Organic compounds and suspended matter in the White Sea snow-ice cover

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nemirovskaya, I.; Shevchenko, V.

2008-01-01

The pollution of the White Sea snow-ice cover was estimated by examining the distribution of organic compounds, including oil and pyrogenic hydrocarbons. Ice and snow cores were taken from Chupa Bay and the Kandalaksha Gulf in the Cape Kartesh area in the spring of 2004 and from the mouth of the Severnaya Dvina River in the spring of 2005, 2006, and 2007. This paper presented data on the lipid content, aliphatic hydrocarbons (AHC), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and suspended particulate matter in snow, ice and under-ice water. This paper focused on organic compounds and suspended matter (SM) concentrations in the sea snow-ice cover and described the ice forming conditions and interactions of the substances with ice, snow and sub-ice water. The amount of particulate matter and organic compounds in the snow increased sharply near industrial centres. The concentration of compounds decreased further away from these centres, suggesting that most pollutants are deposited locally. The study revealed that organic compounds concentrate in barrier zones, such as snow-ice and water-ice, depending on the source of pollution. There was no obvious evidence of petrogenic sources of PAHs in particulate matter from the White Sea snow-ice cover. The SM and organic compounds accumulated in layers characterized by local depositional processes. The zones remained biogeochemically active even under low temperature conditions, but the accumulation of both SM and organic compounds was at its highest during the initial stage of ice formation. 16 refs., 2 tabs., 4 figs

GLOBAL CHANGES IN THE SEA ICE COVER AND ASSOCIATED SURFACE TEMPERATURE CHANGES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. C. Comiso

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The trends in the sea ice cover in the two hemispheres have been observed to be asymmetric with the rate of change in the Arctic being negative at −3.8 % per decade while that of the Antarctic is positive at 1.7 % per decade. These observations are confirmed in this study through analyses of a more robust data set that has been enhanced for better consistency and updated for improved statistics. With reports of anthropogenic global warming such phenomenon appears physically counter intuitive but trend studies of surface temperature over the same time period show the occurrence of a similar asymmetry. Satellite surface temperature data show that while global warming is strong and dominant in the Arctic, it is relatively minor in the Antarctic with the trends in sea ice covered areas and surrounding ice free regions observed to be even negative. A strong correlation of ice extent with surface temperature is observed, especially during the growth season, and the observed trends in the sea ice cover are coherent with the trends in surface temperature. The trend of global averages of the ice cover is negative but modest and is consistent and compatible with the positive but modest trend in global surface temperature. A continuation of the trend would mean the disappearance of summer ice by the end of the century but modelling projections indicate that the summer ice could be salvaged if anthropogenic greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are kept constant at the current level.

Effect of retreating sea ice on Arctic cloud cover in simulated recent global warming

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Abe

2016-11-01

Full Text Available This study investigates the effect of sea ice reduction on Arctic cloud cover in historical simulations with the coupled atmosphere–ocean general circulation model MIROC5. Arctic sea ice has been substantially retreating since the 1980s, particularly in September, under simulated global warming conditions. The simulated sea ice reduction is consistent with satellite observations. On the other hand, Arctic cloud cover has been increasing in October, with about a 1-month lag behind the sea ice reduction. The delayed response leads to extensive sea ice reductions because the heat and moisture fluxes from the underlying open ocean into the atmosphere are enhanced. Sensitivity experiments with the atmospheric part of MIROC5 clearly show that sea ice reduction causes increases in cloud cover. Arctic cloud cover increases primarily in the lower troposphere, but it decreases in the near-surface layers just above the ocean; predominant temperature rises in these near-surface layers cause drying (i.e., decreases in relative humidity, despite increasing moisture flux. Cloud radiative forcing due to increases in cloud cover in autumn brings an increase in the surface downward longwave radiation (DLR by approximately 40–60 % compared to changes in clear-sky surface DLR in fall. These results suggest that an increase in Arctic cloud cover as a result of reduced sea ice coverage may bring further sea ice retreat and enhance the feedback processes of Arctic warming.

Fragmentation and melting of the seasonal sea ice cover

Science.gov (United States)

Feltham, D. L.; Bateson, A.; Schroeder, D.; Ridley, J. K.; Aksenov, Y.

2017-12-01

Recent years have seen a rapid reduction in the summer extent of Arctic sea ice. This trend has implications for navigation, oil exploration, wildlife, and local communities. Furthermore the Arctic sea ice cover impacts the exchange of heat and momentum between the ocean and atmosphere with significant teleconnections across the climate system, particularly mid to low latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere. The treatment of melting and break-up processes of the seasonal sea ice cover within climate models is currently limited. In particular floes are assumed to have a uniform size which does not evolve with time. Observations suggest however that floe sizes can be modelled as truncated power law distributions, with different exponents for smaller and larger floes. This study aims to examine factors controlling the floe size distribution in the seasonal and marginal ice zone. This includes lateral melting, wave induced break-up of floes, and the feedback between floe size and the mixed ocean layer. These results are then used to quantify the proximate mechanisms of seasonal sea ice reduction in a sea ice—ocean mixed layer model. Observations are used to assess and calibrate the model. The impacts of introducing these processes to the model will be discussed and the preliminary results of sensitivity and feedback studies will also be presented.

Relationships between Indian summer monsoon rainfall and ice cover over selected oceanic regions

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Gopinathan, C.K.

The variations in oceanic ice cover at selected polar regions during 1973 to 1987 have been analysed in relation to the seasonal Indian summer monsoon rainfall. The ice cover over the Arctic regions in June has negative relationship (correlation...

The Effect of Seasonal Variability of Atlantic Water on the Arctic Sea Ice Cover

Science.gov (United States)

Ivanov, V. V.; Repina, I. A.

2018-01-01

Under the influence of global warming, the sea ice in the Arctic Ocean (AO) is expected to reduce with a transition toward a seasonal ice cover by the end of this century. A comparison of climate-model predictions with measurements shows that the actual rate of ice cover decay in the AO is higher than the predicted one. This paper argues that the rapid shrinking of the Arctic summer ice cover is due to its increased seasonality, while seasonal oscillations of the Atlantic origin water temperature create favorable conditions for the formation of negative anomalies in the ice-cover area in winter. The basis for this hypothesis is the fundamental possibility of the activation of positive feedback provided by a specific feature of the seasonal cycle of the inflowing Atlantic origin water and the peaking of temperature in the Nansen Basin in midwinter. The recently accelerated reduction in the summer ice cover in the AO leads to an increased accumulation of heat in the upper ocean layer during the summer season. The extra heat content of the upper ocean layer favors prerequisite conditions for winter thermohaline convection and the transfer of heat from the Atlantic water (AW) layer to the ice cover. This, in turn, contributes to further ice thinning and a decrease in ice concentration, accelerated melting in summer, and a greater accumulation of heat in the ocean by the end of the following summer. An important role is played by the seasonal variability of the temperature of AW, which forms on the border between the North European and Arctic basins. The phase of seasonal oscillation changes while the AW is moving through the Nansen Basin. As a result, the timing of temperature peak shifts from summer to winter, additionally contributing to enhanced ice melting in winter. The formulated theoretical concept is substantiated by a simplified mathematical model and comparison with observations.

Correlated declines in Pacific arctic snow and sea ice cover

Science.gov (United States)

Stone, Robert P.; Douglas, David C.; Belchansky, Gennady I.; Drobot, Sheldon

2005-01-01

Simulations of future climate suggest that global warming will reduce Arctic snow and ice cover, resulting in decreased surface albedo (reflectivity). Lowering of the surface albedo leads to further warming by increasing solar absorption at the surface. This phenomenon is referred to as “temperature–albedo feedback.” Anticipation of such a feedback is one reason why scientists look to the Arctic for early indications of global warming. Much of the Arctic has warmed significantly. Northern Hemisphere snow cover has decreased, and sea ice has diminished in area and thickness. As reported in the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment in 2004, the trends are considered to be outside the range of natural variability, implicating global warming as an underlying cause. Changing climatic conditions in the high northern latitudes have influenced biogeochemical cycles on a broad scale. Warming has already affected the sea ice, the tundra, the plants, the animals, and the indigenous populations that depend on them. Changing annual cycles of snow and sea ice also affect sources and sinks of important greenhouse gases (such as carbon dioxide and methane), further complicating feedbacks involving the global budgets of these important constituents. For instance, thawing permafrost increases the extent of tundra wetlands and lakes, releasing greater amounts of methane into the atmosphere. Variable sea ice cover may affect the hemispheric carbon budget by altering the ocean–atmosphere exchange of carbon dioxide. There is growing concern that amplification of global warming in the Arctic will have far-reaching effects on lower latitude climate through these feedback mechanisms. Despite the diverse and convincing observational evidence that the Arctic environment is changing, it remains unclear whether these changes are anthropogenically forced or result from natural variations of the climate system. A better understanding of what controls the seasonal distributions of snow and ice

Removal of snow cover inhibits spring growth of Arctic ice algae through physiological and behavioral effects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lund-Hansen, L.C.; Hawes, Ian; Sorrell, Brian Keith

2014-01-01

The snow cover of Arctic sea ice has recently decreased, and climate models forecast that this will continue and even increase in future. We therefore tested the effect of snow cover on the optical properties of sea ice and the biomass, photobiology, and species composition of sea ice algae at Ka...... of the spring bloom is predominantly due to temperature effects on brine channel volume, and that the algal decline after snow removal was primarily due to emigration rather than photodamage.......The snow cover of Arctic sea ice has recently decreased, and climate models forecast that this will continue and even increase in future. We therefore tested the effect of snow cover on the optical properties of sea ice and the biomass, photobiology, and species composition of sea ice algae...... at Kangerlussuaq, West Greenland, during March 2011, using a snow-clearance experiment. Sea ice algae in areas cleared of snow was compared with control areas, using imaging variable fluorescence of photosystem II in intact, unthawed ice sections. The study coincided with the onset of spring growth of ice algae...

Regional Changes in the Sea Ice Cover and Ice Production in the Antarctic

Science.gov (United States)

Comiso, Josefino C.

2011-01-01

Coastal polynyas around the Antarctic continent have been regarded as sea ice factories because of high ice production rates in these regions. The observation of a positive trend in the extent of Antarctic sea ice during the satellite era has been intriguing in light of the observed rapid decline of the ice extent in the Arctic. The results of analysis of the time series of passive microwave data indicate large regional variability with the trends being strongly positive in the Ross Sea, strongly negative in the Bellingshausen/Amundsen Seas and close to zero in the other regions. The atmospheric circulation in the Antarctic is controlled mainly by the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) and the marginal ice zone around the continent shows an alternating pattern of advance and retreat suggesting the presence of a propagating wave (called Antarctic Circumpolar Wave) around the circumpolar region. The results of analysis of the passive microwave data suggest that the positive trend in the Antarctic sea ice cover could be caused primarily by enhanced ice production in the Ross Sea that may be associated with more persistent and larger coastal polynyas in the region. Over the Ross Sea shelf, analysis of sea ice drift data from 1992 to 2008 yields a positive rate-of-increase in the net ice export of about 30,000 km2 per year. For a characteristic ice thickness of 0.6 m, this yields a volume transport of about 20 km3/year, which is almost identical, within error bars, to our estimate of the trend in ice production. In addition to the possibility of changes in SAM, modeling studies have also indicated that the ozone hole may have a role in that it causes the deepening of the lows in the western Antarctic region thereby causing strong winds to occur offthe Ross-ice shelf.

Tracing Atlantic Water Signature in the Arctic Sea Ice Cover East of Svalbard

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Vladimir V. Ivanov

2012-01-01

Full Text Available We focus on the Arctic Ocean between Svalbard and Franz Joseph Land in order to elucidate the possible role of Atlantic water (AW inflow in shaping ice conditions. Ice conditions substantially affect the temperature regime of the Spitsbergen archipelago, particularly in winter. We test the hypothesis that intensive vertical mixing at the upper AW boundary releases substantial heat upwards that eventually reaches the under-ice water layer, thinning the ice cover. We examine spatial and temporal variation of ice concentration against time series of wind, air temperature, and AW temperature. Analysis of 1979–2011 ice properties revealed a general tendency of decreasing ice concentration that commenced after the mid-1990s. AW temperature time series in Fram Strait feature a monotonic increase after the mid-1990s, consistent with shrinking ice cover. Ice thins due to increased sensible heat flux from AW; ice erosion from below allows wind and local currents to more effectively break ice. The winter spatial pattern of sea ice concentration is collocated with patterns of surface heat flux anomalies. Winter minimum sea ice thickness occurs in the ice pack interior above the AW path, clearly indicating AW influence on ice thickness. Our study indicates that in the AW inflow region heat flux from the ocean reduces the ice thickness.

Sea-ice cover in the Nordic Seas and the sensitivity to Atlantic water temperatures

Science.gov (United States)

Jensen, Mari F.; Nisancioglu, Kerim H.; Spall, Michael A.

2017-04-01

Changes in the sea-ice cover of the Nordic Seas have been proposed to play a key role for the dramatic temperature excursions associated with the Dansgaard-Oeschger events during the last glacial. However, with its proximity to the warm Atlantic water, how a sea-ice cover can persist in the Nordic Seas is not well understood. In this study, we apply an eddy-resolving configuration of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology general circulation model with an idealized topography to study the presence of sea ice in a Nordic Seas-like domain. We assume an infinite amount of warm Atlantic water present in the south by restoring the southern area to constant temperatures. The sea-surface temperatures are restored toward cold, atmospheric temperatures, and as a result, sea ice is present in the interior of the domain. However, the sea-ice cover in the margins of the Nordic Seas, an area with a warm, cyclonic boundary current, is sensitive to the amount of heat entering the domain, i.e., the restoring temperature in the south. When the temperature of the warm, cyclonic boundary current is high, the margins are free of sea ice and heat is released to the atmosphere. We show that with a small reduction in the temperature of the incoming Atlantic water, the Nordic Seas-like domain is fully covered in sea ice. Warm water is still entering the Nordic Seas, however, this happens at depths below a cold, fresh surface layer produced by melted sea ice. Consequently, the heat release to the atmosphere is reduced along with the eddy heat fluxes. Results suggest a threshold value in the amount of heat entering the Nordic Seas before the sea-ice cover disappears in the margins. We study the sensitivity of this threshold to changes in atmospheric temperatures and vertical diffusivity.

Observational evidence of changes in global snow and ice cover

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barry, R.G.

1990-01-01

Sources of observational data on recent variations in the seasonal extent of snow cover and sea ice, of the terminal position and volume of alpine glaciers, and of ground temperature profiles in areas of permafrost are briefly reviewed. Recent evidence of changes in these variables is then examined. The extent of seasonal snow cover in the Northern hemisphere and of sea ice in both hemispheres has fluctuated irregularly over the last 15-20 years with a range of about 10-15% in each case. There is no clear evidence of any recent trends, despite general global warming. In contrast, most glaciers retreated and thinned from before the turn of the century until the 1960s and alaskan permafrost temperatures have risen 2-4 C per century. Recently, glacier advances have been noted, perhaps in response to increased accumulation. Problems of linking climate forcing and snow/ice responses are discussed

Geophysical Investigations of Habitability in Ice-Covered Ocean Worlds

Science.gov (United States)

Vance, Steven D.; Panning, Mark P.; Stähler, Simon; Cammarano, Fabio; Bills, Bruce G.; Tobie, Gabriel; Kamata, Shunichi; Kedar, Sharon; Sotin, Christophe; Pike, William T.; Lorenz, Ralph; Huang, Hsin-Hua; Jackson, Jennifer M.; Banerdt, Bruce

2018-01-01

Geophysical measurements can reveal the structures and thermal states of icy ocean worlds. The interior density, temperature, sound speed, and electrical conductivity thus characterize their habitability. We explore the variability and correlation of these parameters using 1-D internal structure models. We invoke thermodynamic consistency using available thermodynamics of aqueous MgSO4, NaCl (as seawater), and NH3; pure water ice phases I, II, III, V, and VI; silicates; and any metallic core that may be present. Model results suggest, for Europa, that combinations of geophysical parameters might be used to distinguish an oxidized ocean dominated by MgSO4 from a more reduced ocean dominated by NaCl. In contrast with Jupiter's icy ocean moons, Titan and Enceladus have low-density rocky interiors, with minimal or no metallic core. The low-density rocky core of Enceladus may comprise hydrated minerals or anhydrous minerals with high porosity. Cassini gravity data for Titan indicate a high tidal potential Love number (k2>0.6), which requires a dense internal ocean (ρocean>1,200 kg m-3) and icy lithosphere thinner than 100 km. In that case, Titan may have little or no high-pressure ice, or a surprisingly deep water-rock interface more than 500 km below the surface, covered only by ice VI. Ganymede's water-rock interface is the deepest among known ocean worlds, at around 800 km. Its ocean may contain multiple phases of high-pressure ice, which will become buoyant if the ocean is sufficiently salty. Callisto's interior structure may be intermediate to those of Titan and Europa, with a water-rock interface 250 km below the surface covered by ice V but not ice VI.

Implications of fractured Arctic perennial ice cover on thermodynamic and dynamic sea ice processes

Science.gov (United States)

Asplin, Matthew G.; Scharien, Randall; Else, Brent; Howell, Stephen; Barber, David G.; Papakyriakou, Tim; Prinsenberg, Simon

2014-04-01

Decline of the Arctic summer minimum sea ice extent is characterized by large expanses of open water in the Siberian, Laptev, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas, and introduces large fetch distances in the Arctic Ocean. Long waves can propagate deep into the pack ice, thereby causing flexural swell and failure of the sea ice. This process shifts the floe size diameter distribution smaller, increases floe surface area, and thereby affects sea ice dynamic and thermodynamic processes. The results of Radarsat-2 imagery analysis show that a flexural fracture event which occurred in the Beaufort Sea region on 6 September 2009 affected ˜40,000 km2. Open water fractional area in the area affected initially decreased from 3.7% to 2.7%, but later increased to ˜20% following wind-forced divergence of the ice pack. Energy available for lateral melting was assessed by estimating the change in energy entrainment from longwave and shortwave radiation in the mixed-layer of the ocean following flexural fracture. 11.54 MJ m-2 of additional energy for lateral melting of ice floes was identified in affected areas. The impact of this process in future Arctic sea ice melt seasons was assessed using estimations of earlier occurrences of fracture during the melt season, and is discussed in context with ocean heat fluxes, atmospheric mixing of the ocean mixed layer, and declining sea ice cover. We conclude that this process is an important positive feedback to Arctic sea ice loss, and timing of initiation is critical in how it affects sea ice thermodynamic and dynamic processes.

Monitoring Forsmark. Snow depth, snow water content and ice cover during the winter 2010/2011

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wass, Eva (Geosigma AB (Sweden))

2011-07-15

Snow depth and ice cover have been measured and observed during the winter 2010/2011. This type of measurements started in the winter 2002/2003 and has been ongoing since then. In addition to these parameters, the water content of the snow was calculated at each measurement occasion from the weight of a snow sample. Measurements and observations were conducted on a regular basis from the beginning of November 2010 until the middle of April 2011. A persistent snow cover was established in the end of November 2010 and remained until the beginning of April 2011 at the station with longest snow cover duration. The period of ice cover was 160 days in Lake Eckarfjaerden, whereas the sea bay at SFR was ice covered for 135 days

Monitoring Forsmark. Snow depth, snow water content and ice cover during the winter 2010/2011

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wass, Eva

2011-07-01

Snow depth and ice cover have been measured and observed during the winter 2010/2011. This type of measurements started in the winter 2002/2003 and has been ongoing since then. In addition to these parameters, the water content of the snow was calculated at each measurement occasion from the weight of a snow sample. Measurements and observations were conducted on a regular basis from the beginning of November 2010 until the middle of April 2011. A persistent snow cover was established in the end of November 2010 and remained until the beginning of April 2011 at the station with longest snow cover duration. The period of ice cover was 160 days in Lake Eckarfjaerden, whereas the sea bay at SFR was ice covered for 135 days

Arctic Ocean sea ice cover during the penultimate glacial and the last interglacial.

