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The Changing Arctic: Ocean–Ice Interactions and Emerging Observational Frontiers
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The Changing Arctic: Ocean–Ice Interactions and Emerging Observational Frontiers

A special issue of Journal of Marine Science and Engineering (ISSN 2077-1312). This special issue belongs to the section "Physical Oceanography".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 5 September 2026 | Viewed by 1495

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Changsheng Chen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School for Marine Science and Technology, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Dartmouth, MA, USA
Interests: ocean and ecosystem dynamics and modeling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Yu Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Oceanography and Ecological Science, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, China
Interests: physical oceanography; polar oceanography; numerical models; artificial intelligence; satellite remote sensing

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Arctic is undergoing rapid and unprecedented transformations driven by climate change and exacerbated by complex interactions among the ocean, ice, and atmosphere. In recent decades, the Arctic Ocean has warmed, sea ice extent and thickness have declined, and new patterns of circulation and ecosystem change have emerged. Understanding these processes is vital, not only for the Arctic itself, but also for its far-reaching impacts on global climate, sea level rise, ecosystems, and human societies.

This Special Issue aims to bring together cutting-edge research on the dynamics of Arctic change, with a particular emphasis on ocean circulation, sea ice processes, and the integration of satellite observations with advanced numerical modeling. We invite contributions that explore the following topics:

  • Long-term and recent changes in the Arctic Ocean and sea ice systems;
  • Advances in high-resolution sea ice and coupled ocean–ice modeling;
  • Applications of satellite data in monitoring, validating, and improving Arctic system models;
  • Interdisciplinary studies linking physical changes to ecological and socio-environmental impacts;
  • Future projections of Arctic change and associated uncertainties.

We especially encourage studies that combine modeling and satellite approaches, as well as those that provide new insights into past variability, to inform projections of future Arctic states.

By fostering dialog across observational, modeling, and theoretical communities, this Special Issue seeks to advance our understanding of Arctic system dynamics and provide a foundation for predicting its trajectory in a rapidly changing climate.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Changsheng Chen
Prof. Dr. Yu Zhang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • arctic ocean circulation
  • sea ice modeling
  • satellite remote sensing
  • climate change impacts

