Author(s): Lia Herrmannsdorfer; Raed Khalil Lubbad; Knut Vilhelm Hoyland
Linked Author(s): Knut Vilhelm Høyland
Keywords: Iceberg; Numerical simulations; Arctic; Barents Sea; Atmospheric reanalysis; Ocean reanalysis
Abstract: Icebergs can pose a safety hazard to human activities in the Barents Sea. Numerical models for iceberg drift and deterioration can simulate individual iceberg trajectories and provide long-term statistics of iceberg occurrence. The environmental data needed to force such iceberg models are often derived from numerical models for the atmosphere, ocean and sea ice. This study discusses the influence of different classes of such forcing data on the simulations of iceberg drift and deterioration. Requirements and recommendations for the use of different forcing data are expressed herein. An exemplary overview of environmental datasets available in the Barents Sea is given. The study reveals that the high-impact forcing variables such as ocean current, wave, wind, sea surface temperature and sea ice variables should represent temporal scales, distinctive regional characteristics and processes, that are relevant to the processes described in the iceberg model. Documenting the requirements arising from the iceberg model, the quality and suitability of the environmental forcing data increases transparency and facilitates the comparability of studies of iceberg drift and deterioration.
Year: 2024