Science.gov (United States)

Stein, Ruediger; Fahl, Kirsten; Gierz, Paul; Niessen, Frank; Lohmann, Gerrit

2017-08-29

Coinciding with global warming, Arctic sea ice has rapidly decreased during the last four decades and climate scenarios suggest that sea ice may completely disappear during summer within the next about 50-100 years. Here we produce Arctic sea ice biomarker proxy records for the penultimate glacial (Marine Isotope Stage 6) and the subsequent last interglacial (Marine Isotope Stage 5e). The latter is a time interval when the high latitudes were significantly warmer than today. We document that even under such warmer climate conditions, sea ice existed in the central Arctic Ocean during summer, whereas sea ice was significantly reduced along the Barents Sea continental margin influenced by Atlantic Water inflow. Our proxy reconstruction of the last interglacial sea ice cover is supported by climate simulations, although some proxy data/model inconsistencies still exist. During late Marine Isotope Stage 6, polynya-type conditions occurred off the major ice sheets along the northern Barents and East Siberian continental margins, contradicting a giant Marine Isotope Stage 6 ice shelf that covered the entire Arctic Ocean.Coinciding with global warming, Arctic sea ice has rapidly decreased during the last four decades. Here, using biomarker records, the authors show that permanent sea ice was still present in the central Arctic Ocean during the last interglacial, when high latitudes were warmer than present.

Monitoring the Variation in Ice-Cover Characteristics of the Slave River, Canada Using RADARSAT-2 Data—A Case Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thuan Chu

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The winter regime of river-ice covers in high northern latitude regions is often a determining factor in the management of water resources, conservation of aquatic ecosystems and preservation of traditional and cultural lifestyles of local peoples. As ground-based monitoring of river-ice regimes in high northern latitudes is expensive and restricted to a few locations due to limited accessibility to most places along rivers from shorelines, remote sensing techniques are a suitable approach for monitoring. This study developed a RADARSAT-2 based method to monitor the spatio-temporal variation of ice covers, as well as ice types during the freeze-up period, along the main channel of the Slave River Delta in the Northwest Territories of Canada. The spatio-temporal variation of ice covers along the river was analyzed using the backscatter-based coefficient of variation (CV in the 2013–2014 and 2014–2015 winters. As a consequence of weather and flow conditions, the ice cover in the 2013–2014 winter had the higher variation than the 2014–2015 winter, particularly in the potential areas of flooded/cracked ice covers. The river sections near active channels (e.g., Middle Channel and Nagle Channel, Big Eddy, and Great Slave Lake also yielded higher intra-annual variation of ice cover characteristics during the winters. With the inclusion of backscatter and texture analysis from RADARSAT-2 data, four water and ice cover classes consisting of open water, thermal ice, juxtaposed ice, and consolidated ice, were discriminated in the images acquired between November and March in both the studied winters. In addition to river geomorphology and climatic conditions such as river width, sinuosity or air temperature, the fluctuation of water flows during the winter has a significant impact on the variation of ice cover as well as the formation of different ice types in the Slave River. The RADARSAT-2 based monitoring algorithm can also be applied to other

Sea ice in the Baltic Sea - revisiting BASIS ice, a~historical data set covering the period 1960/1961-1978/1979

Science.gov (United States)

Löptien, U.; Dietze, H.

2014-06-01

The Baltic Sea is a seasonally ice-covered, marginal sea, situated in central northern Europe. It is an essential waterway connecting highly industrialised countries. Because ship traffic is intermittently hindered by sea ice, the local weather services have been monitoring sea ice conditions for decades. In the present study we revisit a historical monitoring data set, covering the winters 1960/1961. This data set, dubbed Data Bank for Baltic Sea Ice and Sea Surface Temperatures (BASIS) ice, is based on hand-drawn maps that were collected and then digitised 1981 in a joint project of the Finnish Institute of Marine Research (today Finish Meteorological Institute (FMI)) and the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI). BASIS ice was designed for storage on punch cards and all ice information is encoded by five digits. This makes the data hard to access. Here we present a post-processed product based on the original five-digit code. Specifically, we convert to standard ice quantities (including information on ice types), which we distribute in the current and free Network Common Data Format (NetCDF). Our post-processed data set will help to assess numerical ice models and provide easy-to-access unique historical reference material for sea ice in the Baltic Sea. In addition we provide statistics showcasing the data quality. The website www.baltic-ocean.org hosts the post-prossed data and the conversion code. The data are also archived at the Data Publisher for Earth & Environmental Science PANGEA (doi:10.1594/PANGEA.832353).

Sea ice in the Baltic Sea - revisiting BASIS ice, a historical data set covering the period 1960/1961-1978/1979

Science.gov (United States)

Löptien, U.; Dietze, H.

2014-12-01

The Baltic Sea is a seasonally ice-covered, marginal sea in central northern Europe. It is an essential waterway connecting highly industrialised countries. Because ship traffic is intermittently hindered by sea ice, the local weather services have been monitoring sea ice conditions for decades. In the present study we revisit a historical monitoring data set, covering the winters 1960/1961 to 1978/1979. This data set, dubbed Data Bank for Baltic Sea Ice and Sea Surface Temperatures (BASIS) ice, is based on hand-drawn maps that were collected and then digitised in 1981 in a joint project of the Finnish Institute of Marine Research (today the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI)) and the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI). BASIS ice was designed for storage on punch cards and all ice information is encoded by five digits. This makes the data hard to access. Here we present a post-processed product based on the original five-digit code. Specifically, we convert to standard ice quantities (including information on ice types), which we distribute in the current and free Network Common Data Format (NetCDF). Our post-processed data set will help to assess numerical ice models and provide easy-to-access unique historical reference material for sea ice in the Baltic Sea. In addition we provide statistics showcasing the data quality. The website http://www.baltic-ocean.org hosts the post-processed data and the conversion code. The data are also archived at the Data Publisher for Earth & Environmental Science, PANGAEA (doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.832353).

Winter severity determines functional trait composition of phytoplankton in seasonally ice-covered lakes.

Science.gov (United States)

Özkundakci, Deniz; Gsell, Alena S; Hintze, Thomas; Täuscher, Helgard; Adrian, Rita

2016-01-01

How climate change will affect the community dynamics and functionality of lake ecosystems during winter is still little understood. This is also true for phytoplankton in seasonally ice-covered temperate lakes which are particularly vulnerable to the presence or absence of ice. We examined changes in pelagic phytoplankton winter community structure in a north temperate lake (Müggelsee, Germany), covering 18 winters between 1995 and 2013. We tested how phytoplankton taxa composition varied along a winter-severity gradient and to what extent winter severity shaped the functional trait composition of overwintering phytoplankton communities using multivariate statistical analyses and a functional trait-based approach. We hypothesized that overwintering phytoplankton communities are dominated by taxa with trait combinations corresponding to the prevailing winter water column conditions, using ice thickness measurements as a winter-severity indicator. Winter severity had little effect on univariate diversity indicators (taxon richness and evenness), but a strong relationship was found between the phytoplankton community structure and winter severity when taxon trait identity was taken into account. Species responses to winter severity were mediated by the key functional traits: motility, nutritional mode, and the ability to form resting stages. Accordingly, one or the other of two functional groups dominated the phytoplankton biomass during mild winters (i.e., thin or no ice cover; phototrophic taxa) or severe winters (i.e., thick ice cover; exclusively motile taxa). Based on predicted milder winters for temperate regions and a reduction in ice-cover durations, phytoplankton communities during winter can be expected to comprise taxa that have a relative advantage when the water column is well mixed (i.e., need not be motile) and light is less limiting (i.e., need not be mixotrophic). A potential implication of this result is that winter severity promotes different

Proceedings of the 14. workshop of the Committee on River Ice Processes and the Environment : hydraulics of ice covered rivers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morse, B.; Bergeron, N.; Gauthier, Y.

2007-01-01

Ice processes play a significant role in the hydrologic regime of Canadian rivers. The Committee on River Ice Processes and the Environment (CRIPE) identifies high-priority topics for research and development and promotes research programs at Canadian colleges and universities. This workshop reviewed the hydraulic aspects of river ice phenomena in an effort to clarify the effects of ice cover on river flow characteristics. Other issues of concern were also discussed, notably ice formation, ice jams, winter operation of hydroelectric power plants, environmental aspects of river ice, and climate change. The workshop featured 12 poster sessions and 40 presentations, of which 5 have been catalogued separately for inclusion in this database. refs., tabs., figs

Influence of ice and snow covers on the UV exposure of terrestrial microbial communities: dosimetric studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Cockell, Charles S; Rettberg, Petra; Horneck, Gerda; Wynn-Williams, David D; Scherer, Kerstin; Gugg-Helminger, Anton

2002-08-01

Bacillus subtilis spore biological dosimeters and electronic dosimeters were used to investigate the exposure of terrestrial microbial communities in micro-habitats covered by snow and ice in Antarctica. The melting of snow covers of between 5- and 15-cm thickness, depending on age and heterogeneity, could increase B. subtilis spore inactivation by up to an order of magnitude, a relative increase twice that caused by a 50% ozone depletion. Within the snow-pack at depths of less than approximately 3 cm snow algae could receive two to three times the DNA-weighted irradiance they would receive on bare ground. At the edge of the snow-pack, warming of low albedo soils resulted in the formation of overhangs that provided transient UV protection to thawed and growing microbial communities on the soils underneath. In shallow aquatic habitats, thin layers of heterogeneous ice of a few millimetres thickness were found to reduce DNA-weighted irradiances by up to 55% compared to full-sky values with equivalent DNA-weighted diffuse attenuation coefficients (K(DNA)) of >200 m(-1). A 2-mm snow-encrusted ice cover on a pond was equivalent to 10 cm of ice on a perennially ice covered lake. Ice covers also had the effect of stabilizing the UV exposure, which was often subject to rapid variations of up to 33% of the mean value caused by wind-rippling of the water surface. These data show that changing ice and snow covers cause relative changes in microbial UV exposure at least as great as those caused by changing ozone column abundance. Copyright 2002 Elsevier Science B.V.

Field investigations of apparent optical properties of ice cover in Finnish and Estonian lakes in winter 2009

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ruibo Lei

2011-03-01

Full Text Available A field programme on light conditions in ice-covered lakes and optical properties of lake ice was performed in seven lakes of Finland and Estonia in February–April 2009. On the basis of irradiance measurements above and below ice, spectral reflectance and transmittance were determined for the ice sheet; time evolution of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR transmittance was examined from irradiance recordings at several levels inside the ice sheet. Snow cover was the dominant factor for transmission of PAR into the lake water body. Reflectance was 0.74–0.92 in winter, going down to 0.18–0.22 in the melting season. The bulk attenuation coefficient of dry snow was 14–25 m–1; the level decreased as the spring was coming. The reflectance and bulk attenuation coefficient of snow-free ice were 0.1–0.4 and 1–5 m–1. Both were considerably smaller than those of snow cover. Seasonal evolution of light transmission was mainly due to snow melting. Snow and ice cover not only depress the PAR level in a lake but also influence the spectral and directional distribution of light.

The effects of additional black carbon on the albedo of Arctic sea ice: variation with sea ice type and snow cover

OpenAIRE

A. A. Marks; M. D. King

2013-01-01

The response of the albedo of bare sea ice and snow-covered sea ice to the addition of black carbon is calculated. Visible light absorption and light-scattering cross-sections are derived for a typical first-year and multi-year sea ice with both "dry" and "wet" snow types. The cross-sections are derived using data from a 1970s field study that recorded both reflectivity and light penetration in Arctic sea ice and snow overlying sea ice. The variation of absorption cross-section ov...

Changes in ice cover thickness and lake level of Lake Hoare, Antarctica - Implications for local climatic change

Science.gov (United States)

Wharton, Robert A., Jr.; Mckay, Christopher P.; Clow, Gary D.; Andersen, Dale T.; Simmons, George M., Jr.; Love, F. G.

1992-01-01

Results are reported from 10 years of ice-thickness measurements at perennially ice-covered Lake Hoare in southern Victoria Land, Antarctica. The ice cover of this lake had been thinning steadily at a rate exceeding 20 cm/yr during the last decade but seems to have recently stabilized at a thickness of 3.3 m. Data concerning lake level and degree-days above freezing are presented to show the relationship between peak summer temperatures and the volume of glacier-derived meltwater entering Lake Hoare each summer. From these latter data it is inferred that peak summer temperatures have been above 0 C for a progressively longer period of time each year since 1972. Possible explanations for the thinning of the lake ice are considered. The thickness of the ice cover is determined by the balance between freezing during the winter and ablation that occurs all year but maximizes in summer. It is suggested that the term most likely responsible for the change in the ice cover thickness at Lake Hoare is the extent of summer melting, consistent with the rising lake levels.

Environmental predictors of ice seal presence in the Bering Sea.

Science.gov (United States)

Miksis-Olds, Jennifer L; Madden, Laura E

2014-01-01

Ice seals overwintering in the Bering Sea are challenged with foraging, finding mates, and maintaining breathing holes in a dark and ice covered environment. Due to the difficulty of studying these species in their natural environment, very little is known about how the seals navigate under ice. Here we identify specific environmental parameters, including components of the ambient background sound, that are predictive of ice seal presence in the Bering Sea. Multi-year mooring deployments provided synoptic time series of acoustic and oceanographic parameters from which environmental parameters predictive of species presence were identified through a series of mixed models. Ice cover and 10 kHz sound level were significant predictors of seal presence, with 40 kHz sound and prey presence (combined with ice cover) as potential predictors as well. Ice seal presence showed a strong positive correlation with ice cover and a negative association with 10 kHz environmental sound. On average, there was a 20-30 dB difference between sound levels during solid ice conditions compared to open water or melting conditions, providing a salient acoustic gradient between open water and solid ice conditions by which ice seals could orient. By constantly assessing the acoustic environment associated with the seasonal ice movement in the Bering Sea, it is possible that ice seals could utilize aspects of the soundscape to gauge their safe distance to open water or the ice edge by orienting in the direction of higher sound levels indicative of open water, especially in the frequency range above 1 kHz. In rapidly changing Arctic and sub-Arctic environments, the seasonal ice conditions and soundscapes are likely to change which may impact the ability of animals using ice presence and cues to successfully function during the winter breeding season.

Environmental predictors of ice seal presence in the Bering Sea.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jennifer L Miksis-Olds

Full Text Available Ice seals overwintering in the Bering Sea are challenged with foraging, finding mates, and maintaining breathing holes in a dark and ice covered environment. Due to the difficulty of studying these species in their natural environment, very little is known about how the seals navigate under ice. Here we identify specific environmental parameters, including components of the ambient background sound, that are predictive of ice seal presence in the Bering Sea. Multi-year mooring deployments provided synoptic time series of acoustic and oceanographic parameters from which environmental parameters predictive of species presence were identified through a series of mixed models. Ice cover and 10 kHz sound level were significant predictors of seal presence, with 40 kHz sound and prey presence (combined with ice cover as potential predictors as well. Ice seal presence showed a strong positive correlation with ice cover and a negative association with 10 kHz environmental sound. On average, there was a 20-30 dB difference between sound levels during solid ice conditions compared to open water or melting conditions, providing a salient acoustic gradient between open water and solid ice conditions by which ice seals could orient. By constantly assessing the acoustic environment associated with the seasonal ice movement in the Bering Sea, it is possible that ice seals could utilize aspects of the soundscape to gauge their safe distance to open water or the ice edge by orienting in the direction of higher sound levels indicative of open water, especially in the frequency range above 1 kHz. In rapidly changing Arctic and sub-Arctic environments, the seasonal ice conditions and soundscapes are likely to change which may impact the ability of animals using ice presence and cues to successfully function during the winter breeding season.

Changes in sea ice cover and ice sheet extent at the Yermak Plateau during the last 160 ka - Reconstructions from biomarker records

Science.gov (United States)

Kremer, A.; Stein, R.; Fahl, K.; Ji, Z.; Yang, Z.; Wiers, S.; Matthiessen, J.; Forwick, M.; Löwemark, L.; O'Regan, M.; Chen, J.; Snowball, I.

2018-02-01

The Yermak Plateau is located north of Svalbard at the entrance to the Arctic Ocean, i.e. in an area highly sensitive to climate change. A multi proxy approach was carried out on Core PS92/039-2 to study glacial-interglacial environmental changes at the northern Barents Sea margin during the last 160 ka. The main emphasis was on the reconstruction of sea ice cover, based on the sea ice proxy IP25 and the related phytoplankton - sea ice index PIP25. Sea ice was present most of the time but showed significant temporal variability decisively affected by movements of the Svalbard Barents Sea Ice Sheet. For the first time, we prove the occurrence of seasonal sea ice at the eastern Yermak Plateau during glacial intervals, probably steered by a major northward advance of the ice sheet and the formation of a coastal polynya in front of it. Maximum accumulation of terrigenous organic carbon, IP25 and the phytoplankton biomarkers (brassicasterol, dinosterol, HBI III) can be correlated to distinct deglaciation events. More severe, but variable sea ice cover prevailed at the Yermak Plateau during interglacials. The general proximity to the sea ice margin is further indicated by biomarker (GDGT) - based sea surface temperatures below 2.5 °C.

Modeling surface energy fluxes and thermal dynamics of a seasonally ice-covered hydroelectric reservoir.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Weifeng; Roulet, Nigel T; Strachan, Ian B; Tremblay, Alain

2016-04-15

The thermal dynamics of human created northern reservoirs (e.g., water temperatures and ice cover dynamics) influence carbon processing and air-water gas exchange. Here, we developed a process-based one-dimensional model (Snow, Ice, WAater, and Sediment: SIWAS) to simulate a full year's surface energy fluxes and thermal dynamics for a moderately large (>500km(2)) boreal hydroelectric reservoir in northern Quebec, Canada. There is a lack of climate and weather data for most of the Canadian boreal so we designed SIWAS with a minimum of inputs and with a daily time step. The modeled surface energy fluxes were consistent with six years of observations from eddy covariance measurements taken in the middle of the reservoir. The simulated water temperature profiles agreed well with observations from over 100 sites across the reservoir. The model successfully captured the observed annual trend of ice cover timing, although the model overestimated the length of ice cover period (15days). Sensitivity analysis revealed that air temperature significantly affects the ice cover duration, water and sediment temperatures, but that dissolved organic carbon concentrations have little effect on the heat fluxes, and water and sediment temperatures. We conclude that the SIWAS model is capable of simulating surface energy fluxes and thermal dynamics for boreal reservoirs in regions where high temporal resolution climate data are not available. SIWAS is suitable for integration into biogeochemical models for simulating a reservoir's carbon cycle. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Modeling the Thickness of Perennial Ice Covers on Stratified Lakes of the Taylor Valley, Antarctica

Science.gov (United States)

Obryk, M. K.; Doran, P. T.; Hicks, J. A.; McKay, C. P.; Priscu, J. C.

