Sea Ice Growth Research Articles

Assessment of a full-field initialized decadal climate prediction system with the CMIP6 version of EC-Earth

Abstract. In this paper, we present and evaluate the skill of an EC-Earth3.3 decadal prediction system contributing to the Decadal Climate Prediction Project – Component A (DCPP-A). This prediction system is capable of skilfully simulating past global mean surface temperature variations at interannual and decadal forecast times as well as the local surface temperature in regions such as the tropical Atlantic, the Indian Ocean and most of the continental areas, although most of the skill comes from the representation of the external radiative forcings. A benefit of initialization in the predictive skill is evident in some areas of the tropical Pacific and North Atlantic oceans in the first forecast years, an added value that is mostly confined to the south-east tropical Pacific and the eastern subpolar North Atlantic at the longest forecast times (6–10 years). The central subpolar North Atlantic shows poor predictive skill and a detrimental effect of initialization that leads to a quick collapse in Labrador Sea convection, followed by a weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and excessive local sea ice growth. The shutdown in Labrador Sea convection responds to a gradual increase in the local density stratification in the first years of the forecast, ultimately related to the different paces at which surface and subsurface temperature and salinity drift towards their preferred mean state. This transition happens rapidly at the surface and more slowly in the subsurface, where, by the 10th forecast year, the model is still far from the typical mean states in the corresponding ensemble of historical simulations with EC-Earth3. Thus, our study highlights the Labrador Sea as a region that can be sensitive to full-field initialization and hamper the final prediction skill, a problem that can be alleviated by improving the regional model biases through model development and by identifying more optimal initialization strategies.

A Multi-Sensor and Modeling Approach for Mapping Light Under Sea Ice During the Ice-Growth Season

Arctic sea ice is shifting from a year-round to a seasonal sea ice cover. This substantial transformation, via a reduction in Arctic sea ice extent and a thinning of its thickness, influences the amount of light entering the upper ocean. This in turn impacts under-ice algal growth and associated ecosystem dynamics. Field campaigns have provided valuable insights as to how snow and ice properties impact light penetration at fixed locations in the Arctic, but to understand the spatial variability in the under-ice light field there is a need to scale up to the pan-Arctic level. Combining information from satellites with state-of-the-art parameterizations is one means to achieve this. This study combines satellite and modeled data products to map under-ice light on a monthly time-scale from 2011 through 2018. Key limitations pertain to the availability of satellite-derived sea ice thickness, which for radar altimetry, is only available during the sea ice growth season. We clearly show that year-to-year variability in snow depth, along with the fraction of thin ice, plays a key role in how much light enters the Arctic Ocean. This is particularly significant in April, which in some regions, coincides with the beginning of the under-ice algal bloom, whereas we find that ice thickness is the main driver of under-ice light availability at the end of the melt season in October. The extension to the melt season due to a warmer Arctic means that snow accumulation has reduced, which is leading to positive trends in light transmission through snow. This, combined with a thinner ice cover, should lead to increased under-ice PAR also in the summer months.

Mid-Holocene Antarctic sea-ice increase driven by marine ice sheet retreat

Abstract. Over recent decades Antarctic sea-ice extent has increased, alongside widespread ice shelf thinning and freshening of waters along the Antarctic margin. In contrast, Earth system models generally simulate a decrease in sea ice. Circulation of water masses beneath large-cavity ice shelves is not included in current Earth System models and may be a driver of this phenomena. We examine a Holocene sediment core off East Antarctica that records the Neoglacial transition, the last major baseline shift of Antarctic sea ice, and part of a late-Holocene global cooling trend. We provide a multi-proxy record of Holocene glacial meltwater input, sediment transport, and sea-ice variability. Our record, supported by high-resolution ocean modelling, shows that a rapid Antarctic sea-ice increase during the mid-Holocene (∼ 4.5 ka) occurred against a backdrop of increasing glacial meltwater input and gradual climate warming. We suggest that mid-Holocene ice shelf cavity expansion led to cooling of surface waters and sea-ice growth that slowed basal ice shelf melting. Incorporating this feedback mechanism into global climate models will be important for future projections of Antarctic changes.

