Power laws in the sea ice floe size distribution: a stochastic theory
Abstract
Sea ice is a complex system, and observations have shown that ice segments (i.e., floes) have a wide range of sizes, with a floe size distribution that follows a power law. However, a theory for the power law and its exponent have remained elusive. Here, floe-resolving numerical simulations are investigated with a discrete element model, in order to gain further information by gathering statistics of fracture and welding events. Then, based on the insights from the floe-resolving simulations, a stochastic fragmentation-coagulation theory is proposed. Exact solutions are found with a power law. The power-law exponent can take a variety of values, and it depends on the fracture and welding rates. Such behavior is reminiscent of seasonal changes in the power-law exponent, which have been reported in past analyses of observational data.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2604.10292,
title = {Power laws in the sea ice floe size distribution: a stochastic theory},
author = {Samuel N. Stechmann and Jiuhua Hu and Brandon P. Montemuro and Nan Chen and Georgy E. Manucharyan and Evelyn Tollar and Yujia Zhang},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2604.10292},
year = {2026}
}