Regional and seasonal evolution of melt ponds on Arctic sea ice

Abstract. Melt ponds on sea ice significantly modify the absorption of solar radiation by the sea ice-ocean system in the Arctic, thereby influencing the energy budget and sea ice mass balance. Consequently, melt ponds are crucial to the positive sea ice-albedo feedback mechanism, which is a major factor to the enhanced Arctic warming observed in recent decades, with implications for the global climate. Given the high seasonal and interannual variability of melt ponds, understanding the mechanisms behind their evolution and their impact on the sea ice state is essential for improving sea ice and global climate models. This analysis must also take into account regional differences in melt pond evolution.

Here we present seven years (2017–2023) of melt pond fraction data produced with the Melt Pond Detection 2 (MPD2) algorithm from optical Sentinel-3 satellite observations. We demonstrate strong regional differences in the melt pond evolution process as well as high seasonal and interannual variability. The study shows that the variability is lower in the Central Arctic than in the marginal Arctic seas, which is in compliance with the more stable sea ice coverage in the Central Arctic. Hence this region also shows the highest potential of using melt pond fractions at the beginning of summer as an indicator for the summer surface energy budgets and thus the progress of melt season. Between the nine regions for the marginal seas, strong differences in melt pond variability are observed.

Sea ice surface topography and air temperature are investigated as primary factors to influence melt pond formation and evolution. Air temperature shows an immediate impact on the melt pond coverage, whose short-lived changes can be well resolved with the new MPD2 melt pond fraction product. A higher sea ice surface roughness leads to lower melt pond fractions in the beginning of the season. Later in the melt season, different behavior of melt pond drainage leads to a reversal of that relationship and hence lower melt pond fractions are observed on the level, flatter sea ice.