CIBL Model

In collaboration with John King I devised a simple convective internal boundary layer model for flow over a polynya (Renfrew and King 2000). We used this model, and several other physically-based simple models to calculate the surface energy balance of coastal polynyas that formed off the Ronne Ice Shelf, in the southern Weddell Sea (Renfrew, King and Markus, 2002). The Matlab code is available here.

Above is a sketch of the CIBL model: essentially the boundary-layer (mixed-layer) height, potential temperature and sensible heat flux are all determined as a function of fetch (x), using conservation of energy and a continuity condition across the CIBL top. Upstream near-surface meteorological data, e.g. from an AWS, are used as input data.

Right is a sample result is for the Ronne polynya area, using input data from an AWS on the ice shelf and validation data (in black) from upper air soundings and ship data during a cruise of HMS Enurance in 1998.