Benefits from representing snow properties and related processes in coupled ocean-sea ice models
Lecomte, O.; Fichefet, T.; Massonnet, F.; Vancoppenolle, M (2015). Benefits from representing snow properties and related processes in coupled ocean-sea ice models. Ocean Modelling 87: 81-85. dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ocemod.2014.11.005 In: Ocean Modelling. Elsevier: Oxford. ISSN 1463-5003; e-ISSN 1463-5011, more |  |
| Keyword | | | Author keywords | Snow; Sea ice; Model; Arctic; Antarctic |
| Authors | | Top | - Lecomte, O., more
- Fichefet, T., more
- Massonnet, F., more
- Vancoppenolle, M
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| Abstract | Several large-scale sea ice simulations are performed over the last three decades using a coupled ocean-sea ice model under the same experimental setup but partly modifying the representation of snow physics in the model. The inter-simulation spread analysis yields that the simulated multi-year ice is sensitive to such changes while the seasonal sea ice, is rather dominantly driven by the external oceanic and atmospheric forcings. In the context of a thinning Arctic sea ice cover, those findings suggest that including snow processes in large-scale sea ice models is beneficial, if not necessary, to predict the timing of the Arctic multi-year ice disappearance, whereas the operational forecasting of first-year ice extent using fully coupled models will likely require improvement to the oceanic and atmospheric components themselves. |
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