An Examination of the Wrangel Island Sea Ice Thickness Dipole.

The Beaufort Sea High is a high‐pressure system located in the Beaufort Sea that influences ocean circulation in the western Arctic known as the Beaufort Gyre. Wrangel Island, located in the western Chukchi Sea, typically experiences easterly sea ice motion due to the Beaufort Gyre. We find that under these climatological conditions, moving ice is blocked by the island and accumulates on its eastern side, while ice on its western side continues to drift leaving an area of open water and reduced ice thickness along the western side of the island. This results in an ice thickness dipole across the island. A reversal in the atmospheric circulation across the western Arctic results in a dipole with the opposing sign. We find the dipole is present throughout the year and is strongest in January when the difference in ice thickness between the eastern and western sides of the island is approximately 1 m. During the spring, it is associated with the transient opening of a polynya to the west of the island. The dipole is the result of opposing ice divergence and convergence across the western Arctic and may impact ocean circulation and ecosystems within the Chukchi Sea. Plain Language Summary: The Arctic climate is rapidly changing with many important environmental consequences prompting increased scientific study. In this paper, we examine the interaction of drifting sea ice and Wrangel Island, which is located in the western Arctic Ocean's Chukchi Sea. We find that ice typically drifts from the east and is blocked by the island causing the ice to accumulate on its eastern side. Ice continues to drift away from the western side of the island, thus a contrast or "dipole" in ice thickness is created. This dipole is present throughout the year and is strongest in January when the ice thickness difference is around 1 m. We find that the formation of the dipole is associated with strong westward winds at the island. These winds are associated with a strong high‐pressure system called the Beaufort Sea High that results in anti‐cyclonic winds, ice motion, and surface currents throughout the region. A reversal from easterly to westerly winds results in a dipole of opposing sign. The dipole is associated with ice thickness anomalies across the western Arctic and may impact ocean circulation and ecosystems across the region. Key Points: Ice motion in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas can result in a sea ice thickness dipole in the vicinity of Wrangel IslandA reversal in wind direction and sea‐level pressure anomalies across the western Arctic Ocean can cause the signal of the dipole to reverseThe dipole is the result of ice motion divergence and convergence across the region and may impact ocean circulation and ecosystems [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]