for the first time a rigorous analysis of Hibler’s model of sea ice dynamics. Identifying Hibler’s ice stress as a quasilinear second-order operator and regarding Hibler’s model as a quasilinear evolution equation, it is shown that a regularized version of Hibler’s coupled sea ice model, i.e., the model coupling velocity, thickness and compactness of sea ice, is locally strongly well-posed within the L_q-setting and also globally strongly well-posed for initial data close to constant equilibria.

A probabilistic seabed–ice keel interaction model

Abstract. Landfast ice is a common coastal feature in the Arctic Ocean and around the Antarctic continent. One contributing and stabilizing mechanism is the grounding of sea ice ridges in shallow water. Recently, a grounding scheme representing this effect on sea ice dynamics was developed in order to improve the simulation of landfast ice by continuum-based sea ice models. This parameterization assumes that the ridged keel thickness is proportional to the mean thickness. Results demonstrated that this simple parameterization notably improves the simulation of landfast ice in many regions such as in the East Siberian Sea, the Laptev Sea and along the Alaskan coast. Nevertheless, a weakness of this approach is that it is based solely on the mean properties of sea ice. Here, we extend the parameterization by taking into account subgrid-scale ice thickness distribution and bathymetry distribution, which are generally non-normal, and by computing the maximum seabed stress as a joint probability interaction between the sea ice and the seabed. The probabilistic approach shows a reasonably good agreement with observations and with the previously proposed grounding scheme while potentially offering more physical insights into the formation of landfast ice.

Spatial variations of authigenic beryllium isotopes in surface sediments of the Antarctic oceans: a proxy for sea ice dynamics and sedimentary environments

Spatial variations of authigenic beryllium isotopes in surface sediments of the Antarctic oceans: a proxy for sea ice dynamics and sedimentary environments

Arctic – Atlantic Exchange of the Dissolved Micronutrients Iron, Manganese, Cobalt, Nickel, Copper and Zinc With a Focus on Fram Strait

AbstractThe Arctic Ocean is considered a source of micronutrients to the Nordic Seas and the North Atlantic Ocean through the gateway of Fram Strait (FS). However, there is a paucity of trace element data from across the Arctic Ocean gateways, and so it remains unclear how Arctic and North Atlantic exchange shapes micronutrient availability in the two ocean basins. In 2015 and 2016, GEOTRACES cruises sampled the Barents Sea Opening (GN04, 2015) and FS (GN05, 2016) for dissolved iron (dFe), manganese (dMn), cobalt (dCo), nickel (dNi), copper (dCu) and zinc (dZn). Together with the most recent synopsis of Arctic‐Atlantic volume fluxes, the observed trace element distributions suggest that FS is the most important gateway for Arctic‐Atlantic dissolved micronutrient exchange as a consequence of Intermediate and Deep Water transport. Combining fluxes from FS and the Barents Sea Opening with estimates for Davis Strait (GN02, 2015) suggests an annual net southward flux of 2.7 ± 2.4 Gg·a−1 dFe, 0.3 ± 0.3 Gg·a−1 dCo, 15.0 ± 12.5 Gg·a−1 dNi and 14.2 ± 6.9 Gg·a−1 dCu from the Arctic toward the North Atlantic Ocean. Arctic‐Atlantic exchange of dMn and dZn were more balanced, with a net southbound flux of 2.8 ± 4.7 Gg·a−1 dMn and a net northbound flux of 3.0 ± 7.3 Gg·a−1 dZn. Our results suggest that ongoing changes to shelf inputs and sea ice dynamics in the Arctic, especially in Siberian shelf regions, affect micronutrient availability in FS and the high latitude North Atlantic Ocean.