2016-01-01

A one-dimensional ice cover model was developed to predict and constrain drivers of long term ice thickness trends in chemically stratified lakes of Taylor Valley, Antarctica. The model is driven by surface radiative heat fluxes and heat fluxes from the underlying water column. The model successfully reproduced 16 years (between 1996 and 2012) of ice thickness changes for west lobe of Lake Bonney (average ice thickness = 3.53 m; RMSE = 0.09 m, n = 118) and Lake Fryxell (average ice thickness = 4.22 m; RMSE = 0.21 m, n = 128). Long-term ice thickness trends require coupling with the thermal structure of the water column. The heat stored within the temperature maximum of lakes exceeding a liquid water column depth of 20 m can either impede or facilitate ice thickness change depending on the predominant climatic trend (temperature cooling or warming). As such, shallow (< 20 m deep water columns) perennially ice-covered lakes without deep temperature maxima are more sensitive indicators of climate change. The long-term ice thickness trends are a result of surface energy flux and heat flux from the deep temperature maximum in the water column, the latter of which results from absorbed solar radiation.

Global Distribution of Solid Ammonium Sulfate Aerosols and their Climate Impact Acting as Ice Nuclei

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, C.; Penner, J.

2017-12-01

Laboratory experiments show that liquid ammonium sulfate particles effloresce when RHw is below 34% to become solid and dissolve when RHw is above 79%. Solid ammonium sulfate aerosols can act as heterogeneous ice nuclei particles (INPs) to form ice particles in deposition mode when the relative humidity over ice is above 120%. In this study we used the coupled IMPACT/CAM5 model to track the efflorescence and deliquescence processes of ammonium sulfate. Results show that about 20% of the total simulated pure sulfate aerosol mass is in the solid state and is mainly distributed in the northern hemisphere (NH) from 50 hPa to 200 hPa. When these solid ammonium sulfate aerosols are allowed to act as ice nuclei particles, they act to increase the ice water path in the NH and reduce ice water path in the tropics. The addition of these particles leads to a positive net radiative effect at the TOA ranging from 0.5-0.9 W/m2 depending on the amounts of other ice nuclei particles (e.g., dust, soot) used in the ice nucleation process. The short-term climate feedback shows that the ITCZ shifts northwards and precipitation increases in the NH. There is also an average warming of 0.05-0.1 K near the surface (at 2 meter) in the NH which is most obvious in the Arctic region.

Petroleum activity in ice covered waters - development and operation phase. Focus of eventual consequential explanation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thomassen, J.; Andresen, K.H.; Moe, K.A.

1996-06-01

This report from a seminar relates to the petroleum activities in the Barentshavet north. The focal point was to put on petroleum activities in ice covered waters covering the drilling and operation phase, to identify discharges from various technical solutions, and to classify possible research requirements when mapping the impacts of such components. In addition to this approach, the seminar also focused on other factors regarding drilling and production activities in ice covered waters. 3 refs., 13 figs., 25 tabs

Proceedings of the 15. CRIPE workshop on the hydraulics of ice covered rivers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hicks, F. [Alberta Univ., Edmonton, AB (Canada). Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering] (comp.)

2009-07-01

This workshop focused on the hydraulic aspects of river ice phenomena and the effects of ice cover on flow characteristics. Ice processes play a large role in the hydrologic regime of Canadian rivers and are related to the life cycle of aquatic, terrestrial, and avian species. The most serious impacts of river ice occur during ice-jam flooding, affecting the winter operation of hydroelectric power plants and sometimes resulting in the loss of property and human life. The conference addressed these concerns as well as environmental aspects of river ice, and climatic change. The Committee on River Ice Processes and the Environment (CRIPE) identifies high-priority topics for research and development and promotes research programs at Canadian colleges and universities. In addition to a poster session, the workshop included sessions on ice measurement; freeze-up and frazil; ice processes and the environment; ice hydraulics; ice and river regulation; ice jams and breakup forecasting; ice and infrastructure; and remote sensing. The workshop featured 35 presentations, of which 3 have been catalogued separately for inclusion in this database. refs., tabs., figs.

Proceedings of the 15. CRIPE workshop on the hydraulics of ice covered rivers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hicks, F.

2009-01-01

This workshop focused on the hydraulic aspects of river ice phenomena and the effects of ice cover on flow characteristics. Ice processes play a large role in the hydrologic regime of Canadian rivers and are related to the life cycle of aquatic, terrestrial, and avian species. The most serious impacts of river ice occur during ice-jam flooding, affecting the winter operation of hydroelectric power plants and sometimes resulting in the loss of property and human life. The conference addressed these concerns as well as environmental aspects of river ice, and climatic change. The Committee on River Ice Processes and the Environment (CRIPE) identifies high-priority topics for research and development and promotes research programs at Canadian colleges and universities. In addition to a poster session, the workshop included sessions on ice measurement; freeze-up and frazil; ice processes and the environment; ice hydraulics; ice and river regulation; ice jams and breakup forecasting; ice and infrastructure; and remote sensing. The workshop featured 35 presentations, of which 3 have been catalogued separately for inclusion in this database. refs., tabs., figs.

Sea-level and solid-Earth deformation feedbacks in ice sheet modelling

Science.gov (United States)

Konrad, Hannes; Sasgen, Ingo; Klemann, Volker; Thoma, Malte; Grosfeld, Klaus; Martinec, Zdeněk

2014-05-01

The interactions of ice sheets with the sea level and the solid Earth are important factors for the stability of the ice shelves and the tributary inland ice (e.g. Thomas and Bentley, 1978; Gomez et al, 2012). First, changes in ice extent and ice thickness induce viscoelastic deformation of the Earth surface and Earth's gravity field. In turn, global and local changes in sea level and bathymetry affect the grounding line and, subsequently, alter the ice dynamic behaviour. Here, we investigate these feedbacks for a synthetic ice sheet configuration as well as for the Antarctic ice sheet using a three-dimensional thermomechanical ice sheet and shelf model, coupled to a viscoelastic solid-Earth and gravitationally self-consistent sea-level model. The respective ice sheet undergoes a forcing from rising sea level, warming ocean, and/or changing surface mass balance. The coupling is realized by exchanging ice thickness, Earth surface deformation and sea level periodically. We apply several sets of viscoelastic Earth parameters to our coupled model, e.g. simulating a low-viscous upper mantle present at the Antarctic Peninsula (Ivins et al., 2011). Special focus of our study lies on the evolution of Earth surface deformation and local sea level changes, as well as on the accompanying grounding line evolution. N. Gomez, D. Pollard, J. X. Mitrovica, P. Huybers, and P. U. Clark 2012. Evolution of a coupled marine ice sheet-sea level model, J. Geophys. Res., 117, F01013, doi:10.1029/2011JF002128. E. R. Ivins, M. M. Watkins, D.-N. Yuan, R. Dietrich, G. Casassa, and A. Rülke 2011. On-land ice loss and glacial isostatic adjustment at the Drake Passage: 2003-2009, J. Geophys. Res. 116, B02403, doi: 10.1029/2010JB007607 R. H. Thomas and C. R. Bentley 1978. A model for Holocene retreat of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, Quaternary Research, 10 (2), pages 150-170, doi: 10.1016/0033-5894(78)90098-4.

Circulation and Respiration in Ice-covered Alaskan Arctic Lakes

Science.gov (United States)

MacIntyre, S.; Cortés, A.

2016-12-01

Arctic lakes are ice-covered 9 months of the year. For some of this time, the sediments heat the overlying water, and respiration in the sediments increases specific conductivity, depletes oxygen, and produces greenhouse gases (GHG). Whether anoxia forms and whether the greenhouse gases are sequestered at depth depends on processes inducing circulation and upward fluxes. Similarly, whether the GHG are released at ice off depends on the extent of vertical mixing at that time. Using time series meteorological data and biogeochemical arrays with temperature, specific conductivity, and optical oxygen sensors in 5 lakes ranging from 1 to 150 ha, we illustrate the connections between meteorological forcing and within lake processes including gravity currents resulting from increased density just above the sediment water interface and internal waves including those induced by winds acting on the surface of the ice and at ice off. CO2 production was well predicted by the initial rate of oxygen drawdown near the bottom at ice on and that the upward density flux depended on lake size, with values initially high in all lakes but near molecular in lakes of a few hectares in size by mid-winter. Both CO2 production and within lake vertical fluxes were independent of the rate of cooling in fall and subsequent within lake temperatures under the ice. Anoxia formed near the sediments in all 5 lakes with the concentration of CH4 dependent, in part, on lake size and depth. Twenty to fifty percent of the greenhouse gases produced under the ice remained in the lakes by the time thermal stratification was established in summer despite considerable internal wave induced mixing at the time of ice off. These observations and analysis lay a framework for understanding the links between within lake hydrodynamics, within year variability, and the fraction of greenhouse gases produced over the winter which evade at ice off.

AERATION OF THE ICE-COVERED WATER POOLS USING THE WAVE FLOW AERATOR

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Solomin E.E

2013-12-01

Full Text Available This article describes the technical advantages and economic benefits of the ice-covered pool aeration plants consuming power from renewable energy sources. We made a comparative evaluation of the wave flow-aeration method and other methods of pool aeration. We showed the indexes and the characteristics of the wave flow-maker for aeration of ice-covered pools on the territory of Russia. We also made calculations of the economic benefits of aeration plants using the devices converting renewable energy. The project can be scaled and extended to the territory of the CIS, Europe, USA and Canada in the changing climate conditions and the variety of feed reservoirs around the world.

Standard Practice for Determining Resistance of Solar Collector Covers to Hail by Impact With Propelled Ice Balls

CERN Document Server

American Society for Testing and Materials. Philadelphia

1992-01-01

1.1 This practice covers a procedure for determining the ability of cover plates for flat-plate solar collectors to withstand impact forces of falling hail. Propelled ice balls are used to simulate falling hailstones. This practice is not intended to apply to photovoltaic cells or arrays. 1.2 This practice defines two types of test specimens, describes methods for mounting specimens, specifies impact locations on each test specimen, provides an equation for determining the velocity of any size ice ball, provides a method for impacting the test specimens with ice balls, and specifies parameters that must be recorded and reported. 1.3 This practice does not establish pass or fail levels. The determination of acceptable or unacceptable levels of ice-ball impact resistance is beyond the scope of this practice. 1.4 The size of ice ball to be used in conducting this test is not specified in this practice. This practice can be used with various sizes of ice balls. 1.5 The categories of solar collector cover plat...

Biogeochemical Impact of Snow Cover and Cyclonic Intrusions on the Winter Weddell Sea Ice Pack

Science.gov (United States)

Tison, J.-L.; Schwegmann, S.; Dieckmann, G.; Rintala, J.-M.; Meyer, H.; Moreau, S.; Vancoppenolle, M.; Nomura, D.; Engberg, S.; Blomster, L. J.; Hendrickx, S.; Uhlig, C.; Luhtanen, A.-M.; de Jong, J.; Janssens, J.; Carnat, G.; Zhou, J.; Delille, B.

2017-12-01

Sea ice is a dynamic biogeochemical reactor and a double interface actively interacting with both the atmosphere and the ocean. However, proper understanding of its annual impact on exchanges, and therefore potentially on the climate, notably suffer from the paucity of autumnal and winter data sets. Here we present the results of physical and biogeochemical investigations on winter Antarctic pack ice in the Weddell Sea (R. V. Polarstern AWECS cruise, June-August 2013) which are compared with those from two similar studies conducted in the area in 1986 and 1992. The winter 2013 was characterized by a warm sea ice cover due to the combined effects of deep snow and frequent warm cyclones events penetrating southward from the open Southern Ocean. These conditions were favorable to high ice permeability and cyclic events of brine movements within the sea ice cover (brine tubes), favoring relatively high chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentrations. We discuss the timing of this algal activity showing that arguments can be presented in favor of continued activity during the winter due to the specific physical conditions. Large-scale sea ice model simulations also suggest a context of increasingly deep snow, warm ice, and large brine fractions across the three observational years, despite the fact that the model is forced with a snowfall climatology. This lends support to the claim that more severe Antarctic sea ice conditions, characterized by a longer ice season, thicker, and more concentrated ice are sufficient to increase the snow depth and, somehow counterintuitively, to warm the ice.

An Interdecadal Increase in the Spring Bering Sea Ice Cover in 2007

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Renguang eWu

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The sea ice coverage of the Northern Hemisphere as a whole has been declining since 1979. On contrary, the March-April sea ice concentration in the Bering Sea experienced a prominent increase in year 2007. The present study documents the changes in surface air temperature, surface heat fluxes, sea surface temperature, and atmospheric circulation accompanying the above interdecadal change in the Bering Sea ice concentration. It is shown that an obvious decrease in surface air temperature, sea surface temperature, and surface net shortwave radiation occurred in concurrent with the sea ice increase. The surface air temperature decrease is associated with a large-scale circulation change, featuring a decrease in sea level pressure extending from the Pacific coast of Alaska to northwestern Europe and an increase in sea level pressure over the high-latitude Asia and the high-latitude North Atlantic Ocean. The enhancement of northwesterly winds over the Bering Sea led to a large decrease in surface air temperature there. The associated increase in upward turbulent heat flux cooled the sea surface temperature in the waters south of the ice covered region, favoring the southward expansion of ice extent. This, together with a positive ice-albedo feedback, amplified the sea ice anomalies after they were initiated, leading to the interdecadal increase in sea ice in the Bering Sea.

Solid-State Photochemistry as a Formation Mechanism for Titan's Stratospheric C4N2 Ice Clouds

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, C. M.; Samuelson, R. E.; Yung, Y. L.; McLain, J. L.

2016-01-01

We propose that C4N2 ice clouds observed in Titan's springtime polar stratosphere arise due to solid-state photochemistry occurring within extant ice cloud particles of HCN-HC3N mixtures. This formation process resembles the halogen-induced ice particle surface chemistry that leads to condensed nitric acid trihydrate (NAT) particles and ozone depletion in Earth's polar stratosphere. As our analysis of the Cassini Composite Infrared Spectrometer 478 per centimeter ice emission feature demonstrates, this solid-state photochemistry mechanism eliminates the need for the relatively high C4N2 saturation vapor pressures required (even though they are not observed) when the ice is produced through the usual procedure of direct condensation from the vapor.

The impact of organochlorines cycling in the cryosphere on global distributions and fate – 2. Land ice and temporary snow cover

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hofmann, Lorenz; Stemmler, Irene; Lammel, Gerhard

2012-01-01

Global fate and transport of γ-HCH and DDT was studied using a global multicompartment chemistry-transport model, MPI-MCTM, with and without inclusion of land ice (in Antarctica and Greenland) or snow cover (dynamic). MPI-MCTM is based on coupled ocean and atmosphere general circulation models. After a decade of simulation 4.2% γ-HCH and 2.3% DDT are stored in land ice and snow. Neglection of land ice and snow in modelling would underestimate the total environmental residence time, τ ov , of γ-HCH and overestimate τ ov for DDT, both on the order of 1% and depending on actual compartmental distribution. Volatilisation of DDT from boreal, seasonally snow covered land is enhanced throughout the year, while volatilisation of γ-HCH is only enhanced during the snow-free season. Including land ice and snow cover in modelling matters in particular for the Arctic, where higher burdens are predicted to be stored. - Highlights: ► Land ice and snow hosts 2–4% of the global environmental burden of γ-HCH and DDT. ► Inclusion of land ice and snow cover matters for global environmental residence time. ► Including of land ice and snow cover matters in particular for the Arctic. - The inclusion of cycling in temporary snow cover and land ice in the model is found relevant for predicted POPs multicompartmental distribution and fate in the Arctic and on the global scale.

Retrieving the characteristics of slab ice covering snow by remote sensing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Andrieu

2016-09-01

Full Text Available We present an effort to validate a previously developed radiative transfer model, and an innovative Bayesian inversion method designed to retrieve the properties of slab-ice-covered surfaces. This retrieval method is adapted to satellite data, and is able to provide uncertainties on the results of the inversions. We focused on surfaces composed of a pure slab of water ice covering an optically thick layer of snow in this study. We sought to retrieve the roughness of the ice–air interface, the thickness of the slab layer and the mean grain diameter of the underlying snow. Numerical validations have been conducted on the method, and showed that if the thickness of the slab layer is above 5 mm and the noise on the signal is above 3 %, then it is not possible to invert the grain diameter of the snow. In contrast, the roughness and the thickness of the slab can be determined, even with high levels of noise up to 20 %. Experimental validations have been conducted on spectra collected from laboratory samples of water ice on snow using a spectro-radiogoniometer. The results are in agreement with the numerical validations, and show that a grain diameter can be correctly retrieved for low slab thicknesses, but not for bigger ones, and that the roughness and thickness are correctly inverted in every case.

Potential of the solid-Earth response for limiting long-term West Antarctic Ice Sheet retreat

Science.gov (United States)

Konrad, Hannes; Sasgen, Ingo; Pollard, David; Klemann, Volker

2016-04-01

The West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) is assumed to be inherently unstable because it is grounded below sea level in a large part, where the bedrock deepens from today's grounding line towards the interior of the ice sheet. Idealized simulations have shown that bedrock uplift due to isostatic adjustment of the solid Earth and the associated sea-level fall may stop the retreat of such a marine-based ice sheet (Gomez et al., 2012). Here, we employ a coupled model for ice-sheet dynamics and solid-Earth dynamics, including a gravitationally consistent description of sea level, to investigate the influence of the viscoelastic Earth structure on the WAIS' future stability (Konrad et al. 2015). For this, we start from a steady-state condition for the Antarctic Ice Sheet close to present-day observations and apply atmospheric and oceanic forcing of different strength to initiate the retreat of the WAIS and investigate the effect of the viscoelastic deformation on the ice evolution for a range of solid-Earth rheologies. We find that the climate forcing is the primary control on the occurrence of the WAIS collapse. However, for moderate climate forcing and a weak solid-Earth rheology associated with the West Antarctic rift system (asthenosphere viscosities of 3x10^19 Pa s or less), we find that the combined effect of bedrock uplift and gravitational sea-level fall limits the retreat to the Amundsen Sea embayment on millennial time scales. In contrast, a stiffer Earth rheology yields a collapse under these conditions. Under a stronger climate forcing, weak Earth structures do not prevent the WAIS collapse; however, they produce a delay of up to 5000 years in comparison to a stiffer solid-Earth rheology. In an additional experiment, we test the impact of sea-level rise from an assumed fast deglaciation of the Greenland Ice Sheet. In cases when the climatic forcing is too weak to force WAIS collapse by itself, the additional rise in sea-level leads to disintegration of the WAIS

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

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Lejiang; Zhong, Shiyuan; Winkler, Julie A; Zhou, Mingyu; Lenschow, Donald H; Li, Bingrui; Wang, Xianqiao; Yang, Qinghua

2017-04-05

Sea ice is an important component of the global climate system and a key indicator of climate change. A decreasing trend in Arctic sea-ice concentration is evident in recent years, whereas Antarctic sea-ice concentration exhibits a generally increasing trend. Various studies have investigated the underlying causes of the observed trends for each region, but possible linkages between the regional trends have not been studied. Here, we hypothesize that the opposite trends in Arctic and Antarctic sea-ice concentration may be linked, at least partially, through interdecadal variability of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO). Although evaluation of this hypothesis is constrained by the limitations of the sea-ice cover record, preliminary statistical analyses of one short-term and two long-term time series of observed and reanalysis sea-ice concentrations data suggest the possibility of the hypothesized linkages. For all three data sets, the leading mode of variability of global sea-ice concentration is positively correlated with the AMO and negatively correlated with the PDO. Two wave trains related to the PDO and the AMO appear to produce anomalous surface-air temperature and low-level wind fields in the two polar regions that contribute to the opposite changes in sea-ice concentration.

