Anticyclonic Component of Eddy Dipoles Traps Sea Ice Within the Marginal Ice Zone

Abstract

The Marginal Ice Zone (MIZ) is characterized by narrow fronts, filaments, and eddies that strongly shape sea ice distribution and its temporal evolution. Yet the interaction between sea ice and ocean eddies in this region remains poorly understood. Through idealized numerical simulations, we explore these interactions and find that sea ice tends to accumulate within the anticyclonic component of eddy pairs as frontal instabilities develop, particularly at low ice concentrations. This accumulation occurs at the outer edges of fronts, where light surface waters from the fresher side overlie denser waters across the fronts, creating convergence through frontogenesis that concentrates the ice. Additionally, freshwater released by melting sea ice modifies the surface density structure of eddies, influencing sea ice accumulation in a feedback loop. These findings highlight the important role of eddies in shaping ice–ocean interactions in the MIZ and offer new insights into processes governing sea ice dynamics in this climatically sensitive region.