Synchronous Variation Patterns of Monthly Sea Ice Anomalies at the Arctic and Antarctic

Abstract Sea ice variability in the opposite polar regions is examined holistically by applying the self-organizing map (SOM) method to global monthly sea ice concentration data over two periods. The results show that the variability modes of sea ice decrease in the Arctic correspond to an overall sea ice increase in the Antarctic, and vice versa. In particular, the monthly sea ice anomaly patterns are dominated by in-phase variability across the Arctic that is stronger in the marginal seas particularly the Barents Sea than the central Arctic Ocean. The corresponding Antarctic sea ice variability is characterized by a zonal wavenumber-3 structure or a dipole pattern of out-of-phase variability between the Bellingshausen/Amundsen Seas and the rest of the Southern Ocean. The frequency of occurrence of these dominant patterns exhibits pronounced seasonal as well as decadal variability and the latter is closely related to the Pacific decadal oscillation and Atlantic multidecadal oscillation. Other less frequent patterns seem to be associated with the central Pacific El Niño and spatially heterogeneous interannual variability of sea surface temperature (SST) in the Indian and the Atlantic Oceans. The dominant modes explain 57% of the four-decade domain-averaged trends in the annual polar sea ice concentration, with more explained in the eastern than western Arctic Ocean and in the Weddell Sea and the Amundsen Sea in the Antarctic. The spatial patterns of the leading modes can be largely explained by the dynamic (sea ice drift) and thermodynamic (sea ice melt) effects of the anomalous atmospheric circulations associated with SST and sea level pressure anomalies. Significance Statement The purpose of this study is to extract the main modes of monthly global sea ice concentration variability in the past four decades, explain the mechanisms behind the occurrences of these modes, and examine the contributions of these modes to the trend in annual global sea ice concentration. Sea ice extent in the past four decades has shown a significant declining trend in the Arctic and a slight, but significant increasing trend in the Antarctic. By jointly analyzing the sea ice variability and trends in the two polar regions, the results here provide a reference for what might have contributed to the opposite sea ice trends in Arctic and Antarctic and highlight the important influence of large-scale sea surface temperature anomalies on the trends in the two polar regions.

Climate Change Fosters Competing Effects of Dynamics and Thermodynamics in Seasonal Predictability of Arctic Sea Ice

Abstract The fast decline of Arctic sea ice necessitates a stronger focus on understanding the Arctic sea ice predictability and developing advanced forecast methods for all seasons and for pan-Arctic and regional scales. In this study, the operational forecasting system combining an advanced eddy-permitting ocean–sea ice ensemble reanalysis ORAS5 and state-of-the-art seasonal model-based forecasting system SEAS5 is used to investigate effects of sea ice dynamics and thermodynamics on seasonal (growth-to-melt) Arctic sea ice predictability in 1993–2020. We demonstrate that thermodynamics (growth/melt) dominates the seasonal evolution of mean sea ice thickness at pan-Arctic and regional scales. The thermodynamics also dominates the seasonal predictability of sea ice thickness at pan-Arctic scale; however, at regional scales, the predictability is dominated by dynamics (advection), although the contribution from ice growth/melt remains perceptible. We show competing influences of sea ice dynamics and thermodynamics on the temporal change of ice thickness predictability from 1993–2006 to 2007–20. Over these decades, there was increasing predictability due to growth/melt, attributed to increased winter ocean heat flux in both Eurasian and Amerasian basins, and decreasing predictability due to advection. Our results demonstrate an increasing impact of advection on seasonal sea ice predictability as the region of interest becomes smaller, implying that correct modeling of sea ice drift is crucial for developing reliable regional sea ice predictions. This study delivers important information about sea ice predictability in the “new Arctic” conditions. It increases awareness regarding sea ice state and implementation of sea ice forecasts for various scientific and practical needs that depend on accurate seasonal sea ice forecasts.

