The DAMOCLES ice buoy drift experiments 2007 and 2008

Two ice drift buoy experiments were conducted in the framework of DAMOCLES to investigate the atmospheric forcing of sea ice (especially the dynamic forcing by cyclones) and to validate operational weather model analyses. During the DAMOCLES 2007 experiment 16 CALIB (Compact Air-Launch Ice Buoy) buoys were deployed in the central Arctic Ocean within a 400km x 400km array, centered around the French ship TARA. Up to 9 months CALIB buoys delivered data of pressure, temperature and position in about one-hourly intervals. During the DAMOCLES 2008 experiment 7 PAWS (Polar Area Weather Station) buoys were deployed in the Canadian part of the Arctic Ocean north of Ellesmere Island in April 2008. Two further PAWS were installed in autumn 2008 in the Beaufort Sea and the Laptev Sea. Since then the PAWS deliver data of pressure, air and ice temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction and position in three-hourly intervals. Buoy trajectories and measured data are presented. Wind forcing is quantified by the wind/drift relationship and the cross correlation of ice drift and wind. Comparisons of the buoy data with the operational analyses of ECMWF, DWD and HIRLAM models are shown.