Simulation of the melt season using a resolved sea ice model with snow cover and melt ponds

Abstract

A three-dimensional sea ice model is presented with resolved snow thickness variations and melt ponds. The model calculates heating from solar radiative transfer and simulates the formation and movement of brine/melt water through the ice system. Initialization for the model is based on observations of snow topography made during the summer melt seasons of 2009, 2010, and 2012 from a location off the coast of Barrow, AK. Experiments are conducted to examine the importance of snow properties and snow and ice thickness by comparing observed and modeled pond fraction and albedo. One key process simulated by the model is the formation of frozen layers in the ice as relatively warm fresh water grid cells freeze when cooled by adjacent, cold brine-filled grid cells. These layers prevent vertical drainage and lead to flooding of melt water commonly observed at the beginning of the melt season. Flooding persists until enough heat is absorbed to melt through the frozen layer. The resulting long-term melt pond coverage is sensitive to both the spatial variability of snow cover and the minimum snow depth. For thin snow cover, initial melting results in earlier, reduced flooding with a small change in pond fraction after drainage of the melt water. Deeper snow tends to generate a delayed, larger peak pond fraction before drainage.