Spectral irradiance and bio-optical properties in perennially ice-covered lakes of the dry valleys (McMurdo Sound, Antarctica)

1992 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. P. Lizotte ◽  
J. C. Priscu
Keyword(s):  
Optical Properties ◽  
Spectral Irradiance ◽  
Dry Valleys ◽  
Mcmurdo Sound

scholarly journals Influence of light-absorbing particles on snow spectral irradiance profiles

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 2169-2187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francois Tuzet ◽  
Marie Dumont ◽  
Laurent Arnaud ◽  
Didier Voisin ◽  
Maxim Lamare ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Optical Properties ◽  
Radiative Transfer ◽  
Black Carbon ◽  
Mineral Dust ◽  
Surface Energy Budget ◽  
Spectral Irradiance ◽  
Light Extinction ◽  
Attractive Alternative ◽  
Chemical Measurements ◽  
Radiative Impact

Abstract. Light-absorbing particles (LAPs) such as black carbon or mineral dust are some of the main drivers of snow radiative transfer. Small amounts of LAPs significantly increase snowpack absorption in the visible wavelengths where ice absorption is particularly weak, impacting the surface energy budget of snow-covered areas. However, linking measurements of LAP concentration in snow to their actual radiative impact is a challenging issue which is not fully resolved. In the present paper, we point out a new method based on spectral irradiance profile (SIP) measurements which makes it possible to identify the radiative impact of LAPs on visible light extinction in homogeneous layers of the snowpack. From this impact on light extinction it is possible to infer LAP concentrations present in each layer using radiative transfer theory. This study relies on a unique dataset composed of 26 spectral irradiance profile measurements in the wavelength range 350–950 nm with concomitant profile measurements of snow physical properties and LAP concentrations, collected in the Alps over two snow seasons in winter and spring conditions. For 55 homogeneous snow layers identified in our dataset, the concentrations retrieved from SIP measurements are compared to chemical measurements of LAP concentrations. A good correlation is observed for measured concentrations higher than 5 ng g−1 (r2=0.81) despite a clear positive bias. The potential causes of this bias are discussed, underlining a strong sensitivity of our method to LAP optical properties and to the relationship between snow microstructure and snow optical properties used in the theory. Additional uncertainties such as artefacts in the measurement technique for SIP and chemical contents along with LAP absorption efficiency may explain part of this bias. In addition, spectral information on LAP absorption can be retrieved from SIP measurements. We show that for layers containing a unique absorber, this absorber can be identified in some cases (e.g. mineral dust vs. black carbon). We also observe an enhancement of light absorption between 350 and 650 nm in the presence of liquid water in the snowpack, which is discussed but not fully elucidated. A single SIP acquisition lasts approximately 1 min and is hence much faster than collecting a profile of chemical measurements. With the recent advances in modelling LAP–snow interactions, our method could become an attractive alternative to estimate vertical profiles of LAP concentrations in snow.

scholarly journals Large Salt Beds on the Surface of the Ross Ice Shelf Near Black Island, Antarctica

1981 ◽  
Vol 27 (95) ◽  
pp. 11-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Howard Thomas Brady ◽  
Barry Batts
Keyword(s):  
Thin Layer ◽  
Dry Valleys ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Mcmurdo Sound ◽  
Extensive System ◽  
Ross Ice Shelf ◽  
Victoria Land ◽  
Marine Algal ◽  
Algal Mat

AbstractAn extensive system of mirabilite (Na2SO4· 10H2O) beds has been mapped on the Ross Ice Shelf near Black Island. The salt beds are normally underlain by a thin layer of mud and their surface is covered by a non-marine algal mat and boulder lag. These authors suggest the salt has been formed by the displacement of sub-ice-shelf brines to the ice-shelf surface. Evidence also suggests that other terrestrial mirabilite beds in the McMurdo Sound area were formed in the same manner and deposited by the Ross Ice Shelf during its Wisconsin retreat from McMurdo Sound. Mirabilite salt in the dry valleys, southern Victoria Land, may have also originated from melt waters which dissolved ice-shelf mirabilite beds.

Optical properties of ocean waters in the vicinity of the Chatham Rise, South Pacific Ocean

1998 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Shooter ◽  
Robert J. Davies-Colley ◽  
John T. O. Kirk ◽  
Anne-Maree Schwarz
Keyword(s):  
Optical Properties ◽  
Chlorophyll Fluorescence ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
Attenuation Coefficient ◽  
Coastal Waters ◽  
South Pacific ◽  
Spectral Irradiance ◽  
Convergence Zone ◽  
South Pacific Ocean

Apparent optical properties of the water at 21 ocean stations in the South Pacific, east of New Zealand in the vicinity of the Chatham Rise, have been studied. Spectral irradiance attenuation and reflectance, and PAR irradiance attenuation, were measured in Sub-tropical and Sub-antarctic water masses, in the Sub-tropical Convergence zone between them, and in coastal waters. The waters studied are considered to be predominantly Jerlov optical types II and III. Anomalous features at wavelengths above 590 nm in the spectra of reflectance and of the vertical attenuation coefficient for upward irradiance were attributed predominantly to Raman emission with a contribution from chlorophyll fluorescence at longer wavelengths.

