The ice component of the programme consists of tasks 3.3, 5.2, 5.3, 7.3 and 7.4 of the Programme Overview, with revisions given in section 2.3 of the Updated Programme Overview.

Table of Contents

1. Background

2. Summary

3. Projects co-ordinated by the Norwegian Polar Institute

3.1 Project list (Detailed descriptions of the individual projects are given here. [A new browser window will be opened to display these pages.])

3.2 Work participation from NP

3.3 Work schedule for sea ice project package

3.4 Budget (NOK 1000)

3.5 AARI contributions

3.5.1 Summary of proposals from AARI

3.5.2 Schedule for AARI projects

3.5.3 Budget for AARI projects

1. Background

The purpose of the present project package is to provide for the Transport Programme (T&F) knowledge connected to sea ice as addressed by the T&F Programme description: Transport and fate of contaminants in the northern seas (Norwegian Polar Institute). The proposal includes work based on observations (data), simulations and theoretical modeling specially relevant for the Kara and the Barents Seas.

The proposed work will, as far as possible, profit from, contribute to and participate within actual and related international efforts. Due to time restrictions (less than one year), we are forced extensively to use for example model simulation work from outside the T&F programme in order to give probability distributions of ice transports as addressed by this programme. We have no time to "reinvent the wheel". However, we can work on the long term to check and improve simulations.

Transport of ice in the Arctic has been extensively studied since Nansen demonstrated the trans-polar drift from North of Russia to the Fram Strait. These studies now include operational and experimental satellite observations, programmes for deployment of satellite positioned buoys, and there are available results from numerous model/simulation studies that have been taking place in countries like USA, Germany, Japan, Russia. Arctic sea ice is now an important part of coming global climatic studies such as the Japanese Frontier Programme scheduled for the next 20 years including much organized international participation like research centers on Hawaii (IPRC) and Alaska (IARC). Such efforts will be a significant part of the international "work environment" also for the T&F programme.

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2. Summary

The present project package focuses on clarifying aspects of sea ice dynamics on the Kara Sea and that are relevant for possible transport of contaminants from the Kara Sea to the Barents Sea as discussed in the the T&F programme.

The projects are supposed to be complementary and contribute to general purpose modeling work for the whole Arctic and at the same time address the questions set by the T&F programme.

The work includes production of statistics based on satellite data (mainly SSMI, passive microwave) and model derived ice motion during respectively the last 10 and 40 years. The statistics based on satellite observations directly answer questions in the T&F program since it will give direct observations of ice fluxes and preliminary estimates of long term variations and averages. These observations also give empirical contributions to simulations and theoretical studies within and outside the T&F programme. However, the statistics based on available simulation results will cover longer time. The programme will try to synthesize these statistics.

Our study may go beyond what is possible to simulate via currently available sea ice models used for the Arctic ocean. The idea is that in order to obtain new knowledge, and avoid only repetition of others work, we need a focus on physical mechanisms much specific for the Kara Sea.

The Kara Sea significantly differs from the Arctic ocean with respect to relations between scale, variations in wind, water depth (it is shallow and and with small depth gradients) and hydrography (large river runoff, strong stratification). The depth of ice ridges are, for example, for large areas of the same order as the water depth. Simulation models are normally based on rough simplifications of the actual physics mechanisms involved. We therefore cannot expect ice models tuned for working for the Arctic ocean, directly will apply for the Kara Sea. These models, for example, clearly does not apply for fjords with stagnant ice. We may expect that forces from the shore-line through the ice field is much more significant for ice drift in the Kara Sea compared to most of the Arctic ocean. Tides and partly anchored ice may produce events of extreme currents below long and deep ice ridges. We specially expect that (partly/temporary) anchored (shore-fast) ice in the Kara Sea is significant for coastal currents during the winter and stratification in the waters. For example, currents tend to pass outside areas of shore-fast ice
and combinations of stratification and ridge depths may make a regime of breaking internal waves/turbulence changing the stratification structure until the vertical exchange of momentum is significantly lower or there is a significant moment flux from bottom to the ice and the stratification is destroyed. Vertical moment fluxes and mixing are strongly related. Hence, for situations such as in the Kara Sea, moment fluxes may irreversibly change the stratification structure during the winter. However, we may expect from available observations that there is a significant stable regime with strong stratification and loose coupling between bottom and ice. One part of this project package is to clarify conditions for change from a regime of strong coupling between ice and waters below, to a regime of week coupling (depending of ice geometry, initial stratification, tidal currents). A second part (AARI) of the package is on understanding and modeling of the (variations of) extent of shore-fast ice and the thermodynamics and mechanics involved in the forming and breakup of shore-fast ice. A third part (also AARI) is on clarifying the extent and orientation of ice ridging in the Kara Sea. These three sub-projects are complementary and will contribute to understand the control of stratification of waters in the Kara Sea during the winter.

