Dynamic-Thermodynamic Sea Ice Model: Application to Climate Study and Navigation

Dynamic-Thermodynamic Sea Ice Model: Application to Climate Study and Navigation

A dynamic-thermodynamic sea ice model with 50-km spatial and 24-hour temporal resolution is used to investigate the spatial and long-term temporal variability of the sea ice cover the Arctic Basin. The model satisfactorily reproduces the averaged main characteristics of the sea ice and the sea ice extent in the Arctic Basin and its decrease in early 1990th. At times model allows to suppose partial recovery of sea ice cover in the last years of twenty century. The employment of explicit form for description of ridging gives opportunity to assume that the observed thinning is the result of reduction the intensity of ridging processes and to estimate long-term variability of probability the ridge free navigation in the different parts of the Arctic Ocean including the North Sea Route area.