Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

‘Surface Drag in the Arctic Marginal Sea-ice Zone: A Comparison of Different Parameterisation Concepts’

  • Published:
Boundary-Layer Meteorology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Two parameterisation schemes for the turbulent surface fluxes and drag coefficients over the Arctic marginal sea-ice zone (MIZ) are (further) developed, and their results are compared with each other. Although the schemes are based on different principles (flux averaging and parameter averaging), the resulting drag coefficients differ only slightly in the case of neutral and stable stratification. For unstable stratification and sea-ice conditions being typical for the north-eastern Fram Strait, the drag coefficients resulting from the parameter-averaging concept are 5–10% larger than those of the flux-averaging concept. At a sea-ice concentration of 45%, the parameter-averaging method overestimates the heat fluxes by a factor of 1.2. An inclusion in the schemes of form drag caused by floe edges and ridges has a much larger effect on the drag coefficient, and on the momentum fluxes, than the choice between the parameter-averaging or flux-averaging methods. Based on sensitivity studies with the flux-averaging scheme, a simple formula for the effective drag coefficient above the Arctic MIZ is derived. It reduces the computational costs of the more complex parameterisations and could also be used in larger scale models. With this simple formula, the effective drag coefficient can be calculated as a function of the sea-ice concentration and skin drag coefficients for water and ice floes. The results obtained with this parameterisation differ only slightly from those using the more complex schemes. Finally, it is shown that in the MIZ, drag coefficients for sea-ice models may differ significantly from the effective drag coefficients used in atmospheric models.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • R. J. Anderson (1987) ArticleTitle‘Wind Stress Measurements over Rough Sea Ice During the 1984 Marginal Ice Zone Experiment’ J. Geophys. Res. 92 IssueIDC7 6933–6941

    Google Scholar 

  • E. L. Andreas W. B. Tucker S. F. Ackley (1984) ArticleTitle‘Atmospheric Boundary-Layer Modification, Drag Coefficient, and Surface Heat Flux in the Antarctic Marginal Ice Zone’ J. Geophys. Res. 89 IssueIDNC1 649–661

    Google Scholar 

  • E. L. Andreas (1987) ArticleTitle‘A Theory for the Scalar Roughness and the Scalar Transfer Coefficients over Snow and Sea Ice’ Boundary-Layer Meteorol. 38 159–184 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00121562

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Andreas, E. L.: 2002, ‘Parameterizing Scalar Transfer over Snow and Ice: A review’. J. Hydrometeorol. 417–432.

  • E. L. Andreas (1995) ArticleTitle‘Air-Ice Drag Coefficients in the Western Weddell Sea 2. A Model-Based on Form Drag and Drifting Snow’ J. Geophys. Res. 100 IssueIDC3 4833–4843

    Google Scholar 

  • S. P. S. Arya (1975) ArticleTitle‘A Drag-Partition Theory for Determining the Large-Scale Roughness Parameter and Wind Stress on Arctic Pack Ice’ J. Geophys. Res. 80 3447–3454

    Google Scholar 

  • E. G. Banke S. D. Smith (1975) ArticleTitle‘Measurement of Form Drag on Ice Ridges’ AIDJEX Bull. 28 21–27

    Google Scholar 

  • G. Birnbaum (1998) ArticleTitle‘Numerical Modelling of the Interaction between Atmosphere and Sea Ice in the Arctic Marginal Sea Ice Zone’ Reports on Polar Research 268 160

    Google Scholar 

  • G. Birnbaum C. Lüpkes (2002) ArticleTitle‘A new parameterisation of surface drag in the marginal sea ice zone’ Tellus A 54A IssueID1 107–123

    Google Scholar 

  • Beckmann, A. and Birnbaum, G.: 2001, ‘Cryosphere: Coupled Sea Ice Ocean Models’, Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences, Academic Press, pp. 560–570.