The Impact of Horizontal Resolution on Projected Sea-Level Rise Along US East Continental Shelf With the Community Earth System Model.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report lists sea‐level rise as one of the major future climate challenges. Based on pre‐industrial and historical‐and‐future climate simulations with the Community Earth System Model, we analyze the projected sea‐level rise in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean with two sets of simulations at different horizontal resolutions. Compared with observations, the low resolution (LR) model simulated Gulf Stream does not separate from the shore but flows northward along the entire coast, causing large biases in regional dynamic sea level (DSL). The high resolution (HR) model improves the Gulf Stream representation and reduces biases in regional DSL. Under the RCP8.5 future climate scenario, LR projects a DSL trend of 1.5–2 mm/yr along the northeast continental shelf (north of 40° N), which is 2–3 times the trend projected by HR. Along the southeast shelf (south of 35° N), HR projects a DSL trend of 0.5–1 mm/yr while the DSL trend in LR is statistically insignificant. The different spatial patterns of DSL changes are attributable to the different Gulf Stream reductions in response to a weakening Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. Due to its poor representation of the Gulf Stream, LR projects larger (smaller) current decreases along the north (south) east continental slope compared to HR. This leads to larger (smaller) trends of DSL rise along the north (south) east shelf in LR than in HR. The results of this study suggest that the better resolved ocean circulations in HR can have significant impacts on regional DSL simulations and projections.

Simulated sea levels during 1948–2009 in a global ocean-sea ice model for OMIP

This paper assesses the ability of the State Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Science and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics of the Institute of Atmospheric Physics (LASG/IAP) Climate System Ocean Model version 3 (LICOM3) to simulate sea levels. For the time series of global changes, most of the global mean steric sea level (SSL) changes were dominated by thermosteric sea level (TSSL) changes in the upper 700 m, with a relatively small contribution from halosteric sea level (HSSL). LICOM3 can reproduce the observed dynamic sea level (DSL) in most regions to reflect the spatial patterns of regional changes. Deviations between LICOM3 and observations were mainly concentrated in the western boundary current and the tropical eastern Pacific. The departure in the western boundary current was primarily related to the model resolution. LICOM3 could not depict DSL changes in the high latitudes where the mesoscale eddies were active. The excessive negative trend in the tropical eastern Pacific was mainly caused by the trend error in the CORE-II forcing products. For the sea level variability, the analysis results of different DSL periods showed that the LICOM3 model could simulate interannual and decadal variability and the satellite altimeter period trend. At least 50 years of data were used to separate the decadal variability and long-term trend. The decadal variability had no significant effect on the 50-year long-term trend change in the DSL in the tropical western Pacific.Analysis of sea level component contributions showed that the changes in global time series, spatial patterns, and sea level variability mainly resulted from the change in TSSL. The TSSL changes in the upper 700 m could roughly reflect the TSSL changes for the whole depth, except for the North Atlantic and the Southern Ocean. In the Atlantic, the contribution of HSSL was comparable to and compensated by TSSL. When compared with reanalysis, the simulation generated differences in the Southern Ocean and North Atlantic. The linear trend of TSSL simulated by LICOM3 was much stronger than that simulated by reanalysis. The deviation of the Southern Ocean may be related to the CORE-II forcing product. The lack of observations in the Southern Ocean led to the uncertainty of the CORE-II forcing product.

Machine-Learning Based Analysis of Liquid Water Path Adjustments to Aerosol Perturbations in Marine Boundary Layer Clouds Using Satellite Observations

Changes in marine boundary layer cloud (MBLC) radiative properties in response to aerosol perturbations are largely responsible for uncertainties in future climate predictions. In particular, the relationship between the cloud droplet number concentration (Nd, a proxy for aerosol) and the cloud liquid water path (LWP) remains challenging to quantify from observations. In this study, satellite observations from multiple polar-orbiting platforms for 2006–2011 are used in combination with atmospheric reanalysis data in a regional machine learning model to predict changes in LWP in MBLCs in the Southeast Atlantic. The impact of predictor variables on the model output is analysed using Shapley values as a technique of explainable machine learning. Within the machine learning model, precipitation fraction, cloud top height, and Nd are identified as important cloud state predictors for LWP, with dynamical proxies and sea surface temperature (SST) being the most important environmental predictors. A positive nonlinear relationship between LWP and Nd is found, with a weaker sensitivity at high cloud droplet concentrations. This relationship is found to be dependent on other predictors in the model: Nd–LWP sensitivity is higher in precipitating clouds and decreases with increasing SSTs.

