Aircraft measurements of heat fluxes over wind-driven coastal polynyas in the Bering Sea

The first estimates of the average bulk heat transfer coefficient for Arctic sea ice are presented as a function of mean ice thickness. Turbulent heat flux measurements made by the NASA P-3 over the St. Lawrence Island polynya (SLIP) and Kuskokwim Bay in the Bering Sea during AMSR-Ice03 were used to estimate the values of the heat transfer coefficient C-H. Estimates of ice thickness were made from the algorithm of Perovich et al. using broadband albedos obtained from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer data. Plots Of C-H as a function of ice thickness showed a nearly linear relationship for ice thicknesses in the range of 0-14 cm in the polynyas. Previous estimates Of C-H for different cases over the SLIP were 1.2 x 10(-3), but no estimates of ice thickness were available. These results will allow more accurate estimates of heat fluxes from the thin-ice areas of polynyas using satellite retrievals.