The Laptev Sea polynyas in the Siberian Arctic are well recognized as strong ice producers and may play a critical role with regards to sea-ice volume changes in the Arctic. These flaw polynyas were studied during two seasonal cycles (2007–2009) by the Russian–German research project ‘Laptev Sea System’. The contribution of the Anabar-Lena (AL) and West New Siberian (WNS) polynya to saline bottom water formation was investigated by means of satellite imagery, in situ measurements and polynya flux models. Here we apply a two-dimensional steady-state polynya model to a strong opening event of the AL polynya. Resultant ice and salt flux computations are compared with ice-production estimates obtained from AMSR-E and MODIS satellite data and linked to year-round oceanographic observatories.