Threshold Domain Sizes for Multifractality in Sea Ice Deformation

Sea ice dynamics has long been studied in both engineering and geophysical contexts, but unifying these scales remains elusive. Multifractality in ice deformation is a key metric for validating large-scale continuum models. We perform a multifractal analysis on high-resolution ship radar data over one winter. We observe a two-phase multifractal spectrum for the spatial domain and show a finite-size effect on multifractality related to the spatial and temporal domain sizes. Furthermore, we observe an evolution of multifractal properties throughout winter to find the presence of threshold sizes for the domains required for observing multifractality. We hypothesize that these threshold domain sizes relate to the thickness and mechanical strength of the ice. We introduce two physically based measures that can be used as diagnostics of when multifractal statistics. We discuss the implications of our results for discrete-element–continuum framework relation, ice tank experiments, and the changing conditions of Arctic ice cover.