Gridded European circumpolar sea ice production fluxes (D1.4)

This deliverable is a new dataset of sea ice production (SIP) in Antarctic coastal polynyas, critical regions for
sea ice formation and dense water formation. Using Earth Observation data and atmospheric reanalysis, we
use a heat budget method to estimate the SIP. We use sea ice concentration (SIC) from passive microwave
sensors and ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis for near-surface wind speed and surface air temperature. Comparison
against previous literature shows broad consistency in spatial patterns and magnitude of ice production, with
notable variations across larger polynyas. Despite simplifications and thereby increased uncertainties in the
absolute ice production values, the data set provides valuable insights into the dynamics and variability of
Antarctic polynya SIP for the period 1992-2023.