Studies on Parameterizations of Sea Ice Effect in a Storm Surge Model for Western Alaska

In the previous study, Joyce et al. (Ocean Modelling, v. 141, 2019) develop a high resolution Advanced Circulation (ADCIRC)-based tide and storm surge model considering sea ice conditions. Therein, the effectiveness of using a parameterization of the skin and form drag over sea ice in surface wind stresses generating surge was examined. Such a parameterization formula is based solely on the ice concentration.

In this presentation, we investigate the effectiveness and validity of different parameterizations of air-sea-ice drag in the storm surge model. The ice concentration, floe size and ice thickness are considered in the parameterizations of the drag coefficient in the ADCIRC model. The model forcing of wind speed, atmospheric pressure, ice concentration and ice thickness are obtained from atmospheric models including but not limited to the Climate Forecast System version 2 (CFSv2). Storm surges along the coasts of western Alaska induced by several winter storms were simulated to validate the performance of different air-sea-ice drag parameterizations of the presented model.