Articles | Volume 19, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-19-261-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-19-261-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Model description paper
| 
08 Jan 2026
Model description paper |
| 08 Jan 2026
| 08 Jan 2026
SWIIFT v0.10: a numerical model of wave-induced sea ice breakup with an energy criterion
Nicolas Guillaume Alexandre Mokus
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, IRD, Grenoble INP, ISTerre, Grenoble, France
Véronique Dansereau
Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, IRD, Grenoble INP, ISTerre, Grenoble, France
Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, IRD, Grenoble INP, IGE, 38000 Grenoble, France
Guillaume Boutin
Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center, Bergen, Norway
Jean-Pierre Auclair
Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, IRD, Grenoble INP, ISTerre, Grenoble, France
now at: Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Cartagena, 30203 Cartagena, Spain
Alexandre Tlili
Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, IRD, Grenoble INP, ISTerre, Grenoble, France
now at: Université Paris–Saclay, CNRS, CEA, Service de Physique de l'État Condensé, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
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Short summary
Arctic sea ice recedes, and is thus more exposed to waves, which can fracture continuous pack ice into smaller floes. These are more mobile and easier to melt. Ice fracture itself is not well understood, because of harsh field conditions. We propose a novel criterion parametrising this process, and incorporate it into a numerical model that simulates wave propagation. This criterion can be compared to existing ones. We relate our results to lab experiments, and find qualitative agreement.
Arctic sea ice recedes, and is thus more exposed to waves, which can fracture continuous pack...