A benchmark model for fixed-target Arctic sea ice forecasting

We propose a reduced-form benchmark predictive model (BPM) for fixed-target forecasting of Arctic sea ice extent, and we provide a case study of its real-time performance for target date September 2020. We visually detail the evolution of the statistically-optimal point, interval, and density forecasts as time passes, new information arrives, and the end of September approaches. Comparison to the BPM may prove useful for evaluating and selecting among various more sophisticated dynamical sea ice models, which are widely used to quantify the likely future evolution of Arctic conditions and their two-way interaction with economic activity.

The second phase of the Cycle of Sea-Ice Dynamics in the Earth System (C-SIDE) working group

The second phase of the Cycle of Sea-Ice Dynamics in the Earth System (C-SIDE) working group

Advances and Accuracy Assessment of Ocean Tide Models in the Antarctic Ocean

Ocean tides in polar regions play an important role in the study of sea ice dynamics and floating ice shelves. The accuracy of existing ocean tide models in shallow waters and polar seas is much lower than that in open deep oceans. This study summarized the advances of state-of-the-art global tide models in the Antarctic Ocean, the construction of tide models around Circum-Antarctica, and five typical regions: Antarctic Peninsula, Ross Sea, Filchner–Ronne Ice Shelf (FRIS), Weddell Sea, and Amery Ice Shelf (AIS). The accuracy of FES 2014, TPXO9, EOT20, CATS 2008, and regional tide models in the Antarctic Ocean and typical areas was evaluated using tidal records and satellite altimetry data. EOT20 and ANTPEN04.01 models have higher accuracy in the Antarctic Peninsula, and the root sum square (RSS) values are 8.29 and 7.46 cm, respectively. TPXO9 has the highest accuracy in the Weddell Sea and FRIS and AIS and RSS values are 18.33 and 12.77 cm, respectively. TPXO9 and RIS_Optimal models have higher accuracy in the Ross Sea and Ross Ice Shelf (RIS), RSS values are 5.62 and 6.21 cm, respectively. The accuracy of FES 2014, TPXO9, CATS 2008, and the regional tide model in the Drake Passage, Kerguelen Islands, and Adelie–Mertz was evaluated using satellite altimetry data. The RSS values are less than 4 cm. By using the altimetry data at Sentinel-3A single-satellite crossovers in terms of the STD of the SLA, the comparison of the STDs show that FES2014 is the best.

An extreme event of enhanced Arctic Ocean export west of Greenland caused by the pronounced dynamic sea level drop in the North Atlantic subpolar gyre in the mid-to-late 2010s

The North Atlantic subpolar gyre influences the climate in many different ways. Here, we identified that it is also responsible for a recent extreme event of Arctic Ocean freshwater export west of Greenland. A shift in climate regimes occurred in the mid-2000s, with a significant negative trend in the dynamic sea level in the subpolar gyre since then. We found that the dynamic sea level drop induced a strong increase in freshwater export west of Greenland, in particular from 2015 to 2017, when the sea level was close to the minimum. Sea ice melting and atmospheric variability in the Arctic had only a small contribution to this event. As the exported water from the Arctic Ocean has low salinity and constituents of chemical tracers very different from those in the North Atlantic, such events might have impacts on the North Atlantic ecosystem and the climate as well. Our study suggests that such events might be predictable if the subpolar gyre sea level has certain predictability.

Impacts of the ocean-atmosphere coupling into the very short range prediction system, during the impact of Hurricane Matthew on Cuba

The main goal of this investigation is analyzing the impact of insert the ocean-atmosphere coupling into the very short range prediction system of Cuba. The ocean-atmosphere coupled components of the Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere-Wave-Sediment Transport Modeling System are used for this purpose and the hurricane Matthew is selected as study case. Two experiments are performed: first, using a dynamic sea surface temperature, updated daily in the atmospheric model WRF; and second using a dynamic coupling between the atmospheric and an oceanic models. For the simulated track, the best results are obtained with the coupled system. The impact of coupling on the maximum wind velocities and minimum central pressure is studied. In the coupled system the sea surface temperature has more influence in the surface latent heat fluxes. Also, with this methodology the dry footprint and the behavior of the precipitation field in the presence of a hurricane are studied. This analysis shows that the hurricane acts like an open and self-sustained system in the numerical experiments. The highest differences in the precipitation simulations are in the significant convective area inside the hurricane.

