Sea Ice Deformation at MOSAiC

Abstract:

Sea ice drift and deformation, on various scales is a crucial component in shaping the ice cover of the polar oceans. Yet we do not fully understanding in its seasonal evolution and the role of ice age and changing intensity and number of cyclones in drift rate and morpological change. An array of >95 GPS drifting buoys and 11 ice stations was deployed as a Distributed Network around the MOSAiC Central Observatory in order to capture the scales of sea ice motion between hundreds of meters to up to 200 kilometers. Here we present the resulting time series of deformation observed during an almost year-long drift of this array, it's spectral and fractal scaling properties, and the time evolution of these synoptically and seasonally. The impact of GPS position error on deformation estimation, which can affect identification of the spectral properties at scales below 10km, is outlined. As the largest ever deformation array of its kind, this unprecedented dataset will enable tracking of the evolving ice morphology to facilitate up-scaling of physical, biological and chemical processes that are controlled by the nature of the ice and snow surface. Hence, this study contributes to a better understanding of the role of sea ice dynamics and deformation in an Arctic Ocean rapidly changing to seasonal ice cover.