Chapter 6. Center for the Study of Earth from Space (CSES), 1985-2002
Sea Ice and Ocean Processes
Despite the importance of Baffin Bay to
local and regional climate, significant scientific problems concerning ice
and ocean processes in the area remain unsolved, including identifying
the mechanism responsible for the North Water and other polynyas in
northern Baffin Bay, determining the amount of heat exported from Baf-
fin Bay to the surrounding land and ocean areas, and assessing the contribution
of saline water produced in the polynyas to formation of deep
and bottom water in Baffin Bay. In this research we used Radarsat synthetic
radar and other remote sensing data with a coupled ice/ocean
model to quantify Baffin Bay sea ice and ocean processes and their sensitivity
to external forcing. Specific objectives were to identify the sources
and sinks of saline water, sea ice, and heat in Baffin Bay as well as to determine
the magnitude and spatial pattern of their transports. The research
was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, an existing
coupled ice/ocean model was validated and tuned against Radarsat data, using information from meteorological stations in and around Baffin Bay,
as well as other remote sensing data, to drive the model. In the second
phase the model was run to simulate an entire year, using Radarsat geophysical
products and other data to establish the initial and boundary
conditions. The model output was analyzed to calculate monthly and
annual budgets for sea ice, salt, and heat in Baffin Bay, to determine the
spatial patterns of transport for these constituents, and to perform sensitivity
studies of how the budgets and transports of ice, salt, and heat vary
with significant forcing variables, such as changes in the surface radiation
balance or the strength of ocean currents (John Heinrichs, Ph.D. 1996).
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