Guest Speaker: Chris Barrell (UEA)
Title: Dynamic sea ice in coupled numerical weather prediction
Abstract:
Coupled Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) models have only recently been implemented for short-term environmental prediction and both challenges and benefits are evident in polar regions. Their simulation of surface exchange over sea ice depends on the model’s sea-ice characteristics, however these are hard to constrain due to a lack of in situ and accurate remotely sensed observations.
The seminar will include experience and results from several evaluations of sea ice prediction, atmosphere-ice-ocean interaction and surface layer meteorology in coupled versions of the Met Office Unified Model using in situ observations and satellite products. Our group have been involved in several recent field campaigns to collect rare in situ observations in and around the marginal ice zone. In winter 2018 we carried out the Iceland-Greenland Seas Project (IGP) campaign, part of a coordinated research program investigating ocean-atmosphere interactions over the Nordic Seas using a research vessel, a research aircraft, moorings, sea gliders and a meteorological buoy. In summer 2022 we conducted the Arctic Summertime Cyclones (ASC) campaign, using research aircraft to observe Arctic cyclones and their interactions with the sea-ice surface in summertime conditions around northeast Greenland. Most recently, in 2025 another wintertime campaign took place in Fram Strait and the Greenland Sea as part of the Resilient northern OVERturning in a warming climate (ROVER) project. With the addition of satellite sea ice products, this unique set of observations allow insight into the successes and failures of simulated dynamic and thermodynamic processes during both sea ice growth and melt seasons.