Effects of wind, waves, and currents on icebergs and surface floats in the Labrador Sea: a modeling study

Parayil, Jamseena (2022) Effects of wind, waves, and currents on icebergs and surface floats in the Labrador Sea: a modeling study. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

Icebergs are major indicators of climate change. In Newfoundland, icebergs attract tourists while simultaneously posing a threat to ships and offshore oil platforms. Research is carried out on a model study of the dynamics of icebergs and surface floats in the Labrador Sea. In this study, the iceberg model is forced with data of wind above the ocean surface, surface waves and ocean currents. The wind and surface wave characteristics are acquired from the hourly ECMWF reanalysis (ERA5), while the ocean current, sea-surface height and sea surface temperature data are from MERCATOR Ocean International daily reanalysis for the year 2008. In the Labrador Sea, for smaller icebergs the primary balance is between the air and water drag, while for larger icebergs it is between three forces: the air and water drag and the combined Coriolis and pressure force. Floats are primarily driven by the Ekman component of surface velocity. Storms passing over the Labrador Sea cause significant variability in the movements of icebergs and floats.

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