Scientific publications

Sea ice grows and decays as forced by the fluxes through the boundaries. In particular, the flux at the lower boundary – the heat flux from the water body into the bottom of the ice sheet – is not very well known quantity. A thermodynamic sea ice model is employed to examine the influence of the oceanic heat flux on the thickness of the ice. Saroma-ko ice station data is used to analyse the physics and calibrate the model. The oceanic heat flux is normally 5–10 W/m₂, and the ice thickness ranges in 30–50 cm; being that thin, the ice has a very active role in the thermodynamics.