Evidence for atmospheric control of sea-ice motion through Nares Strait

Copyrighted by American Geophysical Union.Satellite observations of ice motion are combined with\ud model estimates of low-level winds and surface wind stress\ud to provide evidence for atmospheric control of sea-ice\ud motion through Nares Strait, between Ellesmere Island and\ud Greenland, during two periods in 2004. The results suggest\ud that ice flux through the strait, and its shutdown through the\ud formation of a landfast ice mass in the strait, can be\ud controlled by wind stress and atmospheric cooling. Analysis\ud of the model results during these two periods also suggest\ud that the intense, low-level, along-strait winds are strongly\ud ageostrophic, and may be usefully estimated from pressure\ud differences along the Strait