Causes and impacts of sea ice variability in the sea of Okhotsk using CESM-LE

This study provides a holistic view of the coupled ocean-atmosphere-sea ice processes responsible for generating interannual variability in sea ice coverage in the Sea of Okhotsk as well as the atmospheric response to this variability. Simulations from the Community Earth System Model Large Ensemble project are analyzed, providing the ability to elucidate the time evolution of these relationships through weekly lead-lag composite analysis, while maintaining a large number of samples to provide robust conclusions. We find that thermodynamic processes involving anomalous ocean-atmosphere heat fluxes affect the timing of initial sea ice growth in the Sea of Okhotsk as early as November. Low-level wind anomalies in the winter affect the extent to which sea ice fully develops, both through advection of the sea ice itself and through changes in the transport of air masses over the Sea of Okhotsk. In this study, the results synthesize and support a diverse set of mechanisms identified in previous observational studies to be responsible for anomalous sea ice conditions, but in a coupled global climate model framework with a large sample size. We also find evidence that anomalous ocean-atmosphere heat fluxes in the winter can trigger an atmospheric response comprised of a local negative sea-level pressure anomaly and Rossby wave that extends over North America. The sign of the turbulent heat fluxes relative to the sea ice anomalies confirm that this is indeed a lagged response of the atmosphere forced by sea ice anomalies. This validates the Rossby wave train response identified in more idealized model simulations with prescribed sea ice and sea surface temperature by demonstrating that this process also occurs in a more realistic coupled model framework.

Investigation of the Arctic Sea ice volume from 2002 to 2018 using multi‐source data

AbstractThe Arctic sea ice volume (SIV) was investigated by applying sea ice concentration (SIC) and multi‐source sea ice thickness (SIT) products from the Pan‐Arctic Ice‐Ocean Modelling and Assimilation System (PIOMAS), Envisat and CryoSat‐2 (CS‐2) products. The SIV was estimated during the sea ice growth season (October–April) from October 2002 to December 2018. During the Envisat period (October 2002–April 2010), negative SIV trends were estimated by a hybrid Envisat and PIOMAS SIT dataset (defined as Envi‐PIO); the declining trends for both the maximum/minimum SIV were 360 and 177 km3⋅year−1, respectively; similar SIV trends were obtained by applying only the PIOMAS SIT data. During the CS‐2 period (October 2010–December 2018), no clear trends in the SIV were estimated by either CS‐2 or PIOMAS, except for clear increases in the SIV in northern Greenland and the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA) using the CS‐2 SIT data. The age of sea ice plays an important role in SIV variability. For example, the SIV trend was found to be similar to the multi‐year ice trend between 2003 and 2007. The correlation coefficients between the monthly mean SIV and surface air temperature (SAT) and sea surface temperature (SST) were −0.60 and −0.82, respectively. The decreasing trend in the SIV during the Envisat period was influenced by the increase in the annual maximum SST and minimum SAT. The significant increase in the SIV in northern Greenland and the CAA during the CS‐2 period was related to ice deformation.

Estimating Arctic Sea Ice Thickness with CryoSat-2 Altimetry Data Using the Least Squares Adjustment Method.

Satellite altimeters can be used to derive long-term and large-scale sea ice thickness changes. Sea ice thickness retrieval is based on measurements of freeboard, and the conversion of freeboard to thickness requires knowledge of the snow depth and snow, sea ice, and sea water densities. However, these parameters are difficult to be observed concurrently with altimeter measurements. The uncertainties in these parameters inevitably cause uncertainties in sea ice thickness estimations. This paper introduces a new method based on least squares adjustment (LSA) to estimate Arctic sea ice thickness with CryoSat-2 measurements. A model between the sea ice freeboard and thickness is established within a 5 km × 5 km grid, and the model coefficients and sea ice thickness are calculated using the LSA method. Based on the newly developed method, we are able to derive estimates of the Arctic sea ice thickness for 2010 through 2019 using CryoSat-2 altimetry data. Spatial and temporal variations of the Arctic sea ice thickness are analyzed, and comparisons between sea ice thickness estimates using the LSA method and three CryoSat-2 sea ice thickness products (Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI), Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling (CPOM), and NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre (GSFC)) are performed for the 2018–2019 Arctic sea ice growth season. The overall differences of sea ice thickness estimated in this study between AWI, CPOM, and GSFC are 0.025 ± 0.640 m, 0.143 ± 0.640 m, and −0.274 ± 0.628 m, respectively. Large differences between the LSA and three products tend to appear in areas covered with thin ice due to the limited accuracy of CryoSat-2 over thin ice. Spatiotemporally coincident Operation IceBridge (OIB) thickness values are also used for validation. Good agreement with a difference of 0.065 ± 0.187 m is found between our estimates and the OIB results.

