• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• v.2
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• pp.1019-1022
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• 2006

Satellite sea ice data from 1978 to the present reveal that the perennial ice (or ice that survives the summer) has been rapidly declining at almost 10% per decade. Warming due to increases in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is now also being reflected in winter with drastic reductions in the maximum extent observed in 2005 and 2006. The retreat of the perennial ice also exposes more open water and has revealed an asymmetric distribution of chlorophyll a pigment concentration in the Arctic basin. Phytoplankton blooms are most dominant at high latitudes, partly on account of sea ice, but in the Arctic basin, it appears that pigment concentrations in the Eastern (Laptev Sea) Region are on the average three times higher than those in the Western (Beaufort Sea) Region. Such asymmetry suggests that despite favorable conditions provided by the melt of sea ice, there are other factors that affects the productivity of the region. The asymmetry is likely associated with much wider shelf areas in the East than in the West, with sea ice processes that inhibits the availability of nutrients near the surface in deep water regions, and river run-off that affects nutrient availability. The primary productivity in the pan-Arctic region have been estimated using the pigment concentrations and PAR derived from SeaWiFS data and the results show large seasonal as well as interannual variability during the 1998 to 2005 period. The data points towards increasing productivity for later years but with only 9 years of data it is too early to tell the overall effect of the sea ice retreat.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2012

To correctly estimate ice load and ice resistance for a ship's hull, it is essential to understand the material properties of sea ice during ice field trials and to use the proper experimental procedure for gathering ice strength data. The first Korean-made icebreaking research vessel (IBRV), ARAON, had her second sea ice trial in the Arctic Ocean during July and August of 2010. This paper describes the test procedures used to properly obtain sea ice strength data, which provides the basic information on the ship's performance in an ice-covered sea and can be used to estimate the correct ice load and ice resistance on the IBRV ARAON. The data gathered from three sea ice field trials during the Arctic voyage of the ARAON includes the ice compressive strength, flexural strength, and failure strain of sea ice. This paper analyzes the gathered sea ice data in comparison with data from the first voyage of the ARAON during her Antarctic Sea ice trial in January 2010.

• Atmosphere
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.131-140
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• 2014

The "Barents Oscillation (BO)", first designated by Paul Skeie (2000), is an anomalous recurring atmospheric circulation pattern of high relevance for the climate of the Nordic Seas and Siberia, which is defined as the second Emperical Orthogonal Function (EOF) of monthly winter sea level pressure (SLP) anomalies, where the leading EOF is the Arctic Oscillation (AO). BO, however, did not attracted much interest. In recent two decades, variability of BO tends to increase. In this study, we analyzed the spatio-temporal structures of Atmospheric internal modes such as Arctic Oscillation (AO) and Barents Oscillation (BO) and examined how these are related with Arctic warming in recent decade. We identified various aspects of BO, not dealt in Skeie (2000), such as upper-level circulation and surface characteristics for extended period including recent decade and examined link with other surface variables such as sea-ice and sea surface temperature. From the results, it was shown that the BO showed more regionally confined spatial pattern compared to AO and has intensified during recent decade. The regional dipolelar structure centered at Barents sea and Siberia was revealed in both sea-level pressure and 500 hPa geopotential height. Also, BO showed a stronger link (correlation) with sea-ice and sea surface temperature especially over Barents-Kara seas suggesting it is playing an important role for recent Arctic amplification. BO also showed high correlation with Ural Blocking Index (UBI), which measures seasonal activity of Ural blocking. Since Ural blocking is known as a major component of Eurasian winter monsoon and can be linked to extreme weathers, we suggest deeper understanding of BO can provide a missing link between recent Arctic amplification and increase in extreme weathers in midlatitude in recent decades.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.281-288
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• 2018

The transmission of solar light according to the distribution of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) was measured in the Pacific Arctic Ocean. The Research Vessel Araon visited the ice-covered East Siberian and Chukchi Seas in August 2016. In the Arctic, solar [ultraviolet-A (UV-A), ultraviolet-B (UV-B), and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR)] radiation reaching the surface of the ocean is primarily protected by the distribution of sea ice. The transmission of solar light in the ocean is controlled by sea ice and dissolved organic matter, such as CDOM. The concentration of CDOM is the major factor controlling the penetration depth of UV radiation into the ocean. The relative CDOM concentration of surface sea water was higher in the East Siberian Sea than in the Chukchi Sea. Due to the distribution of CDOM, the penetration depth of solar light in the East Siberian Sea (UV-B, $9{\pm}2m$; UV-A, $13{\pm}2m$; PAR, $36{\pm}4m$) was lower than in the Chukchi Sea (UV-B, $15{\pm}3m$; UV-A, $22{\pm}3m$; PAR, $49{\pm}3m$). Accelerated global warming and the rapid decrease of sea ice in the Arctic have resulted in marine organisms being exposed to increased harmful UV radiation. With changes in sea ice covered areas and concentrations of dissolved organic matter in the Arctic Ocean, marine ecosystems that consist of a variety of species from primary producers to high-trophic-level organisms will be directly or indirectly affected by solar UV radiation.

