ACCESS NUMBER: TO-85238

STUDY TITLE: The Workshop on Small-Scale Sea Ice and Ocean Modeling (SIOM) for Nearshore 

Beaufort and Chukchi Seas 

REPORT TITLE: Proceedings of a Workshop on Small-Scale Sea-Ice and Ocean Modeling (SIOM) in 

the Nearshore Beaufort and Chukchi Seas 

CONTRACT NUMBER: 1435-01-98-CA-30909; TASK ORDER (TO): 85238 

SPONSORING OCS REGION: Alaska 

APPLICABLE PLANNING AREA: Beaufort and Chukchi Seas 

FISCAL YEAR OF PROJECT FUNDING: 2002 

COMPLETION DATE OF REPORT: April 2003 

COST: FY 2002: $75,699; CUMULATIVE PROJECT COST: $75,699 

PROJECT MANAGERS: Jia Wang 

AFFILIATION: University of Alaska Fairbanks 

ADDRESS: International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775 

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR*: Jia Wang 

KEY WORDS: Beaufort Sea, Chukchi Sea, nearshore, ice–ocean modeling, workshop proceedings 

BACKGROUND: 

A workshop on small-scale Sea-Ice and Ocean Modeling (SIOM) for the nearshore Beaufort and Chukchi 

seas was held at the International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) 7–9 

August 2002 (http://www.frontier.iarc.uaf.edu:8080/SIOM-Workshop-02). This workshop was jointly 

sponsored by the Minerals Management Service/U.S. Department of the Interior, Coastal Marine 

Institute/UAF, and the IARC-Frontier Research System for Global Change (IARC-Frontier). The three-day 

workshop accommodated 40 participants, with 32 oral presentations from nine countries. This workshop 

was to bring modelers and observers together to discuss strategies for state-of-the-art ice–ocean 

modeling. The workshop highlighted approaches to small-scale and regional ice–ocean modeling that 

could be applied to the nearshore Beaufort and Chukchi seas, including seasonal landfast ice, based on 

satellite measurements of small-scale deformation. 

OBJECTIVES: 

The workshop goal was to review the recent progress using present and past knowledge, identify the 

important drawbacks of present modeling approaches in the small-scale ice–ocean community, and make 

recommendations for future approaches to small-scale and regional ice–ocean modeling that could be 

applied to the nearshore Beaufort and Chukchi seas, including seasonal landfast ice. 

The other objective was to promote discussion of the following scientific topics: 

• Recent progress in small-scale and regional ice–ocean modeling 

• Types of ice rheology and yield curves that are optimal for small-scale ice dynamics 

• Ice thickness distribution and multi-level ice modeling 

• High frequency sea-ice mechanics and simulation of oriented fractures 

• Landfast ice and modeling 

• Remote-sensed and in situ data for validation of small-scale ice–ocean models 
ACCESS NUMBER: TO-85238

DESCRIPTION: 

In general, most sea-ice models on basin scales use relatively smooth plastic yield surfaces combined 

with thickness distributions based largely on an aggregate statistical representation of ridging processes. 

Variable thickness multi-level sea-ice models are typically based on this paradigm, which requires 

considerable amounts of simultaneous ridging and open water creation to occur under deformation states, 

involving large amounts of shear but little divergence. While sufficient for pack-ice simulation in the Arctic 

Ocean for climate study purposes, it is still unclear how to treat and redistribute the spectrum of ice 

thickness from thin, new ice to thick, ridged ice, and to landfast ice in most of the present models. To 

accommodate the spectrum of ice thickness, the redistribution is typically carried out in some statistical 

manner commensurate with the aggregate arguments. These models have not, however, typically 

considered landfast ice, which observations have shown does evolve in a manner incorporating ridging as 

it strengthens and extends. Also, a precise manner in which ice is redistributed and what ice classes are 

used likely needs to be specifically tailored to small-scale models. 

The workshop had four research themes: Sea-Ice Mechanics and Modeling, Sea-Ice Dynamics and 

Modeling, Small-Scale and Basin-Scale Coupled Ice–Ocean Modeling, and Sea-Ice and Ocean 

Observations. There were 40 participants (including 32 presentations) from nine countries. Each theme 

had a rapporteur to chair the discussions and summarize the recommendations at the end of the 

workshop. The workshop has produced recommendations for small-scale ice–ocean modeling over the 

next 5–10 years, which will be valuable for MMS needs and be used by IARC-Frontier and the polar 

research community. 

SIGNIFICANT CONCLUSIONS: 

The workshop participants made 12 major recommendations for improving our understanding of the 

nearshore Beaufort and Chukchi seas, which may be also useful for some polar and subpolar seas. The 

strong need for direct measurements to validate the numerical models was recognized, specifically the 

use of satellite measurements. The use of remote sensing to quantify the spatial and temporal variability 

of the small-scale ice–ocean features was strongly encouraged. The importance of working with 

anisotropic features of sea ice was recognized. A model of mixing induced by ocean tides and surface 

waves in conjunction with turbulence closure was revealed. 

STUDY RESULTS: 

Participants presented their current progress in the following themes: Sea-Ice Mechanics and Modeling, 

Sea-Ice Dynamics and Modeling, Small-Scale and Basin-Scale Coupled Ice–Ocean Modeling, and SeaIce and Ocean Observations. Abstracts are included in the final report. They also proposed some 

unresolved issues. Furthermore, all of the recommendations were summarized in a shorter version. 

 

STUDY PRODUCTS: 

Wang, J. 2003. Proceedings of a Workshop on Small-Scale Sea-Ice and Ocean Modeling (SIOM) in the 

Nearshore Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. Final Report. OCS Study MMS 2003-043, University of Alaska 

Coastal Marine Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks and USDOI, MMS, Alaska OCS Region, 56 p. 

Wang, J. 2003. The Workshop on Small-Scale Sea Ice and Ocean Modeling (SIOM) for Nearshore 

Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, p. 64–70. In University of Alaska Coastal Marine Institute Annual Report No. 

9. OCS Study MMS 2003-003, University of Alaska Fairbanks and USDOI, MMS, Alaska OCS Region. 

*P.I.’s affiliation may be different than that listed for Project Manager(s). 
ACCESS NUMBER: TO-15172

MMS Beaufort Sea Subregion