High-Resolution Fracture Dynamics Simulation of Pack-Ice and Drift-Ice Formation During Sea Ice Break up Events Using the HiDEM2.0 Code

Creating accurate predictive models for drift and pack ice is crucial for a wide array of applications, from improving maritime operations to improving weather prediction and climate simulations. Traditional large-scale sea ice dynamics models rely on phenomenological ice rheology to simulate ice movements. These models are efficient on large scales but struggle to depict smaller-scale ice features. In our study, we use a new version of the HiDEM discrete element model software to examine the formation of drift and pack ice under various stress conditions. Our findings show that high-resolution size distributions of ice floes are universal and multimodal, and that compression ridges form three distinct zones. Reproducing complex characteristics of this nature in a standard rheology model is challenging, suggesting that a combination of models may be necessary for more precise predictions of sea ice dynamics. We propose a potential hybrid algorithm that integrates these approaches.