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

29 pages, 9447 KB  
Article
Modeling Studies of Sources and Pathways of Freshwater Accumulation in the Beaufort Gyre Region
by Yu Zhang, Changsheng Chen, Mohan Wang and Deshuai Wang
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2026, 14(7), 647; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse14070647 - 31 Mar 2026
Viewed by 377
Abstract
Freshwater accumulation is one of the most striking observations in the Beaufort Gyre (BG) region in the Arctic Ocean. A 39-year simulation, using the validated high-resolution, geometrical-fitting, unstructured grid Finite-Volume Community Ocean Model for the Arctic Ocean, aimed to investigate the contributions of [...] Read more.
Freshwater accumulation is one of the most striking observations in the Beaufort Gyre (BG) region in the Arctic Ocean. A 39-year simulation, using the validated high-resolution, geometrical-fitting, unstructured grid Finite-Volume Community Ocean Model for the Arctic Ocean, aimed to investigate the contributions of coastal currents and their interannual variability to this phenomenon. The model reasonably reproduced the interannual variability of freshwater content (FWC) in the BG region. Analysis revealed the constructive role of Ekman pumping in supplying FWC, while the lateral flux generally acts to remove FWC from the region. The disparity between Ekman pumping and lateral flux drives the interannual variability of total FWC, with accumulation occurring when the downward Ekman FWC flux surpasses the net outflow-induced lateral FWC flux. Since 2007, there has been a significant increase in downward Ekman pumping, accompanied by a rise in net outflow lateral flux, indicating heightened variability of FWC in the BG region. The model results suggested that the coastal flow over the Arctic continental shelf underwent dramatic changes, especially during summer, and these changes were partially due to increased freshwater and sea ice melting. Increased lateral FWC flux during summer has become a competitive source for unprecedented seasonal freshwater accumulation in the BG region. Flow intensification over the North American coast is influenced by increased freshwater runoff, including the Firth, Kobuk, and Mackenzie Rivers. Interannual FWC variation in the Beaufort Sea could be influenced by the changes in slope flow, with the water originating in part from the Barents and Kara Seas. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Changing Arctic: Ocean–Ice Interactions and Emerging Observational Frontiers)
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21 pages, 3428 KB  
Article
Subseasonal-to-Seasonal Prediction of Arctic Sea Ice Concentration and Thickness Using a Multivariate Linear Markov Model
by Jijia Yang, Xuewei Li, Peng Lu, Qingkai Wang and Zhijun Li
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2026, 14(7), 637; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse14070637 - 30 Mar 2026
Viewed by 392
Abstract
Rapid changes in Arctic summer sea ice exert substantial influences on the polar climate system, maritime navigation, and resource exploitation, while subseasonal-to-seasonal (S2S) prediction of sea ice state remains highly uncertain. Using daily observations and reanalysis data of sea ice concentration (SIC) and [...] Read more.
Rapid changes in Arctic summer sea ice exert substantial influences on the polar climate system, maritime navigation, and resource exploitation, while subseasonal-to-seasonal (S2S) prediction of sea ice state remains highly uncertain. Using daily observations and reanalysis data of sea ice concentration (SIC) and thickness (SIT) from 1979 to 2023, together with concurrent atmospheric and oceanic fields, this study develops a multivariate linear Markov model to perform S2S predictions of Arctic summer sea ice. Sensitivity experiments with different variable combinations, weighting strategies, and modal truncation schemes are conducted, and predictive skill is systematically evaluated against persistence and climatological baselines. Results indicate that the model exhibits stable forecast skill without pronounced error accumulation at extended lead times. SIC predictability is primarily governed by its intrinsic spatiotemporal persistence and is significantly modulated by oceanic thermodynamic forcing, particularly sea surface temperature and surface net energy flux, highlighting a pronounced oceanic memory effect. In contrast, local atmospheric dynamic variables provide limited incremental skill. For SIT, predictability is dominated by its own historical state, with SIC contributing marginal short-term improvement and air–sea coupling exerting weak influence. Overall, the proposed framework effectively extracts dominant predictable signals with clear physical interpretability, providing a computationally efficient statistical approach for S2S prediction of Arctic summer sea ice. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Changing Arctic: Ocean–Ice Interactions and Emerging Observational Frontiers)
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17 pages, 11315 KB  
Article
Dispersion Features of Scholte-like Waves in Ice over Shallow Water: Modeling, Analysis, and Application
by Dingyi Ma, Yuxiang Zhang, Chao Sun, Rui Yang and Xiaoying Liu
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2026, 14(2), 232; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse14020232 - 22 Jan 2026
Viewed by 323
Abstract
Acoustic propagation in the ice cover of the Polar Ocean is of increasing interest from both scientific and engineering perspectives. The low-frequency elastic waves propagating in floating ice are primarily governed by waveguides stemming from the layered structure of the medium. For shallow [...] Read more.
Acoustic propagation in the ice cover of the Polar Ocean is of increasing interest from both scientific and engineering perspectives. The low-frequency elastic waves propagating in floating ice are primarily governed by waveguides stemming from the layered structure of the medium. For shallow water areas, experimental observation indicates that two Scholte-like waves are observed at low frequencies, i.e., the quasi-Scholte (QS) and Scholte–Stoneley (SS) waves, which are different from deep-sea cases. Due to the finite depths of ice, water, and sediment layers, both waves are dispersive. By modeling the waveguide of an ice-covered shallow-water (ICSW) system, the dispersion characteristics of both waves are derived, validated through numerical simulation, and analyzed with respect to layer structure for both soft and hard sediment. Results indicate a consistent conclusion; the QS wave exhibits a unique sensitivity to ice thickness, whereas the SS wave shows marginal sensitivity to ice thickness, and is controlled by the ratio of water depth to sediment depth, regardless of their absolute values. Based on these dispersion characteristics, a two-step inversion procedure is developed and applied to the synthetic signals from a numerical simulation. The conditional observability of the SS wave at the ice surface is also investigated and discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Changing Arctic: Ocean–Ice Interactions and Emerging Observational Frontiers)
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