scholarly journals The distribution and formative processes of latent-heat polynyas in East Antarctica

1998 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 420-426 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. A. Massom ◽  
P.T. Harris ◽  
Kelvin J. Michael ◽  
M.J. Potter

A study of polynya characteristics in East Antarctica was undertaken using ice concentrations derived from special sensor microwave/imager data for the period July 1987-August 1994. The areas of polynyas were defined as having an ice concentration ≤75%. The analysis revealed a total of 28 coastal polynyas within the study region. The spatial and temporal variability in areal extent was quantified. The timing of mean maximum areal extent varied from June to October. The bathymetry and wind regime at each polynya site was examined to gauge the relative importance of these parameters in polynya formation and maintenance. In 20 locations, shallow banks and shoals form grounding zones for icebergs and anchoring sites for fast ice, which form barriers to the predominantly westward drift of the pack ice; elsewhere north-south coastal protrusions or alignments form similar barriers. The subsequent removal of newly formed sea ice from the lee of such barriers by katabatic and synoptic winds maintains areas of reduced ice concentration and open water. Very few coastal polynyas are attributed solely to katabatic outflow. The combined influence of bathymetry, topography and winds is responsible for the characteristics of the majority of polynyas. Many were considered to be marginal, characterised by occasional periods when the ice concentration falls below 75%. An analysis of annual winter totals of areas with ice concentrations < 75% shows no trends in total polynya areal extent over the period 1987-94. Known locations of emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) rookeries were also found to be associated with the locations of coastal polynyas.

1990 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 242-246
Author(s):  
Donald K. Perovich ◽  
Gary A. Maykut

Sea ice covering the polar oceans is only a thin veneer whose areal extent can undergo large and rapid variations in response to relatively small changes in thermal forcing. Positive feedback between variations in ice extent and global albedo has the potential to amplify small changes in climate. Particularly difficult to model is the summer decay and retreat of the ice pack which is strongly influenced by shortwave radiation entering the upper ocean through leads (Iw). Most models assume that all of this energy is expended in lateral melting at floe edges. In reality, only a portion of Iw contributes directly to lateral melting, with the remainder going to bottom ablation and warming of the water. This partitioning of Iw affects not only the magnitude, but also the character of the predicted ice decay, reducing the change in ice concentration and enhancing the thinning of the ice and the storage of heat in the water. In this paper we present an analytical model which includes many of these processes and is stable regardless of time step, making it suitable for use in climate simulations.


1997 ◽  
Vol 43 (143) ◽  
pp. 122-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerd Wendler ◽  
Ute Adolphs ◽  
Adrian Hauser ◽  
Blake Moore

AbstractThe surface energy budget was investigated during a cruise through the pack ice in the Southern Ocean. The time of observation was close to mid-summer. Some of the more important findings were: The mean albedo varied from 11 % for open water to 59% for 10/10 ice cover. Hourly values span the range from 6% (open water) to 76% (total ice cover).The net heat flux into the ocean (B) was on average 109 W m−2, If this energy were used solely for melting of sea ice, 30 mm could be melted each day.For low surface albedos (ice concentration below 7/10), the net radiation increased with decreasing cloudiness. However, the opposite was the case for a high surface albedo. The last point shows the importance of clouds on the surface energy budget. Not only should their presence or absence be known but also the reflectivity of the underlying surface, as it might change the net radiation in opposite ways.


1993 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald L. Kooyman

Within the Western Ross Sea, there are six emperor penguin colonies of widely different size that occur exclusively on sea ice. In 1990 a survey of all six sites, two by close overflights and four from the ground, showed that the breeding habitats were highly variable. The most important physical characteristics of these habitats appear to be stable fast ice, nearby open water, access to fresh snow, and shelter from the wind.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. T. Tonboe ◽  
S. Eastwood ◽  
T. Lavergne ◽  
A. M. Sørensen ◽  
N. Rathmann ◽  
...  

