Results from the DAMOCLES ice-buoy campaigns in the transpolar drift stream 2007–2009

Abstract

Abstract. During the EU research project DAMOCLES 18 ice buoys were deployed in the region of the Arctic transpolar drift (TPD). Sixteen of them formed a square with 400 km side-length. The measurements lasted from 2007 to 2009. The properties of the TPD and the impact of synoptic weather systems on the ice drift are analysed. Compared to Nansen's drift with the vessel Fram the measured speed of the TPD is here almost twice as fast. Within the TPD, the speed increases by a factor of almost three from the North Pole to the Fram Strait region. The hourly buoy position fixes show that the speed is underestimated by 10–20% if positions were taken at only 1–3 days intervals as it is usually done for satellite drift estimates. The geostrophic wind factor Ui/Ug, i.e. the ratio of ice speed Ui and geostrophic wind speed Ug, in the TPD amounts to 0.012 on average, but with regional and seasonal differences. The constant Ui/Ug relation breaks down for Ug < 5 m s−1. The impact of synoptic weather systems is studied applying a composite method. Cyclones (anticyclones) cause cyclonic (anticyclonic) vorticity and divergence (convergence) of the ice drift. The amplitudes are twice as large for cyclones as for anticyclones. The divergence caused by cyclones corresponds to a 0.1–0.5%/6 h open water area increase based on the composite averages, but reached almost 4% within one day during a strong August 2007 storm. This storm also caused a~long-lasting (over several weeks) rise of Ui and Ui/Ug and changed the ice conditions in a way allowing ocean tidal motion to directly affect ice motion. The consequences of an increasing Arctic storm activity for the ice cover are discussed.