Phys.org September 24, 2024 Researchers in Australia used a theoretical model to study water waves propagating into and through a region containing thin floating ice, for ice covers transitioning from consolidated (large floe sizes) to fully broken (small floe sizes). The degree of breaking was simulated by a mean floe length. The model predicted deterministic limits for consolidated and fully broken ice covers where the wave fields do not depend on the realization of the ice cover for a given mean floe length. The consolidated ice limit was consistent with classic flexural-gravity wave theory, and the fully broken limit was […]
Tag Archives: Sea ice
Sea ice’s cooling power is waning faster than its area of extent, new study finds
Phys.org July 17, 2024 Sea ice cools Earth by reducing its absorbed solar energy. An international team of researchers (USA – University of Michigan, Finland) combined radiative transfer modeling with satellite-derived surface albedo, sea ice, and cloud distributions to quantify the top-of-atmosphere sea ice radiative effect (SIRE). The Arctic Sea ice radiative effect has weakened by about 24%, since 1980. The planetary cooling effects of Arctic and Antarctic Sea ice during 2016–2023 were about 20% and 12% less, respectively, than they were during 1980–1988. Arctic SIRE has weakened, implying a 21%–27% reduction in the reflective power of Arctic Sea ice […]