Another proposed project is on estimation of the amount of sediments included in ice in leads (for example flaw lead outside the shore-fast ice) and its sensitivity to stratification, temperature and wind conditions. We may expect there are relatively short events where much sediments go into ice via frazil ice formation and turbulence in the waters.

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3. Projects co-ordinated by the Norwegian Polar Institute

The proposed project package, where NP is directly responsible for the work, is in a natural way divided into the following parts (covering Task 3.3, 5.2, 5.3, 7.3 and 7.4 of the T&F report):

3.1 Project list

Reinert Korsnes (P1) - Statistics on ice drift (Task 3.3, 5.2).
Further information is available here. [A new browser window will be opened to display these pages.]

The statistics is based on:
direct observations of sea ice drift (data from NSIDC and specific Russian data).
available simulations by Kiel-group model. Note: Results from eventual model simulation work within the T&F programme will not be available within the project time - late 1999. This is a reason to use results from model simulations outside this programme. The statistics will give distributions of transport of sea ice from the Kara Sea to the Barents sea. It will give direct estimates on what probability sea ice formed at a given time in the Kara Sea may enter the Barents Sea within a specified number of days. 

Karl J. Eidsvik (P2) - Sediment uptake and formation of ice in different open water areas (Task 5.3, 7.3, 7.4).
Further information is available here. [A new browser window will be opened to display these pages.]

The unique aspect of this project, as compared with similar work, is that it will focus on how sediment uptake in ice may take place throughout the whole ice field (in all types of openings in the ice field in different situations). A unique aspect is also that modern turbulence modelling is utilized (as indicated in the project description). This project will therefore improve the ability to predict transport of different sediments from different locations and at varying times in the Kara Sea. We still do not know how much the largest polynyas contribute to the total sediment uptake in ice in the Kara Sea and further how much these large polynyas potentially can contribute to long range transport of pollutants via sediments in ice. It may happen that small openings throughout the whole ice field in the Kara Sea may be more significant for such transport under some wind/temperature conditions when the ice movement is much affected by the shore. This project is also related to the Satellite SAR study with respect to reological (bulk) properties of the ice field (and hence ice drift, redistribution of ice and ridging). 

A preliminary manuscript based on results from this sub-project is available here. [A new browser window will be opened to display these pages.]

Reinert Korsnes (P3a) - Satellite SAR study - ice drift regimes (Task 3.3, 5.2).
Further information is available here. [A new browser window will be opened to display these pages.]

This project is a study of regimes of ice drift in the Kara Sea (seasonal and special wind/drift
situations) in order to improve the representation of physical mechanisms in simulation models and possibly observe pattern of leads and ridging. Forcing and deformation/movement of the ice field depends on packing conditions, small scale deformations and how fast openings/cracks re-freeze. The "strength" of the ice field is often time dependent. The development of deformations depends on heat fluxes and re-freezing etc. Hence we cannot expect to obtain a general "ice model" describing forcing through and deformation/motion of sea ice throughout the seasons. This project evaluates the significance of such physical considerations compared to well known simulation models used for the whole Arctic.

This study will be much based on ice drift data including processing of satellite SAR data. The study also includes simplified conceptual models for deformation of sea ice during the winter and simulations of forcing through the ice field depending on packing and re-freezing.

Lars Henrik Smedsrud (P3b) - Incorporation of sediments into sea ice in a coastal polynya in the Kara Sea (Task 5.2, 5.3, 7.3, 7.4, 8.1 ).
Further information is available here. [A new browser window will be opened to display these pages.]

