Specialty

Sea ice dynamics

Research Interests

Dr. Hutchings research interests revolve around sea ice dynamics and mechanics. She is active in field work to support validation and development of rheological models of sea ice deformation for climate investigations and ice drift and dispersion forecasting. Jenny participates in the development and use of sea ice rheology models in climate and regional studies. Her interests include ocean-atmosphere interactions as modified by an evolving ice cover, and developing our understanding of how changing mechanical properties of the ice pack relate to positive and negative feedbacks in the arctic climate system. It is through these investigations we can understand the recent changes in sea ice volume. Supporting monitoring of this change Jenny leads Ice Watch, a program to standardise collection and archiving of visual observations of sea ice.

Current Research

Modeling pack ice with the discrete element method: The Siku model.

Monitoring sea ice deformation with drifting buoys.

Synthesis of remote sensed and in-situ observations, and models to understand recent sea ice change in the Pacific Arctic.

Development and validation of rheological models of sea ice, improving representation of ice thickness redistribution, drift and dispersion in models. Forecasting of pressured ice and development of models for improved sea ice forecasts, including pack stress state, on local to global scales.

Past Field Campaigns and Data

Data from Arctic Observing Network drifting buoy deployments to measure horizontal sea ice deformation.

Sea Ice Physics and Ecosystem Experiment (SIPEX-II). Interdisciplinary field campaign with coordinated physical and biological measurements.

The Sea Ice Experiment: Dynamic Nature of the Arctic (SEDNA). A variety of data from drifting buoys, aerial and underwater surveys are available from the data portal. Please reference Hutchings et al. [2008], and cite the data location and author when using this data.

Ice Station Polarstern (ISPOL), Weddell Sea Nov 2004-Jan 2005. In collaboration with Christian Haas, Petra Heil and Jonko Lau, an array of 24 drifting buoys was deployed to investigate ice-tide interactions. Data is available. Please reference Hutchings et al. [2012] if you use this data.

In March-April 2003 an array of GPS stations was placed around an active lead close to the Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station (APLIS). Data is available here, please cite Hutchings and Hibler [2008] if you use this data.

Education

• Ph.D., Remote Sensing, University College London
• B.S., Physics, University College London

Publications

Kohout, A. L., Williams, M. J. M., Toyota, T., Lieser, J., & Hutchings, J. In situ observations of wave-induced sea ice breakup. Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, inpress. [2015]

Carmack, E., I. Polyakov, L. Padman, I. Fer, E. Hunke, J. Hutchings, J. Jackson, D. Kelley, R. Kwok, C. Layton, H. Melling, D. Perovich, O. Perrson, B. Ruddick, M-L. Timmermans, J. Toole, T. Ross, S. Ross, P. Winsor. Towards quantifying the increasing role of oceanic heat in sea ice loss in the new Arctic, BAMS, 96(12):2079-2105 [2015].

Lukovich J. V., J. K. Hutchings, and D. G. Barber (2015) On sea ice dynamical regimes in the Arctic, Anns. Glaciol, 56(69):323 [2015]

Hutchings, J. K., D. K. Perovich. Preconditioning of the 2007 sea ice melt in the eastern Beaufort Sea. Anns. Glaciol. 56(69) 10.3189/2015AoG69A006 [2015]

Hutchings, J. K., P. Heil, O. Lecomte, R. Stephens, A. Steer, J. Leiser. Comparing methods of measuring sea ice density in the East Antarctic. Anns. Glaciol. 56(69): 77 [2015].

Polykov, I., L. Padman, K. Hutchings. Understanding Arctic Ocean Processes under Changing Ice Cover. EOS 95(35):316-317 [2014].

Martini, Kim I., Harper L. Simmons, Chase A. Stoudt, Jennifer K. Hutchings. Near-Inertial Internal Waves and Sea Ice in the Beaufort Sea. J. Phys. Oceanogr., 44, 2212–2234 [2014].

Stanton, TP, Shaw WJ, Hutchings JK. Observational study of relationships between incoming radiation, open water fraction, and ocean-to-ice heat flux in the Transpolar Drift: 2002–2010. Journal of Geophysical Research. 117(C7) [2012]

Kawaguchi, Y, Hutchings JK, Kikuchi T, Morison J, Krishfield R. Anomalous sea-ice reduction in the Eurasian Basin of the Arctic Ocean during summer 2010. Polar Science [2012].

Hutchings, JK, Rigor IG. Role of ice dynamics in anomalous ice conditions in the Beaufort Sea during 2006 and 2007. Journal of Geophysical Research – Oceans, 117 [2012].

Hutchings, JK, Heil P, Steer A, Hibler WD. Subsynoptic scale spatial variability of sea ice deformation in the western Weddell Sea during early summer. Journal of Geophysical Research. 117(C1) [2012].

Jin, M, Hutchings JK, Kawaguchi Y, Kikuchi T. Ocean mixing with lead-dependent subgrid scale brine rejection parameterization in a climate model. Journal of Ocean University of China. 11(4):473-480 [2012]

Hutchings, J.K., A. Roberts, C. Geiger, J. Richter-Menge, Spatial and temporal characterisation of sea ice deformation, Ann. Glaciology [2011].

Itoh, M., J. Inoue, S. Zimmerman, T. Kikuchi, J. Hutchings, F. McLaughlin, E. Carmack, Acceleration of sea ice melting due to transmission of solar radiation through ponded ice area in the Arctic Ocean: results of in situ observation from ice breakers in 2006 and 2007. Ann. Glaciology [2011].

