scholarly journals Seasonal Variations In The Surface Energy Exchanges Over Antarctic Sea Ice and Coastal Waters

1982 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 12-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Allison ◽  
C.M. Tivendale ◽  
G.J. Akerman ◽  
J.M. Tann ◽  
R.H. Wills
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Seasonal Variations ◽  
Lower Boundary ◽  
Open Water ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
Turbulent Fluxes ◽  
Turbulent Heat ◽  
Radiative Heat Loss ◽  
Antarctic Sea Ice

Seasonal variations in radiative and turbulent fluxes at the surface of, and in the heat transfer within, sea ice are discussed from results of energy balance studies at a site of annual ice cover near Mawson, Antarctica. In mid-summer, the open water gains heat mostly by radiation but by early February the ocean is cooling predominantly by strong turbulent losses, with some radiative heat loss occurring also by March. When an ice cover forms, turbulent fluxes decrease from several 100 W m−2over open water to only 40 w m−2over ice less than 0.2 m thick and even less over thicker ice.Net radiative losses over mature ice in mid-winter are balanced mostly by conduction through the ice cover but with some turbulent heat gain at the surface. By mid-spring, there is a net radiative gain, the turbulent fluxes are again outgoing, and there is little total heat transfer through the ice. At break-out, the albedo increase from ice to open water causes a large increase in the net radiative gain.At the lower boundary of the ice, the oceanic heat flux provides an important contribution. A net advection of heat into the region is shown from temperature profiles in the water under the ice. Salinity changes in the water during the period of ice melt are also discussed.

scholarly journals Seasonal Variations In The Surface Energy Exchanges Over Antarctic Sea Ice and Coastal Waters

1982 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 12-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Allison ◽  
C.M. Tivendale ◽  
G.J. Akerman ◽  
J.M. Tann ◽  
R.H. Wills
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Seasonal Variations ◽  
Lower Boundary ◽  
Open Water ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
Turbulent Fluxes ◽  
Turbulent Heat ◽  
Radiative Heat Loss ◽  
Antarctic Sea Ice

Seasonal variations in radiative and turbulent fluxes at the surface of, and in the heat transfer within, sea ice are discussed from results of energy balance studies at a site of annual ice cover near Mawson, Antarctica. In mid-summer, the open water gains heat mostly by radiation but by early February the ocean is cooling predominantly by strong turbulent losses, with some radiative heat loss occurring also by March. When an ice cover forms, turbulent fluxes decrease from several 100 W m−2 over open water to only 40 w m−2 over ice less than 0.2 m thick and even less over thicker ice.Net radiative losses over mature ice in mid-winter are balanced mostly by conduction through the ice cover but with some turbulent heat gain at the surface. By mid-spring, there is a net radiative gain, the turbulent fluxes are again outgoing, and there is little total heat transfer through the ice. At break-out, the albedo increase from ice to open water causes a large increase in the net radiative gain.At the lower boundary of the ice, the oceanic heat flux provides an important contribution. A net advection of heat into the region is shown from temperature profiles in the water under the ice. Salinity changes in the water during the period of ice melt are also discussed.

scholarly journals Influence of leads widths distribution on turbulent heat transfer between the ocean and the atmosphere

2011 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 2765-2797
Author(s):  
S. Marcq ◽  
J. Weiss
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Power Law ◽  
Open Water ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Turbulent Heat Transfer ◽  
Large Temperature ◽  
Turbulent Heat ◽  
Coupled Models ◽  
Water Fraction

Abstract. Leads are linear-like structures of open water within the sea ice cover that develop as the result of fracturing due to divergence or shear. Through leads, air and water come into contact and directly exchange latent and sensible heat through convective processes driven by the large temperature and moisture differences between them. In the central Arctic, leads only cover 1 to 2% of the ocean during winter, but account for more than 80% of the heat fluxes. Furthermore, narrow leads (several meters) are more than twice as efficient at transmitting turbulent heat than larger ones (several hundreds of meters). We show that lead widths are power law distributed, P(X)~X−a with a>1, down to very small spatial scales (20 m or below). This implies that the open water fraction is by far dominated by very small leads. Using two classical formulations, which provide first order turbulence closure for the fetch-dependence of heat fluxes, we find that the mean heat fluxes (sensible and latent) over open water are up to 55 % larger when considering the lead width distribution obtained from a SPOT satellite image of the ice cover, compared to the situation where the open water fraction constitutes one unique large lead and the rest of the area is covered by ice, as it is usually considered in climate models at the grid scale. This difference may be even larger if we assume that the power law scaling of lead widths extents down to smaller (~1 m) scales. Such estimations may be a first step towards a subgrid scale parameterization of the spatial distribution of open water for heat fluxes calculations in ocean/sea ice coupled models.

