Improved treatment of surface processes in a dynamic-thermodynamic sea ice model

While significant improvements have been made in the treatment of thermodynamics in basin-scale sea ice models (e.g., multiple thermodynamic layers, multiple thickness categories), the treatment of surface processes remains nearly the same as it was 20 years ago. For example, surface albedo is solely dependent on surface temperature, and key summertime processes such as melt ponds are ignored. Here, a 4-channel spectral surface albedo treatment is included in a dynamic-thermodynamic sea ice model already having sophisticated thermodynamic treatment. Furthermore, an explicit surface melt pond parameterization which includes advection of the ponds is also included. Numerical simulations are performed over a time period which contains the SHEBA observational period, and the modeled evolution of melt ponds over the entire Arctic basin is investigated.