Hutchings, J.K., W. D. Hibler. Small scale sea ice deformation in the Beaufort Sea seasonal ice zone. Journal of Geophysical Research (113) C08032, doi:10.1029/2006JC003971 [2008].

Hutchings, J.K., C. Geiger, A. Roberts, J. Richter-Menge, M. Doble, R. Forsberg, K. Giles, C. Haas, S. Hendricks, C. Khambhamettu, S. Laxon, T. Martin, M. Pruis, M. Thomas, P. Wadhams, J. Zwally. Exploring the role of ice dynamics in the sea ice mass balance, Eos [2008].

Heil, P., J.K. Hutchings, A.P. Worby, M. Johansson, J. Launiainen, C. Haas, W.D. Hibler III. Tidal forcing on sea-ice drift and deformation in the Western Weddell Sea during December 2004, Deep Sea Research II (55):943-962 [2008].

Hibler, W.D., J.K. Hutchings, C.F. Ip. Sea ice arching and multiple states of arctic pack ice, Annals of Glaciology (44):339-344 [2007].

Thomas, M., C. A. Geiger, C. Kambhamettu, J. Hutchings, J. A. Richter-Menge, M. Engram, Near-real time application of SAR-derived sea ice differential motion during APLIS ice camp 2007, Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Society [2007].

Hutchings, J. K. , P. Heil, W. D. Hibler III. On modelling linear kinematic feature in sea ice. Monthly Weather Review (12):3481-3497 [2005]

Hutchings, J. K. , H. Jasak, S. W. Laxon. A Strength Implicit Correction Scheme for the Viscous-Plastic Sea Ice Model. Ocean Modelling (7): 111-133 [2004]

Polyakov, I. , D. Walsh, I. Dmitrenko, R. L. Colony, J. K. Hutchings, L. Timokhov, M. A. Johnson, E. Carmack. A Long-term circulation and water mass monitoring program for the Arctic Ocean. EOS 84 (90):1 [2003]

Wang, J., R. Kwok, F.J. Saucier, J.K. Hutchings, M. Ikeda, W.D. Hibler III, J. Haapala, M.D. Coon, H.E.M. Meier, H. Eicken, N. Tanaka, D. Prentki, W. Johnson. Working towards improved small-scale sea ice and ocean modellng in the Arctic Seas. EOS 84 (34): 326 [2003]

Books and Book Chapters

Hutchings, J.K., C. Petrich, R.Lindsay, A. Roberts and J. Zhang, The use of models in the design and interpretation of field measurements, in Field Techniques for Sea Ice Research, ed. Eicken, H., R. Gradinger, M. Salganek, K. Shirasawa, D. Perovich, M. Lapparanta, University of Alaska Press, 566pp, [2009].

Hutchings, J.K. On Modelling the Mass of Arctic Sea Ice. Ph-D Thesis, University of London [2001]

Conference Proceedings (peer reviewed)

Geiger, C., J. Richter-Menge, T. Deliberty, B. Elder, J. Hutchings, A. Lawson, J.Rodrigues, N. Toberg, and P. Wadhams, A case study testing the impact of scale on Arctic sea ice thickness distribution, accepted in Proceedings of the 20th IAHR International Symposiumon Ice, Lahti Finland, June 2010, [2010].

Hutchings, J. K., C. A. Geiger, A. Roberts, J. Richter-Menge and B. Elder, On the Spatial and Temporal Characterization of Motion Induced Sea Ice Internal Stress, in proceedings from ICETECH10, International Conference and Exhibition on Performance of Ships and Structures in Ice (www.icetech10.org) by SNAME, 20-23 Sep, Anchorage, AK, 8 pages, [2010]b.

Hutchings, J.K., C. Geiger, A. Roberts, J. Richter-Menge, M. Doble, R. Forsberg, K. Giles, C. Haas, S. Hendricks, C. Khambhamettu, S. Laxon, T. Martin, M. Pruis, M. Thomas, P. Wadhams, J. Zwally. Investigating the dynamic component of sea ice mass balance Toku Geophysical Journal [2008]

Thomas, M., C. Kambhamettu, C. A. Geiger, J. Hutchings, M. Engram Near-real time motion analysis for APLIS 2007: A systems modeling perspective, proceedings to the 15th Annual ACM GIS conference in Seattle, Washington [2007].

Hibler, W. D. , J. K. Hutchings. Multiple Equilibrium Arctic Ice Cover States Induced By Ice Mechanics. Ice in the Environment: Proceedings of the 16th IAHR International Symposium on Ice (Vol. 3), 114-123 [2003]

Hibler, W.D., J.K. Hutchings. Multiple Equilibrium Sea Ice States Induced By Ice Mechanics, Toku Geophysical Journal 36(4) [2003]

Hutchings, J. K., W. D. Hibler. Modelling Sea Ice Deformation With A Viscous-Plastic Isotropic Rheology. Ice in the Environment: Proceedings of the 16th IAHR International Symposium on Ice (Vol. 2), 358-366 [2002]

Heil, P., J. K. Hutchings, W. D. Hibler III. Modes of Variability of Arctic Sea-Ice Motion from 1949 to 2000. Proceedings of the 16th IAHR International Symposium on Ice: Ice in the Environment (Vol. 2), 367-374 [2002]

Feature Story

Freeze frame: A student’s snapshot of the MOSAiC expedition by Daniel Watkins