scholarly journals Basic Properties of Antarctic Sea Ice as Revealed by Textural Analysis of Ice Cores

1988 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 95-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manfred A. Lange
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Coastal Waters ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Biological Properties ◽  
Weddell Sea ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Antarctic Sea Ice ◽  
Physical Chemical

Sea ice constitutes a major element in the atmospheric, oceanographic and biological regime of the polar regions. Assessment of its fundamental properties requires interdisciplinary investigations on local, regional and global scales. Sea-ice structure and textural parameters of individual ice cores play a key role in such investigations. A proper characterization of sea-ice micro-structure is essential for an adequate classification of ice cores, an understanding of the growth processes of the sampled floe, and the identification of possible relationships between ice texture, and the physical, chemical and biological properties of sea ice. Investigations on ice cores which were obtained during three recent Antarctic expeditions (1983–85) in coastal waters of the eastern and southern Weddell Sea are reported. The basis for a number of physical, chemical and biological investigations is an assessment of the textural characteristics of each sea-ice core. These are derived by inspection of continuous thick sections, supplemented by an analysis of selected vertical and horizontal thin sections. Major results of this study can be summarized as follows: (i) in addition to the common ice classes, another sea-ice type, platelet ice, is identified; it is apparently unique to the coastal waters of Antarctica, near the ice-shelf edge, and (ii) different physical, chemical and biological sea-ice properties vary systematically with and are probably related to / controlled by the ice texture of the cores.

scholarly journals Basic Properties of Antarctic Sea Ice as Revealed by Textural Analysis of Ice Cores

1988 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 95-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manfred A. Lange
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Coastal Waters ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Biological Properties ◽  
Weddell Sea ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Antarctic Sea Ice ◽  
Physical Chemical

Sea ice constitutes a major element in the atmospheric, oceanographic and biological regime of the polar regions. Assessment of its fundamental properties requires interdisciplinary investigations on local, regional and global scales. Sea-ice structure and textural parameters of individual ice cores play a key role in such investigations. A proper characterization of sea-ice micro-structure is essential for an adequate classification of ice cores, an understanding of the growth processes of the sampled floe, and the identification of possible relationships between ice texture, and the physical, chemical and biological properties of sea ice. Investigations on ice cores which were obtained during three recent Antarctic expeditions (1983–85) in coastal waters of the eastern and southern Weddell Sea are reported. The basis for a number of physical, chemical and biological investigations is an assessment of the textural characteristics of each sea-ice core. These are derived by inspection of continuous thick sections, supplemented by an analysis of selected vertical and horizontal thin sections. Major results of this study can be summarized as follows: (i) in addition to the common ice classes, another sea-ice type, platelet ice, is identified; it is apparently unique to the coastal waters of Antarctica, near the ice-shelf edge, and (ii) different physical, chemical and biological sea-ice properties vary systematically with and are probably related to / controlled by the ice texture of the cores.

scholarly journals Antarctic Sea Ice Proxies from Marine and Ice Core Archives Suitable for Reconstructing Sea Ice over the Past 2000 Years

Geosciences ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 506 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth R. Thomas ◽  
Claire S. Allen ◽  
Johan Etourneau ◽  
Amy C. F. King ◽  
Mirko Severi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Weddell Sea ◽  
The Past ◽  
Antarctic Sea Ice ◽  
Past 2000 Years

Dramatic changes in sea ice have been observed in both poles in recent decades. However, the observational period for sea ice is short, and the climate models tasked with predicting future change in sea ice struggle to capture the current Antarctic trends. Paleoclimate archives, from marine sedimentary records and coastal Antarctic ice cores, provide a means of understanding sea ice variability and its drivers over decadal to centennial timescales. In this study, we collate published records of Antarctic sea ice over the past 2000 years (2 ka). We evaluate the current proxies and explore the potential of combining marine and ice core records to produce multi-archive reconstructions. Despite identifying 92 sea ice reconstructions, the spatial and temporal resolution is only sufficient to reconstruct circum-Antarctic sea ice during the 20th century, not the full 2 ka. Our synthesis reveals a 90 year trend of increasing sea ice in the Ross Sea and declining sea ice in the Bellingshausen, comparable with observed trends since 1979. Reconstructions in the Weddell Sea, the Western Pacific and the Indian Ocean reveal small negative trends in sea ice during the 20th century (1900–1990), in contrast to the observed sea ice expansion in these regions since 1979.