The Sensitivity of Solar Transmittance, Reflectance and Absorptance to Selected Averaging Procedures and Solar Irradiance Distributions

1980 ◽  
Vol 102 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Lind ◽  
R. B. Pettit ◽  
K. D. Masterson
Keyword(s):  
Optical Properties ◽  
Solar Irradiance ◽  
Thermal Conversion ◽  
Spectral Irradiance ◽  
Solar Thermal ◽  
Computational Techniques ◽  
Spectral Transmittance ◽  
Solar Spectral Irradiance

The sensitivity of the solar weighted optical properties of selected materials to different terrestrial solar spectral irradiance distributions and computational techniques has been investigated. The spectral transmittance, reflectance, and absorptance of typical materials employed in solar thermal conversion systems were used for the calculations. The values obtained for several different solar irradiance distributions and calculational methods show only small differences. A single terrestrial solar irradiance distribution is recommended for use as a standard.

scholarly journals Report of a mummified leopard seal carcass in the southern Dry Valleys, McMurdo Sound, Antarctica

2009 ◽  
Vol 22 (01) ◽  
pp. 43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan C. Banks ◽  
Philip M. Ross ◽  
Tracy E. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Dry Valleys ◽  
Leopard Seal ◽  
Mcmurdo Sound

Aeromagnetic survey of Ross Island, McMurdo Sound, and the dry valleys

1981 ◽  
pp. 7-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. R. Pederson ◽  
G. E. Montgomery ◽  
L. D. McGinnis ◽  
C. P. Ervin ◽  
H. K. Wong
Keyword(s):  
Dry Valleys ◽  
Aeromagnetic Survey ◽  
Mcmurdo Sound

scholarly journals Large Salt Beds on the Surface of the Ross Ice Shelf Near Black Island, Antarctica

1981 ◽  
Vol 27 (95) ◽  
pp. 11-18
Author(s):  
Howard Thomas Brady ◽  
Barry Batts
Keyword(s):  
Thin Layer ◽  
Dry Valleys ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Mcmurdo Sound ◽  
Extensive System ◽  
Ross Ice Shelf ◽  
Victoria Land ◽  
Marine Algal ◽  
Algal Mat

AbstractAn extensive system of mirabilite (Na2SO4 · 10H2O) beds has been mapped on the Ross Ice Shelf near Black Island. The salt beds are normally underlain by a thin layer of mud and their surface is covered by a non-marine algal mat and boulder lag. These authors suggest the salt has been formed by the displacement of sub-ice-shelf brines to the ice-shelf surface. Evidence also suggests that other terrestrial mirabilite beds in the McMurdo Sound area were formed in the same manner and deposited by the Ross Ice Shelf during its Wisconsin retreat from McMurdo Sound. Mirabilite salt in the dry valleys, southern Victoria Land, may have also originated from melt waters which dissolved ice-shelf mirabilite beds.

A Review of the Dry Valley Drilling Project, 1971–76

Polar Record ◽  
1981 ◽  
Vol 20 (129) ◽  
pp. 533-541 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tetsuya Torii
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
Volcanic Complex ◽  
Dry Valleys ◽  
Geological History ◽  
Mcmurdo Sound ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Unconsolidated Material ◽  
Dry Valley ◽  
Logistic Support ◽  
Drilling Project

The Dry Valleys of southern Victoria Land, Antarctica, lying some 75 km west of McMurdo station, form an arid, ice-free area of roughly 2 500 km2. Since the late 1950s, this region has provided a remarkable opportunity for geoscientific studies of the exposed surface rocks, within easy reach of logistic support at McMurdo and Scott bases on Ross Island (Fig 1). As a result of a study of Lake Vanda in the Wright Valley, which began during the 1963–64 summer field season, scientists from the United States, New Zealand and Japan supported the view that further advances in our knowledge of the Dry Valleys would require an examination of the unconsolidated material, and the geothermal regime at lake sites, using direct shallow drilling techniques. As drilling techniques and interestin the geological history of the McMurdo region as a whole (encompassing the Transantarctic Mountains, Ross Island, McMurdo Sound and the Dry Valleys) developed, an international, multidisciplinary project—the Dry Valley Drilling Project (DVDP)—was conceived. By 1969 the US National Science Foundation (NSF) had decided to coordinate proposals from scientists wishing to drill the first intermediate and deep cores into the sediment and rock of Antarctica; the aim, a reconstruction of Antarctic geological history that traditional surface or near-surface studies alone could never achieve. Initially, the approach was to be a sub-surface physical, chemical and biological examination of theDry Valleys, but as the project developed it encompassed studies of the Ross Island volcanic complex and McMurdo Sound sediments.

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