Freshwater Initiative 1 st All-Hands meeting, Boulder, February

2 Accounts for ~15% of the total annual mean ice cover in the Arctic Basin; Grows locally on the Arctic shelves and is primarily thermodynamically controlled; Produces ~2x10 3 km 3 of ice volume annually; Shows a large interannual variability but is not well understood.

Freshwater Initiative 1 st All-Hands meeting, Boulder, February

4 RADARSAT image on 1 June 1997 Because of its unique geolocation, landfast ice is directly involved with the coastal river runoff and the land-upper ocean interaction in terms of the freshwater cycle. (

Freshwater Initiative 1 st All-Hands meeting, Boulder, February As a shelf freshwater “reservoir”, landfast ice acts like a rechargeable battery, storing freshwater in winter and releasing it later in summer.

Freshwater Initiative 1 st All-Hands meeting, Boulder, February Annual Freshwater Storage (in cubic km) Landfast ice stores about the same amount of freshwater as the total annual terrestrial discharge from the four largest Arctic rivers.

Freshwater Initiative 1 st All-Hands meeting, Boulder, February Goals of this project are: examine the interannual fluctuation of landfast extent for the whole Arctic Basin; examine the interannual fluctuation of landfast extent for the whole Arctic Basin; investigate the spatial & temporal variations in ice growth and melt patterns; investigate the spatial & temporal variations in ice growth and melt patterns; analyze the long-term changes of ice volume in terms of freshwater storage and their responses to Arctic climate variations, such as Ta, Wind, and major river runoff. analyze the long-term changes of ice volume in terms of freshwater storage and their responses to Arctic climate variations, such as Ta, Wind, and major river runoff. Integrate research with education An undergraduate student will be involved with the project through the university’s Summer Undergraduate Student Program

Freshwater Initiative 1 st All-Hands meeting, Boulder, February What researc h plans?! Derive landfast ice extent/coverage from NIC weekly ice charts for the period (  2001) Compute daily landfast ice thickness, growth/melt, and ice volume for seven coastal regions associated with the major Arctic drainage basins 1-D thermodynamic sea ice model (

Freshwater Initiative 1 st All-Hands meeting, Boulder, February Determine Long-Term changes of landfast ice Compare these changes with seasonal and interannual variations of river runoff, air temperatures, wind, and the AO index

Freshwater Initiative 1 st All-Hands meeting, Boulder, February Possible Connections with Other Projects

Freshwater Initiative 1 st All-Hands meeting, Boulder, February Updated river discharge data; Updated river discharge data; Coastal/shelf water observations, such as T s, salinity, Oxygen isotope samples; Coastal/shelf water observations, such as T s, salinity, Oxygen isotope samples; Landfast ice thickness observations; Landfast ice thickness observations; Model simulations of shelf processes. Model simulations of shelf processes. Data Gaps?