Abstract. An Arctic and Antarctic sea ice area and extent dataset has been generated by EUMETSAT's Ocean and Sea Ice Satellite Application Facility (OSISAF) using the record of American microwave radiometer data from Nimbus 7 Scanning Multichannel Microwave radiometer (SMMR) and the Defense Meteorological satellite Program (DMSP) Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) and Special Sensor Microwave Imager and Sounder (SSMIS) satellite sensors. The dataset covers the period from 1978 to 2014 and updates and further developments are planned for the next phase of the project. The methodology is using: 1) numerical weather prediction (NWP) input to a radiative transfer model (RTM) for correction of the brightness temperatures for reduction of atmospheric noise, 2) dynamical algorithm tie-points to mitigate trends in residual atmospheric, sea ice and water emission characteristics and inter-sensor differences/biases, 3) and a hybrid sea ice concentration algorithm using the Bristol algorithm over ice and the Bootstrap algorithm in frequency mode over open water. A new algorithm has been developed to estimate the spatially and temporally varying sea ice concentration uncertainties. A comparison to sea ice charts from the Arctic and the Antarctic shows that ice concentrations are higher in the ice charts than estimated from the radiometer data at intermediate ice concentrations. The sea ice climate dataset is available for download at (www.osisaf.org) including documentation.


1983 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 141-146
Author(s):  
T. E. Keliher ◽  
J. S. Foley

Efforts to develop a dynamical model of Labrador pack ice have been hampered by a lack of input data, especially ocean current data. This work reports the results of approaching this problem in another way, where model simulations are used as a basis for adjusting the input currents to obtain agreement with ice drift data. The ice drift data comes from a period in February 1977 when a ship was fast in the northern Labrador pack. Unfortunately, the ship experienced navigation problems and the direct current observations were suspect. The model simulations bear this out indicating that it would have been very unlikely that the observed currents along with the other forcing terms could lead to the observed ice drift. A climatological current data set gave better agreement and was slightly modified to give the best agreement. This improved data set was used for a short sensitivity test of the rheological specifications of the model. It was found that the ice drift tracks were not very sensitive to the linear viscous stress law but were more sensitive to the parameterization used to reduce ice velocities in areas of high ice concentration and fast ice. Further plans are to use a model with a more realistic rheological component in order to assess its importance in estimating currents.


Author(s):  
Kyung Duk Park ◽  
Yong Kwan Chung ◽  
Young Sik Jang ◽  
Hyun Soo Kim ◽  
David Molyneux

This paper describes the development of three candidate hull forms for 190,000 DWT ore carrier for operation in ice covered water. It builds on Hyundai Heavy Industries expertise in ore carrier design, and discusses some of the changes required for operation in heavy ice conditions. The overall concept was to have a target speed of 6 knots in land fast ice 1.7m thick and 15 knots in open water. Three candidate bow shapes were designed and analyzed, based on a common stern arrangement. The development of the hull form included three methods of predicting the performance of the ships in ice. Empirical analysis was carried out for all three hulls, based on experience gained from model experiments on bulk carrier hull forms in ice. Numerical analysis was carried out on all three bow shapes using a computer program (based on the discrete element method) to simulate the interaction between the ship and the ice. Physical model experiments were carried out for resistance and propulsion in level ice, pack ice and ridges on the selected design. As a result of the model experiments, the selected bow shape was modified to reduce its resistance in ice. The improved performance of the modified hull was confirmed with additional numerical simulations.


1993 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. 149-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Per Gloersen ◽  
William J. Campbell ◽  
Donald J. Cavalieri ◽  
Josefino C. Comiso ◽  
Claire L. Parkinson ◽  
...  

