On the modeling of nonlinear wind-induced ice-drift ocean currents at the North Pole

Abstract

Starting from the governing equations for geophysical flows, by means of a thin-shell approximation and a tangent plane approximation, we derive the equations describing, at leading order, the nonlinear ice-drift flow for regions centered around the North Pole. An exact solution is derived in the material/Lagrangian formalism, describing a superposition of oscillations, a mean Ekman flow and a geostrophic current.