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MOSAiC: Floe-scale observation and quantification of Arctic sea ice breakup and floe size during the autumn-to-summer transition

People Involved

Project Description


The seasonal cycle of sea ice freeze-up, deformation, breakup and melt is an important feedback that affects the decline of Arctic sea ice. Thinner, smaller summer ice floes in the expanding marginal ice zone (MIZ) could lead to the formation of winter ice containing a lower fraction of multiyear ice that is more easily deformed and fractured, creating faster melting of smaller ice floes in spring/summer.

This project will include
• evaluation of how autumn freeze-up and winter ice dynamics/features affect spring breakup and floes
• quantification of spring floes and floe failure/melt affect summer ice floe size evolution
• measurement of the failure/breakup mechanisms of summer ice floes using high-precision GNSS/INS buoys and quantify the lateral melting of individual summer ice floes (marked and tracked by GPS drifters).
• Develop sea ice ocean models through model parameterization and calibration/validation and possible assimilation

Type of Project Project
Project Acronym MOSAiC
Status Project Complete
Funder(s) Natural Environment Research Council
Value £22,396.00
Project Dates Jan 1, 2021 - Apr 30, 2022

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