scholarly journals Influence of sea ice lead-width distribution on turbulent heat transfer between the ocean and the atmosphere

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 143-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Marcq ◽  
J. Weiss
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Power Law ◽  
Open Water ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Turbulent Heat Transfer ◽  
Large Temperature ◽  
Turbulent Heat ◽  
Water Fraction ◽  
Width Distribution

Abstract. Leads are linear-like structures of open water within the sea ice cover that develop as the result of fracturing due to divergence or shear. Through leads, air and water come into contact and directly exchange latent and sensible heat through convective processes driven by the large temperature and moisture differences between them. In the central Arctic, leads only cover 1 to 2% of the ocean during winter, but account for more than 70% of the upward heat fluxes. Furthermore, narrow leads (several meters) are more than twice as efficient at transmitting turbulent heat than larger ones (several hundreds of meters). We show that lead widths are power law distributed, P(X)~X−a with a>1, down to very small spatial scales (20 m or below). This implies that the open water fraction is by far dominated by very small leads. Using two classical formulations, which provide first order turbulence closure for the fetch-dependence of heat fluxes, we find that the mean heat fluxes (sensible and latent) over open water are up to 55% larger when considering the lead-width distribution obtained from a SPOT satellite image of the ice cover, compared to the situation where the open water fraction constitutes one unique large lead and the rest of the area is covered by ice, as it is usually considered in climate models at the grid scale. This difference may be even larger if we assume that the power law scaling of lead widths extends down to smaller (~1 m) scales. Such estimations may be a first step towards a subgrid scale parameterization of the spatial distribution of open water for heat fluxes calculations in ocean/sea ice coupled models.

scholarly journals Physical Processes determining the Antarctic Sea Ice Environment

1997 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 759 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Allison
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Thickness Distribution ◽  
Arctic Basin ◽  
Open Water ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
Dynamic Processes ◽  
Surface Absorption ◽  
Antarctic Sea Ice ◽  
Ocean Atmosphere ◽  
The Antarctic

The Antarctic sea ice zone undergoes one of the greatest seasonal surface changes on Earth, with an annual change in extent of around 15 × 10 6 km 2 . This ice, and its associated snow cover, plays a number of important roles in the ocean-atmosphere climate system: the high albedo ice cover restricts surface absorption of solar radiation and acts as a barrier to the exchange of mass and energy between the ocean and atmosphere, and salt rejected by the growing ice cover affects the ocean structure and circulation. Additionally, a number of sea ice feedback processes have the potential to play an important role in climate change. The extent to which a sea ice cover modifies ocean-atmosphere interaction is primarily determined by the thickness and concentration of the ice, but these themselves are determined by ocean and atmospheric interaction. The thickness distribution of the pack is determined by both thermodynamic and dynamic processes: most important at the geophysical scale are the dynamic processes of ice drift and deformation, and of lead formation. Compared to the ice cover in the central Arctic Basin, the Antarctic sea ice is highly mobile. Drifting buoy studies show that the Antarctic pack can move at speeds of up to 60 km per day or greater, and that around most of the Antarctic coast, the drift of the pack ice is generally divergent, with divergence rates of 10% or more per day being observed under some circumstances. Consequently there is generally some open water within the Antarctic pack and much of the total ice mass forms by rapid growth within these areas. This influences the crystal structure of the ice and results in a considerable portion of the Antarctic pack (up to 25% in spring-time) having a thickness of less than 0 · 3 m. In general much of the Antarctic sea ice only grows thermodynamically to about 0·5 m thick, with thickness increases beyond that resulting from the deformational processes of rafting and ridge-building.

scholarly journals Possible connections of the opposite trends in Arctic and Antarctic sea-ice cover

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lejiang Yu ◽  
Shiyuan Zhong ◽  
Julie A. Winkler ◽  
Mingyu Zhou ◽  
Donald H. Lenschow ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
Antarctic Sea Ice

scholarly journals Albedo of Young and First-Year Antarctic Sea Ice

1990 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Brandt ◽  
Ian Allison ◽  
Stephen Warren
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Radiation Flux ◽  
Open Water ◽  
First Year ◽  
Spectral Measurements ◽  
Antarctic Sea Ice ◽  
Antarctic Expedition ◽  
Downward Radiation ◽  
Radiation Measurements ◽  
Snow Thickness