Disentangling the Coupled Atmosphere‐Ocean‐Ice Interactions Driving Arctic Sea Ice Response to CO2 Increases

AbstractA novel decomposition of the ocean heat energy that contributes to sea ice melt and growth (ocean‐ice and frazil heat) into components that are driven by surface heat flux and ocean circulation changes is used to isolate the evolving roles of the atmosphere and ocean in the Arctic sea ice loss from CO2 increases. A sea ice volume budget analysis is used to separate the impacts of the anomalous frazil/ocean‐ice heat from those of atmosphere‐ice heat on the evolving Arctic sea ice volume. The role of atmosphere‐ocean coupling in augmenting or curtailing the atmosphere‐ and ocean‐driven sea ice losses is further isolated by comparing the ice volume budget and the anomalous frazil/ocean‐ice heat components in partially and fully coupled experiments. Atmosphere‐ice heat fluxes drive most of Arctic sea ice loss in the first decade following CO2 increase by increasing the sea ice top face melt in summer, while ocean circulation changes drive the loss over the longer term through the anomalous increase of heat transport into the Arctic, which drive decreases in frazil ice growth and sea ice extent in winter. Atmosphere‐ocean coupling in the subpolar Atlantic further supports a negative feedback that attenuates the ocean‐driven sea ice losses over time; by accelerating the weakening of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation, it causes a large cooling of the subpolar Atlantic and attenuation of the anomalous heat transport into the Arctic in winter, allowing for a seasonal Arctic sea ice in the fully coupled experiment, while the Arctic completely becomes ice free in the partially coupled experiment.

Atmospheric Warming Drives Growth in Arctic Sea Ice: A Key Role for Snow.

A number of feedbacks regulate the response of Arctic sea ice to local atmospheric warming. Using a realistic coupled ocean‐sea ice model and its adjoint, we isolate a mechanism by which significant ice growth at the end of the melt season may occur as a lagged response to Arctic atmospheric warming. A series of perturbation simulations informed by adjoint model‐derived sensitivity patterns reveal the enhanced ice growth to be accompanied by a reduction of snow thickness on the ice pack. Detailed analysis of ocean‐ice‐snow heat budgets confirms the essential role of the reduced snow thickness for persistence and delayed overshoot of ice growth. The underlying mechanism is a snow‐melt‐conductivity feedback, wherein atmosphere‐driven snow melt leads to a larger conductive ocean heat loss through the overlying ice layer. Our results highlight the need for accurate observations of snow thickness to constrain climate models and to initialize sea ice forecasts.

Platelet ice, the Southern Ocean's hidden ice: a review

AbstractBasal melt of ice shelves is not only an important part of Antarctica's ice sheet mass budget, but it is also the origin of platelet ice, one of the most distinctive types of sea ice. In many coastal Antarctic regions, ice crystals form and grow in supercooled plumes of Ice Shelf Water. They usually rise towards the surface, becoming trapped under an ice shelf as marine ice or forming a semi-consolidated layer, known as the sub-ice platelet layer, below an overlying sea ice cover. In the latter, sea ice growth consolidates loose crystals to form incorporated platelet ice. These phenomena have numerous and profound impacts on the physical properties, biological processes and biogeochemical cycles associated with Antarctic fast ice: platelet ice contributes to sea ice mass balance and may indicate the extent of ice-shelf basal melting. It can also host a highly productive and uniquely adapted ecosystem. This paper clarifies the terminology and reviews platelet ice formation, observational methods as well as the geographical and seasonal occurrence of this ice type. The physical properties and ecological implications are presented in a way understandable for physicists and biologists alike, thereby providing the background for much needed interdisciplinary research on this topic.

Alleviation of an Arctic Sea Ice Bias in a Coupled Model Through Modifications in the Subgrid-Scale Orographic Parameterization.

In climate models, the subgrid‐scale orography (SSO) parameterization imposes a blocked flow drag at low levels that is opposed to the local flow. In IPSL‐CM6A‐LR, an SSO lift force is also applied perpendicular to the local flow to account for the effect of locally blocked air in narrow valleys. Using IPSL‐CM6A‐LR sensitivity experiments, it is found that the tuning of both effects strongly impacts the atmospheric circulation. Increasing the blocking and reducing the lift lead to an equatorward shift of the Northern Hemisphere subtropical jet and a reduction of the midlatitude eddy‐driven jet speed. It also improves the simulated synoptic variability, with a reduced storm‐track intensity and increased blocking frequency over Greenland and Scandinavia. Additionally, it cools the polar lower troposphere in boreal winter. Transformed Eulerian Mean diagnostics also show that the low‐level eddy‐driven subsidence over the polar region is reduced consistent with the simulated cooling. The changes are amplified in coupled experiments when compared to atmosphere‐only experiments, as the low‐troposphere polar cooling is further amplified by the temperature and albedo feedbacks resulting from the Arctic sea ice growth. In IPSL‐CM6A‐LR, this corrects the warm winter bias and the lack of sea ice that were present over the Arctic before adjusting the SSO parameters. Our results, therefore, suggest that the adjustment of SSO parameterization alleviates the Arctic sea ice bias in this case. However, the atmospheric changes induced by the parametrized SSO also impact the ocean, with an equatorward shift of the Northern Hemisphere oceanic gyres and a weaker Atlantic meridional overturning circulation.