Short Range Acoustic Propagation Under Arctic Ice Cover During Icex 16

Science.gov (United States)

2016-09-01

cruised through the northernmost latitude while navigating under the ice-covered sea (Navy Live 2016). Today, the challenges of Arctic exploration...and research have been somewhat mitigated by advances in technology for transportation, navigation , supporting infrastructure, and resupply. While...extraction. Additionally, as the Arctic Ocean becomes a more viable route for international shipping, opportunities continue to expand for infrastructure

The use of nuclear powered submarines for oceanographic research in ICE covered regions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sambrotto, Raymond; Chayes, Dale

2000-01-01

Nuclear powered submarines offer a variety of advantages as platforms for oceanographic research. Their speed and ability to remain submerged for extended periods greatly extends their spatial coverage and isolates them from surface ocean conditions as compared to conventional ships. These advantages are particularly obvious in ice covered oceans that remain among the least explored regions on the globe. Scientific research in these regions has been limited to selected seasons and places where ice conditions are favorable for available observational platforms. However, much broader scientific observations are needed to assess such impacts as pollutants and possible climate variations on polar regions. To overcome some of the observational limitations of surface ships in the Arctic, the U.S. Navy made available nuclear powered submarines for civilian oceanographic research during the Scientific Ice Expedition (Scicex) program from 1993 to 1999. Together, these cruises sampled along more than 85,000 km of track throughout the international waters of the Arctic Ocean during selected periods from March to October. This sampling forms the basis of the present analysis of the limitations and capabilities of nuclear submarines as observational platforms for scientific research. Scientific observations were made in four general disciplines: ocean physics; biology and chemistry; sea ice; and marine geology and geophysics. Sampling of ocean biology and chemistry was most constrained because the water samples typically required in such studies were limited to the operating depths of the submarine. However, the surface 250 m contains all of the biological production, as well as informative chemical tracers for the flow of Atlantic and Pacific water masses. Measurements of ocean physics were less constrained because in addition to the on-board measurements, expendable probes are available to sample water depths inaccessible to the submarine. The submarine proved to be an

Decreasing cloud cover drives the recent mass loss on the Greenland Ice Sheet.

Science.gov (United States)

Hofer, Stefan; Tedstone, Andrew J; Fettweis, Xavier; Bamber, Jonathan L

2017-06-01

The Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) has been losing mass at an accelerating rate since the mid-1990s. This has been due to both increased ice discharge into the ocean and melting at the surface, with the latter being the dominant contribution. This change in state has been attributed to rising temperatures and a decrease in surface albedo. We show, using satellite data and climate model output, that the abrupt reduction in surface mass balance since about 1995 can be attributed largely to a coincident trend of decreasing summer cloud cover enhancing the melt-albedo feedback. Satellite observations show that, from 1995 to 2009, summer cloud cover decreased by 0.9 ± 0.3% per year. Model output indicates that the GrIS summer melt increases by 27 ± 13 gigatons (Gt) per percent reduction in summer cloud cover, principally because of the impact of increased shortwave radiation over the low albedo ablation zone. The observed reduction in cloud cover is strongly correlated with a state shift in the North Atlantic Oscillation promoting anticyclonic conditions in summer and suggests that the enhanced surface mass loss from the GrIS is driven by synoptic-scale changes in Arctic-wide atmospheric circulation.

Aspect controls the survival of ice cliffs on debris-covered glaciers.

Science.gov (United States)

Buri, Pascal; Pellicciotti, Francesca

2018-04-24

Supraglacial ice cliffs exist on debris-covered glaciers worldwide, but despite their importance as melt hot spots, their life cycle is little understood. Early field observations had advanced a hypothesis of survival of north-facing and disappearance of south-facing cliffs, which is central for predicting the contribution of cliffs to total glacier mass losses. Their role as windows of energy transfer suggests they may explain the anomalously high mass losses of debris-covered glaciers in High Mountain Asia (HMA) despite the insulating debris, currently at the center of a debated controversy. We use a 3D model of cliff evolution coupled to very high-resolution topographic data to demonstrate that ice cliffs facing south (in the Northern Hemisphere) disappear within a few months due to enhanced solar radiation receipts and that aspect is the key control on cliffs evolution. We reproduce continuous flattening of south-facing cliffs, a result of their vertical gradient of incoming solar radiation and sky view factor. Our results establish that only north-facing cliffs are recurrent features and thus stable contributors to the melting of debris-covered glaciers. Satellite observations and mass balance modeling confirms that few south-facing cliffs of small size exist on the glaciers of Langtang, and their contribution to the glacier volume losses is very small ([Formula: see text]1%). This has major implications for the mass balance of HMA debris-covered glaciers as it provides the basis for new parameterizations of cliff evolution and distribution to constrain volume losses in a region where glaciers are highly relevant as water sources for millions of people.

Quantifying volume loss from ice cliffs on debris-covered glaciers using high-resolution terrestrial and aerial photogrammetry

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brun, Fanny; Buri, Pascal; Miles, Evan S.; Wagnon, Patrick; Steiner, J.F.; Berthier, Etienne; Ragettli, S.; Kraaijenbrink, P.D.A.; Immerzeel, W.W.; Pellicciotti, Francesca

Mass losses originating from supraglacial ice cliffs at the lower tongues of debris-covered glaciers are a potentially large component of the mass balance, but have rarely been quantified. In this study, we develop a method to estimate ice cliff volume losses based on high-resolution topographic

Process of establishing a plane-wave system on ice cover over a dipole moving uniformly in an ideal fluid column

Science.gov (United States)

Il'ichev, A. T.; Savin, A. S.

2017-12-01

We consider a planar evolution problem for perturbations of the ice cover by a dipole starting its uniform rectilinear horizontal motion in a column of an initially stationary fluid. Using asymptotic Fourier analysis, we show that at supercritical velocities, waves of two types form on the water-ice interface. We describe the process of establishing these waves during the dipole motion. We assume that the fluid is ideal and incompressible and its motion is potential. The ice cover is modeled by the Kirchhoff-Love plate.

Automated mapping of persistent ice and snow cover across the western U.S. with Landsat

Science.gov (United States)

Selkowitz, David J.; Forster, Richard R.

2016-01-01

We implemented an automated approach for mapping persistent ice and snow cover (PISC) across the conterminous western U.S. using all available Landsat TM and ETM+ scenes acquired during the late summer/early fall period between 2010 and 2014. Two separate validation approaches indicate this dataset provides a more accurate representation of glacial ice and perennial snow cover for the region than either the U.S. glacier database derived from US Geological Survey (USGS) Digital Raster Graphics (DRG) maps (based on aerial photography primarily from the 1960s–1980s) or the National Land Cover Database 2011 perennial ice and snow cover class. Our 2010–2014 Landsat-derived dataset indicates 28% less glacier and perennial snow cover than the USGS DRG dataset. There are larger differences between the datasets in some regions, such as the Rocky Mountains of Northwest Wyoming and Southwest Montana, where the Landsat dataset indicates 54% less PISC area. Analysis of Landsat scenes from 1987–1988 and 2008–2010 for three regions using a more conventional, semi-automated approach indicates substantial decreases in glaciers and perennial snow cover that correlate with differences between PISC mapped by the USGS DRG dataset and the automated Landsat-derived dataset. This suggests that most of the differences in PISC between the USGS DRG and the Landsat-derived dataset can be attributed to decreases in PISC, as opposed to differences between mapping techniques. While the dataset produced by the automated Landsat mapping approach is not designed to serve as a conventional glacier inventory that provides glacier outlines and attribute information, it allows for an updated estimate of PISC for the conterminous U.S. as well as for smaller regions. Additionally, the new dataset highlights areas where decreases in PISC have been most significant over the past 25–50 years.

The effects of additional black carbon on the albedo of Arctic sea ice: variation with sea ice type and snow cover

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. A. Marks

2013-07-01

Full Text Available The response of the albedo of bare sea ice and snow-covered sea ice to the addition of black carbon is calculated. Visible light absorption and light-scattering cross-sections are derived for a typical first-year and multi-year sea ice with both "dry" and "wet" snow types. The cross-sections are derived using data from a 1970s field study that recorded both reflectivity and light penetration in Arctic sea ice and snow overlying sea ice. The variation of absorption cross-section over the visible wavelengths suggests black carbon is the dominating light-absorbing impurity. The response of first-year and multi-year sea ice albedo to increasing black carbon, from 1 to 1024 ng g−1, in a top 5 cm layer of a 155 cm-thick sea ice was calculated using a radiative-transfer model. The albedo of the first-year sea ice is more sensitive to additional loadings of black carbon than the multi-year sea ice. An addition of 8 ng g−1 of black carbon causes a decrease to 98.7% of the original albedo for first-year sea ice compared to a decrease to 99.7% for the albedo of multi-year sea ice, at a wavelength of 500 nm. The albedo of sea ice is surprisingly unresponsive to additional black carbon up to 100 ng g−1 . Snow layers on sea ice may mitigate the effects of black carbon in sea ice. Wet and dry snow layers of 0.5, 1, 2, 5 and 10 cm depth were added onto the sea ice surface. The albedo of the snow surface was calculated whilst the black carbon in the underlying sea ice was increased. A layer of snow 0.5 cm thick greatly diminishes the effect of black carbon in sea ice on the surface albedo. The albedo of a 2–5 cm snow layer (less than the e-folding depth of snow is still influenced by the underlying sea ice, but the effect of additional black carbon in the sea ice is masked.

Species interactions and response time to climate change: ice-cover and terrestrial run-off shaping Arctic char and brown trout competitive asymmetries

Science.gov (United States)

Finstad, A. G.; Palm Helland, I.; Jonsson, B.; Forseth, T.; Foldvik, A.; Hessen, D. O.; Hendrichsen, D. K.; Berg, O. K.; Ulvan, E.; Ugedal, O.

2011-12-01

There has been a growing recognition that single species responses to climate change often mainly are driven by interaction with other organisms and single species studies therefore not are sufficient to recognize and project ecological climate change impacts. Here, we study how performance, relative abundance and the distribution of two common Arctic and sub-Arctic freshwater fishes (brown trout and Arctic char) are driven by competitive interactions. The interactions are modified both by direct climatic effects on temperature and ice-cover, and indirectly through climate forcing of terrestrial vegetation pattern and associated carbon and nutrient run-off. We first use laboratory studies to show that Arctic char, which is the world's most northernmost distributed freshwater fish, outperform trout under low light levels and also have comparable higher growth efficiency. Corresponding to this, a combination of time series and time-for-space analyses show that ice-cover duration and carbon and nutrient load mediated by catchment vegetation properties strongly affected the outcome of the competition and likely drive the species distribution pattern through competitive exclusion. In brief, while shorter ice-cover period and decreased carbon load favored brown trout, increased ice-cover period and increased carbon load favored Arctic char. Length of ice-covered period and export of allochthonous material from catchments are major, but contrasting, climatic drivers of competitive interaction between these two freshwater lake top-predators. While projected climate change lead to decreased ice-cover, corresponding increase in forest and shrub cover amplify carbon and nutrient run-off. Although a likely outcome of future Arctic and sub-arctic climate scenarios are retractions of the Arctic char distribution area caused by competitive exclusion, the main drivers will act on different time scales. While ice-cover will change instantaneously with increasing temperature

Circulation and fjord-shelf exchange during the ice-covered period in Young Sound-Tyrolerfjord, Northeast Greenland (74°N)

Science.gov (United States)

Boone, W.; Rysgaard, S.; Kirillov, S.; Dmitrenko, I.; Bendtsen, J.; Mortensen, J.; Meire, L.; Petrusevich, V.; Barber, D. G.

2017-07-01

Fjords around Greenland connect the Greenland Ice Sheet to the ocean and their hydrography and circulation are determined by the interplay between atmospheric forcing, runoff, topography, fjord-shelf exchange, tides, waves, and seasonal growth and melt of sea ice. Limited knowledge exists on circulation in high-Arctic fjords, particularly those not impacted by tidewater glaciers, and especially during winter, when they are covered with sea-ice and freshwater input is low. Here, we present and analyze seasonal observations of circulation, hydrography and cross-sill exchange of the Young Sound-Tyrolerfjord system (74°N) in Northeast Greenland. Distinct seasonal circulation phases are identified and related to polynya activity, meltwater and inflow of coastal water masses. Renewal of basin water in the fjord is a relatively slow process that modifies the fjord water masses on a seasonal timescale. By the end of winter, there is two-layer circulation, with outflow in the upper 45 m and inflow extending down to approximately 150 m. Tidal analysis showed that tidal currents above the sill were almost barotropic and dominated by the M2 tidal constituent (0.26 m s-1), and that residual currents (∼0.02 m s-1) were relatively small during the ice-covered period. Tidal pumping, a tidally driven fjord-shelf exchange mechanism, drives a salt flux that is estimated to range between 145 kg s-1 and 603 kg s-1. Extrapolation of these values over the ice-covered period indicates that tidal pumping is likely a major source of dense water and driver of fjord circulation during the ice-covered period.

Temporal variatiions of Sea ice cover in the Baltic Sea derived from operational sea ice products used in NWP.

Science.gov (United States)

Lange, Martin; Paul, Gerhard; Potthast, Roland

2014-05-01

Sea ice cover is a crucial parameter for surface fluxes of heat and moisture over water areas. The isolating effect and the much higher albedo strongly reduces the turbulent exchange of heat and moisture from the surface to the atmosphere and allows for cold and dry air mass flow with strong impact on the stability of the whole boundary layer and consequently cloud formation as well as precipitation in the downstream regions. Numerical weather centers as, ECMWF, MetoFrance or DWD use external products to initialize SST and sea ice cover in their NWP models. To the knowledge of the author there are mainly two global sea ice products well established with operational availability, one from NOAA NCEP that combines measurements with satellite data, and the other from OSI-SAF derived from SSMI/S sensors. The latter one is used in the Ostia product. DWD additionally uses a regional product for the Baltic Sea provided by the national center for shipping and hydrografie which combines observations from ships (and icebreakers) for the German part of the Baltic Sea and model analysis from the hydrodynamic HIROMB model of the Swedish meteorological service for the rest of the domain. The temporal evolution of the three different products are compared for a cold period in Februar 2012. Goods and bads will be presented and suggestions for a harmonization of strong day to day jumps over large areas are suggested.

Modelling ice-cliff backwasting on a debris-covered glacier in the Nepalese Himalaya

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Steiner, Jakob F.; Pellicciotti, Francesca; Buri, Pascal; Miles, Evan S.; Immerzeel, Walter W.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/290472113; Reid, Tim D.

2015-01-01

Ice cliffs have been identified as a reason for higher ablation rates on debris-covered glaciers than are implied by the insulation effects of the debris. This study aims to improve our understanding of cliff backwasting, and the role of radiative fluxes in particular. An energy-balance model is

Accounting rigid support at the border in a mixed model the finite element method in problems of ice cover destruction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. V. Knyazkov

2014-01-01

Full Text Available To evaluate the force to damage the ice covers is necessary for estimation of icebreaking capability of vessels, as well as of hull strength of icebreakers, and navigation of ships in ice conditions. On the other hand, the use of ice cover support to arrange construction works from the ice is also of practical interest.By the present moment a great deal of investigations of ice cover deformation have been carried out to result, usually, in approximate calculations formula which was obtained after making a variety of assumptions. Nevertheless, we believe that it is possible to make further improvement in calculations. Application numerical methods, and, for example, FEM, makes possible to avoid numerous drawbacks of analytical methods dealing with both complex boundaries and load application areas and other problem peculiarities.The article considers an application of mixed models of FEM for investigating ice cover deformation. A simple flexible triangle element of mixed type was taken to solve this problem. Vector of generalized coordinates of the element contains apices flexures and normal bending moments in the middle of its sides. Compared to other elements mixed models easily satisfy compatibility requirements on the boundary of adjacent elements and do not require numerical displacement differentiation to define bending moments, because bending moments are included in vector of element generalized coordinates.The method of account of rigid support plate is proposed. The resulting ratio, taking into account the "stiffening", reduces the number of resolving systems of equations by the number of elements on the plate contour.To evaluate further the results the numerical realization of ice cover stress-strained problem it becomes necessary and correct to check whether calculation results correspond to accurate solution. Using an example of circular plate the convergence of numerical solutions to analytical solutions is showed.The article

The Penetration of Solar Radiation Into Carbon Dioxide Ice

Science.gov (United States)

Chinnery, H. E.; Hagermann, A.; Kaufmann, E.; Lewis, S. R.

2018-04-01

Icy surfaces behave differently to rocky or regolith-covered surfaces in response to irradiation. A key factor is the ability of visible light to penetrate partially into the subsurface. This results in the solid-state greenhouse effect, as ices can be transparent or translucent to visible and shorter wavelengths, while opaque in the infrared. This can lead to significant differences in shallow subsurface temperature profiles when compared to rocky surfaces. Of particular significance for modeling the solid-state greenhouse effect is the e-folding scale, otherwise known as the absorption scale length, or penetration depth, of the ice. While there have been measurements for water ice and snow, pure and with mixtures, to date, there have been no such measurements published for carbon dioxide ice. After an extensive series of measurements we are able to constrain the e-folding scale of CO2 ice for the cumulative wavelength range 300 to 1,100 nm, which is a vital parameter in heat transfer models for the Martian surface, enabling us to better understand surface-atmosphere interactions at Mars' polar caps.

The effect of severe storms on the ice cover of the northern Tatarskiy Strait

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Seelye; Munoz, Esther; Drucker, Robert

1992-01-01

Passive microwave images from the Special Sensor Microwave Imager are used to study the volume of ice and sea-bottom water in the Japan Sea as affected by winds and severe storms. The data set comprises brightness temperatures gridded on a polar stereographic projection, and the processing is accomplished with a linear algorithm by Cavalieri et al. (1983) based on the vertically polarized 37-GHz channel. The expressions for calculating heat fluxes and downwelling radiation are given, and ice-cover fluctuations are correlated with severe storm events. The storms generate large transient polynya that occur simultaneously with the strongest heat fluxes, and severe storms are found to contribute about 25 percent of the annual introduction of 25 cu km of ice in the region. The ice production could lead to the renewal of enough sea-bottom water to account for the C-14 data provided, and the generation of Japan Sea bottom water is found to vary directly with storm activity.

Modeling the Long-Term Evolution of Supraglacial Ice Cliffs on Himalayan Debris-Covered Glaciers

Science.gov (United States)

Buri, P.; Miles, E. S.; Steiner, J. F.; Ragettli, S.; Pellicciotti, F.

2016-12-01

Supraglacial ice cliffs are present on debris-covered glaciers worldwide and provide the only direct atmosphere-ice interface over the lower sections of these glaciers. Low albedo and high longwave emissions from surrounding debris cause very high melt rates, accounting for a significant portion of total glacier mass loss. As a result, ice cliffs affect glacier downwasting and mass balance. Additionally, and in contrast to the debris-covered ice, high melt at cliffs turns them into dynamic features, directly affecting glacier surface evolution. While conceptual ideas about the formation, evolution and collapse of ice cliffs exist, their life cycles have never been thoroughly documented. Based on observations obtained from high-resolution aerial and terrestrial images analyzed with Structure-from-Motion and with data from automatic weather stations on two glaciers in the Nepalese Himalaya, we simulate the evolution of selected ice cliffs over several seasons using a new physically-based model of cliff backwasting. The 3D model calculates the energy-balance at the cliff scale and includes the cliff interaction with supraglacial ponds and reburial by debris. We consider cliffs of different shape, orientation and slope, and we show that backwasting leads to a variety of evolution typologies, with cliffs that maintain a constant, self-similar geometry, cliffs that grow laterally and cliffs that disappear through slope shallowing and debris melt-out. Most cliffs persist over several seasons. The presence of a pond appears to be the key control for cliffs to survive, while east and west facing cliffs grow because of higher radiation receipts. We use the model to test the hypothesis that south-facing cliffs do not survive. We show that most south-facing cliffs demise after one melt season on both glaciers, because of high input of solar radiation exceeding the longwave radiation receipt. For north facing features, the longwave radiation receipts at lower cliff sections

Constraining Quaternary ice covers and erosion rates using cosmogenic 26Al/10Be nuclide concentrations

Science.gov (United States)

Knudsen, Mads Faurschou; Egholm, David Lundbek

2018-02-01

Paired cosmogenic nuclides are often used to constrain the exposure/burial history of landforms repeatedly covered by ice during the Quaternary, including tors, high-elevation surfaces, and steep alpine summits in the circum-Arctic regions. The approach generally exploits the different production rates and half-lives of 10Be and 26Al to infer past exposure/burial histories. However, the two-stage minimum-limiting exposure and burial model regularly used to interpret the nuclides ignores the effect of variable erosion rates, which potentially may bias the interpretation. In this study, we use a Monte Carlo model approach to investigate systematically how the exposure/burial and erosion history, including variable erosion and the timing of erosion events, influence concentrations of 10Be and 26Al. The results show that low 26Al/10Be ratios are not uniquely associated with prolonged burial under ice, but may as well reflect ice covers that were limited to the coldest part of the late Pleistocene combined with recent exhumation of the sample, e.g. due to glacial plucking during the last glacial period. As an example, we simulate published 26Al/10Be data from Svalbard and show that it is possible that the steep alpine summits experienced ice-free conditions during large parts of the late Pleistocene and varying amounts of glacial erosion. This scenario, which contrasts with the original interpretation of more-or-less continuous burial under non-erosive ice over the last ∼1 Myr, thus challenge the conventional interpretation of such data. On the other hand, high 26Al/10Be ratios do not necessarily reflect limited burial under ice, which is the common interpretation of high ratios. In fact, high 26Al/10Be ratios may also reflect extensive burial under ice, combined with a change from burial under erosive ice, which brought the sample close to the surface, to burial under non-erosive ice at some point during the mid-Pleistocene. Importantly, by allowing for variable

A physically based 3-D model of ice cliff evolution over debris-covered glaciers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Buri, Pascal; Miles, Evan S.; Steiner, J.F.; Immerzeel, W.W.; Wagnon, Patrick; Pellicciotti, Francesca

2016-01-01

We use high-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs) from unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) surveys to document the evolution of four ice cliffs on the debris-covered tongue of Lirung Glacier, Nepal, over one ablation season. Observations show that out of four cliffs, three different patterns of

The cloud-radiative processes and its modulation by sea-ice cover and stability as derived from a merged C3M Data product.

Science.gov (United States)

Nag, B.

2016-12-01

The polar regions of the world constitute an important sector in the global energy balance. Among other effects responsible for the change in the sea-ice cover like ocean circulation and ice-albedo feedback, the cloud-radiation feedback also plays a vital role in modulation of the Arctic environment. However the annual cycle of the clouds is very poorly represented in current global circulation models. This study aims to take advantage of a merged C3M data (CALIPSO, CloudSat, CERES, and MODIS) product from the NASA's A-Train Series to explore the sea-ice and atmospheric conditions in the Arctic on a spatial coverage spanning 70N to 80N. This study is aimed at the interactions or the feedbacks processes among sea-ice, clouds and the atmosphere. Using a composite approach based on a classification due to surface type, it is found that limitation of the water vapour influx from the surface due to change in phase at the surface featuring open oceans or marginal sea-ice cover to complete sea-ice cover is a major determinant in the modulation of the atmospheric moisture and its impacts. The impact of the cloud-radiative effects in the Arctic is found to vary with sea-ice cover and seasonally. The effect of the marginal sea-ice cover becomes more and more pronounced in the winter. The seasonal variation of the dependence of the atmospheric moisture on the surface and the subsequent feedback effects is controlled by the atmospheric stability measured as a difference between the potential temperature at the surface and the 700hPa level. It is found that a stronger stability cover in the winter is responsible for the longwave cloud radiative feedback in winter which is missing during the summer. A regional analysis of the same suggests that most of the depiction of the variations observed is contributed from the North Atlantic region.

Trends in Sea Ice Cover, Sea Surface Temperature, and Chlorophyll Biomass Across a Marine Distributed Biological Observatory in the Pacific Arctic Region

Science.gov (United States)

Frey, K. E.; Grebmeier, J. M.; Cooper, L. W.; Wood, C.; Panday, P. K.

2011-12-01

The northern Bering and Chukchi Seas in the Pacific Arctic Region (PAR) are among the most productive marine ecosystems in the world and act as important carbon sinks, particularly during May and June when seasonal sea ice-associated phytoplankton blooms occur throughout the region. Recent dramatic shifts in seasonal sea ice cover across the PAR should have profound consequences for this seasonal phytoplankton production as well as the intimately linked higher trophic levels. In order to investigate ecosystem responses to these observed recent shifts in sea ice cover, the development of a prototype Distributed Biological Observatory (DBO) is now underway in the PAR. The DBO is being developed as an internationally-coordinated change detection array that allows for consistent sampling and monitoring at five spatially explicit biologically productive locations across a latitudinal gradient: (1) DBO-SLP (south of St. Lawrence Island (SLI)), (2) DBO-NBS (north of SLI), (3) DBO-SCS (southern Chukchi Sea), (4) DBO-CCS (central Chukchi Sea), and (5) DBO-BCA (Barrow Canyon Arc). Standardized measurements at many of the DBO sites were made by multiple research cruises during the 2010 and 2011 pilot years, and will be expanded with the development of the DBO in coming years. In order to provide longer-term context for the changes occurring across the PAR, we utilize multi-sensor satellite data to investigate recent trends in sea ice cover, chlorophyll biomass, and sea surface temperatures for each of the five DBO sites, as well as a sixth long-term observational site in the Bering Strait. Satellite observations show that over the past three decades, trends in sea ice cover in the PAR have been heterogeneous, with significant declines in the Chukchi Sea, slight declines in the Bering Strait region, but increases in the northern Bering Sea south of SLI. Declines in the persistence of seasonal sea ice cover in the Chukchi Sea and Bering Strait region are due to both earlier sea

Solid and gaseous inclusions in the EDML deep ice core: origins and implications for the physical properties of polar ice

Science.gov (United States)

Faria, S. H.; Kipfstuhl, S.; Garbe, C. S.; Bendel, V.; Weikusat, C.; Weikusat, I.

2010-12-01

The great value of polar deep ice cores stems mainly from two essential features of polar ice: its crystalline structure and its impurities. They determine the physical properties of the ice matrix and provide proxies for the investigation of past climates. Experience shows that these two essential features of polar ice manifest themselves in a multiscale diversity of dynamic structures, including dislocations, grain boundaries, solid particles, air bubbles, clathrate hydrates and cloudy bands, among others. The fact that these structures are dynamic implies that they evolve with time through intricate interactions between the crystalline structure, impurities, and the ice flow. Records of these interactions have been carefully investigated in samples of the EPICA deep ice core drilled in Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica (75°S, 0°E, 2882 m elevation, 2774.15 m core length). Here we show how the distributions of sizes and shapes of air bubbles correlate with impurities and the crystalline structure, how the interaction between moving grain boundaries and micro-inclusions changes with ice depth and temperature, as well as the possible causes for the abrupt change in ice rheology observed in the MIS6-MIS5e transition. We also discuss how these observations may affect the flow of the ice sheet and the interpretation of paleoclimate records. Micrograph of an EDML sample from 555m depth. One can identify air bubbles (dark, round objects), microinclusions (tiny defocused spots), and a grain boundary pinned by a bubble. The width of the image is 700 micrometers.

A grid-based model of backwasting of supraglacial ice cliffs over debris-covered glaciers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Buri, Pascal; Pellicciotti, Francesca; Steiner, Jakob F|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/119338653; Miles, Evan S.; Immerzeel, Wouter W|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/290472113

2016-01-01

Ice cliffs might be partly responsible for the high mass losses of debris-covered glaciers in the Hindu Kush-Karakoram-Himalaya region. The few existing models of cliff backwasting are point-scale models applied at few locations or assume cliffs to be planes with constant slope and aspect, a major

Evaluation of soluble solids content and pH of ice cream treated with gamma radiation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rogovschi, V.D.; Nunes, T.C.F.; Fabbri, A.D.T.; Sagretti, J.M.; Sabato, S.F. [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)

2011-07-01

The ice cream is considered an aerated suspension of fat and ice crystals in a concentrated sugar solution containing hydrocolloids, proteins and casein micelles. Only in Brazil, in the year 2010, it was produced 1120 million liter of ice cream and due to high demand by the consumers, this is considered the most important product of the dairy industry. The objective of this work is to evaluate the soluble solids content (SSC) and the hydrogenionic potential (pH) of vanilla ice cream conditioned in isothermal boxes irradiated with 3.0 and 5.0 kGy in the Multipurpose Irradiator of {sup 60}Co located at IPEN - CNEN/SP. It can be concluded that the treatment of ice cream with gamma radiation did not cause changes in the analyzed parameters. . (author)

Evaluation of soluble solids content and pH of ice cream treated with gamma radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rogovschi, V.D.; Nunes, T.C.F.; Fabbri, A.D.T.; Sagretti, J.M.; Sabato, S.F.

2011-01-01

The ice cream is considered an aerated suspension of fat and ice crystals in a concentrated sugar solution containing hydrocolloids, proteins and casein micelles. Only in Brazil, in the year 2010, it was produced 1120 million liter of ice cream and due to high demand by the consumers, this is considered the most important product of the dairy industry. The objective of this work is to evaluate the soluble solids content (SSC) and the hydrogenionic potential (pH) of vanilla ice cream conditioned in isothermal boxes irradiated with 3.0 and 5.0 kGy in the Multipurpose Irradiator of 60 Co located at IPEN - CNEN/SP. It can be concluded that the treatment of ice cream with gamma radiation did not cause changes in the analyzed parameters. . (author)

Explaining tolerance for bitterness in chocolate ice cream using solid chocolate preferences

Science.gov (United States)

Harwood, Meriel L.; Loquasto, Joseph R.; Roberts, Robert F.; Ziegler, Gregory R.; Hayes, John E.

2016-01-01

Chocolate ice cream is commonly formulated with higher sugar levels than nonchocolate flavors to compensate for the inherent bitterness of cocoa. Bitterness, however, is an integral part of the complex flavor of chocolate. In light of the global obesity epidemic, many consumers and health professionals are concerned about the levels of added sugars in foods. Once a strategy for balancing undesirable bitterness and health concerns regarding added sugars has been developed, the task becomes determining whether that product will be acceptable to the consumer. Thus, the purpose of this research was to manipulate the bitterness of chocolate ice cream to examine how this influences consumer preferences. The main goal of this study was to estimate group rejection thresholds for bitterness in chocolate ice cream, and to see if solid chocolate preferences (dark vs. milk) generalized to ice cream. A food-safe bitter ingredient, sucrose octaacetate, was added to chocolate ice cream to alter bitterness without disturbing other the sensory qualities of the ice cream samples, including texture. Untrained chocolate ice cream consumers participated in a large-scale sensory test by indicating their preferences for blinded pairs of unspiked and spiked samples, where the spiked sample had increasing levels of the added bitterant. As anticipated, the group containing individuals who prefer milk chocolate had a much lower tolerance for bitterness in their chocolate ice cream compared with the group of individuals who prefer dark chocolate; indeed, the dark chocolate group tolerated almost twice as much added bitterant in the ice cream before indicating a significant preference for the unspiked (control) ice cream. This work demonstrates the successful application of the rejection threshold method to a complex dairy food. Estimating rejection thresholds could prove to be an effective tool for determining acceptable formulations or quality limits when considering attributes that become

The photoexcitation of crystalline ice and amorphous solid water: A molecular dynamics study of outcomes at 11 K and 125 K

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Crouse, J.; Loock, H.-P., E-mail: hploock@chem.queensu.ca; Cann, N. M., E-mail: ncann@chem.queensu.ca [Department of Chemistry, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6 (Canada)

2015-07-21

Photoexcitation of crystalline ice Ih and amorphous solid water at 7-9 eV is examined using molecular dynamics simulations and a fully flexible water model. The probabilities of photofragment desorption, trapping, and recombination are examined for crystalline ice at 11 K and at 125 K and for amorphous solid water at 11 K. For 11 K crystalline ice, a fully rigid water model is also employed for comparison. The kinetic energy of desorbed H atoms and the distance travelled by trapped fragments are correlated to the location and the local environment of the photoexcited water molecule. In all cases, H atom desorption is found to be the most likely outcome in the top bilayer while trapping of all photofragments is most probable deeper in the solid where the likelihood for recombination of the fragments into H{sub 2}O molecules also rises. Trajectory analysis indicates that the local hydrogen bonding network in amorphous solid water is more easily distorted by a photodissociation event compared to crystalline ice. Also, simulations indicate that desorption of OH radicals and H{sub 2}O molecules are more probable in amorphous solid water. The kinetic energy distributions for desorbed H atoms show a peak at high energy in crystalline ice, arising from photoexcited water molecules in the top monolayer. This peak is less pronounced in amorphous solid water. H atoms that are trapped may be displaced by up to ∼10 water cages, but migrate on average 3 water cages. Trapped OH fragments tend to stay near the original solvent cage.

Comparison of northern and central Greenland ice cores records of methanesulfonate covering the last glacial period

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jonsell, U.; Hansson, M. E.; Siggaard-Andersen, M-L-

2007-01-01

Methanesulfonate (MS-) is measured in ice cores with the objective to obtain a proxy record of marine phytoplankton production of dimethylsulfide (DMS). We present a continuous MS- record covering the last glacial period from the North Greenland Ice Core Project (NGRIP) ice core and compare...... this record with the corresponding records previously presented from Greenland and, in particular, with the GISP2 ice core located 320 km south of NGRIP. Despite that the records have similar mean concentrations, their responses to climatic changes during the last glacial period are slightly different. NGRIP...... MS- concentrations were higher during the cold marine isotopic stages (MIS) 2 and 4 and lower during the warm MIS 5. This long-term trend in MS-, which is similar to the inverse of the corresponding trend in d 18O, is not detected in the GISP2 MS- record. A systematic response in MS- concentrations...

Determining the ice seasons severity during 1982-2015 using the ice extents sum as a new characteristic

Science.gov (United States)

Rjazin, Jevgeni; Pärn, Ove

2016-04-01

Sea ice is a key climate factor and it restricts considerably the winter navigation in sever seasons on the Baltic Sea. So determining ice conditions severity and describing ice cover behaviour at severe seasons interests scientists, engineers and navigation managers. The present study is carried out to determine the ice seasons severity degree basing on the ice seasons 1982 to 2015. A new integrative characteristic is introduced to describe the ice season severity. It is the sum of ice extents of the ice season id est the daily ice extents of the season are summed. The commonly used procedure to determine the ice season severity degree by the maximal ice extent is in this research compared to the new characteristic values. The remote sensing data on the ice concentrations on the Baltic Sea published in the European Copernicus Programme are used to obtain the severity characteristic values. The ice extents are calculated on these ice concentration data. Both the maximal ice extent of the season and a newly introduced characteristic - the ice extents sum are used to classify the winters with respect of severity. The most severe winter of the reviewed period is 1986/87. Also the ice seasons 1981/82, 1984/85, 1985/86, 1995/96 and 2002/03 are classified as severe. Only three seasons of this list are severe by both the criteria. They are 1984/85, 1985/86 and 1986/87. We interpret this coincidence as the evidence of enough-during extensive ice cover in these three seasons. In several winters, for example 2010/11 ice cover extended enough for some time, but did not endure. At few other ice seasons as 2002/03 the Baltic Sea was ice-covered in moderate extent, but the ice cover stayed long time. At 11 winters the ice extents sum differed considerably (> 10%) from the maximal ice extent. These winters yield one third of the studied ice seasons. The maximal ice extent of the season is simple to use and enables to reconstruct the ice cover history and to predict maximal ice

Explaining tolerance for bitterness in chocolate ice cream using solid chocolate preferences.

Science.gov (United States)

Harwood, Meriel L; Loquasto, Joseph R; Roberts, Robert F; Ziegler, Gregory R; Hayes, John E

2013-08-01

Chocolate ice cream is commonly formulated with higher sugar levels than nonchocolate flavors to compensate for the inherent bitterness of cocoa. Bitterness, however, is an integral part of the complex flavor of chocolate. In light of the global obesity epidemic, many consumers and health professionals are concerned about the levels of added sugars in foods. Once a strategy for balancing undesirable bitterness and health concerns regarding added sugars has been developed, the task becomes determining whether that product will be acceptable to the consumer. Thus, the purpose of this research was to manipulate the bitterness of chocolate ice cream to examine how this influences consumer preferences. The main goal of this study was to estimate group rejection thresholds for bitterness in chocolate ice cream, and to see if solid chocolate preferences (dark vs. milk) generalized to ice cream. A food-safe bitter ingredient, sucrose octaacetate, was added to chocolate ice cream to alter bitterness without disturbing other the sensory qualities of the ice cream samples, including texture. Untrained chocolate ice cream consumers participated in a large-scale sensory test by indicating their preferences for blinded pairs of unspiked and spiked samples, where the spiked sample had increasing levels of the added bitterant. As anticipated, the group containing individuals who prefer milk chocolate had a much lower tolerance for bitterness in their chocolate ice cream compared with the group of individuals who prefer dark chocolate; indeed, the dark chocolate group tolerated almost twice as much added bitterant in the ice cream before indicating a significant preference for the unspiked (control) ice cream. This work demonstrates the successful application of the rejection threshold method to a complex dairy food. Estimating rejection thresholds could prove to be an effective tool for determining acceptable formulations or quality limits when considering attributes that become

Solid-State Chemistry as a Formation Mechanism for C 4N 2 Ice and Possibly the Haystack (220 cm -1 ice emission feature) in Titan's Stratosphere as Observed by Cassini CIRS

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Carrie; Samuelson, Robert E.; McLain, Jason L.; Nna Mvondo, Delphine; Romani, Paul; Flasar, F. Michael

2016-10-01

A profusion of organic ices containing hydrocarbons, nitriles, and combinations of their mixtures comprise Titan's complex stratospheric cloud systems, and are typically formed via vapor condensation. These ice particles are then distributed throughout the mid-to-lower stratosphere, with an increased abundance near the winter poles (see Anderson et al., 2016). The cold temperatures and the associated strong circumpolar winds that isolate polar air act in much the same way as on Earth, giving rise to compositional anomalies and stratospheric clouds that provide heterogeneous chemistry sites.Titan's C4N2 ice emission feature at 478 cm-1 and "the Haystack," a strong unidentified stratospheric ice emission feature centered at 220 cm-1, share a common characteristic. Even though both are distinctive ice emission features evident in Cassini Composite InfraRed (CIRS) far-IR spectra, no associated vapor emission features can be found in Titan's atmosphere. Without a vapor phase, solid-state chemistry provides an alternate mechanism beside vapor condensation for producing these observed stratospheric ices.Anderson et al., (2016) postulated that C4N2 ice formed in Titan's stratosphere via the solid-state photochemical reaction HCN + HC3N → C4N2 + H2 can occur within extant HCN-HC3N composite ice particles. Such a reaction, and potentially similar reactions that may produce the Haystack ice, are specific examples of solid-state chemistry in solar system atmospheres. This is in addition to the reaction HCl + ClONO2 → HNO3 + Cl2, which is known to produce HNO3 coatings on terrestrial water ice particles, a byproduct of the catalytic chlorine chemistry that produces ozone holes in Earth's polar stratosphere (see for example, Molina et al., 1987 Soloman, 1999).A combination of radiative transfer modeling of CIRS far-IR spectra, coupled with optical constants derived from thin film transmittance spectra of organic ice mixtures obtained in our Spectroscopy for Planetary ICes

Windows in Arctic sea ice: Light transmission and ice algae in a refrozen lead

Science.gov (United States)

Kauko, Hanna M.; Taskjelle, Torbjørn; Assmy, Philipp; Pavlov, Alexey K.; Mundy, C. J.; Duarte, Pedro; Fernández-Méndez, Mar; Olsen, Lasse M.; Hudson, Stephen R.; Johnsen, Geir; Elliott, Ashley; Wang, Feiyue; Granskog, Mats A.

2017-06-01

The Arctic Ocean is rapidly changing from thicker multiyear to thinner first-year ice cover, with significant consequences for radiative transfer through the ice pack and light availability for algal growth. A thinner, more dynamic ice cover will possibly result in more frequent leads, covered by newly formed ice with little snow cover. We studied a refrozen lead (≤0.27 m ice) in drifting pack ice north of Svalbard (80.5-81.8°N) in May-June 2015 during the Norwegian young sea ICE expedition (N-ICE2015). We measured downwelling incident and ice-transmitted spectral irradiance, and colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM), particle absorption, ultraviolet (UV)-protecting mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs), and chlorophyll a (Chl a) in melted sea ice samples. We found occasionally very high MAA concentrations (up to 39 mg m-3, mean 4.5 ± 7.8 mg m-3) and MAA to Chl a ratios (up to 6.3, mean 1.2 ± 1.3). Disagreement in modeled and observed transmittance in the UV range let us conclude that MAA signatures in CDOM absorption spectra may be artifacts due to osmotic shock during ice melting. Although observed PAR (photosynthetically active radiation) transmittance through the thin ice was significantly higher than that of the adjacent thicker ice with deep snow cover, ice algal standing stocks were low (≤2.31 mg Chl a m-2) and similar to the adjacent ice. Ice algal accumulation in the lead was possibly delayed by the low inoculum and the time needed for photoacclimation to the high-light environment. However, leads are important for phytoplankton growth by acting like windows into the water column.

Causes and effects of long periods of ice cover on a remote high Alpine lake

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael STURM

2000-09-01

Full Text Available The response of the physical and chemical limnology of Hagelseewli (2339 m a.s.l. to local meteorological forcing was investigated from 1996 to 1998 using an automatic weather station, thermistor chains, water samples and sediment traps. On-site meteorological measurements revealed the paramount importance of local topographic shading for the limnology of the lake. A high cliff to the south diminishes incident radiation by 15% to 90%, resulting in a long period of ice cover. Hence, the spring and summer seasons are extremely condensed, allowing only about 2 months per year for mixing, oxygen uptake, nutrient inflow, water exchange and phytoplankton growth. Regular measurements of water temperature, chemistry and diatom composition show that Hagelseewli responds very rapidly to changes in nutrient concentrations and light conditions. This response is restricted mainly to an extremely short productivity pulse, which takes place as soon as the lake is completely free of ice. Ice-free conditions are indicated by the occurrence of planktonic diatoms. In contrast to most low-altitude lakes, maximum productivity occurs in the middle of the water column (6-9 m, where first light, and then soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP, are the limiting factors. During the period of thawing, large amounts of ammonium enter the lake. Nevertheless, allochthonous nutrient input is not important because SRP, the limiting nutrient for algal growth, originates from the sediments. Water chemistry data and data from sediment traps show that, although autochthonous calcite precipitation does occur, the calcite crystals are redissolved completely in the bottom waters during the extended period of ice cover. Thus, the most important factor for changes in the nutrient budget, primary production and preservation of calcite is the bottom water oxygen status, which is governed by the occurrence of an ice-free period. We hypothesise that the duration of the ice-free period is of

Small Moves, NUI. Small Moves: Beginning to Investigate Biogeochemical Exchange From the Seafloor to the Exterior of an Ice-Covered Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

German, C. R.; Boetius, A.

2017-12-01

We present results from two recent cruises, using the new Nereid Under Ice (NUI) vehicle aboard the FS Polarstern, in which we investigated biogeochemical fluxes from the deep seafloor of the Gakkel Ridge, an ultraslow spreading ridge that spans the ice-covered Arctic Ocean, and the mechanisms by which biogeochemical signals might be transferred from within the underlying ocean to the overlying Arctic ice. The scientific advances for this work progress hand in hand with technological capability. During a first cruise in 2014, our NUI-based investigations focused on photosynthetically-driven biogeochemical cycling in the uppermost water column and how to study such processes using in situ sensing immediately at and beneath the rough topography of the overlying ice-cover. For that work we relied entirely upon human-in-the-loop control of the vehicle via a single optical fiber light tether than provided real-time monitoring and control of the vehicle as it ranged laterally out under the ice up to 1km distant from the ship, conducting physical, geochemical and biological surveys. Instrumentation used for that work included multibeam mapping and imaging (digital still photographs and HD video), in situ spectroscopy to study light transmission through the ice and biogeochemical mapping of the ocean water column using a combination of CTD sensing, fluorometry and an in situ nitrate analyzer. Returning to the Arctic in 2016 we extended our exploration modes with NUI further, investigating for seafloor fluid flow at a shallow setting on the flanks of the Gakkel Ridge where the seabed rises from >4000m to movement of the ship (horizontal displacements of 1km or more) at the ice-covered ocean surface. While the existing NUI vehicle does not map directly to model payloads for future SLS missions to Europa or Enceladus it does provide for important small moves in the right direction.

Hydrogeomorphic processes of thermokarst lakes with grounded-ice and floating-ice regimes on the Arctic coastal plain, Alaska

Science.gov (United States)

Arp, C.D.; Jones, Benjamin M.; Urban, F.E.; Grosse, G.

2011-01-01

Thermokarst lakes cover > 20% of the landscape throughout much of the Alaskan Arctic Coastal Plain (ACP) with shallow lakes freezing solid (grounded ice) and deeper lakes maintaining perennial liquid water (floating ice). Thus, lake depth relative to maximum ice thickness (1·5–2·0 m) represents an important threshold that impacts permafrost, aquatic habitat, and potentially geomorphic and hydrologic behaviour. We studied coupled hydrogeomorphic processes of 13 lakes representing a depth gradient across this threshold of maximum ice thickness by analysing remotely sensed, water quality, and climatic data over a 35-year period. Shoreline erosion rates due to permafrost degradation ranged from L) with periods of full and nearly dry basins. Shorter-term (2004–2008) specific conductance data indicated a drying pattern across lakes of all depths consistent with the long-term record for only shallow lakes. Our analysis suggests that grounded-ice lakes are ice-free on average 37 days longer than floating-ice lakes resulting in a longer period of evaporative loss and more frequent negative P − EL. These results suggest divergent hydrogeomorphic responses to a changing Arctic climate depending on the threshold created by water depth relative to maximum ice thickness in ACP lakes.

Observation and modeling of snow melt and superimposed ice formation on sea ice

OpenAIRE

Nicolaus, Marcel; Haas, Christian

2004-01-01

Sea ice plays a key role within the global climate system. It covers some 7% of earths surface and processes a strong seasonal cycle. Snow on sea ice even amplifies the importance of sea ice in the coupled atmosphere-ice-ocean system, because it dominates surface properties and energy balance (incl. albedo).Several quantitative observations of summer sea ice and its snow cover show the formation of superimposed ice and a gap layer underneath, which was found to be associated to high standing ...

Modeling thermal structure, ice cover regime and sensitivity to climate change of two regulated lakes - a Norwegian case study

Science.gov (United States)

Gebre, Solomon; Boissy, Thibault; Alfredsen, Knut

2013-04-01

A great number of river and lakes in Norway and the Nordic region at large are regulated for water management such as hydropower production. Such regulations have the potential to alter the thermal and hydrological regimes in the lakes and rivers downstream impacting on river environment and ecology. Anticipated changes as a result of climate change in meteorological forcing data such as air temperature and precipitation cause changes in the water balance, water temperature and ice cover duration in the reservoirs. This may necessitate changes in operational rules as part of an adaptation strategy for the future. In this study, a one dimensional (1D) lake thermodynamic and ice cover model (MyLake) has been modified to take into account the effect of dynamic outflows in reservoirs and applied to two small but relatively deep regulated lakes (reservoirs) in Norway (Follsjøen and Tesse). The objective was to assess climate change impacts on the seasonal thermal characteristics, the withdrawal temperatures, and the reservoir ice cover dynamics with current operational regimes. The model solves the vertical energy balance on a daily time-step driven by meteorological and hydrological forcings: 2m air temperature, precipitation, 2m relative humidity, 10m wind speed, cloud cover, air pressure, solar insolation, inflow volume, inflow temperature and reservoir outflows. Model calibration with multi-seasonal data of temperature profiles showed that the model performed well in simulating the vertical water temperature profiles for the two study reservoirs. The withdrawal temperatures were also simulated reasonably well. The comparison between observed and simulated lake ice phenology (which were available only for one of the reservoirs - Tesse) was also reasonable taking into account the uncertainty in the observational data. After model testing and calibration, the model was then used to simulate expected changes in the future (2080s) due to climate change by considering

Atmospheric Profiles, Clouds and the Evolution of Sea Ice Cover in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas: Atmospheric Observations and Modeling as Part of the Seasonal Ice Zone Reconnaissance Surveys

Science.gov (United States)

2017-06-04

further, changes in lower atmospheric temperature, humidity, winds , and clouds are likely to result from changed sea ice concentrations and ocean...affect changes in cloud properties and cover, • develop novel instrumentation including low cost, expendable, air-deployed micro -aircraft to obtain...from June through October to obtain atmospheric profiles of temperature, humidity, and winds from the time of ice edge retreat in spring to advance

Ice Sheets & Ice Cores

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mikkelsen, Troels Bøgeholm

Since the discovery of the Ice Ages it has been evident that Earth’s climate is liable to undergo dramatic changes. The previous climatic period known as the Last Glacial saw large oscillations in the extent of ice sheets covering the Northern hemisphere. Understanding these oscillations known....... The first part concerns time series analysis of ice core data obtained from the Greenland Ice Sheet. We analyze parts of the time series where DO-events occur using the so-called transfer operator and compare the results with time series from a simple model capable of switching by either undergoing...

Effect Of Adding Sago Flour In Yoghurt Based On Viscosity, Overrun, Melting Rate And Total Solid Of Yoghurt Ice Cream

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ika Ayu Wijayanti

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this research was to find out the best concentration of adding sago flour in yoghurt based on viscosity, overrun, melting rate and total solid of yoghurt ice cream. The experiment was designed by Completely Randomized Design (CRD using four treatments were 0 %, 2 %, 4 %, 6 % from volume of fresh milk and four replication. The data were analyzed by using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA and continued by Duncan’s Multiple Range Test (DMRT. Result of this research showed that concentration of adding sago flour in yoghurt gave highly significant difference effect (P<0.01 on viscosity, overrun, melting rate and total solid of yoghurt ice cream. It can be concluded that the adding of sago flour 2% in yoghurt gave the best result with the viscosity was 1750.75 cP, overrun was 25.14%, melting rate was 39.13 minutes/50 g, total solid was 36.20% and gave the best quality of yoghurt ice cream.

Rapid Ice-Sheet Changes and Mechanical Coupling to Solid-Earth/Sea-Level and Space Geodetic Observation

Science.gov (United States)

Adhikari, S.; Ivins, E. R.; Larour, E. Y.

2015-12-01

Perturbations in gravitational and rotational potentials caused by climate driven mass redistribution on the earth's surface, such as ice sheet melting and terrestrial water storage, affect the spatiotemporal variability in global and regional sea level. Here we present a numerically accurate, computationally efficient, high-resolution model for sea level. Unlike contemporary models that are based on spherical-harmonic formulation, the model can operate efficiently in a flexible embedded finite-element mesh system, thus capturing the physics operating at km-scale yet capable of simulating geophysical quantities that are inherently of global scale with minimal computational cost. One obvious application is to compute evolution of sea level fingerprints and associated geodetic and astronomical observables (e.g., geoid height, gravity anomaly, solid-earth deformation, polar motion, and geocentric motion) as a companion to a numerical 3-D thermo-mechanical ice sheet simulation, thus capturing global signatures of climate driven mass redistribution. We evaluate some important time-varying signatures of GRACE inferred ice sheet mass balance and continental hydrological budget; for example, we identify dominant sources of ongoing sea-level change at the selected tide gauge stations, and explain the relative contribution of different sources to the observed polar drift. We also report our progress on ice-sheet/solid-earth/sea-level model coupling efforts toward realistic simulation of Pine Island Glacier over the past several hundred years.

Galileo spacecraft solid-state imaging system view of Antarctica

Science.gov (United States)

1990-01-01

Galileo spacecraft solid-state imaging system view of Antarctica was taken during its first encounter with the Earth. This color picture of Antarctica is part of a mosaic of pictures covering the entire polar continent showing the Ross Ice Shelf and its border with the sea and mountains poking through the ice near the McMurdo Station. From top to bottom, the frame looks across about half of Antarctica. View provided by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) with alternate number P-37297.

Ice bridges and ridges in the Maxwell-EB sea ice rheology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. Dansereau

2017-09-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a first implementation of a new rheological model for sea ice on geophysical scales. This continuum model, called Maxwell elasto-brittle (Maxwell-EB, is based on a Maxwell constitutive law, a progressive damage mechanism that is coupled to both the elastic modulus and apparent viscosity of the ice cover and a Mohr–Coulomb damage criterion that allows for pure (uniaxial and biaxial tensile strength. The model is tested on the basis of its capability to reproduce the complex mechanical and dynamical behaviour of sea ice drifting through a narrow passage. Idealized as well as realistic simulations of the flow of ice through Nares Strait are presented. These demonstrate that the model reproduces the formation of stable ice bridges as well as the stoppage of the flow, a phenomenon occurring within numerous channels of the Arctic. In agreement with observations, the model captures the propagation of damage along narrow arch-like kinematic features, the discontinuities in the velocity field across these features dividing the ice cover into floes, the strong spatial localization of the thickest, ridged ice, the presence of landfast ice in bays and fjords and the opening of polynyas downstream of the strait. The model represents various dynamical behaviours linked to an overall weakening of the ice cover and to the shorter lifespan of ice bridges, with implications in terms of increased ice export through narrow outflow pathways of the Arctic.

Ice bridges and ridges in the Maxwell-EB sea ice rheology

Science.gov (United States)

Dansereau, Véronique; Weiss, Jérôme; Saramito, Pierre; Lattes, Philippe; Coche, Edmond

2017-09-01

This paper presents a first implementation of a new rheological model for sea ice on geophysical scales. This continuum model, called Maxwell elasto-brittle (Maxwell-EB), is based on a Maxwell constitutive law, a progressive damage mechanism that is coupled to both the elastic modulus and apparent viscosity of the ice cover and a Mohr-Coulomb damage criterion that allows for pure (uniaxial and biaxial) tensile strength. The model is tested on the basis of its capability to reproduce the complex mechanical and dynamical behaviour of sea ice drifting through a narrow passage. Idealized as well as realistic simulations of the flow of ice through Nares Strait are presented. These demonstrate that the model reproduces the formation of stable ice bridges as well as the stoppage of the flow, a phenomenon occurring within numerous channels of the Arctic. In agreement with observations, the model captures the propagation of damage along narrow arch-like kinematic features, the discontinuities in the velocity field across these features dividing the ice cover into floes, the strong spatial localization of the thickest, ridged ice, the presence of landfast ice in bays and fjords and the opening of polynyas downstream of the strait. The model represents various dynamical behaviours linked to an overall weakening of the ice cover and to the shorter lifespan of ice bridges, with implications in terms of increased ice export through narrow outflow pathways of the Arctic.

Loss of sea ice in the Arctic.

Science.gov (United States)

Perovich, Donald K; Richter-Menge, Jacqueline A

2009-01-01

The Arctic sea ice cover is in decline. The areal extent of the ice cover has been decreasing for the past few decades at an accelerating rate. Evidence also points to a decrease in sea ice thickness and a reduction in the amount of thicker perennial sea ice. A general global warming trend has made the ice cover more vulnerable to natural fluctuations in atmospheric and oceanic forcing. The observed reduction in Arctic sea ice is a consequence of both thermodynamic and dynamic processes, including such factors as preconditioning of the ice cover, overall warming trends, changes in cloud coverage, shifts in atmospheric circulation patterns, increased export of older ice out of the Arctic, advection of ocean heat from the Pacific and North Atlantic, enhanced solar heating of the ocean, and the ice-albedo feedback. The diminishing Arctic sea ice is creating social, political, economic, and ecological challenges.

Characterization and evaluation of sensory acceptability of ice creams incorporated with beta-carotene encapsulated in solid lipid microparticles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juliana Gobbi de LIMA

Full Text Available Abstract The feasibility of incorporating beta-carotene-loaded solid lipid microparticles (BCSLM into vanilla ice creams was investigated, through the physico-chemical characterization and evaluation of sensory acceptability of the products products. The BCSLM were produced with palm stearin as the lipid phase, hydrolyzed soy protein isolate as the surfactant, and xanthan gum as the thickener. The results showed similar values of proximate composition, total soluble solids, pH, and overrun for all formulations. On the other hand, colorimetric evaluations showed that the ice cream produced with partial substitution of artificial additives by BCSLM containing alpha-tocopherol presented a more intense color, while in the product with non-encapsulated beta-carotene, a fast degradation of carotenoid was confirmed, highlighting the importance of the encapsulation techniques. The results of the sensorial analysis of the products were highly satisfactory and showed that the panelists preferred the ice creams produced with BCSLM containing alpha-tocopherol and with partial substitution of artificial additives by BCSLM containing alpha-tocopherol, confirming the feasibility of incorporating BCSLM into ice creams to reduce the application of artificial dyes to the product.

Life under ice: Investigating microbial-related biogeochemical cycles in the seasonally-covered Great Lake Onego, Russia

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, Camille; Ariztegui, Daniel; Victor, Frossard; Emilie, Lyautey; Marie-Elodie, Perga; Life Under Ice Scientific Team

2016-04-01

The Great European lakes Ladoga and Onego are important resources for Russia in terms of drinking water, energy, fishing and leisure. Because their northern location (North of Saint Petersburgh), these lakes are usually ice-covered during winter. Due to logistical reasons, their study has thus been limited to the ice-free periods, and very few data are available for the winter season. As a matter of fact, comprehension of large lakes behaviour in winter is very limited as compared to the knowledge available from small subpolar lakes or perennially ice-covered polar lakes. To tackle this issue, an international consortium of scientists has gathered around the « life under ice » project to investigate physical, chemical and biogeochemical changes during winter in Lake Onego. Our team has mainly focused on the characterization and quantification of biological processes, from the water column to the sediment, with a special focus on methane cycling and trophic interactions. A first « on-ice » campaign in March 2015 allowed the sampling of a 120 cm sedimentary core and the collection of water samples at multiple depths. The data resulting from this expedition will be correlated to physical and chemical parameters collected simultaneously. A rapid biological activity test was applied immediately after coring in order to test for microbial activity in the sediments. In situ adenosine-5'-triphosphate (ATP) measurements were carried out in the core and taken as an indication of living organisms within the sediments. The presence of ATP is a marker molecule for metabolically active cells, since it is not known to form abiotically. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA) were extracted from these samples, and quantified. Quantitative polymerase chain reactions (PCR) were performed on archaeal and bacterial 16S rRNA genes used to reconstruct phylogenies, as well as on their transcripts. Moreover, functional genes involved in the methane and nitrogen cycles

A new research project on the interaction of the solid Earth and the Antarctic Ice Sheet

Science.gov (United States)

Fukuda, Y.; Nishijima, J.; Kazama, T.; Nakamura, K.; Doi, K.; Suganuma, Y.; Okuno, J.; Araya, A.; Kaneda, H.; Aoyama, Y.

2017-12-01

A new research project of "Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas" funded by JSPS (Japan Society for the Promotion of Science) has recently been launched. The title of the project is "Giant reservoirs of heat/water/material: Global environmental changes driven by Southern Ocean and Antarctic Ice Sheet", and as a five years project, is aiming to establish a new research area for Antarctic environmental system science. The project consists of 7 research topics, including Antarctic ice sheet and Southern ocean sciences, new observation methodology, modeling and other interdisciplinary topics, and we are involved in the topic A02-2, "Interaction of the solid Earth and the Antarctic Ice Sheet". The Antarctic ice sheet, which relates to the global climate changes through the sea level rise and ocean circulation, is an essential element of the Earth system for predicting the future environment changes. Thus many studies of the ice sheet changes have been conducted by means of geomorphological, geological, geodetic surveys, as well as satellite gravimetry and satellite altimetry. For these studies, one of the largest uncertainties is the effects of GIA. Therefore, GIA as a key to investigate the interaction between the solid Earth and the ice sheet changes, we plan to conduct geomorphological, geological and geodetic surveys in the inland mountain areas and the coastal areas including the surrounding areas of a Japanese station Syowa in East Antarctica, where the in-situ data for constraining GIA models are very few. Combining these new observations with other in-site data, various satellite data and numerical modeling, we aim to estimating a precise GIA model, constructing a reliable ice melting history after the last glacial maximum and obtaining the viscoelastic structure of the Earth's interior. In the presentation, we also show the five years research plans as well. This study was partially supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant No. 17H06321.

Microbial Mn(IV) and Fe(III) reduction in northern Barents Sea sediments under different conditions of ice cover and organic carbon deposition

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nickel, Maren; Vandieken, Verona; Brüchert, Volker

2008-01-01

station, with seasonally extended ice cover, low organic carbon content and sedimentation rate combined with relatively high concentrations of Mn and Fe(III) oxides favored dissimilatory Fe and Mn reduction (98% of anaerobic carbon oxidation) over sulfate reduction in the top 12 cm of the sediment....... In contrast, in a sediment that had not been ice covered for at least 12 months and with more organic carbon and a higher sedimentation rate, sulfate reduction was the most important anaerobic electron-accepting process (>80% of anaerobic carbon oxidation). In the upper 3 cm, microbial Fe and sulfate...

Autonomous Ice Mass Balance Buoys for Seasonal Sea Ice

Science.gov (United States)

Whitlock, J. D.; Planck, C.; Perovich, D. K.; Parno, J. T.; Elder, B. C.; Richter-Menge, J.; Polashenski, C. M.

2017-12-01

The ice mass-balance represents the integration of all surface and ocean heat fluxes and attributing the impact of these forcing fluxes on the ice cover can be accomplished by increasing temporal and spatial measurements. Mass balance information can be used to understand the ongoing changes in the Arctic sea ice cover and to improve predictions of future ice conditions. Thinner seasonal ice in the Arctic necessitates the deployment of Autonomous Ice Mass Balance buoys (IMB's) capable of long-term, in situ data collection in both ice and open ocean. Seasonal IMB's (SIMB's) are free floating IMB's that allow data collection in thick ice, thin ice, during times of transition, and even open water. The newest generation of SIMB aims to increase the number of reliable IMB's in the Arctic by leveraging inexpensive commercial-grade instrumentation when combined with specially developed monitoring hardware. Monitoring tasks are handled by a custom, expandable data logger that provides low-cost flexibility for integrating a large range of instrumentation. The SIMB features ultrasonic sensors for direct measurement of both snow depth and ice thickness and a digital temperature chain (DTC) for temperature measurements every 2cm through both snow and ice. Air temperature and pressure, along with GPS data complete the Arctic picture. Additionally, the new SIMB is more compact to maximize deployment opportunities from multiple types of platforms.

Dead-ice environments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Krüger, Johannes; Kjær, Kurt H.; Schomacker, Anders

2010-01-01

glacier environment. The scientific challenges are to answer the key questions. What are the conditions for dead-ice formation? From which sources does the sediment cover originate? Which melting and reworking processes act in the ice-cored moraines? What is the rate of de-icing in the ice-cored moraines...

Ice Caps and Ice Belts: The Effects of Obliquity on Ice−Albedo Feedback

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rose, Brian E. J. [Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, University at Albany (State University of New York), 1400 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12222 (United States); Cronin, Timothy W. [Program in Atmospheres, Oceans, and Climate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Bitz, Cecilia M., E-mail: brose@albany.edu [Department of Atmospheric Sciences, MS 351640, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-1640 (United States)

2017-09-01

Planetary obliquity determines the meridional distribution of the annual mean insolation. For obliquity exceeding 55°, the weakest insolation occurs at the equator. Stable partial snow and ice cover on such a planet would be in the form of a belt about the equator rather than polar caps. An analytical model of planetary climate is used to investigate the stability of ice caps and ice belts over the widest possible range of parameters. The model is a non-dimensional diffusive Energy Balance Model, representing insolation, heat transport, and ice−albedo feedback on a spherical planet. A complete analytical solution for any obliquity is given and validated against numerical solutions of a seasonal model in the “deep-water” regime of weak seasonal ice line migration. Multiple equilibria and unstable transitions between climate states (ice-free, Snowball, or ice cap/belt) are found over wide swaths of parameter space, including a “Large Ice-Belt Instability” and “Small Ice-Belt Instability” at high obliquity. The Snowball catastrophe is avoided at weak radiative forcing in two different scenarios: weak albedo feedback and inefficient heat transport (favoring stable partial ice cover), or efficient transport at high obliquity (favoring ice-free conditions). From speculative assumptions about distributions of planetary parameters, three-fourths to four-fifths of all planets with stable partial ice cover should be in the form of Earth-like polar caps.

The potential application of rice bran wax oleogel to replace solid fat and enhance unsaturated fat content in ice cream.

Science.gov (United States)

Zulim Botega, Daniele C; Marangoni, Alejandro G; Smith, Alexandra K; Goff, H Douglas

2013-09-01

The development of structure in ice cream, characterized by its smooth texture and resistance to collapse during melting, depends, in part, on the presence of solid fat during the whipping and freezing steps. The objective of this study was to investigate the potential application of 10% rice bran wax (RBW) oleogel, comprised 90% high-oleic sunflower oil and 10% RBW, to replace solid fat in ice cream. A commercial blend of 80% saturated mono- and diglycerides and 20% polysorbate 80 was used as the emulsifier. Standard ice cream measurements, cryo-scanning electron microscopy (cryo-SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to evaluate the formation of structure in ice cream. RBW oleogel produced higher levels of overrun when compared to a liquid oil ice cream sample, creating a lighter sample with good texture and appearance. However, those results were not associated with higher meltdown resistance. Microscopy revealed larger aggregation of RBW oleogel fat droplets at the air cell interface and distortion of the shape of air cells and fat droplets. Although the RBW oleogel did not develop sufficient structure in ice cream to maintain shape during meltdown when a mono- and diglycerides and polysorbate 80 blend was used as the emulsifier, micro- and ultrastructure investigations suggested that RBW oleogel did induce formation of a fat globule network in ice cream, suggesting that further optimization could lead to an alternative to saturated fat sources for ice cream applications. © 2013 Institute of Food Technologists®

Nonlinear threshold behavior during the loss of Arctic sea ice.

Science.gov (United States)

Eisenman, I; Wettlaufer, J S

2009-01-06

In light of the rapid recent retreat of Arctic sea ice, a number of studies have discussed the possibility of a critical threshold (or "tipping point") beyond which the ice-albedo feedback causes the ice cover to melt away in an irreversible process. The focus has typically been centered on the annual minimum (September) ice cover, which is often seen as particularly susceptible to destabilization by the ice-albedo feedback. Here, we examine the central physical processes associated with the transition from ice-covered to ice-free Arctic Ocean conditions. We show that although the ice-albedo feedback promotes the existence of multiple ice-cover states, the stabilizing thermodynamic effects of sea ice mitigate this when the Arctic Ocean is ice covered during a sufficiently large fraction of the year. These results suggest that critical threshold behavior is unlikely during the approach from current perennial sea-ice conditions to seasonally ice-free conditions. In a further warmed climate, however, we find that a critical threshold associated with the sudden loss of the remaining wintertime-only sea ice cover may be likely.

Empirical and theoretical evidence concerning the response of the earth's ice and snow cover to a global temperature increase

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hollin, J T; Barry, R G

1979-01-01

As a guide to the possible effects of a CO/sub 2/-induced warming on the cryosphere, we review the effects of three warm periods in the past, and our theoretical understanding of fluctuations in mountain glaciers, the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, ground ice, sea ice and seasonal snow cover. Between 1890 and 1940 A.D. the glaciated area in Switzerland was reduced by over 25%. In the Hypsithermal, at about 6000 BP, ground ice in Eurasia retreated northward by several hundred kilometers. In the interglacial Stage 5e, at about 120 000 BP, glocal sea-level rose by over 6 m. Fluctuations of mountain glaciers depend on mesoscale weather and on their mechanical response to it. Any melting of the Greenland ice sheet is likely to be slow in human terms. The West Antarctic ice sheet (its base below sea-level) is susceptible to an ungrounding, and such an event may have been the cause of the sea-level rise above. The East Antarctic ice sheet is susceptible to mechanical surges, which might be triggered by a warming at its margin. Both an ungrounding and a surge might occupy less than 100 yr, and are potentially the most important ice changes in human terms. Modeling studies suggest that a 5/sup 0/C warming would remove the Arctic pack ice in summer. and this may be the most significant effect for further climatic change.

Timescales of Growth Response of Microbial Mats to Environmental Change in an Ice-Covered Antarctic Lake

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anne D. Jungblut

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Lake Vanda is a perennially ice-covered, closed-basin lake in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. Laminated photosynthetic microbial mats cover the floor of the lake from below the ice cover to >40 m depth. In recent decades, the water level of Lake Vanda has been rising, creating a “natural experiment” on development of mat communities on newly flooded substrates and the response of deeper mats to declining irradiance. Mats in recently flooded depths accumulate one lamina (~0.3 mm per year and accrue ~0.18 µg chlorophyll-a cm−2 y−1. As they increase in thickness, vertical zonation becomes evident, with the upper 2-4 laminae forming an orange-brown zone, rich in myxoxanthophyll and dominated by intertwined Leptolyngbya trichomes. Below this, up to six phycobilin-rich green/pink-pigmented laminae form a subsurface zone, inhabited by Leptolyngbya, Oscillatoria and Phormidium morphotypes. Laminae continued to increase in thickness for several years after burial, and PAM fluorometry indicated photosynthetic potential in all pigmented laminae. At depths that have been submerged for >40 years, mats showed similar internal zonation and formed complex pinnacle structures that were only beginning to appear in shallower mats. Chlorophyll-a did not change over time and these mats appear to represent resource-limited “climax” communities. Acclimation of microbial mats to changing environmental conditions is a slow process, and our data show how legacy effects of past change persist into the modern community structure.

Late Pliocene/Pleistocene changes in Arctic sea-ice cover: Biomarker and dinoflagellate records from Fram Strait/Yermak Plateau (ODP Sites 911 and 912)

Science.gov (United States)

Stein, Ruediger; Fahl, Kirsten; Matthiessen, Jens

2014-05-01

Sea ice is a critical component in the (global) climate system that contributes to changes in the Earth's albedo (heat reduction) and biological processes (primary productivity), as well as deep-water formation, a driving mechanism for global thermohaline circulation. Thus, understanding the processes controlling Arctic sea ice variability is of overall interest and significance. Recently, a novel and promising biomarker proxy for reconstruction of Arctic sea-ice conditions was developed and is based on the determination of a highly-branched isoprenoid with 25 carbons (IP25; Belt et al., 2007; PIP25 when combined with open-water phytoplankton biomarkers; Müller et al., 2011). Here, we present biomarker data from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Sites 911 and 912, recovered from the southern Yermak Plateau and representing information of sea-ice variability, changes in primary productivity and terrigenous input during the last about 3.5 Ma. As Sites 911 and 912 are close to the modern sea-ice edge, their sedimentary records seem to be optimal for studying past variability in sea-ice coverage and testing the applicability of IP25 and PIP25 in older sedimentary sequences. In general, our biomarker records correlate quite well with other climate and sea-ice proxies (e.g., dinoflagellates, IRD, etc.). The main results can be summarized as follows: (1) The novel IP25/PIP25 biomarker approach has potential for semi-quantitative paleo-sea ice studies covering at least the last 3.5 Ma, i.e., the time interval including the onset (intensification) of major Northern Hemisphere Glaciation (NHG). (2) These data indicate that sea ice of variable extent was present in the Fram Strait/southern Yermak Plateau area during most of the time period under investigation. (3) Elevated IP25/PIP25 values indicative for an extended spring sea-ice cover, already occurred between 3.6 and 2.9 Ma, i.e., prior to the onset of major NHG. This may suggest that sea-ice and related albedo effects might

Characterizing Microbial Mat Morphology with Structure from Motion Techniques in Ice-Covered Lake Joyce, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica

Science.gov (United States)

Mackey, T. J.; Leidman, S. Z.; Allen, B.; Hawes, I.; Lawrence, J.; Jungblut, A. D.; Krusor, M.; Coleman, L.; Sumner, D. Y.

2015-12-01

Structure from Motion (SFM) techniques can provide quantitative morphological documentation of otherwise inaccessible benthic ecosystems such as microbial mats in Lake Joyce, a perennially ice-covered lake of the Antarctic McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDV). Microbial mats are a key ecosystem of MDV lakes, and diverse mat morphologies like pinnacles emerge from interactions among microbial behavior, mineralization, and environmental conditions. Environmental gradients can be isolated to test mat growth models, but assessment of mat morphology along these gradients is complicated by their inaccessibility: the Lake Joyce ice cover is 4-5 m thick, water depths containing diverse pinnacle morphologies are 9-14 m, and relevant mat features are cm-scale. In order to map mat pinnacle morphology in different sedimentary settings, we deployed drop cameras (SeaViewer and GoPro) through 29 GPS referenced drill holes clustered into six stations along a transect spanning 880 m. Once under the ice cover, a boom containing a second GoPro camera was unfurled and rotated to collect oblique images of the benthic mats within dm of the mat-water interface. This setup allowed imaging from all sides over a ~1.5 m diameter area of the lake bottom. Underwater lens parameters were determined for each camera in Agisoft Lens; images were reconstructed and oriented in space with the SFM software Agisoft Photoscan, using the drop camera axis of rotation as up. The reconstructions were compared to downward facing images to assess accuracy, and similar images of an object with known geometry provided a test for expected error in reconstructions. Downward facing images identify decreasing pinnacle abundance in higher sedimentation settings, and quantitative measurements of 3D reconstructions in KeckCAVES LidarViewer supplement these mat morphological facies with measurements of pinnacle height and orientation. Reconstructions also help isolate confounding variables for mat facies trends with measurements

Application of TOPEX Altimetry for Solid Earth Deformation Studies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hyongki Lee

2008-01-01

Full Text Available This study demonstrates the use of satellite radar altimetry to detect solid Earth deformation signals such as Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA. Our study region covers moderately flat land surfaces seasonally covered by snow/ice/vegetation. The maximum solid Earth uplift of ~10 mm yr-1 is primarily due to the incomplete glacial isostatic rebound that occurs around Hudson Bay, North America. We use decadal (1992 - 2002 surface height measurements from TOPEX/POSEIDON radar altimetry to generate height changes time series for 12 selected locations in the study region. Due to the seasonally varying surface characteristics, we first perform radar waveform shape classification and have found that most of the waveforms are quasi-diffuse during winter/spring and specular during summer/fall. As a result, we used the NASA £]-retracker for the quasi-diffuse waveforms and the Offset Center of Gravity or the threshold retracker for the specular waveforms, to generate the surface height time series. The TOPEX height change time series exhibit coherent seasonal signals (higher amplitude during the winter and lower amplitude during the summer, and the estimated deformation rates agree qualitatively well with GPS vertical velocities, and with altimeter/tide gauge combined vertical velocities around the Great Lakes. The TOPEX observations also agree well with various GIA model predictions, especially with the ICE-5G (VM2 model with differences at 0.2 ¡_ 1.4 mm yr-1, indicating that TOPEX has indeed observed solid Earth deformation signals manifested as crustal uplift over the former Laurentide Ice Sheet region.

Evidence for ice-ocean albedo feedback in the Arctic Ocean shifting to a seasonal ice zone.

Science.gov (United States)

Kashiwase, Haruhiko; Ohshima, Kay I; Nihashi, Sohey; Eicken, Hajo

2017-08-15

Ice-albedo feedback due to the albedo contrast between water and ice is a major factor in seasonal sea ice retreat, and has received increasing attention with the Arctic Ocean shifting to a seasonal ice cover. However, quantitative evaluation of such feedbacks is still insufficient. Here we provide quantitative evidence that heat input through the open water fraction is the primary driver of seasonal and interannual variations in Arctic sea ice retreat. Analyses of satellite data (1979-2014) and a simplified ice-upper ocean coupled model reveal that divergent ice motion in the early melt season triggers large-scale feedback which subsequently amplifies summer sea ice anomalies. The magnitude of divergence controlling the feedback has doubled since 2000 due to a more mobile ice cover, which can partly explain the recent drastic ice reduction in the Arctic Ocean.

Laboratory Studies of Solid CO2 Ices at Different Temperatures and Annealing Times in Support of Spitzer Space Telescope Observations

Science.gov (United States)

White, Douglas; Gerakines, P. A.

2007-12-01

The infrared absorption features of solid carbon dioxide have been detected by space observatories in nearly all lines of sight probing the dense interstellar medium (ISM). It has also been shown that the absorption feature of solid CO2 near 658 cm-1 (15.2 μm) should be a sensitive indicator of the physical conditions of the ice (e.g., temperature and composition). However, the profile structure of this feature is not well understood, and previous laboratory studies have concentrated on a limited range of temperatures and compositions for comparisons to observed spectra from both the Infrared Space Observatory and the Spitzer Space Telescope. In the laboratory study described here, the infrared spectra of ices bearing H2O, CH3OH, and CO2 have been measured with systematically varying compositions and temperatures that span the range of the values expected in the interstellar medium. The mid-infrared spectra (λ = 2.5-25 µm) were measured for 47 different ice compositions at temperatures ranging from 5 K to evaporation (at 5 K intervals). Additionally, annealing experiments of some of these ice compositions have been investigated. These data may be used to determine thermal histories of interstellar ices. This research was supported by NASA award NNG05GE44G under the Astronomy and Physics Research & Analysis Program (APRA).

Theory of amorphous ices.

Science.gov (United States)

Limmer, David T; Chandler, David

2014-07-01

We derive a phase diagram for amorphous solids and liquid supercooled water and explain why the amorphous solids of water exist in several different forms. Application of large-deviation theory allows us to prepare such phases in computer simulations. Along with nonequilibrium transitions between the ergodic liquid and two distinct amorphous solids, we establish coexistence between these two amorphous solids. The phase diagram we predict includes a nonequilibrium triple point where two amorphous phases and the liquid coexist. Whereas the amorphous solids are long-lived and slowly aging glasses, their melting can lead quickly to the formation of crystalline ice. Further, melting of the higher density amorphous solid at low pressures takes place in steps, transitioning to the lower-density glass before accessing a nonequilibrium liquid from which ice coarsens.

