An Nguyen, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
An optimized 1992--2008 coupled ice-ocean simulation of the Arctic Ocean is presented. A Green's function approach adjusts a set of parameters for best model-data agreement. Overall, model-data differences are reduced by 45\%. The optimized simulation reproduces the negative trends in ice extent in the satellite records. Volume and thickness distributions are comparable to those from ICESat (2003--08). The upper cold-halocline is consistent with observations in the Western Arctic. The freshwater budget of the Arctic Ocean and volume/heat transports of Pacific and Atlantic Waters across major passages are comparable with observation-based estimates. We note that the optimized parameters depend on the selected atmospheric forcing. The use of the 25-year Japanese Reanalysis results in sea ice albedos that are consistent with field observations. This work utilizes the record of available observations to obtain an Arctic Ocean simulation that is in agreement with observations both within and beyond the optimization period and that can be used for tracer and process studies.