Distinct and synergistic influences of sea ice rheology and seabed stress on simulated Arctic fast ice
Abstract
Fast ice (FI) refers to sea ice that remains mechanically immobilised along the coast for extended periods. In the Arctic, its presence influences the stability of the halocline by displacing polynyas offshore and by altering the mixing of river plumes. In numerical ocean-sea-ice models, the realism of simulated FI depends on how grounding processes and sea ice rheology are accounted for. Indeed, grounding parameterisations define if, where, when and how anchor points establish in shallow seas, whereas sea ice rheology dictates the way sea ice dynamics respond to the mechanical forcings. Here, we assess the direct impact of the rheological formulation on the simulation of Arctic FI, as well as its indirect effect when an additional grounding scheme is included. Using the Nucleus for European Modelling of the Ocean – Sea Ice modelling Integrated Initiative (NEMO-SI³) on a 0.25° global grid, we conduct experiments using two different rheological frameworks—the adaptive Elastic-Viscous-Plastic with tensile strength (aEVPts) and the brittle Bingham-Maxwell (BBM), each tested with and without a state-of-the-art grounding scheme. The results show the primary importance of the grounding scheme to simulate Arctic FI. We also find that grounding and rheology interact: BBM produces more rigid sea ice than aEVPts, which favors the formation of FI, but also ridges less easily, which inhibits grounding, and ultimately reduces FI coverage. Comparison with in situ thickness measurements further highlights the importance of accurate timing and duration of immobilisation: when ice is locked early and primarily grows through thermodynamic processes, modelled thickness errors are significantly reduced.
Related
- Passive acoustic monitoring of tidally controlled bubble phase transitions at the seabed
- On the possibility of deep seabed permafrost to occupy Ca. 7 million km2 in the Arctic Ocean
- Study on a Green and Efficient Mining Mode for Seabed Minerals Based on Closed-cycle Lifting
- Object-based sample augmentation improves rare-class seabed sediment mapping from multibeam data in the East Sea (Sea of Japan)
- A rheology for temperate ice in glaciers (RTIG) based on borehole deformation experiments
BibTeX
@misc{lambotte2026distinct,
title = {{Distinct and synergistic influences of sea ice rheology and seabed stress on simulated Arctic fast ice}},
author = {Augustin Lambotte and Thierry Fichefet and François Massonnet and Pierre Rampal and Laurent Brodeau and Jean-François Lemieux and Frédéric Dupont and Martin Vancoppenolle and Antoine Barthélemy and Pierre-Yves Barriat},
howpublished = {HAL},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.5194/egusphere-2026-3861},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05771879v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Distinct and synergistic influences of sea ice rheology and seabed stress on simulated Arctic fast ice
AU - Augustin Lambotte
AU - Thierry Fichefet
AU - François Massonnet
AU - Pierre Rampal
AU - Laurent Brodeau
AU - Jean-François Lemieux
AU - Frédéric Dupont
AU - Martin Vancoppenolle
AU - Antoine Barthélemy
AU - Pierre-Yves Barriat
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/30
PB - HAL
DO - 10.5194/egusphere-2026-3861
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05771879v1
AB - Fast ice (FI) refers to sea ice that remains mechanically immobilised along the coast for extended periods. In the Arctic, its presence influences the stability of the halocline by displacing polynyas offshore and by altering the mixing of river plumes. In numerical ocean-sea-ice models, the realism of simulated FI depends on how grounding processes and sea ice rheology are accounted for. Indeed, grounding parameterisations define if, where, when and how anchor points establish in shallow seas, whereas sea ice rheology dictates the way sea ice dynamics respond to the mechanical forcings. Here, we assess the direct impact of the rheological formulation on the simulation of Arctic FI, as well as its indirect effect when an additional grounding scheme is included. Using the Nucleus for European Modelling of the Ocean – Sea Ice modelling Integrated Initiative (NEMO-SI³) on a 0.25° global grid, we conduct experiments using two different rheological frameworks—the adaptive Elastic-Viscous-Plastic with tensile strength (aEVPts) and the brittle Bingham-Maxwell (BBM), each tested with and without a state-of-the-art grounding scheme. The results show the primary importance of the grounding scheme to simulate Arctic FI. We also find that grounding and rheology interact: BBM produces more rigid sea ice than aEVPts, which favors the formation of FI, but also ridges less easily, which inhibits grounding, and ultimately reduces FI coverage. Comparison with in situ thickness measurements further highlights the importance of accurate timing and duration of immobilisation: when ice is locked early and primarily grows through thermodynamic processes, modelled thickness errors are significantly reduced.
ER -