We have recently completed an analysis that examines in detail the spatial and temporal variations in global sea-ice coverage from 26 October 1978, through 20 August 1987. The sea-icemeasurements we analyzed are derived from data collected by a multispectral, dual-polarized, constant incidence-angle microwave imager, the Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR) on board the NASA Nimbus 7 satellite. The characteristics of the SMMR have permitted a more accurate calculation of total sea-ice concentrations (fraction of ocean area covered by sea ice) than earlier single-channel instruments and, for the first time, a determination of both multiyear sea-ice concentrations and physical temperatures of the sea-ice pack. An estimate of the SMMR wintertime total ice concentration accuracy of ± 7% in both hemispheres has been obtained. As this is an improvement over the estimated accuracies of previous microwave sensors, we are able to present improved calculations of the sea-ice extents (areas enclosed by the 15% ice concentration boundaries), sea-ice concentrations, and open-water areas within the ice margins. This analysis will be published in a book, Arctic and Antarctic sea ice, 1978–1987: satellite passive microwave observations and analysis, due for publication in1992. Some highlights from the analysis are presented in this paper.


1993 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. 149-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Per Gloersen ◽  
William J. Campbell ◽  
Donald J. Cavalieri ◽  
Josefino C. Comiso ◽  
Claire L. Parkinson ◽  
...  

We have recently completed an analysis that examines in detail the spatial and temporal variations in global sea-ice coverage from 26 October 1978, through 20 August 1987. The sea-icemeasurements we analyzed are derived from data collected by a multispectral, dual-polarized, constant incidence-angle microwave imager, the Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR) on board the NASA Nimbus 7 satellite. The characteristics of the SMMR have permitted a more accurate calculation of total sea-ice concentrations (fraction of ocean area covered by sea ice) than earlier single-channel instruments and, for the first time, a determination of both multiyear sea-ice concentrations and physical temperatures of the sea-ice pack. An estimate of the SMMR wintertime total ice concentration accuracy of ± 7% in both hemispheres has been obtained. As this is an improvement over the estimated accuracies of previous microwave sensors, we are able to present improved calculations of the sea-ice extents (areas enclosed by the 15% ice concentration boundaries), sea-ice concentrations, and open-water areas within the ice margins. This analysis will be published in a book, Arctic and Antarctic sea ice, 1978–1987: satellite passive microwave observations and analysis, due for publication in1992. Some highlights from the analysis are presented in this paper.


Polar Record ◽  
1967 ◽  
Vol 13 (87) ◽  
pp. 775-778 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Stonehouse

McMurdo Sound is well known as an area comparatively free from fast ice during the middle and late summer. Although closed to its discoverer in February 1841 by contrary winds, pack ice and new ice (Ross, 1847), the sound provided easy access to high latitudes in January and February on at least ten occasions between 1902 and 1916. Since 1955, icebreakers have assisted shipping movements in November and December, and possibly helped in dispersing the winter fast ice by cutting wide channels from Cape Bird southward. However, northerly swells and south-easterly gales are sufficient in most years to disperse fast ice from the southern end of the sound by mid or late February (Heine, 1963).


1983 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 141-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. E. Keliher ◽  
J. S. Foley

Efforts to develop a dynamical model of Labrador pack ice have been hampered by a lack of input data, especially ocean current data. This work reports the results of approaching this problem in another way, where model simulations are used as a basis for adjusting the input currents to obtain agreement with ice drift data. The ice drift data comes from a period in February 1977 when a ship was fast in the northern Labrador pack. Unfortunately, the ship experienced navigation problems and the direct current observations were suspect. The model simulations bear this out indicating that it would have been very unlikely that the observed currents along with the other forcing terms could lead to the observed ice drift. A climatological current data set gave better agreement and was slightly modified to give the best agreement. This improved data set was used for a short sensitivity test of the rheological specifications of the model. It was found that the ice drift tracks were not very sensitive to the linear viscous stress law but were more sensitive to the parameterization used to reduce ice velocities in areas of high ice concentration and fast ice. Further plans are to use a model with a more realistic rheological component in order to assess its importance in estimating currents.


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