Platelet Ice Under Arctic Pack Ice in Winter

AbstractThe formation of platelet ice is well known to occur under Antarctic sea ice, where subice platelet layers form from supercooled ice shelf water. In the Arctic, however, platelet ice formation has not been extensively observed, and its formation and morphology currently remain enigmatic. Here, we present the first comprehensive, long‐term in situ observations of a decimeter thick subice platelet layer under free‐drifting pack ice of the Central Arctic in winter. Observations carried out with a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) during the midwinter leg of the MOSAiC drift expedition provide clear evidence of the growth of platelet ice layers from supercooled water present in the ocean mixed layer. This platelet formation takes place under all ice types present during the surveys. Oceanographic data from autonomous observing platforms lead us to the conclusion that platelet ice formation is a widespread but yet overlooked feature of Arctic winter sea ice growth.

Solidification effects of snowfall on sea-ice freeze-up: results from an onsite experimental study

AbstractAlthough the effects of snow during sea-ice growth have been investigated for sea ice which is thick enough to accommodate dry snow, those for thin sea ice have not been paid much attention due to the difficulty in observing them. Observations are complicated by the presence of slush and its subsequent freeze-up, and the surface heat budget might be sensitive to the additional ice thickness. An onsite short-term land fast sea-ice freeze-up experiment in the Saroma-ko Lagoon, Hokkaido, Japan was carried out to examine the effects of snowfall on the structure and surface heat budget of thin sea ice, based on observational results and a 1-D thermodynamic model. We found that snowfall contributes to the solidification of the surface slush layer, contributing ice thickness that is comparable to the snowfall amount and affecting the crystal texture significantly. On the other hand, the basal ice growth rate and turbulent heat flux were not significantly affected, being <3.1 × 10−8m s−1and 3 W m−2, respectively. This finding may validate the omission in past studies of snow effect in estimating ice production rates in polynyas and has implications about the reconstruction of growth history from sample analysis.

An oblate spheroidal model for multi-frequency acoustic back-scattering of frazil ice

Frazil ice plays an important role in the growth of sea ice in the polar oceans. However, measurement of the size distribution of frazil crystals, and their number density, is still a challenging task. Most quantitative observations use acoustic back-scattering complemented with the equivalent sphere assumption. We provide a more realistic theoretical model of small frazil ice crystals by considering the scattering from an oblate spheroid, using properties appropriate for ice in the ocean. We show an alternative method to analyse measurement data, evaluating the numerical implementation against a dataset collected in October 2012 in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. Our approach is consistent with previous laboratory studies and studies of frazil ice in rivers.

A Mechanism for the Arctic Sea Ice Spring Predictability Barrier

AbstractThe decline of Arctic sea ice extent has created a pressing need for accurate seasonal predictions of regional summer sea ice. Recent work has shown evidence for an Arctic sea ice spring predictability barrier, which may impose a sharp limit on regional forecasts initialized prior to spring. However, the physical mechanism for this barrier has remained elusive. In this work, we perform a daily sea ice mass (SIM) budget analysis in large ensemble experiments from two global climate models to investigate the mechanisms that underpin the spring predictability barrier. We find that predictability is limited in winter months by synoptically driven SIM export and negative feedbacks from sea ice growth. The spring barrier results from a sharp increase in predictability at melt onset, when ice‐albedo feedbacks act to enhance and persist the preexisting export‐generated mass anomaly. These results imply that ice thickness observations collected after melt onset are particularly critical for summer Arctic sea ice predictions.

