Observational estimation of heat budgets on drifting ice and open water over the Arctic Ocean

Estimates of the surface heat budget over drifting ice and open water in the Arctic Ocean are made using eddy correlation and flux-profile methods using data obtained from drifting ice and from the R/V Xuelong in the Chinese National Arctic Research Expedition during August 19-24,1999. The results show that the net radiation received by the ice surface is mainly lost through the sensible heat flux and the heat flux due to melting ice, and the latent heat flux making small contribution to the heat balance. However, the heat balance of the open water surface was dominated by the radiative flux whereas the latent and sensible heat fluxes and the oceanic heat flux were greater than those on the sea-ice surface. These results emphasize that thermodynamic processes are quite different between air/open water and air/sea-ice over the Arctic Ocean which is important when considering the effect of sea-air-ice interaction on climate change process during the summer period.