Argo measurements near the sea-ice margin.

K. Speer, N. Wienders, C. Chien

Department of Oceanography
Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL 32303

Argo observations will be used to understand the mechanisms of seasonal changes in sea ice. In order to address these mechanisms, we estimate budgets in given regions to deduce which of the possible mechanisms of sea ice growth by local freezing, transport or melt is dominant. The procedure will be to estimate the tendencies of heat and freshwater/moisture content in the surface layer of the ocean (ARGO data) and atmosphere (satellite and NCEP) and relate these to available air-sea flux and advection products.

Heat and freshwater content along the path of the float can be estimated directly from the ocean profiles of temperature and salinity. Using these budgets, we will investigate the dominant mechanisms responsible for sea ice edge expansion and melt during the seasonal cycle.