North Pole ice thickness and association with ice motion history 1977–1992

Ice drafts measured by U.S. Navy submarine sonar near the North Pole from 1977 to 1992 were used together with Arctic Ocean drifting buoy data from 1979 to 1992 to investigate North Pole ice thickness changes during this 15‐year period. A primary objective was to determine dynamical forcing mechanisms and associated time scales relevant to ice thickness variation. North Pole ice thickness showed much interannual variability, and no systematic decrease of ice thickness was observed. Changes in ice thickness were closely associated with long‐term directional deviation of ice motion from geostrophic wind‐forcing, and with ice convergence and divergence at the North Pole during the 1–2 weeks prior to submarine measurement. The geographic origin of ice within the Arctic Ocean was not associated with its eventual thickness at the North Pole.