Physical and biological properties of early winter Antarctic sea ice in the Ross Sea

AbstractThis work presents the results of physical and biological investigations at 27 biogeochemical stations of early winter sea ice in the Ross Sea during the 2017 PIPERS cruise. Only two similar cruises occurred in the past, in 1995 and 1998. The year 2017 was a specific year, in that ice growth in the Central Ross Sea was considerably delayed, compared to previous years. These conditions resulted in lower ice thicknesses and Chl-aburdens, as compared to those observed during the previous cruises. It also resulted in a different structure of the sympagic algal community, unusually dominated byPhaeocystisrather than diatoms. Compared to autumn-winter sea ice in the Weddell Sea (AWECS cruise), the 2017 Ross Sea pack ice displayed similar thickness distribution, but much lower snow cover and therefore nearly no flooding conditions. It is shown that contrasted dynamics of autumnal-winter sea-ice growth between the Weddell Sea and the Ross Sea impacted the development of the sympagic community. Mean/median ice Chl-aconcentrations were 3–5 times lower at PIPERS, and the community status there appeared to be more mature (decaying?), based on Phaeopigments/Chl-aratios. These contrasts are discussed in the light of temporal and spatial differences between the two cruises.

Arctic Sea Ice Growth in Response to Synoptic- and Large-Scale Atmospheric Forcing from CMIP5 Models

AbstractWe explore the response of wintertime Arctic sea ice growth to strong cyclones and to large-scale circulation patterns on the daily scale using Earth system model output in phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5). A combined metrics ranking method selects three CMIP5 models that are successful in reproducing the wintertime Arctic dipole (AD) pattern. A cyclone identification method is applied to select strong cyclones in two subregions in the North Atlantic to examine their different impacts on sea ice growth. The total change of sea ice growth rate (SGR) is split into those respectively driven by the dynamic and thermodynamic atmospheric forcing. Three models reproduce the downward longwave radiation anomalies that generally match thermodynamic SGR anomalies in response to both strong cyclones and large-scale circulation patterns. For large-scale circulation patterns, the negative AD outweighs the positive Arctic Oscillation in thermodynamically inhibiting SGR in both impact area and magnitude. Despite the disagreement on the spatial distribution, the three CMIP5 models agree on the weaker response of dynamic SGR than thermodynamic SGR. As the Arctic warms, the thinner sea ice results in more ice production and smaller spatial heterogeneity of thickness, dampening the SGR response to the dynamic forcing. The higher temperature increases the specific heat of sea ice, thus dampening the SGR response to the thermodynamic forcing. In this way, the atmospheric forcing is projected to contribute less to change daily SGR in the future climate.

Effect of frequent winter warming events (storms) and snow on sea-ice growth – a case from the Atlantic sector of the Arctic Ocean during the N-ICE2015 campaign

AbstractWe examine the relative effect of warming events (storms) and snow cover on thermodynamic growth of Arctic sea ice in winter. We use a 1-D snow and ice thermodynamic model to perform sensitivity experiments. Observations from the winter period of the Norwegian young sea ICE (N-ICE2015) campaign north of Svalbard are used to initiate and force the model. The N-ICE2015 winter was characterized by frequent storm events that brought pulses of heat and moisture, and a thick snow cover atop the sea ice (0.3–0.5 m). By the end of the winter, sea-ice bottom growth was negligible. We show that the thermodynamic effect of storms to the winter sea-ice growth is controlled by the amount of snow on sea ice. For 1.3 m initial ice thickness, the decrease in ice growth caused by the warming events ranged from −1.4% (for 0.5 m of snow) to −7.5% (for snow-free conditions). The decrease in sea-ice growth caused by the thick snow (0.5 m) was more important, ranging from −17% (with storms) to −23% (without storms). The results showcase the critical role of snow on winter Arctic sea-ice growth.

Role of River Runoff and Sea Ice Brine Rejection in Controlling Stratification Throughout Winter in Southeast Hudson Bay

