ARCUS | Arctic Research Consortium of the United States

6th Annual ARCUS Award for Arctic Research Excellence


Submitted by   Hendrik Huwald
Authors   Hendrik Huwald, B. Tremblay, and H. Blatter
Category   Physical Science
Title   Validation of a multi-layer thermodynamic snow sea ice model against SHEBA data
Affiliation   Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich, Switzerland

Abstract

Amulti-layer thermodynamic snow sea ice model was tested against observational data from the SHEBA experiment. The model uses a coordinates transformation which maps the thickness of the snow and ice slabs onto unity intervals and thus enables automatic relayering of the snow and ice layers while conserving energy. The model is run for 1-year (Sept. 97 Sept. 98) using observed downward radiation and air temperature, humidity and wind speed for computing turbulent heat uxes as forcing elds. A detailed analysis of the measured data addresses problems associated with the high horizontal variability of snow and ice thickness and identi es which observations are required for a precise model validation. Simulation results of various snow cover scenarios are compared to each other and to observations. Modelled results agree well with the observed ice thickness evolution and internal ice temperature, except for summer, where the simulated ice thickness is lower than observed. Sensitivity experiments considering the heat conductivity of snow and the ocean-ice sensible heat ux evaluate possible reasons for disagreement between simulations and measurements. This model validation is done as part of the ongoing Sea Ice Model Intercomparison Project (SIMIP2).