scholarly journals Dissolved organic matter in Antarctic sea ice

2001 ◽  
Vol 33 ◽  
pp. 297-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
David N. Thomas ◽  
Gerhard Kattner ◽  
Ralph Engbrodt ◽  
Virginia Giannelli ◽  
Hilary Kennedy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Dissolved Organic Matter ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Pore Space ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Weddell Sea ◽  
Poor Correlation ◽  
First Year ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
Antarctic Sea Ice

AbstractIt has been hypothesized that there are significant dissolved organic matter (DOM) pools in sea-ice systems, although measurements of DOM in sea ice have only rarely been made. The significance of DOM for ice-based productivity and carbon turnover therefore remains highly speculative. DOM within sea ice from the Amundsen and Bellingshausen Seas, Antarctica, in 1994 and the Weddell Sea, Antarctica, in 1992 and 1997 was investigated. Measurements were made on melted sea-ice sections in 1994 and 1997 and in sea-ice brines in 1992. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) concentrations in melted ice cores were up to 1.8 and 0.78 mM, respectively, or 30 and 8 times higher than those in surface water concentrations, respectively. However, when concentrations within the brine channel/pore space were calculated from estimated brine volumes, actual concentrations of DOC in brines were up to 23.3 mM and DON up to 2.2 mM, although mean values were 1.8 and 0.15 mM, respectively. There were higher concentrations of DOM in warm, porous summer second-year sea ice compared with colder autumn first-year ice, consistent with the different biological activity supported within the various ice types. However, in general there was poor correlation between DOC and DON with algal biomass and numbers of bacteria within the ice. The mean DOC/DON ratio was 11, although again values were highly variable, ranging from 3 to highly carbon-enriched samples of 95. Measurements made on a limited dataset showed that carbohydrates constitute on average 35% of the DOC pool, with highly variable contributions of 1−99%.

scholarly journals An emerging technique: multi-ice-core multi-parameter correlations with Antarctic sea-ice extent

2011 ◽  
Vol 52 (57) ◽  
pp. 347-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon B. Sneed ◽  
Paul A. Mayewski ◽  
Daniel A. Dixon
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Chemical Species ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Initial Step ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Parameter Study ◽  
Sea Ice Extent ◽  
Antarctic Sea Ice ◽  
Siple Dome

AbstractUsing results stemming from the International Trans-Antarctic Scientific Expedition (ITASE) ice-core array plus data from ice cores from the South Pole and Siple Dome we investigate the use of sodium (Na+), non-sea-salt sulfate (nssSO42–) and methylsulfonate (MS–) as proxies for Antarctic sea-ice extent (SIE). Maximum and mean annual chemistry concentrations for these three species correlate significantly with maximum, mean and minimum annual SIE, offering more information and clarification than single ice-core and single species approaches. Significant correlations greater than 90% exist between Na+ and maximum SIE; nssSO42– with minimum and mean SIE; and MS– with mean SIE. Correlations with SIE within large geographic regions are in the same direction for all ice-core sites for Na+ and nssSO42– but not MS–. All ice cores display an SIE correlation with nssSO42– and MS–, but not all correlate with Na+. This multi-core multi-parameter study provides the initial step in determining which chemical species can be used reliably and in which regions as a building block for embedding other ice-core records. Once established, the resulting temporal and spatial matrix can be used to relate ice extents, atmospheric patterns, biological productivity and site conditions.

scholarly journals Physical processes behind interactions of microplastic particles with natural ice

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irina P Chubarenko
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
Air Bubbles ◽  
Field Observations ◽  
Physical Processes ◽  
Ice Surface ◽  
Brittle Ductile Transition

Abstract Microplastic particles (MPs, <5 mm) are found in marine ice in larger quantities than in seawater, however, the distribution pattern within the ice cores is not consistent. To get insights into the most general physical processes behind interactions of ice and plastic particles in cool natural environments, information from academic and applied research is integrated and verified against available field observations. Non-polar molecules of common-market plastics are hydrophobic, so MPs are weak ice nucleators, are repelled from water and ice, and concentrate within air bubbles and brine channels. A large difference in thermal properties of ice and plastics favours concentration of MPs at the ice surface during freeze/thaw cycles. Under low environmental temperatures, falling in polar regions below the glass / brittle-ductile transition temperatures of the common-use plastics, they become brittle. This might partially explain the absence of floating macroplastics in polar waters. Freshwater freezes at the temperature well below that of its maximum density, so the water column is stably stratified, and MPs eventually concentrate at the ice surface and in air bubbles. In contrast, below growing sea ice, mechanisms of suspension freezing under conditions of (thermal plus haline) convection should permanently entangle MPs into ice. During further sea ice growth and aging, MPs are repelled from water and ice into air bubbles, brine channels, and to the upper/lower boundaries of the ice column. Sea ice permeability, especially while melting periods, can re-distribute sub-millimeter MPs through the brine channels, thus potentially introducing the variability of contamination with time. In accord with field observations, analysis reveals several competing factors that influence the distribution of MPs in sea ice. A thorough sampling of the upper ice surface, prevention of brine leakage while sampling and handling, considering the ice structure while segmenting the ice core – these steps may be advantageous for further understanding the pattern of plastic contamination in natural ice.

