AUCKLAND, May 25 2016: Researchers from the University of Adelaide have created a new model that can predict how ocean waves impact the break-off of sea ice in these regions and – through a particular feedback loop between floes and waves — just what it will take to create an entirely open-sea Arctic.
Cutting-edgse Sea Ice Forecasting
The model predicting ocean wave propagation and its impact on sea ice was developed during the 1970s and 1980s. But the old paradigm is in trouble, failing to account for the rapid pace of climate change and its impact on polar ice.
Dr Luke Bennetts and Jordan Pitt from the University of Adelaide’s School of Computer and Mathematical Sciences are addressing this crucial gap. Theoretical model itself, which was built not only with magnetism in mind but also the complex feedbacks between ocean waves and sea ice… [this] makes a much more robust explanation of why we measure what we do.
Until now, scientists only could take into account the decay of wave energy over thousands of miles as a factor in fracturing sea ice. It collaborated with Adelaide’s researchers who said that large decreases in wave intensity could happen only a very short distance away, which caused the ice to disappear almost instantly. The finding is key to interpreting field observations and getting a true picture of the effects of climate change on the polar regions.
Revealing the Secrets of Wave-Ice Interactions
Ocean waves breaking up the ice cover into floes which circulate and collide with each other fundamental process behind how sea ice is formed. This ice will melt on rapi speed and flow away wich is no help at all against the global warming.
Moreover, just as the formation of ice helps to decrease wave activity at longer distances due to its presence, only breaking up over a finite distance. Measuring and understanding this complex mix of waves and ice has proven problematic in the harsh and unfriendly conditions of the polar seas.
In order to understand the complex wave-ice dynamics, Dr. Bennetts and his collaborators developed a very advanced mathematical model. In this study, they were able to measure local processes when the ice cover was breaking up and large scale-processes over even many miles.
Australia’s new hub in sea-ice modelling will enable the world-leading Australian climate scientists to work with their CSIRO colleagues and other international scientists to solve this problem, leading to a dramatic improvement in the quality of numerical models that are used around the globe for predicting changes in future levels of eternal sea ice. The result is that these models can be used to better forecast the extent and timing of ice break-up, which are key for understanding how climate change will affect Arctic and Antarctic regions into the future.
Conclusion
The University of Adelaide A research team at the University of Adelaide has made a breakthrough in the understanding of how ocean waves and the role they play in the break-up of sea ice. This knowledge is crucial in increasing the accuracy of numerical climate models and our ability to predict the future of the world’s frozen seas in a changing environment. This study has the potential to directly impact policy decisions and strategies aimed at reducing long-term climate change impacts on polar regions by unveiling fundamental details about wave-ice interactions.
