WHOI PO

Title: Toward more realistic projections of future sea ice

Abstract:
Sea ice plays a critical role in regulating ocean circulation, air–sea exchange, and the future climate system. Accurately representing key sea ice processes in coupled climate models is therefore essential for reliable projections. In this seminar, I will present recent efforts to evaluate and improve the physical realism of sea ice models. Summer melt is highly sensitive to the formation and evolution of melt ponds, whose fractional coverage and optical properties strongly influence solar absorption. Using novel applications of satellite observations, and in situ measurements of solar energy partitioning, we assess and constrain how models represent melt pond processes and adjust key parameters to better capture observed behavior. In addition, recent observations reveal unexpectedly high concentrations of microplastics within sea ice. I will discuss the implementation of a new microplastics tracer in sea ice models, informed by laboratory experiments, which allows us to investigate how sea ice acts both as a sink and as a transport pathway for microplastics across ocean basins. Together, these advances improve our ability to simulate sea ice evolution and its broader impacts in a warming climate.