  • M. Claussen (1990) ArticleTitle‘Area-Averaging of Surface Fluxes in a Neutrally Strati-fied, Horizontally Inhomogeneous Atmospheric Boundary Layer’ Atmos. Environ. 24A 1349–1360

    Google Scholar 

  • M. Claussen (1991a) ArticleTitle‘Local Advection Processes in the Surface Layer of the Marginal Ice Zone’ Boundary-Layer Meteorol. 54 1–27

    Google Scholar 

  • M. Claussen (1991b) ArticleTitle‘Estimation of Areally-Averaged Surface Fluxes’ Boundary-Layer Meteorol. 54 387–410

    Google Scholar 

  • M. Claussen (1995) ArticleTitle‘Flux Aggregation at Large Scales: On the Limits of Validity of the Concept of Blending Height’ J. Hydrol. 166 371–382

    Google Scholar 

  • A. J. Dyer (1974) ArticleTitle‘A Review of Flux-Profile Relationship’ Boundary-Layer Meteorol. 7 363–372

    Google Scholar 

  • W. Dierking (1995) ArticleTitle‘Laser Profiling of the Ice Surface Topography During the winter Weddell Gyre Study 1992’ J. Geophys. Res. 100 4807–4820 Occurrence Handle10.1029/94JC01938

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Etling, D.: 1987, ‘The Planetary Boundary Layer PBL’, In: Landolt Bernstein: Meteorology. 4, c1, part 1, 151–188.

  • C. W. Fairall R. Markson (1987) ArticleTitle‘Mesoscale Variations in Surface Stress, Heat Fluxes, and Drag Coefficient in the Marginal Ice Zone During the 1983 Marginal Ice Zone Experiment’ J. Geophys. Res. 92 6921–6932

    Google Scholar 

  • T. Garbrecht C. Lüpkes E. Augstein C. Wamser (1999) ArticleTitle‘The Influence of a Sea Ice Ridge on the Low Level Air Flow’ J. Geophys. Res. 104 IssueIDD20 24499–24507 Occurrence Handle10.1029/1999JD900488

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • T. Garbrecht C. Lüipkes J. Hartmann M. Wolff (2002) ArticleTitle‘Atmospheric Drag Coefficients over Sea Ice – Validation of a Parameterisation Concept’ Tellus A 54 IssueID2 205–219 Occurrence Handle10.1034/j.1600-0870.2002.01253.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • J. R. Garratt (1992) The Atmospheric Boundary Layer Cambridge University Press U. K. 316

    Google Scholar 

  • A. Grötzner R. Sausen M. Claussen (1996) ArticleTitle‘The Impact of Sub-Grid Scale Sea-Ice Inhomogeneities on the Performance of the Atmospheric General Circulation Model ECHAM3’ Clim. Dyn. 12 477–496

    Google Scholar 

  • P. S. Guest K. L. Davidson (1987) ArticleTitle‘The Effect of Observed Ice Conditions on the Drag Coefficient in the Summer East Greenland Sea Marginal Ice Zone’ J. Geophys. Res. 92 IssueIDC7 6943–6954

    Google Scholar 

  • S. M. Joffre (1983) ArticleTitle‘Determining the form drag contribution to the total stress of the atmospheric flow over ridged sea ice’ J. Geophys. Res. 88 4524–4530

    Google Scholar 

  • I. Hanssen-Bauer Y. T. Gjessing (1988) ArticleTitle‘Observations and Model Calculations of Aerodynamic Drag on Sea Ice in the Fram Strait’ Tellus 40A 151–161

    Google Scholar 

  • Hartmann, J., Kottmeier, C. and Wamser, C.: 1992, ‘Radiation and Eddy Flux Experiment 1991 (REFLEX I)’ Reports on Polar Research 105, Alfred Wegener Institute, Bremerhaven, 72 pp

  • J. Hartmann C. Kottmeier C. Wamser E. Augstein (1994) ‘Air-craft Measured Atmospheric Momentum, Heat and Radiation Fluxes Over Arctic Sea Ice’ J. E. O. M. Johannessen R. D. Muench J. E. Overland (Eds) The Polar Oceans and Their Role in Shaping the Global Environment American Geophysical Union Washington DC 443–454

    Google Scholar 

  • Hartmann, J., Bochert, A., Freese, D. Kottmeier, C., Nagel, D. and Reuter, A.: 1997, ‘Radiation and Eddy Flux Experiment 1995 (REFLEX III)’, Reports on Polar Research 218, Alfred Wegener Institute, Bremerhaven, 74 pp.

  • Kottmeier, C., Hartmann, J. Wamser, C., Bochert, A., Lüpkes, C., Freese, D. and Cohrs, W.: 1994, ‘Radiation and Eddy Flux Experiment 1993 (REFLEX II)’, Reports on Polar Research 133, Alfred Wegener Institute, Bremerhaven, 62 pp.

