Role of tides in Arctic ocean/ice climate

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2007. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research 112 (2007): C04S06, doi:10.1029/2006JC003643.A three-dimensional coupled ocean/ice model, intended for long-term Arctic climate studies, is extended to include tidal effects. From saved output of an Arctic tides model, we introduce parameterizations for (1) enhanced ocean mixing associated with tides and (2) the role of tides fracturing and mobilizing sea ice. Results show tides enhancing loss of heat from Atlantic waters. The impact of tides on sea ice is more subtle as thinning due to enhanced ocean heat flux competes with net ice growth during rapid openings and closings of tidal leads. Present model results are compared with an ensemble of nine models under the Arctic Ocean Model Intercomparison Project (AOMIP). Among results from AOMIP is a tendency for models to accumulate excessive Arctic Ocean heat throughout the intercomparison period 1950 to 2000 which is contrary to observations. Tidally induced ventilation of ocean heat reduces this discrepancy.This research is supported by the National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs under cooperative agreements OPP-0002239 and OPP-0327664 with the International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks