Time-series observations of the structure and properties of brackish ice in the Gulf of Finland

The Baltic Sea is a semi-enclosed brackish water basin where sea ice occurs annually. The sea-ice study discussed here was conducted as a Finnish-Japanese cooperative research programme entitled "Ice Climatology of the Okhotsk and Baltic Seas’’ to investigate the structure and properties of the brackish ice in the Baltic Sea. Ice, snow and water samples were collected at Santala Bay, near the mouth of the Gulf of Finland, once a week from 20 January to 12 April 1999. The salinity and oxygen isotopic composition (δ18O) of the samples were measured. The ice samples were analyzed stratigraphically. The ice was composed of a granular upper layer, occupying approximately one-third of the entire ice thickness, and underlying columnar ice toward the bottom. The crystallography structure and δ18O values reveal that the granular ice consisted of two layers with different origins, i.e. snow ice and superimposed ice. The fraction of snow relative to the total thickness was estimated. The limited data show a significant contribution of the snow cover to the sea-ice development. The salinity of the granular ice was higher than that of the columnar ice, implying that the mechanism of entrapment of brine may be different between the two ice types.

Fracture toughness and crack growth of brackish ice using chevron-notched specimens

Field-test equipment called FIFT (a Field Instrument for Fracture toughness Tests on ice) was used in both field and laboratory fracture-toughness tests on brackish sea ice from the Gulf of Bothnia. An experimental calibration was performed and a compliance expression was then derived for the Short Rod Chevron Notched (SRCN) specimen. Using the SRCN configuration, for which the initial crack growth is shown to be stable, and measured load-point displacements, preliminary crack-growth velocities are found. The obtained estimated crack velocity is, on average,ȧe= 20 ms−1, albeit with a large standard deviation. The results indicate that critical crack (crack-jumping) growth occurs. The apparent fracture toughness,KQ, was found to have a pronounced dependency on porosity in the form of brine volume. The results obtained are derived from a linearly elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) theory. Consequently, the tests were designed to satisfy small-scale yielding requirements in terms of notch sensitivity and brittleness. The linearity of the load vs crack-opening displacement curves together with a size-effect study, showing that the specimen is notch-sensitive for grain-sizes ranging from 1.6 to nearly 100 mm, indicate that LEFM could be applicable.

Fracture toughness and crack growth of brackish ice using chevron-notched specimens

Field-test equipment called FIFT (a Field Instrument for Fracture toughness Tests on ice) was used in both field and laboratory fracture-toughness tests on brackish sea ice from the Gulf of Bothnia. An experimental calibration was performed and a compliance expression was then derived for the Short Rod Chevron Notched (SRCN) specimen. Using the SRCN configuration, for which the initial crack growth is shown to be stable, and measured load-point displacements, preliminary crack-growth velocities are found. The obtained estimated crack velocity is, on average,ȧe= 20 ms−1, albeit with a large standard deviation. The results indicate that critical crack (crack-jumping) growth occurs. The apparent fracture toughness,KQ, was found to have a pronounced dependency on porosity in the form of brine volume. The results obtained are derived from a linearly elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) theory. Consequently, the tests were designed to satisfy small-scale yielding requirements in terms of notch sensitivity and brittleness. The linearity of the load vs crack-opening displacement curves together with a size-effect study, showing that the specimen is notch-sensitive for grain-sizes ranging from 1.6 to nearly 100 mm, indicate that LEFM could be applicable.