Waves-in-Ice Forecasting for Arctic Operators (WIFAR)
Contribution to the Progress Meeting
28 June 2011
NERSC, Bergen, Norway
I shall begin this report by expressing the immense honor I had to actively take part to
this project since its beginning until December 2010, when I moved back to Canada to
take a position here at Institut des sciences de la mer in Rimouski. The team of
researchers gathered around this exciting research theme has been terrific and my
experience at the NERSC with local and visiting colleagues allowed me to pursue this
research in a north-american context. Since last January, a number of initiatives, taking
place here in Canada, that are relevant to the problem of waves-in-ice are either
ongoing, awaiting of being funded, or still exploratory. I want here to give an overview of
these activities that I feel could eventually contribute to the problems WIFAR aims to
address.
Modeling the wave regime in the Gulf of St. Lawrence
Project funded by the Québec Ministry of Transports
This project uses coastal wave data to validate two different kinds of models : on one
hand operational primitive equation models (e.g. WAM operated by Environment
Canada) and simple empirical fetch model on the other hand, a simple tool used by civil
engineers to design coastal infrastructures. The Gulf of St. Lawrence is seasonally icecovered such that data acquired during the last winter with ADCPs contain both wave
and ice signatures. Even though this kind of data can not seriously serve to validate
models, sea ice can not be ignored in this context, motivating us to consider the presence
of sea ice in both models. The WAM model of Environment Canada contains a sea ice
module which allow waves to propagate in sea ice. This has not been published nor
tested yet, but it will serve as a good start for implementing sea ice in wave models.
Resources
Urs Neumeier, ISMER, Projet Leader
Dany Dumont, ISMER, Principal Investigator
Adrien Lambert, ISMER, Postdoctoral Fellow
Two Masters to be recruited
Enhancing the Canadian METAREAs operational coupled ocean-ice-atmosphere
analysis and forecasting system for fine-scale applications in the Beaufort Sea
Beaufort Regional Environmental Assessment (BREA)
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
The objective is to develop and implement an operational coupled ocean-wave-iceatmosphere (OWIA) prediction system for short-term forecasting in the Beaufort Sea
(BS). Specifically, we will improve the representation of fine-scale features in data
assimilation and forecast systems, and improve the short-term forecast skill by
including high-latitude coupled processes in OWIA models. The primary outcome is a
suite of daily real-time fine-scale products in support of oil and gas operations in the BS.
Additionally, there will be an outreach effort to engage, educate and consult with the
local community and industry on the improved products as well as the new ocean
forecasts delivered as part of this project. The project consists of 5 tasks that build on
the METAREAs coupled analysis and forecast system, one of which is dedicated to waveice coupling:
T4-IMPROVED ICE-WAVE-COUPLING will enhance sea ice and wave forecasts by;
including the influence of bathymetry in shallow coastal areas; improving the model
source term to account for sea ice; developing a coupling interface between wave and
sea ice model components of the OWIA prediction system; including floe breaking by the
action of waves; improving of sea ice dynamics based on floe size (link with T2); and
developing a risk index for offshore activities based on waves-in-ice, floe size, ice type,
and ice thickness.
Resources and partners
D. Dumont, ISMER, Principal Investigator
One PhD student to be recruited, ISMER
Jamie McLean, Research Scientist, National Lab, Halifax
Greg Smith and JF Lemieux, Research Scientists, Environment Canada, Montréal
Bruno Tremblay, Professor, McGill Universiyy
Coastal ice dynamics monitoring
Exploratory project
Le Pic Champlain is a high cape (350m) from which ice dynamics can be monitored
using a camera (see Figure). It is located in the St. Lawrence estuary, in le Parc du Bic,
where sea ice is affected by the presence of the coast, bathymetry, wind, currents and
waves. Images taken during an exploratory campaign were rectified and georeferenced,
which allow to characterize simultaneously ice drift, floe size and concentration. ADCPs
or pressure sensors deployed in this shallow area (20-50m) could enable us to
superpose information about incoming waves, which is often observed in this area due
to a relatively low ice concentration in the centre of the estuary even during winter
months. This experiment would costs significantly less than going in the Arctic and could
provide useful data to characterize coastal wave-ice interactions and sea ice dynamics in
general. No results have came out yet. Results will depend on environmental conditions
(ice, wind, waves, currents, clouds, fog, light).