scholarly journals Physical and biological properties of early winter Antarctic sea ice in the Ross Sea

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Jean-Louis Tison ◽  
Ted Maksym ◽  
Alexander D. Fraser ◽  
Matthew Corkill ◽  
Noriaki Kimura ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Thickness Distribution ◽  
Biological Properties ◽  
Weddell Sea ◽  
Algal Community ◽  
Early Winter ◽  
Ice Growth ◽  
Antarctic Sea Ice ◽  
Spatial Differences

Abstract This work presents the results of physical and biological investigations at 27 biogeochemical stations of early winter sea ice in the Ross Sea during the 2017 PIPERS cruise. Only two similar cruises occurred in the past, in 1995 and 1998. The year 2017 was a specific year, in that ice growth in the Central Ross Sea was considerably delayed, compared to previous years. These conditions resulted in lower ice thicknesses and Chl-a burdens, as compared to those observed during the previous cruises. It also resulted in a different structure of the sympagic algal community, unusually dominated by Phaeocystis rather than diatoms. Compared to autumn-winter sea ice in the Weddell Sea (AWECS cruise), the 2017 Ross Sea pack ice displayed similar thickness distribution, but much lower snow cover and therefore nearly no flooding conditions. It is shown that contrasted dynamics of autumnal-winter sea-ice growth between the Weddell Sea and the Ross Sea impacted the development of the sympagic community. Mean/median ice Chl-a concentrations were 3–5 times lower at PIPERS, and the community status there appeared to be more mature (decaying?), based on Phaeopigments/Chl-a ratios. These contrasts are discussed in the light of temporal and spatial differences between the two cruises.

scholarly journals Can we reconstruct the formation of large open ocean polynyas in the Southern Ocean using ice core records?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugues Goosse ◽  
Quentin Dalaiden ◽  
Marie G. P. Cavitte ◽  
Liping Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Open Ocean ◽  
Weddell Sea ◽  
High Accumulation ◽  
Surface Mass ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Large open-ocean polynyas, defined as ice-free areas within the sea ice pack, have been observed only rarely over the past decades in the Southern Ocean. In addition to smaller recent events, an impressive sequence occurred in the Weddell Sea in 1974, 1975 and 1976 with openings of more than 300,000 km2 that lasted the full winter. Those big events have a huge impact on the sea ice cover, deep-water formation and more generally on the Southern Ocean and the Antarctic climate. However, we have no estimate of the frequency of the occurrence of such large open-ocean polynyas before the 1970s. Our goal here is to test if polynya activity could be reconstructed using continental records, and specifically, observations derived from ice cores. The fingerprint of big open-ocean polynyas is first described in reconstructions based on data from weather stations, in ice cores for the 1970s and in climate models. It shows a clear signal, characterized by a surface air warming and increased precipitation in coastal regions adjacent to the eastern part of the Weddell Sea where several high-resolution ice cores have been collected. The signal of isotopic composition of precipitation is more ambiguous and we thus base our reconstructions on surface mass balance records only. A first reconstruction is obtained by performing a simple average of standardized records. Given the similarity between the observed signal and the one simulated in models, we also use data assimilation to reconstruct past polynya activity. The impact of open ocean polynyas on the continent is not large enough compared to the changes due, for instance, to atmospheric variability to detect without ambiguity the polynya signal and additional observations would be required to discriminate clearly the years with and without open ocean polynya. It is thus reasonable to consider that, in these preliminary reconstructions, some high accumulation events may be wrongly interpreted as the consequence of polynya formation while some years with polynya formation may be missed. Nevertheless, our reconstructions suggest that big open ocean polynyas, such as the ones that were observed in the 1970s, are rare events, occurring at most a few times per century. Century-scale changes in polynya activity are also likely but our reconstructions are unable to assess precisely this aspect at this stage.

scholarly journals Can we reconstruct the formation of large open-ocean polynyas in the Southern Ocean using ice core records?

