The retreat of Arctic sea ice coincides with increased ocean surface
wave activity, and wave-ice interactions are consequently poised to have
a growing influence on the Arctic climate system. Recent field campaigns
have focused on rectifying the scarcity of wave measurements inside the
marginal ice zone, and work is now underway to incorporate wave-ice
interactions in global climate models. Here, we apply a collection of in
situ wave observations spanning multiple years in the Beaufort Sea and
including wave activity beyond 100 kilometers inside the sea ice edge.
To better understand waves in the presence of sea ice, we connect the in
situ data with satellite-derived ice concentrations across the Arctic
and compare the observations with a recent global climate model
experiment that includes coupled interactions between waves and a sea
ice floe size distribution. We present a series of comparisons focused
on wave energy and wind-wave relationships in partial ice cover. These
analyses provide a framework for assessing the impact of uncertainty in
wave-ice physics on the marginal ice zone in new experiments in the
coupled wave-ice model. Our work guides further model development and
future observational campaigns.