• Atmosphere
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.555-563
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• 2014

The impacts of dynamic and thermodynamic schemes used in the Community Ice CodE (CICE), the Los Alamos sea ice model, on sea ice concentration, extent and thickness over the Arctic and Antarctic regions are evaluated. Using the six dynamic and thermodynamic schemes such as sea ice strength scheme, conductivity scheme, albedo type, advection scheme, shortwave radiation method, and sea ice thickness distribution approximation, the sensitivity experiments are conducted. It is compared with a control experiment, which is based on the fixed atmospheric and oceanic forcing. For sea ice concentration and extent, it is found that there are remarkable differences between each sensitivity experiment and the control run over the Arctic and Antarctic especially in summer. In contrast, there are little seasonal variations between the experiments for sea ice thickness. In summer, the change of the albedo type has the biggest influence on the Arctic sea ice concentration, and the Antarctic sea ice concentration has a greater sensitivity to not only the albedo type but also advection scheme. The Arctic sea ice thickness is significantly affected by the albedo type and shortwave radiation method, while the Antarctic sea ice thickness is more sensitive to sea ice strength scheme and advection scheme.

• International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.210-226
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• 2013

Ever since the Arctic region has opened its mysterious passage to mankind, continuous attempts to take advantage of its fastest route across the region has been made. The Arctic region is still covered by thick ice and thus finding a feasible navigating route is essential for an economical voyage. To find the optimal route, it is necessary to establish an efficient transit model that enables us to simulate every possible route in advance. In this work, an enhanced algorithm to determine the optimal route in the Arctic region is introduced. A transit model based on the simulated sea ice and environmental data numerically modeled in the Arctic is developed. By integrating the simulated data into a transit model, further applications such as route simulation, cost estimation or hindcast can be easily performed. An interactive simulation system that determines the optimal Arctic route using the transit model is developed. The simulation of optimal routes is carried out and the validity of the results is discussed.

• Journal of the Society of Naval Architects of Korea
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.189-195
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• 2012

The ice trials of the first Korean icebreaking research vessel "ARAON" were performed at the Arctic Ocean in July-August 2010. The sea ice concentrations of Arctic Ocean were 4/10 to 10/10 and the range of sea ice thickness was roughly 1.0 to 3.5m. In this research, sea ice thickness characteristics at the old ice floes were determined from results of drill hole and apparent conductivity measurements. Especially we measured apparent conductivity using an electromagnetic induction instrument (EM31-MK2) and estimated the sea ice thickness through the empirical equation from Cold Regions Research & Engineering Laboratory, CRREL. The results of estimated sea ice thickness were compared to drill hole measurement results and then, we suggest the new empirical equation to estimate sea ice thickness of single layer type sea ice during the summer season of Arctic Ocean by curve fitting approach to these data.

• Journal of the Society of Naval Architects of Korea
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.254-259
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• 2011

The first Korean-made icebreaking research vessel "ARAON" had her second sea ice trial in the Arctic Ocean in Aug. 2010 after her first voyage to Antarctic Ocean in Jan. 2010 to gather various material and strength characteristics of sea ice. This is a detail report of ARAON 2010 summer Arctic voyage and this paper describes a standard test procedure to obtain proper sea ice data which provide basic information to estimate ice loads and icebreaking performance of the ship. The data gathered from sea ice in the Chukchi Sea and Beaufort Sea during the Arctic voyage of the ARAON includes ice temperature/salinity and the compressive/flexural strength of sea ice. This paper analyses the gathered sea ice data in comparison with data from the first voyage of the ARAON during her Antarctic Sea ice trial.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.55-61
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• 2011

A field trial in an ice-covered sea is one of the most important tasks in the design of icebreaking ships and offshore structures. To correctly estimate the ice load and ice resistance of a ship's hull, it is essential to understand the material properties of sea ice during ice field trials and to use the proper experimental procedure for gathering effective ice data. The first Korean-made icebreaking research vessel, "ARAON," had her second sea ice trial in the Arctic Ocean during the summer season of 2010. This paper describes the test procedures used to obtain proper sea ice data, which provides the basic information for the ship's performance in an ice-covered sea and is used to estimate the correct ice load and ice resistance of the IBRV ARAON. The data gathered from the sea ice in the Chukchi Sea and Beaufort Sea during the Arctic voyage of the ARAON includes the temperature, density, and salinity of the sea ice, which was believed to be from two-year old ice floes. This paper analyses the gathered sea ice data in comparison with data from the first voyage of the ARAON during her Antarctic Sea ice trial.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.82-89
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• 2015

In this study, the characteristics of sea ice initial conditions generated from a global ocean and sea ice prediction system, the Nucleus for European Modeling of the Ocean (NEMO) - Los Alamos Sea Ice Model (CICE)/NEMOVAR were analyzed for the period June 2013 to May 2014 over the Arctic region. For the purpose, the observed and reanalyzed data were used to compare with the sea ice initial conditions. Results indicated that the variability of the monthly sea ice extent and thickness in model initial conditions were well represented as compared to the observation, while it was found that the extent and thickness of Arctic sea ice in initial data were narrower and thinner than those in reanalysis and observation for the period. The reason for the narrower sea ice extent in model initial conditions seems to be due to the fact that the initial sea ice concentration at the boundary area of sea ice was about 20 percent less than the reanalysis data. Also, the reason for the thinner sea-ice thickness in the Arctic region is due to the underestimation of Arctic sea ice thickness (about 60 cm) of the model initial conditions in the Arctic Ocean area adjacent to Greenland and Arctic archipelago where thick sea ice appears all the year round.