Reflection of solar radiation was studied in the seasonal sea-ice zone off East Antarctica on a cruise of the Australian Antarctic Expedition, October-December 1988. Spectral and total albedos were measured for grease ice, nilas, young grey ice, grey-white ice, snow-covered ice, and open water. Spectral measurements covered the region 400–1000 nm wavelength. For ice too thin to support our weight, the radiometers were mounted at the end of a 1.5 m rod extended out the door of a helicopter or from a basket hung from the ship's crane, using a positioning and leveling rack. Corrections had to be applied to the downward radiation flux because the helicopter or the crane was in the field of view of the cosine-collector. The fractional coverage of each of the ice types (and open water) was estimated hourly for the region near the ship, as well as the thickness of each ice type, and the snow thickness. Observations were carried out continuously during the four weeks the ship was in the ice, supplemented by occasional helicopter surveys covering larger areas. These observations, together with the radiation measurements, make possible the computation of area-average albedo for the East Antarctic sea-ice zone in spring.

scholarly journals Antarctic sea ice variability and trends, 1979–2010

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 931-956 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. L. Parkinson ◽  
D. J. Cavalieri
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
Weddell Sea ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Positive Trend ◽  
Antarctic Sea Ice ◽  
Ice Coverage

Abstract. In sharp contrast to the decreasing sea ice coverage of the Arctic, in the Antarctic the sea ice cover has, on average, expanded since the late 1970s. More specifically, satellite passive-microwave data for the period November 1978–December 2010 reveal an overall positive trend in ice extents of 17 100 ± 2300 km2 yr−1. Much of the increase, at 13 700 ± 1500 km2 yr−1, has occurred in the region of the Ross Sea, with lesser contributions from the Weddell Sea and Indian Ocean. One region, that of the Bellingshausen/Amundsen Seas, has, like the Arctic, instead experienced significant sea ice decreases, with an overall ice extent trend of −8200 ± 1200 km2 yr−1. When examined through the annual cycle over the 32-yr period 1979–2010, the Southern Hemisphere sea ice cover as a whole experienced positive ice extent trends in every month, ranging in magnitude from a low of 9100 ± 6300 km2 yr−1 in February to a high of 24 700 ± 10 000 km2 yr−1 in May. The Ross Sea and Indian Ocean also had positive trends in each month, while the Bellingshausen/Amundsen Seas had negative trends in each month, and the Weddell Sea and Western Pacific Ocean had a mixture of positive and negative trends. Comparing ice-area results to ice-extent results, in each case the ice-area trend has the same sign as the ice-extent trend, but differences in the magnitudes of the two trends identify regions with overall increasing ice concentrations and others with overall decreasing ice concentrations. The strong pattern of decreasing ice coverage in the Bellingshausen/Amundsen Seas region and increasing ice coverage in the Ross Sea region is suggestive of changes in atmospheric circulation. This is a key topic for future research.

scholarly journals Holocene variability in sea ice and primary productivity in the northeastern Baffin Bay

arktos ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 55-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeetendra Saini ◽  
Ruediger Stein ◽  
Kirsten Fahl ◽  
Jens Weiser ◽  
Dierk Hebbeln ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Water Discharge ◽  
Greenland Ice Sheet ◽  
Open Water ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
Baffin Bay ◽  
Arctic Sea ◽  
Ice Edge

