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https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4332
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4332
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Preprints
20 Oct 2025
 | 20 Oct 2025
Status: this preprint is open for discussion and under review for Earth System Dynamics (ESD).

Representation of polynyas in the Ross Sea coupled atmosphere–sea ice–ocean model P-SKRIPSv2

Alexandra Gossart, Alena Malyarenko, Liv Cornelissen, Craig Stevens, Una Miller, Christopher J. Zappa, Nancy Luca, Pasquale Castagno, and Giorgio Budillon

Abstract. Antarctic coastal polynyas are regions of intense air-sea exchange, strongly influenced by atmospheric winds, and significantly impacting sea ice formation and high salinity shelf water production. These areas play a key role in local and global climate feedback mechanisms. Due to their remote location and harsh conditions, direct sampling of polynyas is challenging, and capturing their dynamics in coupled climate models is difficult, especially when such models operate at coarse spatial resolutions.

In this study, we employ the regional P-SRKIPSv2 coupled atmosphere–sea ice–ocean model to simulate polynya activity in the Ross Sea. We evaluate the ability of the model to represent atmospheric and oceanic states and explore the sensitivity of the results to variations in the air-sea ice drag coefficient. Our findings demonstrate that P-SRKIPSv2 is a robust and effective tool for investigating polynya processes, including their drivers and impacts, in the Ross Sea region.

How to cite. Gossart, A., Malyarenko, A., Cornelissen, L., Stevens, C., Miller, U., Zappa, C. J., Luca, N., Castagno, P., and Budillon, G.: Representation of polynyas in the Ross Sea coupled atmosphere–sea ice–ocean model P-SKRIPSv2, EGUsphere [preprint], https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4332, 2025.
Received: 04 Sep 2025 – Discussion started: 20 Oct 2025
Publisher's note: Copernicus Publications remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims made in the text, published maps, institutional affiliations, or any other geographical representation in this paper. While Copernicus Publications makes every effort to include appropriate place names, the final responsibility lies with the authors. Views expressed in the text are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher.
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Alexandra Gossart, Alena Malyarenko, Liv Cornelissen, Craig Stevens, Una Miller, Christopher J. Zappa, Nancy Luca, Pasquale Castagno, and Giorgio Budillon

Status: open (until 01 Dec 2025)

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Alexandra Gossart, Alena Malyarenko, Liv Cornelissen, Craig Stevens, Una Miller, Christopher J. Zappa, Nancy Luca, Pasquale Castagno, and Giorgio Budillon

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4332-supplement

Data sets

Dataset - Representation of polynyas in the Ross Sea coupled atmosphere–sea ice–ocean model P-SKRIPSv2 Alexandra Gossart and Alena Malyarenko https://zenodo.org/records/15778732

Model code and software

P-SKRIPS Version 2 Alexandra Gossart and Alena Malyarenko https://zenodo.org/records/15942874

Alexandra Gossart, Alena Malyarenko, Liv Cornelissen, Craig Stevens, Una Miller, Christopher J. Zappa, Nancy Luca, Pasquale Castagno, and Giorgio Budillon
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Latest update: 20 Oct 2025
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Short summary
Polynyas are areas of open water that form within the sea ice during the Antarctic winter. They occur along the coastline and act as hotspots for air–sea interactions and sea-ice formation. We use the P-SKRIPSv2 model to simulate air–sea–ice–ocean interactions in the Ross Sea. Model results are compared with observations, and we test how changes in air–sea–ice coupling affect the system. Our findings show that P-SKRIPSv2 provides a valuable tool to study polynyasa and understand their dynamics.
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