The Effect of Wind Stress on Seasonal Sea-Level Change on the Northwestern European Shelf

Abstract Projections of relative sea level change (RSLC) are commonly reported at an annual mean basis. The seasonality of RSLC is often not considered, even though it may modulate the impacts of annual mean RSLC. Here, we study seasonal differences in twenty-first-century ocean dynamic sea level change (DSLC; 2081–2100 minus 1995–2014) on the Northwestern European Shelf (NWES) and their drivers, using an ensemble of 33 CMIP6 models complemented with experiments performed with a regional ocean model. For the high-end emissions scenario SSP5–8.5, we find substantial seasonal differences in ensemble mean DSLC, especially in the southeastern North Sea. For example, at Esbjerg (Denmark), winter mean DSLC is on average 8.4 cm higher than summer mean DSLC. Along all coasts on the NWES, DSLC is higher in winter and spring than in summer and autumn. For the low-end emissions scenario SSP1–2.6, these seasonal differences are smaller. Our experiments indicate that the changes in winter and summer sea level anomalies are mainly driven by regional changes in wind stress anomalies, which are generally southwesterly and east-northeasterly over the NWES, respectively. In spring and autumn, regional wind stress changes play a smaller role. We also show that CMIP6 models not resolving currents through the English Channel cannot accurately simulate the effect of seasonal wind stress changes on the NWES. Our results imply that using projections of annual mean RSLC may underestimate the projected changes in extreme coastal sea levels in spring and winter. Additionally, changes in the seasonal sea level cycle may affect groundwater dynamics and the inundation characteristics of intertidal ecosystems.

Rotational drift in Antarctic sea ice: pronounced cyclonic features and differences between data products

Abstract. Sea ice extent variability, a measure based on satellite-derived sea ice concentration measurements, has traditionally been used as an indicator to evaluate the impact of climate change on polar regions. However, concentration-based measurements of ice variability do not allow the discrimination of the relative contributions made by thermodynamic and dynamic processes, prompting the need to use sea ice drift products and develop methods to quantify changes in sea ice dynamics that would indicate trends in the ice characteristics. Here, we present a new method to automate the detection of rotational drift features in Antarctic sea ice from space at spatial and temporal scales comparable to that of polar weather. This analysis focusses on drift features in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean in the period 2013–2020 using currently available satellite ice motion products from EUMETSAT OSI SAF. We observe a large discrepancy between cyclonic and anticyclonic drift features, with cyclonic features typically exhibiting larger drift intensity and spatial variability according to all products. The mean intensity of the 95th percentile of cyclonic features is 1.5–2.0 times larger for cyclonic features than anticyclonic features. The spatial variability of cyclonic features increased with intensity, indicating that the most intense cyclonic features are also the least homogenous. There is good agreement between products in detecting anticyclonic features; however, larger disagreement is evident for cyclonic features, with the merged product showing the most intense 95th percentile threshold and largest spatial variability, likely due to the more extended coverage of valid vorticity points. A time series analysis of the 95th percentile shows an abrupt intensification of cyclonic features from 2014–2017, which coincides with the record decline in Antarctic sea ice extent since winter of 2015. Our results indicate the need for systematic assessments of sea ice drift products against dedicated observational experiments in the weather-dominated Atlantic sector. Such information will allow us to confirm whether the detected increase in cyclonic vorticity is linked to rapidly changing atmospheric changes driven by sea ice dynamics and establish the measure of rotational sea ice drift as a potential indicator of weather-driven variability in Antarctic sea ice.

Application of Radar Image Fusion Method to Near-Field Sea Ice Warning for Autonomous Ships in the Polar Region

Mastering the real-time dynamics of near-field sea ice is the primary condition to guaranteeing the navigation safety of autonomous ships in the polar region. In this study, a radar image fusion process combining marine radar and ice radar is proposed, which can effectively solve the problems of redundant information and spatial registration during image fusion. Then, using the fused radar images, this study proposes a set of near-field sea ice risk assessment and warning processes applicable to both low- and high-sea-ice-concentration situations. The sea ice risk indexes in these two situations are constructed by using four variables: sea ice area, sea ice grayscale, distance between sea ice and the own-ship, and relative bearing of sea ice and the own-ship. Finally, visualization processing is carried out according to the size of the risk index values of each piece of sea ice to achieve a better near-field sea ice risk assessment and warning effect. According to the example demonstration results, through the radar image fusion process and the set of near-field sea ice risk assessment and warning processes proposed in this study, the sea ice risk distribution in the near-field area of the ship can be well obtained, which provides effective support for the assisted decision-making of autonomous navigation in the polar region.

