Лëд и снег (Dec 2021)

Calculating of extreme thicknesses and strength characteristics of the first-year ice cover of the Kara Sea using a thermodynamic model

  • O. M. Andreev,
  • D. V. Drabenko

DOI
https://doi.org/10.31857/S2076673421040107
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 61, no. 4
pp. 547 – 560

Abstract

Read online

Using the example of the Kara Sea, the possibility to calculate values of the thickness and strength characteristics of ice of rare occurrence for areas of marine waters with seasonal ice cover, where field observations are absent, is considered. A method for obtaining climatic characteristics of meteorological elements for conditions of different occurrence (extreme values) has been developed. It is based on the selection of a statistical distribution law for the «freezing degree-days» (FDD). On the basis of the obtained sums of the degree-days, the restoration of daily values of the air temperature is carried out. This technique can be applied to areas of the Arctic seas with seasonal ice cover. The obtained climatic characteristics allow us to estimate the strength properties and thickness of sea ice using a thermodynamic model. The proposed method makes it possible to calculate values of the thickness and strength characteristics of ice for the entire water area of the Kara Sea. For average climatic conditions, the calculated estimates of the periods of stable ice formation, thickness and strength characteristics of ice are in good agreement with the results of field observations. It is established that the moment of maximum ice strength does not coincide with the time when the ice reaches its maximum thickness. The characteristics of the ice cover calculated for conditions of rare occurrence also do not contradict the values observed in nature. The differences in the duration of the ice season in the south-western part of the sea from the north-eastern part, obtained under climatic conditions of different occurrence, are shown.

Keywords