Effects of snow redistribution parameterization on simulated snow thickness validated by MOSAiC observations

Abstract. Snow plays a critical role in the mass and energy balance of sea ice through its insulating properties and high albedo. Based on observations from the Multidisciplinary Drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) campaign, we assess the influence of snow redistribution on snow thickness simulations using the Icepack column model. Our results show that, without snow redistribution, snow thickness is overestimated in winter and spring. The bulk redistribution scheme slightly reduces snow accumulation, while the blowing snow scheme (snwITDrdg) further increases agreement with observations but still shows biases during snowfall events. Sensitivity experiments indicate that setting the ratio of snow mass on ridges to that on level ice to 4 in the bulk scheme yields the best agreement with snow observations (MAE = 6.2 mm). In the snwITDrdg scheme, the snow erosion coefficient is treated as an effective tuning parameter. When observed sea ice concentration is prescribed, setting the snow erosion coefficient to 2.4×10^-5 produces simulated accumulated snow loss to leads consistent with observations and improves the simulated snow thickness (MAE = 6.4 mm). This study provides new insights into snow thickness simulation and the parameterization of snow redistribution, offering valuable guidance for improving Arctic snow thickness modeling.