The Hudson Bay system is undergoing climate-driven changes in sea ice and freshwater inflow and has seen an increase in winter river inflow since the 1960s due in part to flow regulation for hydropower production. Southeast Hudson Bay and adjacent James Bay are at the forefront of these changes, with more than 1-month shortening of the season of sea ice cover as defined using satellite data, increases in winter inflow from the regulated La Grande River complex, and changes in coastal ice and polynya behavior described by Belcher Islands’ Inuit. In summer, there is a fresh coastal domain in southeast Hudson Bay fueled by river runoff and sea ice melt. To investigate winter oceanographic conditions and potential interactions between runoff and ice melt or brine in southeast Hudson Bay, we initiated the first winter study of the shallow waters surrounding the Belchers, collecting conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) profiles and conductivity-temperature (CT) time series using under-ice moorings, and collecting water samples and ice cores during four campaigns between January 2014 and March 2015. Tandem measurements of salinity and δ18O were made for the water and ice samples to discriminate between freshwater sources (river runoff and sea ice melt). We find that southeast Hudson Bay, and particularly the nearshore domain southeast of the Belchers, is distinguished in winter by the presence of river water and strong surface stratification, which runs counter to expectations for a system in which local freshwater remains frozen on land until spring freshet (May–June) and sea ice growth is adding brine to surface waters. The amount of river water around the Belcher Islands increased significantly from fall through to late winter according to δ18O records of ice. The accumulation of river water in surface waters during the winter is directly associated with an accumulation of brine, which considerably exceeds the capacity of local ice formation to produce brine. We therefore infer that brine is advected into the study area together with river water, and that interplay between these properties establishes and maintains the level of surface stratification throughout winter. With reference to a NEMO ocean model simulation of winter circulation in the study area, we propose a conceptual model in which winter river inflow into James Bay drives the northward transport of both river water and brine captured near the surface, with reductions in brine-driven deep convection in the area’s flaw leads. While past changes in winter oceanographic conditions and sea ice cannot be reconstructed from the few available scientific data, the presence of significant runoff in winter in southeast Hudson Bay implies heightened sensitivity to delayed freeze-up under a warmer climate, which will have the effect of reducing brine early in the winter, also promoting increased stratification and river plume transport.

Variability in the Distribution of Fast Ice and the Sub‐ice Platelet Layer Near McMurdo Ice Shelf

AbstractVariability in the volume of supercooled Ice Shelf Water outflow in McMurdo Sound is reflected in the thickness and distribution of fast ice and the sub‐ice platelet layer beneath. Ground‐based electromagnetic induction and drill hole surveys of the distribution and thickness of ice shelf‐influenced fast ice and the sub‐ice platelet layer in McMurdo Sound were carried out in late spring of 2011, 2013, 2016, and 2017. In 2011 and 2017, thicker sub‐ice platelet layers of up to 7.5 and 6 m were observed, respectively. Fast ice formation throughout the winters of 2011 and 2017 was influenced by a higher occurrence of strong southerly wind events and resultant activity of the Ross Sea Polynya. In contrast, lower wind conditions in 2016 led to largely undisturbed sea ice growth and anomalously extensive fast ice coverage. A thinner sub‐ice platelet layer of up to 4 m was observed in 2016. In 2011 and 2017, substantial and variable sub‐ice platelet layers were detected in a region of exchange of water masses between the Ross Sea and the McMurdo‐Ross ice shelf cavity, which were not observed in 2013 and 2016. We hypothesize that a higher frequency of strong southerly wind events, resultant polynya activity, and High Salinity Shelf Water production over winter accelerates circulation and increases melting in the proximal shallow McMurdo Ice Shelf and the deeper Ross Ice Shelf regions of the conjoined cavity. The outflow of supercooled Ice Shelf Water and sub‐ice platelet layer formation in McMurdo Sound are consequently promoted.

Assessment with Controlled In-Situ Data of the Dependence of L-Band Radiometry on Sea-Ice Thickness

The European Space Agency (ESA) Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) missions are providing brightness temperature measurements at 1.4 GHz (L-band) for about 10 and 4 years respectively. One of the new areas of geophysical exploitation of L-band radiometry is on thin (i.e., less than 1 m) Sea Ice Thickness (SIT), for which theoretical and empirical retrieval methods have been proposed. However, a comprehensive validation of SIT products has been hindered by the lack of suitable ground truth. The in-situ SIT datasets most commonly used for validation are affected by one important limitation: They are available mainly during late winter and spring months, when sea ice is fully developed and the thickness probability density function is wider than for autumn ice and less representative at the satellite spatial resolution. Using Upward Looking Sonar (ULS) data from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), acquired all year round, permits overcoming the mentioned limitation, thus improving the characterization of the L-band brightness temperature response to changes in thin SIT. State-of-the-art satellite SIT products and the Cumulative Freezing Degree Days (CFDD) model are verified against the ULS ground truth. The results show that the L-band SIT can be meaningfully retrieved up to 0.6 m, although the signal starts to saturate at 0.3 m. In contrast, despite the simplicity of the CFDD model, its predicted SIT values correlate very well with the ULS in-situ data during the sea ice growth season. The comparison between the CFDD SIT and the current L-band SIT products shows that both the sea ice concentration and the season are fundamental factors influencing the quality of the thickness retrieval from L-band satellites.