AbstractArctic sea ice is a critical component of the climate system, known to influence ocean circulation, earth’s albedo, and ocean–atmosphere heat and gas exchange. Current developments in the use of IP25 (a sea ice proxy with 25 carbon atoms only synthesized by Arctic sea ice diatoms) have proven it to be a suitable proxy for paleo-sea ice reconstructions over hundreds of thousands to even millions of years. In the NE Baffin Bay, off NW Greenland, Melville Bugt is a climate-sensitive region characterized by strong seasonal sea ice variability and strong melt-water discharge from the Greenland Ice Sheet (GIS). Here, we present a centennial-scale resolution Holocene sea ice record, based on IP25 and open-water phytoplankton biomarkers (brassicasterol, dinosterol and HBI III) using core GeoB19927-3 (73° 35.26′ N, 58° 05.66′ W). Seasonal to ice-edge conditions near the core site are documented for most of the Holocene period with some significant variability. In the lower-most part, a cold interval characterized by extensive sea ice cover and very low local productivity is succeeded by an interval (~ 9.4–8.5 ka BP) with reduced sea ice cover, enhanced GIS spring melting, and strong influence of the West Greenland Current (WGC). From ~ 8.5 until ~ 7.8 ka BP, a cooling event is recorded by ice algae and phytoplankton biomarkers. They indicate an extended sea ice cover, possibly related to the opening of Nares Strait, which may have led to an increased influx of Polar Water into NE-Baffin Bay. The interval between ~ 7.8 and ~ 3.0 ka BP is characterized by generally reduced sea ice cover with millennial-scale variability of the (late winter/early spring) ice-edge limit, increased open-water conditions (polynya type), and a dominant WGC carrying warm waters at least as far as the Melville Bugt area. During the last ~ 3.0 ka BP, our biomarker records do not reflect the late Holocene ‘Neoglacial cooling’ observed elsewhere in the Northern Hemisphere, possibly due to the persistent influence of the WGC and interactions with the adjacent fjords. Peaks in HBI III at about ~ 2.1 and ~ 1.3 ka BP, interpreted as persistent ice-edge situations, might correlate with the Roman Warm Period (RWP) and Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA), respectively, in-phase with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) mode. When integrated with marine and terrestrial records from other circum-Baffin Bay areas (Disko Bay, the Canadian Arctic, the Labrador Sea), the Melville Bugt biomarker records point to close ties with high Arctic and Northern Hemispheric climate conditions, driven by solar and oceanic circulation forcings.

A Simple Parameterization of Ice Leads In a General Circulation Model, and the Sensitivity of Climateto Change in Antarctic Ice Concentration

1990 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 266-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Simmonds ◽  
W.F. Budd
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
General Circulation Model ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Sensible Heat Flux ◽  
Weighted Average ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Open Water ◽  
Weddell Sea ◽  
Antarctic Sea Ice ◽  
Ice Leads

We present a simple parameterization of the effect of open leads in a general circulation model of the atmosphere. We consider only the case where the sea ice distribution is prescribed (i.e., not interactive) and the fraction of open water in the ice is also prescribed and set at the same value at all points in the Southern Hemisphere and a different value in the Northern Hemisphere. We approximate the distribution of sea ice over a model “grid box” as a part of the box being covered by solid ice of uniform thickness and the complement of the box consisting of open water at a fixed -1.8 C. Because of the nonlinearity in the flux computations, separate calculations are performed over the solid sea ice and over the open leads. The net fluxes conveyed to the atmosphere over the grid box are determined by performing the appropriate area-weighted average over the two surface types. We report on an experiment designed to assess the sensitivity of the modelled climate to the imposition of a 50% concentration in the winter Antarctic sea ice. Significant warming of up to 6°C takes place in the vicinity of and above the Antarctic sea ice and is associated with significant changes in the zonal wind structure. Pressure reductions are simulated over the sea ice, being particularly marked in the Weddell Sea region, and an anomalous east-west aligned ridge is simulated at about 60°S. Very large changes in the sensible heat flux (in excess of 200 Wm−2) are simulated near the coast of Antarctica.

scholarly journals Turbulent heat transfer as a control of platelet ice growth in supercooled under-ice ocean boundary layers

Ocean Science ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 507-515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miles G. McPhee ◽  
Craig L. Stevens ◽  
Inga J. Smith ◽  
Natalie J. Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Turbulent Heat Transfer ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
Turbulent Heat ◽  
Ice Shelves ◽  
Ice Growth ◽  
Turbulent Heat Exchange ◽  
Fast Ice ◽  
Platelet Ice

Abstract. Late winter measurements of turbulent quantities in tidally modulated flow under land-fast sea ice near the Erebus Glacier Tongue, McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, identified processes that influence growth at the interface of an ice surface in contact with supercooled seawater. The data show that turbulent heat exchange at the ocean–ice boundary is characterized by the product of friction velocity and (negative) water temperature departure from freezing, analogous to similar results for moderate melting rates in seawater above freezing. Platelet ice growth appears to increase the hydraulic roughness (drag) of fast ice compared with undeformed fast ice without platelets. Platelet growth in supercooled water under thick ice appears to be rate-limited by turbulent heat transfer and that this is a significant factor to be considered in mass transfer at the underside of ice shelves and sea ice in the vicinity of ice shelves.

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