A stochastic model for the turbulent ocean heat flux under Arctic sea ice

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Toppaladoddi, Srikanth, Wells, Andrew J.
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2021
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author Toppaladoddi, Srikanth
Wells, Andrew J.
author_facet Toppaladoddi, Srikanth
Wells, Andrew J.
contents The physics of planetary climate features a variety of complex systems that are challenging to model as they feature turbulent flows. A key example is the heat flux from the upper ocean to the underside of sea ice which provides a key contribution to the evolution of the Arctic sea ice cover. Here, we develop a model of the turbulent ice-ocean heat flux using coupled ordinary stochastic differential equations to model fluctuations in the vertical velocity and temperature in the Arctic mixed layer. All the parameters in the model are determined from observational data. A detailed comparison between the model results and measurements made during the Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean (SHEBA) project reveals that the model is able to capture the probability density functions (PDFs) of velocity, temperature and heat flux fluctuations. Furthermore, we show that the temperature in the upper layer of the Arctic ocean can be treated as a passive scalar during the whole year of SHEBA measurements. The stochastic model developed here provides a computationally inexpensive way to compute an observationally consistent PDF of this heat flux, and has implications for its parametrization in regional and global climate models.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2108_11815
institution arXiv
publishDate 2021
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A stochastic model for the turbulent ocean heat flux under Arctic sea ice
Toppaladoddi, Srikanth
Wells, Andrew J.
Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics
Fluid Dynamics
The physics of planetary climate features a variety of complex systems that are challenging to model as they feature turbulent flows. A key example is the heat flux from the upper ocean to the underside of sea ice which provides a key contribution to the evolution of the Arctic sea ice cover. Here, we develop a model of the turbulent ice-ocean heat flux using coupled ordinary stochastic differential equations to model fluctuations in the vertical velocity and temperature in the Arctic mixed layer. All the parameters in the model are determined from observational data. A detailed comparison between the model results and measurements made during the Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean (SHEBA) project reveals that the model is able to capture the probability density functions (PDFs) of velocity, temperature and heat flux fluctuations. Furthermore, we show that the temperature in the upper layer of the Arctic ocean can be treated as a passive scalar during the whole year of SHEBA measurements. The stochastic model developed here provides a computationally inexpensive way to compute an observationally consistent PDF of this heat flux, and has implications for its parametrization in regional and global climate models.
title A stochastic model for the turbulent ocean heat flux under Arctic sea ice
topic Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics
Fluid Dynamics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2108.11815