An enhanced sea-ice thermodynamic model applied to the Baltic sea

Abstract

A refined Semtner 0-layer sea-ice model (ESIM1) is presented and applied to the Baltic landfast sea-ice. The physical model is capable of simulating seasonal changes of snow and ice thickness. Particular attention is paid to reproducing the snow-ice and the super-imposed-ice formation which play important roles in the total mass balance of the Baltic sea-ice. The model prognostic variables include all kinds of ice and snow layers that may be present during a Baltic landfast ice season and, in general, in every coastal area of an ice-covered ocean. The assessment of the model capabilities was done for 1979–1993 for four different stations in the Baltic Sea. A sensitivity test stresses the relevant role of some of the physical parameters, such as the oceanic heat flux, while a scenario analysis highlights the robustness of the model to perturbed physical forcing. Our results show that one of the key variables in modelling sea-ice thermodynamics is the snow layer and its metamorphism, and including the meteoric ice dynamics into a sea ice model is relevant to properly simulate any ice season, also in view of climate change scenarios