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-131
Author(s):  
Hugues Goosse ◽  
Quentin Dalaiden ◽  
Marie G. P. Cavitte ◽  
Liping Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Snow Accumulation ◽  
Open Ocean ◽  
Weddell Sea ◽  
Surface Mass ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Large open-ocean polynyas, defined as ice-free areas within the sea ice pack, have only rarely been observed in the Southern Ocean over the past decades. In addition to smaller recent events, an impressive sequence occurred in the Weddell Sea in 1974, 1975 and 1976 with openings of more than 300 000 km2 that lasted the full winter. These big events have a huge impact on the sea ice cover, deep-water formation, and, more generally, on the Southern Ocean and the Antarctic climate. However, we have no estimate of the frequency of the occurrence of such large open-ocean polynyas before the 1970s. Our goal here is to test if polynya activity could be reconstructed using continental records and, specifically, observations derived from ice cores. The fingerprint of big open-ocean polynyas is first described in reconstructions based on data from weather stations, in ice cores for the 1970s and in climate models. It shows a signal characterized by a surface air warming and increased precipitation in coastal regions adjacent to the eastern part of the Weddell Sea, where several high-resolution ice cores have been collected. The signal of the isotopic composition of precipitation is more ambiguous; thus, we base our reconstructions on surface mass balance records alone. A first reconstruction is obtained by performing a simple average of standardized records. Given the similarity between the observed signal and the one simulated in models, we also use data assimilation to reconstruct past polynya activity. The impact of open-ocean polynyas on the continent is not large enough, compared with the changes due to factors such as atmospheric variability, to detect the polynya signal without ambiguity, and additional observations would be required to clearly discriminate the years with and without open-ocean polynya. Thus, it is reasonable to consider that, in these preliminary reconstructions, some high snow accumulation events may be wrongly interpreted as the consequence of polynya formation and some years with polynya formation may be missed. Nevertheless, our reconstructions suggest that big open-ocean polynyas, such as those observed in the 1970s, are rare events, occurring at most a few times per century. Century-scale changes in polynya activity are also likely, but our reconstructions are unable to precisely assess this aspect at this stage.

Microzooplankton composition in the winter sea ice of the Weddell Sea

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 299-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Monti-Birkenmeier ◽  
Tommaso Diociaiuti ◽  
Serena Fonda Umani ◽  
Bettina Meyer
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Complete Loss ◽  
Weddell Sea ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
Ice Melt ◽  
Antarctic Sea Ice ◽  
Carbon Biomass ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Carbon Concentrations

AbstractSympagic microzooplankton were studied during late winter in the northern Weddell Sea for diversity, abundance and carbon biomass. Ice cores were collected on an ice floe along three dive transects and seawater was taken from under the ice through the central dive hole from which all transects were connected. The areal and vertical microzooplankton distributions in the ice and water were compared. Abundance (max. 1300 ind. l-1) and biomass (max. 28.2 µg C l-1) were high in the ice cores and low in the water below the sea ice (max. 19 ind. l-1, 0.15 µg C l-1, respectively). The highest abundances were observed in the bottom 10 cm of the ice cores. The microzooplankton community within the sea ice comprised mainly aloricate ciliates, foraminifers and micrometazoans. In winter, microzooplankton represent an important fraction of the sympagic community in the Antarctic sea ice. They can potentially control microalgal production and contribute to particulate organic carbon concentrations when released into the water column during the ice melt in spring. Continued reduction of the sea ice may undermine the roles of microzooplankton, leading to a reduction or complete loss of diversity, abundance and biomass of these sympagic protists.

Dissolved carbohydrates in Antarctic sea ice

2001 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
L.-M. Herborg ◽  
D.N. Thomas ◽  
H. Kennedy ◽  
C. Haas ◽  
G.S. Dieckmann
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Algal Biomass ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Weddell Sea ◽  
The Other ◽  
Surface Seawater ◽  
Antarctic Sea Ice ◽  
Ice Surface ◽  
Total Carbohydrates ◽  
Platelet Ice

Concentrations of dissolved monocarbohydrates (MCHO) and polycarbohydrates (PCHO) were analysed in a variety of ice habitats from summer Weddell Sea sea ice (surface ponds, ice cores, gap layers and platelet ice). The dissolved organic carbon (DOC) pool in these habitats was also measured and the contribution of carbohydrate to this pool was assessed. The DOC concentrations within all sea ice habitats were high compared to surface seawater concentrations with values up to 958μMC being measured. Total carbohydrates (TCHO) were highest in the ice cores and platelet ice samples, up to 31% of the DOC pool, a reflection of the high algal biomass in these two habitat classes. TCHO in the other habitats ranged between 10% and 29% of DOC. The ratios of MCHO to PCHO varied considerably between the ice habitats: in surface ponds and ice cores MCHO was 70% of the TCHO pool, whereas in gap layers and platelet ice there were lower PCHO concentrations resulting in MCHO being 88% of TCHO.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document