A coupled multi-category sea ice model and POM for Baffin Bay and the Labrador Sea

An overview of the seasonal variation of sea-ice cover in Baffin Bay and the Labrador Sea is given. A coupled ice-ocean model, CECOM, has been developed to study the seasonal variation and associated ice-ocean processes. The sea-ice component of the model is a multi-category ice model in which mean concentration and thickness are expressed in terms of a thickness distribution function. Ten categories of ice thickness are specified in the model. Sea ice is coupled dynamically and thermodynamically to the Princeton Ocean Model. Selected results from the model including the seasonal variation of sea ice in Baffin Bay, the North Water polynya and ice growth and melt over the Labrador Shelf are presented.