This project focuses specially on sediment uptake into ice in the often large coastal polynya in the Kara Sea. This coastal polynya can be directly observed via satellite images and can also
be directly estimated from wind and temperature. The study of Karl J. Eidsvik ((P2)), on the contrary, fucuses on the contribution from smaller openings througout the whole sea ice field to sediment uptake. Tidal currents (up to 50 cm/s) may be of direct importance for sediment uptake in this case. The projects of Lars Henrik Smedsrud and Karl Eidsvik have some overlap giving possibilities for cross control. This is important for the actual new approaches.

JoLynn Carroll (P4) - Contaminant transport by ice formed in the Kara Sea.
Further information is available here. [A new browser window will be opened to display these pages.]

This proposal develops a procedure for estimating the transport of contaminants from the Kara
Sea by sediments incorporated into sea ice. It combines information derived in other portions of the Sea Ice section on:

1. The formation, transport paths and volumes of ice for the Kara Sea.

2. The conditions of ice formation.

3. The dynamics of sediment incorporation into the ice.

The procedure developed in this project will be applied to the list of key contaminants selected
by the Contaminant Section and quantitative estimates will be derived for contaminant transport by sediments in sea ice for the Kara Sea. This information will be a valuable contribution not only to the Transport and Effects Program but also to the limited body of scientific literature that
currently exists on this multi-disciplinary issue for Arctic contamination.

Paul Budgell (P5) - Implementation of numerical ice model (Task 5.2, 7.4).

Paul Budgell has improved the implementation of a "Hibler-like" ice model that can be of value
for simulations of ice drift in the Kara Sea. We want to utilize this work when doing regional oceanographic simulations for the Kara Sea. "Hibler-like" model simulations are important as a "reference" for many of the projects in this package.

3.2 Work participation from the Norwegian Polar Institute

Reinert Korsnes (40 %), Ole Anders Nøst (20 %), Olga Pavlova (100 %).

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3.3. Work schedule for Sea Ice project package

3.4 Budget (1000 NOK)

In addition to this, the Norwegian Polar Institute contributes with costs of own personnell.

The sub-project of the University of Bergen receives most of its funding from the Research Council of Norway

3.5 AARI Contributions

This section summarizes the proposals from AARI within this project package. These proposals are on observations and studies of physical mechanisms connected to variations and characteristics of the sea ice in the Kara Sea. We consider these projects as "self-contained" projects that fits into the overall objective of the sea ice component of the T&F program. The AARI projects include much experience and data from Russian Arctic. One project (AARI V) is
much focused on precipitation. However, this is also related to energy budgets. The actual AARI projects are supported via the T&F programme under the umbrella of a Program for joint investigations by AARI and NP in 1999 .

The work conducted by AARI is described in more detail here. [A new browser window will be opened to display these pages.]

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3.5.1 Summary of proposals from AARI

This section gives a list of the projects initial proposed by AARI 1998 for the T&F programme.

1. Variability of land-fast ice in the Kara Sea.

• AARI I - Victor Borodachev and Vasiliy Smolyanitsky: Investigation of land fast ice in the Kara Sea.

• AARI III - Alexander Makshtas: Thermodynamic model of the formation and destruction of fast ice in the Kara sea.

• AARI VIII - Leonid Timokhov, Igor Lavrenov and Alexey Marchenko: Mathematical modeling of fast ice destruction under effect of dynamic processes of
  atmosphere and ocean (with reference to conditions of the Barents and the Kara seas).
  

2. Surface radiation properties

• AARI II - Boris V. Ivanov: Field and theoretical investigations of radiation properties of snow-ice cover and upper water layer. (This proposal must be significantly modified since no field work is considered within the current T&F programme).

3. Meteorology related

• AARI IV - Pavel Svyashchennikov: Meteorological Data base of the atmospheric characteristics in the Kara sea.

• AARI V - Vladimir F. Radionov: Data base of solid and liquid precipitation in the Kara and the Barents seas.

4. Observation of ice drift and polynyas

• AARI VI - Vladimir Smirnov: The dynamics of ice drift and polynyas in the Barents and Kara seas with the use of satellite remote sensing.

5. Physical ice model:

• AARI VII - Leonid Timokhov, Aleksander Makshtas: Development of dynamic-thermodynamic sea ice model.

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3.5.2 Schedule for AARI projects

3.5.3 Budget for AARI projects

Each AARI project has a basic budget of NOK 50 000. In addition, NOK 25 000 is set aside for each project to cover expenses in connection with visits by key personnel at the Norwegian Polar Institute. The visits will have a duration of no less than one month.