  • C. Lüpkes K. H. Schlünzen (1996) ArticleTitle‘Modelling the Arctic Convective Boundary-Layer with Different Turbulence parameterisation’ Boundary-Layer Meteorol. 79 107–130

    Google Scholar 

  • Mai, S.: 1995, ‘Beziehungen zwischen geometrischer und aerodynamischer Oberflächenrauhigkeit arktischer Meereisflächen’, M.S. Thesis, University of Bremen, 75 pp.

  • S. Mai C. Wamser C. Kottmeier (1996) ArticleTitle‘Geometric and Aerodynamic Roughness of Sea Ice’ Boundary-Layer Meteorol. 77 233–248 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00123526

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • J. E. Overland (1985) ArticleTitle‘Atmospheric Boundary Layer Structure and Drag Co-efficients Over Sea Ice’ J. Geophys. Res. 90 9029–9049 Occurrence Handle10.1029/JC090iC05p09029

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • C. A. Paulson (1970) ArticleTitle‘The Mathematical Representation of Wind Speed and Temperature Profiles in the Unstable Surface Layer’ J. Appl. Meteorol. 9 857–861 Occurrence Handle10.1175/1520-0450(1970)009<0857:TMROWS>2.0.CO;2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • K. Salzen Particlevon M. Claussen K. H. Schlünzen (1996) ArticleTitle‘Application of the Concept of Blending Height to the Calculation of Surface Fluxes in a Mesoscale Model’ Meteorol. Zeitschrift N. F. 5 60–66

    Google Scholar 

  • K. H. Schlünzen (1990) ArticleTitle‘Numerical Studies on the Inland Penetration of Sea Breeze Fronts at a Coastline with Tidally Flooded Mudflats’ Beitr. Phys. Atmosph. 63 243–256

    Google Scholar 

  • D. Schröder T. Vihma A. Kerber B. Brümmer (2003) ArticleTitle‘On the parameterisation of Turbulent Surface Fluxes Over Heterogeneous Sea Ice Surfaces’ J. Geophys. Res. 108 IssueIDC6 3195

    Google Scholar 

  • S. D. Smith (1988) ArticleTitle‘Coefficients for Sea Surface Wind Stress, Heat Flux, and Wind Profiles as a Function of Wind Speed and Temperature’ J. Geophys. Res. 93 15,467–15,472

    Google Scholar 

  • N. Steiner (2001) ArticleTitle‘Introduction of Variable Drag Coefficients into Sea-Ice Models’ Annals of Glaciol. 33 181–186

    Google Scholar 

  • A. Stössel M. Claussen (1993) ArticleTitle‘The Momentum Forcing of a Large-Scale Sea-Ice Model’ Clim. Dyn. 9 71–80

    Google Scholar 

  • T. Vihma (1995) ArticleTitle‘Subgrid parameterisation of Surface Heat and Momentum Fluxes over Polar Oceans’ J. Geophys. Res. 100 IssueIDC 11 22625–22646

    Google Scholar 

  • T. Vihma J. Hartmann C. Lüpkes (2003) ArticleTitle‘A Case Study of an On-Ice Air Flow over the Arctic Marginal Sea Ice Zone’ Boundary-Layer Meteorol. 107 189–217 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1021599601948

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • M. J. Yelland B. I. Moat R. W. Pascal D. I. Berry (2002) ArticleTitle‘ CFD Model Estimates of the Airflow Distortion over Research Ships and the Impact on Momentum Flux Measurements’ J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol. 19 1477–1499 Occurrence Handle10.1175/1520-0426(2002)019<1477:CMEOTA>2.0.CO;2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • M. J. Yelland B. I. Moat P. K. Taylor R. W. Pascal J. Hutchings V. C. Cornell (1998) ArticleTitle‘Wind Stress Measurements from the Open Ocean Corrected Airflow Distortion by the Ship’ J. Phys. Ocean. 28 1511–1526 Occurrence Handle10.1175/1520-0485(1998)028<1511:WSMFTO>2.0.CO;2

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Postfach 120161, D-27515, Bremerhaven, Germany

    Christof Lüpkes & Gerit Birnbaum

Authors
  1. Christof Lüpkes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Gerit Birnbaum
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christof Lüpkes.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Lüpkes, C., Birnbaum, G. ‘Surface Drag in the Arctic Marginal Sea-ice Zone: A Comparison of Different Parameterisation Concepts’. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 117, 179–211 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10546-005-1445-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10546-005-1445-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation