[MITgcm-support] thsice stressReduction in the coupled model

[Alexandre Pohl]

Dear all,

I am using a global, coupled configuration of the MITgcm (ocean+aim+thsice, CS32 grid). I noted that, in the "cpl_aim+ocn" verification directory, "stressReduction" is set to zero in "input_atm/data.ice" so that wind stress is still applied to the ocean surface when sea ice is present.

This is in agreement with the description that Enderton provides in his PhD thesis, p. 148 :
"When there is ice, the above wind stress is still applied to the ocean below and the ocean free surface height is adjusted according to the sea-ice loading."

Does anybody know the reason for that? Wouldn’t it be more logical to account for the reduction in wind stress when sea ice is present? In this case, what value do you usually use for the "stressReduction" parameter ?

Thanks,
Alexandre