Level Ice Melt Pond Parametrisation - Icepack

[simondriscoll]

I am trying to understand the level-ice melt pond parametrisation in Icepack (in a bit more depth). Can I confirm that the parametrisation alters/updates four variables (the inout/out variables, and of course not local temporary variables):

real (kind=dbl_kind), &
	intent(inout) :: &
	apnd, hpnd, ipnd

real (kind=dbl_kind), &
	intent(out) :: &
	ffrac ! fraction of fsurfn over pond used to melt ipond

Icepack/icepack_meltpond_lvl.F90 at main · CICE-Consortium/Icepack

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i.e. the level-ice melt pond parametrisation updates 1) fractional pond area, 2) mean pond depth, 3) frozen lid height, 4) fraction of atm-ice heat flux used to melt frozen lids?

Thanks!

 

[dbailey]

I think you understand this better than I do! I will let @eclare@lanl_gov chime in here. She is away at a meeting in the UK right now though.

 

[eclare@lanl_gov]

Yes, the scheme carries pond area and pond volume and pond-lid volume as conserved quantities (so the thicknesses are tracers). In addition, the scheme alters the radiative balances over ponds and pond-infiltrated snow, not just for frozen lids. In addition to the Icepack documentation, you can read many more details in this paper:

E.C. Hunke, D.A. Hebert, and O. Lecomte. Level-ice melt ponds in the Los Alamos Sea Ice Model, CICE. Ocean Modelling, 71:26–42, 2013. URL: Redirecting.