abstract.tex

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%% Abstract
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%% Common part between NEMO-SI3-TOP
``Sea Ice Modelling Integrated Initiative'' (\SIcube) is the sea ice engine of
the \NEMO\ ocean model (``Nucleus for European Modelling of the Ocean'').
It is intended to be a flexible tool for studying the sea ice dynamics and thermodynamics,
brine inclusions and subgrid-scale thickness variations (``white ocean''),
as well as its interactions with the other components of the Earth climate system over
a wide range of space and time scales.
\SIcube\ is interfaced with the \NEMO\ ocean engine, and,
via the \href{http://portal.enes.org/oasis}{OASIS} coupler,
with several atmospheric general circulation models.
It also supports two-way grid embedding by means of the \href{http://agrif.imag.fr}{AGRIF} software.

%% Specific part
Designed for global to regional applications up to $~$10 km of effective resolution,
\SIcube\ is a curvilinear grid, finite-difference implementation of the classical AIDJEX model
(Arctic Ice Dynamics Joint EXperiment),
combining the conservation of momentum for viscous-plastic continuum,
energy and salt-conserving halo-thermodynamics,
an explicit representation of subgrid-scale ice thickness variations, snow and melt ponds.
An option to switch back to the \textit{single-category} (or \textit{2-level}) framework provides
a cheap sea ice modelling solution.