Dynamic Analysis of Monopile-Type Offshore Wind Turbine Under Sea Ice Coupling With Fluid-Structure Interaction

The interaction between vertical offshore wind turbine (OWT) and sea ice with fluid is a complex process including local and global crushing of ice fragments and vibration of OWT. It is crucial to study the ice resistance of OWT structures considering the fluid-structure interaction (FSI). This article investigates a complete process of dynamic sea ice-monopile OWT interaction considering soil-structure interaction (SSI) and FSI effects. A fully coupled dynamic collision model of sea ice and OWT incorporating with the explicit non-linear collision tool ANSYS/LS-DYNA is proposed. The simulated ice loads in this study is verified by different simulation methods and international static ice force standards closely related to ice dynamic characteristic parameters. Then, the dynamic response and damage of the OWT structure during ice-structure interaction are studied using the fully interaction model with FSI coupling. The simulated ice force can produce a significant vibration response in the structure coupling with FSI due to occurrence of ice-induced resonance in the ice velocity range of 2.5–3.5 cm/s. Finally, the effect of fluid on the sea ice-OWT interaction in the initial velocity collision of sea ice is analyzed. FSI coupling can cause a certain level of collision hysteresis, accelerate the failure of sea ice breaking and reasonably reduce the energy of the structure.

Dropped in the Ocean – 87Sr/86Sr as a provenance tool for ice-rafted Arctic driftwood

Provenance and age determinations of driftwood provide insights into Holocene Arctic Ocean surface currents and sea ice dynamics, with detailed reconstructions requiring a provenance methodology with fine temporal and spatial resolution. Determination of wood geographical provenance by genus data is limited by its spatially coarse resolution, while provenance by dendrochronological crossdating is reliant on available boreal forest reference chronologies which are abundant for recent centuries but more sparse for older periods of the Holocene. We present the development of novel techniques to refine the provenance of driftwood through radiogenic isotopic analysis ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr). The use of geochemical techniques addresses limitations of current methods and opens the possibility of defining the role of atmospheric and oceanic circulation in sea ice and climatic changes throughout the Holocene at a finer spatial resolution than currently possible. This study investigates and develops geochemical 87 Sr/ 86 Sr fingerprinting of Arctic driftwood. To this end, it analyses driftwood samples from northern Svalbard and compares this technique with provenance regions obtained through dendrochronology, and with modelled and measured global 87 Sr/ 86 Sr reference databases. We conclude that the utilisation of 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios to establish provenance for Arctic driftwood has some potential, but identify important limitations in the method, concerning both the signal in samples and reference values required for provenance. Increased sample populations and source samples for calibration, as well as methodological improvements that address the likely overprinting linked to driftwood transport, are recommended to build upon this work. We conclude that at present dendro-provenancing continues to be the most powerful method to study sea ice dynamics from Arctic driftwood and suggest that given the high spatial granularity of 87 Sr/ 86 Sr across the boreal forest, this technique might only be usable in combination with previously developed provenance tools and reconstructions. This study provides a first step in the use of radiogenic isotopic analysis in a multi-proxy reconstruction of Holocene driftwood incursion onto high Arctic shorelines. • Driftwood is a novel tool for insights into Holocene Arctic sea ice dynamics. • Fine spatial and temporal resolution of driftwood provenance is needed. • Geochemical 87 Sr/ 86 Sr fingerprinting of Arctic driftwood is explored in this study. • 87 Sr/ 86 Sr shows some promise, with limitations in reference data and sample signals. • We conclude that a combined approach to driftwood provenance shows the most promise.