A simple model for the evolution of melt pond coverage on permeable Arctic sea ice

Abstract

Abstract. As the melt season progresses, sea ice in the Arctic often becomes permeable enough to allow for nearly complete drainage of meltwater that has collected on the ice surface. Melt ponds that remain after drainage are hydraulically connected to the ocean and correspond to regions of sea ice whose surface is below sea level. We present a simple model for the evolution of melt pond coverage on such permeable sea ice floes in which we allow for spatially varying ice melt rates and assume the whole floe is in hydrostatic balance. The model is represented by two simple ordinary differential equations, where the rate of change of pond coverage depends on the pond coverage. All the physical parameters of the system are summarized by four strengths that control the relative importance of the terms in the equations. The model both fits observations and allows us to understand the behavior of melt ponds in a way that is often not possible with more complex models. Examples of insights we can gain from the model are that (1) the pond growth rate is more sensitive to changes in bare sea ice albedo than changes in pond albedo, (2) ponds grow slower on smoother ice, and (3) ponds respond strongest to freeboard sinking on first-year ice and sidewall melting on multiyear ice. We also show that under a global warming scenario, pond coverage would increase, decreasing the overall ice albedo and leading to ice thinning that is likely comparable to thinning due to direct forcing. Since melt pond coverage is one of the key parameters controlling the albedo of sea ice, understanding the mechanisms that control the distribution of pond coverage will help improve large-scale model parameterizations and sea ice forecasts in a warming climate.

Investigation of spatiotemporal variability of melt pond fraction and its relationship with sea ice extent during 2000–2017 using a new data

“…6, in May, the growth rate of the MPF on FYI is greater than that on MYI, which is partly due to that the albedo on MYI decreases slower than that on FYI during the early stage of the ice melting (Perovich et al, 2002). The greatest growth rate for both FYI and MYI occurs in June, although the rate of MYI is slightly faster than that of FYI, which is consistent with the result of Popović and Abbot (2017). They found that the ponds grow slower on smoother ice (the surface of FYI is smooth and that of MYI is rough) with freeboard sinking roughly proportional to the https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2019-208 Preprint.…”

Satellite passive microwave sea-ice concentration data set inter-comparison for Arctic summer conditions

“…This could serve as an important boundary condition for the estimation of the surface albedo independent of daylight and cloud cover, complementing existing data sets and aiding in their evaluation (e.g. Riihela et al, 2010Riihela et al, , 2017. Table 4.…”

“…Several such melt pond schemes are being developed (e.g. Pedersen et al, 2009;Flocco et al, 2010;Scott and Feltham, 2010;Holland et al, 2012;Skyllingstad et al, 2015;Popović and Abbot, 2017), but their application and evaluation reveal some challenges remain (e.g. Light et al, 2015;Tsamados et al, 2015;Zhang et al, 2018;Burgard et al, 2020;Dorn et al, 2019).…”

Satellite Passive Microwave Sea-Ice Concentration Data Set Intercomparison for Arctic Summer Conditions

“…CC BY 4.0 License. 2015; Popović and Abbot, 2017) but their application and evaluation reveal some challenges remain (e.g. Light et al, 2015;Tsamados et al, 2015;Zhang et al, 2018;Burgard et al, 2019;Dorn et al, 2019).…”