Long-Endurance, Ice-capable Autonomous Seagliders

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Craig; Gobat, Jason; Shilling, Geoff; Curry, Beth

2013-04-01

Autonomous Seagliders capable of extended (many months) operation in ice-covered waters have been developed and successfully employed as part of the US Arctic Observing Network. Seagliders operate routinely in lower-latitude oceans for periods of up to 9 months to provide persistent sampling in difficult, remote conditions, including strong boundary currents and harsh wintertime subpolar seas. The Arctic Observing Network calls for sustained occupation of key sections within the Arctic Ocean and across the critical gateways that link the Arctic to lower-latitude oceans, motivating the extension of glider technologies to permit operation in ice-covered waters. When operating in open water, gliders rely on GPS for navigation and Iridium satellite phones for data and command telemetry. Ice cover blocks access to the sea surface and thus prevents gliders from using these critical services. When operating under ice, ice-capable Seagliders instead navigate by trilateration from an array of RAFOS acoustic sound sources and employ advanced autonomy to make mission-critical decisions (previously the realm of the human pilot) and identify and exploit leads in the ice to allow intermittent communication through Iridium. Davis Strait, one of the two primary pathways through which Arctic waters exit into the subpolar North Atlantic, provided a convenient site for development of ice-capable Seagliders at a location where the resulting measurements could greatly augment the existing observing system. Initial testing of 780 Hz RAFOS sources in Davis Strait, substantiated by the performance of the operational array, indicates effective ranges of 100-150 km in ice-covered waters. Surface ducting and reflection off the ice bottom significantly degrade the range from the 500+ km expected in ice-free conditions. Comparisons between GPS and acoustically-derived positions collected during operations in ice-free conditions suggest 1-2 km uncertainty in the acoustically-derived positions

Sea ice-albedo climate feedback mechanism

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schramm, J.L.; Curry, J.A. [Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States); Ebert, E.E. [Bureau of Meterology Research Center, Melbourne (Australia)

1995-02-01

The sea ice-albedo feedback mechanism over the Arctic Ocean multiyear sea ice is investigated by conducting a series of experiments using several one-dimensional models of the coupled sea ice-atmosphere system. In its simplest form, ice-albedo feedback is thought to be associated with a decrease in the areal cover of snow and ice and a corresponding increase in the surface temperature, further decreasing the area cover of snow and ice. It is shown that the sea ice-albedo feedback can operate even in multiyear pack ice, without the disappearance of this ice, associated with internal processes occurring within the multiyear ice pack (e.g., duration of the snow cover, ice thickness, ice distribution, lead fraction, and melt pond characteristics). The strength of the ice-albedo feedback mechanism is compared for several different thermodynamic sea ice models: a new model that includes ice thickness distribution., the Ebert and Curry model, the Mayjut and Untersteiner model, and the Semtner level-3 and level-0 models. The climate forcing is chosen to be a perturbation of the surface heat flux, and cloud and water vapor feedbacks are inoperative so that the effects of the sea ice-albedo feedback mechanism can be isolated. The inclusion of melt ponds significantly strengthens the ice-albedo feedback, while the ice thickness distribution decreases the strength of the modeled sea ice-albedo feedback. It is emphasized that accurately modeling present-day sea ice thickness is not adequate for a sea ice parameterization; the correct physical processes must be included so that the sea ice parameterization yields correct sensitivities to external forcing. 22 refs., 6 figs., 1 tab.

The Use of Satellite Observations in Ice Cover Simulations

Science.gov (United States)

1992-01-01

Io rmotions have been used to map upper-level winds over polar diagnose the origins of a large area of reduced ice ,,ncfl.’c regions (Turner and...was motivated by the availability of coverage in the Arctic. Also shown are November-April s-ver!,_- the multiyear ice concentrations derived from

The emergence of modern sea ice cover in the Arctic Ocean.

Science.gov (United States)

Knies, Jochen; Cabedo-Sanz, Patricia; Belt, Simon T; Baranwal, Soma; Fietz, Susanne; Rosell-Melé, Antoni

2014-11-28

Arctic sea ice coverage is shrinking in response to global climate change and summer ice-free conditions in the Arctic Ocean are predicted by the end of the century. The validity of this prediction could potentially be tested through the reconstruction of the climate of the Pliocene epoch (5.33-2.58 million years ago), an analogue of a future warmer Earth. Here we show that, in the Eurasian sector of the Arctic Ocean, ice-free conditions prevailed in the early Pliocene until sea ice expanded from the central Arctic Ocean for the first time ca. 4 million years ago. Amplified by a rise in topography in several regions of the Arctic and enhanced freshening of the Arctic Ocean, sea ice expanded progressively in response to positive ice-albedo feedback mechanisms. Sea ice reached its modern winter maximum extension for the first time during the culmination of the Northern Hemisphere glaciation, ca. 2.6 million years ago.

A grid-based Model for Backwasting at supraglacial Ice Cliffs on a debris-covered Glacier

Science.gov (United States)

Buri, P.; Steiner, J. F.; Pellicciotti, F.; Miles, E. S.; Immerzeel, W.

2014-12-01

In the Himalaya, debris-covered glaciers cover significant portions of the glacierised area. Their behaviour is not entirely understood, but they seem to experience strong mass losses in direct contradiction with the insulating effect of debris. A characteristic most debris-covered glaciers share is the appearance of cliffs and lakes on their surface. These supraglacial features play a role in surface evolution, dynamics and downwasting of debris-covered glaciers but their actual effects have not been quantified at the glacier scale. Numerous measurements of radiative fluxes at the cliff surface, detailed survey of cliffs geometry and ablation have been conducted on the debris-covered Lirung Glacier, Nepalese Himalayas. We used four 20cm-resolution DEMs obtained from UAV flights to represent the glacier surface to a very detailed degree. As the debris remains stable on slopes up to 30°, ice cliffs show inclinations above this threshold and were clearly represented in the DEMs. Direct measurements and a point-scale cliff-backwasting model have showed that melt patterns over a single cliff are highly variable across and along the ice surface due to non-uniform geometry, varying inclination, aspect and terrain view factors. Variability in observed ablation was large also among cliffs. We therefore developed an energy balance model with a gridded representation of the cliff to understand the melt behaviour at the cliff scale. Previous models assumed the cliff to be a plane with a constant slope and aspect, and extrapolation of melt rates to the glacier scale based on this assumption might be erroneous. Using a grid-based approach allows representation of real inclined areas of the cliff. The detailed surface from the UAV-DEM was taken as initial condition for the model. The model was in close agreement with ablation measurements at numerous stakes located on 3 cliffs. Results show very high variability both along the cliffs' elevation and extension. These cannot be

Thermal ice loads on dams and ancillary structures: A brief review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gerard, R.

1989-01-01

A major consideration in the design of low to medium head dams in cold regions is the thrust exerted by thermal expansion of a solid ice sheet. Such loads are also of concern in the design of gates, intakes and other ancillary structures. Such loads can be greater than 300-400 kilo Newtons per meter, and are of greatest concern when ice is unshielded by snow from temperature fluctuations. Details are presented of calculation of thermal ice loads, and field measurements of thermal ice forces. Past structural failures, field and laboratory investigations, and analyses, all confirm that thermal ice loads on wide structures such as dams, and isolated structures such as bridge piers and water intakes, can be much more significant than is suggested by the loads currently specified in various North American design guidelines for hydraulic structures. While some guidelines for thermal ice loads are excessively conservative, particularly for protected situations such as gates set between piers, in other more common situations they are dangerously low. Three useful approaches that would yield information for improving thermal ice load specification are: hindcast upper bounds on thermal ice loads by assessing the ice regime and load bearing capacity of existing structures; field measurement of thermal ice loads and stresses using modern instrumentation; and measurement and analysis of the formation and movement of lake and reservoir ice covers. 23 refs., 4 figs

NO ICE HYDROGENATION: A SOLID PATHWAY TO NH2OH FORMATION IN SPACE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Congiu, Emanuele; Dulieu, François; Chaabouni, Henda; Baouche, Saoud; Lemaire, Jean Louis; Fedoseev, Gleb; Ioppolo, Sergio; Lamberts, Thanja; Linnartz, Harold; Laffon, Carine; Parent, Philippe; Cuppen, Herma M.

2012-01-01

Icy dust grains in space act as catalytic surfaces onto which complex molecules form. These molecules are synthesized through exothermic reactions from precursor radicals and, mostly, hydrogen atom additions. Among the resulting products are species of biological relevance, such as hydroxylamine—NH 2 OH—a precursor molecule in the formation of amino acids. In this Letter, laboratory experiments are described that demonstrate NH 2 OH formation in interstellar ice analogs for astronomically relevant temperatures via successive hydrogenation reactions of solid nitric oxide (NO). Inclusion of the experimental results in an astrochemical gas-grain model proves the importance of a solid-state NO+H reaction channel as a starting point for prebiotic species in dark interstellar clouds and adds a new perspective to the way molecules of biological importance may form in space.

Novel two-step laser ablation and ionization mass spectrometry (2S-LAIMS) of actor-spectator ice layers: Probing chemical composition of D2O ice beneath a H2O ice layer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Rui; Gudipati, Murthy S.

2014-01-01

In this work, we report for the first time successful analysis of organic aromatic analytes imbedded in D 2 O ices by novel infrared (IR) laser ablation of a layered non-absorbing D 2 O ice (spectator) containing the analytes and an ablation-active IR-absorbing H 2 O ice layer (actor) without the analyte. With these studies we have opened up a new method for the in situ analysis of solids containing analytes when covered with an IR laser-absorbing layer that can be resonantly ablated. This soft ejection method takes advantage of the tenability of two-step infrared laser ablation and ultraviolet laser ionization mass spectrometry, previously demonstrated in this lab to study chemical reactions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in cryogenic ices. The IR laser pulse tuned to resonantly excite only the upper H 2 O ice layer (actor) generates a shockwave upon impact. This shockwave penetrates the lower analyte-containing D 2 O ice layer (spectator, a non-absorbing ice that cannot be ablated directly with the wavelength of the IR laser employed) and is reflected back, ejecting the contents of the D 2 O layer into the vacuum where they are intersected by a UV laser for ionization and detection by a time-of-flight mass spectrometer. Thus, energy is transmitted from the laser-absorbing actor layer into the non-absorbing spectator layer resulting its ablation. We found that isotope cross-contamination between layers was negligible. We also did not see any evidence for thermal or collisional chemistry of PAH molecules with H 2 O molecules in the shockwave. We call this “shockwave mediated surface resonance enhanced subsurface ablation” technique as “two-step laser ablation and ionization mass spectrometry of actor-spectator ice layers.” This method has its roots in the well-established MALDI (matrix assisted laser desorption and ionization) method. Our method offers more flexibility to optimize both the processes—ablation and ionization. This new technique

Thin Sea Ice, Thick Snow, and Widespread Negative Freeboard Observed During N-ICE2015 North of Svalbard

Science.gov (United States)

Rösel, Anja; Itkin, Polona; King, Jennifer; Divine, Dmitry; Wang, Caixin; Granskog, Mats A.; Krumpen, Thomas; Gerland, Sebastian

2018-02-01

In recent years, sea-ice conditions in the Arctic Ocean changed substantially toward a younger and thinner sea-ice cover. To capture the scope of these changes and identify the differences between individual regions, in situ observations from expeditions are a valuable data source. We present a continuous time series of in situ measurements from the N-ICE2015 expedition from January to June 2015 in the Arctic Basin north of Svalbard, comprising snow buoy and ice mass balance buoy data and local and regional data gained from electromagnetic induction (EM) surveys and snow probe measurements from four distinct drifts. The observed mean snow depth of 0.53 m for April to early June is 73% above the average value of 0.30 m from historical and recent observations in this region, covering the years 1955-2017. The modal total ice and snow thicknesses, of 1.6 and 1.7 m measured with ground-based EM and airborne EM measurements in April, May, and June 2015, respectively, lie below the values ranging from 1.8 to 2.7 m, reported in historical observations from the same region and time of year. The thick snow cover slows thermodynamic growth of the underlying sea ice. In combination with a thin sea-ice cover this leads to an imbalance between snow and ice thickness, which causes widespread negative freeboard with subsequent flooding and a potential for snow-ice formation. With certainty, 29% of randomly located drill holes on level ice had negative freeboard.

Water, ice and mud: Lahars and lahar hazards at ice- and snow-clad volcanoes

Science.gov (United States)

Waythomas, Christopher F.

2014-01-01

Large-volume lahars are significant hazards at ice and snow covered volcanoes. Hot eruptive products produced during explosive eruptions can generate a substantial volume of melt water that quickly evolves into highly mobile flows of ice, sediment and water. At present it is difficult to predict the size of lahars that can form at ice and snow covered volcanoes due to their complex flow character and behaviour. However, advances in experiments and numerical approaches are producing new conceptual models and new methods for hazard assessment. Eruption triggered lahars that are ice-dominated leave behind thin, almost unrecognizable sedimentary deposits, making them likely to be under-represented in the geological record.

Field and Satellite Observations of the Formation and Distribution of Arctic Atmospheric Bromine Above a Rejuvenated Sea Ice Cover

Science.gov (United States)

Nghiem, Son V.; Rigor, Ignatius G.; Richter, Andreas; Burrows, John P.; Shepson, Paul B.; Bottenheim, Jan; Barber, David G.; Steffen, Alexandra; Latonas, Jeff; Wang, Feiyue;

The First Results of Monitoring the Formation and Destruction of the Ice Cover in Winter 2014-2015 on Ilmen Lake according to the Measurements of Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar

Science.gov (United States)

Karaev, V. Yu.; Panfilova, M. A.; Titchenko, Yu. A.; Meshkov, E. M.; Balandina, G. N.; Andreeva, Z. V.

2017-12-01

The launch of the Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) opens up new opportunities for studying and monitoring the land and inland waters. It is the first time radar with a swath (±65°) covering regions with cold climate where waters are covered with ice and land with snow for prolonged periods of time has been used. It is also the first time that the remote sensing is carried out at small incidence angles (less than 19°) at two frequencies (13.6 and 35.5 GHz). The high spatial resolution (4-5 km) significantly increases the number of objects that can be studied using the new radar. Ilmen Lake is chosen as the first test object for the development of complex programs for processing and analyzing data obtained by the DPR. The problem of diagnostics of ice-cover formation and destruction according to DPR data has been considered. It is shown that the dependence of the radar backscatter cross section on the incidence angle for autumn ice is different from that of spring ice, and can be used for classification. A comparison with scattering on the water surface has shown that, at incidence angles exceeding 10°, it is possible to discern all three types of reflecting surfaces: open water, autumn ice, and spring ice, under the condition of making repeated measurements to avoid possible ambiguity caused by wind.

Characterizing Arctic Sea Ice Topography Using High-Resolution IceBridge Data

Science.gov (United States)

Petty, Alek; Tsamados, Michel; Kurtz, Nathan; Farrell, Sinead; Newman, Thomas; Harbeck, Jeremy; Feltham, Daniel; Richter-Menge, Jackie

2016-01-01

We present an analysis of Arctic sea ice topography using high resolution, three-dimensional, surface elevation data from the Airborne Topographic Mapper, flown as part of NASA's Operation IceBridge mission. Surface features in the sea ice cover are detected using a newly developed surface feature picking algorithm. We derive information regarding the height, volume and geometry of surface features from 2009-2014 within the Beaufort/Chukchi and Central Arctic regions. The results are delineated by ice type to estimate the topographic variability across first-year and multi-year ice regimes.

Copepods in ice-covered seas—Distribution, adaptations to seasonally limited food, metabolism, growth patterns and life cycle strategies in polar seas

Science.gov (United States)

Conover, R. J.; Huntley, M.

1991-07-01

While a seasonal ice cover limits light penetration into both polar seas for up to ten months a year, its presence is not entirely negative. The mixed layer under sea ice will generally be shallower than in open water at the same latitude and season. Ice forms a substrate on which primary production can be concentrated, a condition which contrasts with the generally dilute nutritional conditions which prevail in the remaining ocean. The combination of a shallow, generally stable mixed layer with a close proximity to abundant food make the under-ice zone a suitable nursery for both pelagic and benthic species, an upside-down benthos for opportunistic substrate browsers, and a rich feeding environment for species often considered to be neritic in temperate environments. Where the ice cover is not continuous there may be a retreating ice edge that facilitates the seasonal production of phytoplankton primarily through increased stability from the melt water. Ice edge blooms similarly encourage secondary production by pelagic animals. Pseudocalanus acuspes, which may be the most abundant and productive copepod in north polar latitudes, initiates growth at the start of the "spring bloom" of epontic algae, reaching sexual maturity at breakup or slightly before. In the Southern Hemisphere, the small neritic copepod Paralabidocera antarctica and adult krill have been observed to utilize ice algae. Calanus hyperboreus breeds in the dark season at depth and its buoyant eggs, slowly developing on the ascent, reach the under-ice layer in April as nauplii ready to benefit from the primary production there. On the other hand, C. glacialis may initiate ontogenetic migrations and reproduction in response to increased erosion of ice algae due to solar warming and melting at the ice-water interface. While the same species in a phytoplankton bloom near the ice edge reproduces actively, those under still-consolidated ice nearby can have immature gonads. Diel migration and diel feeding

Observational Evidence of a Hemispheric-wide Ice-ocean Albedo Feedback Effect on Antarctic Sea-ice Decay

Science.gov (United States)

Nihashi, Sohey; Cavalieri, Donald J.

2007-01-01

The effect of ice-ocean albedo feedback (a kind of ice-albedo feedback) on sea-ice decay is demonstrated over the Antarctic sea-ice zone from an analysis of satellite-derived hemispheric sea ice concentration and European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ERA-40) atmospheric data for the period 1979-2001. Sea ice concentration in December (time of most active melt) correlates better with the meridional component of the wind-forced ice drift (MID) in November (beginning of the melt season) than the MID in December. This 1 month lagged correlation is observed in most of the Antarctic sea-ice covered ocean. Daily time series of ice , concentration show that the ice concentration anomaly increases toward the time of maximum sea-ice melt. These findings can be explained by the following positive feedback effect: once ice concentration decreases (increases) at the beginning of the melt season, solar heating of the upper ocean through the increased (decreased) open water fraction is enhanced (reduced), leading to (suppressing) a further decrease in ice concentration by the oceanic heat. Results obtained fi-om a simple ice-ocean coupled model also support our interpretation of the observational results. This positive feedback mechanism explains in part the large interannual variability of the sea-ice cover in summer.

High resolution modelling of the decreasing Arctic sea ice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, K. S.; Rasmussen, T. A. S.; Blüthgen, Jonas

2012-01-01

The Arctic sea ice cover has been rapidly decreasing and thinning over the last decade, with minimum ice extent in 2007 and almost as low extent in 2011. This study investigates two aspects of the decreasing ice cover; first the large scale thinning and changing dynamics of the polar sea ice, and...

Ice recrystallization inhibition in ice cream as affected by ice structuring proteins from winter wheat grass.

Science.gov (United States)

Regand, A; Goff, H D

2006-01-01

Ice recrystallization in quiescently frozen sucrose solutions that contained some of the ingredients commonly found in ice cream and in ice cream manufactured under commercial conditions, with or without ice structuring proteins (ISP) from cold-acclimated winter wheat grass extract (AWWE), was assessed by bright field microscopy. In sucrose solutions, critical differences in moisture content, viscosity, ionic strength, and other properties derived from the presence of other ingredients (skim milk powder, corn syrup solids, locust bean gum) caused a reduction in ice crystal growth. Significant ISP activity in retarding ice crystal growth was observed in all solutions (44% for the most complex mix) containing 0.13% total protein from AWWE. In heat-shocked ice cream, ice recrystallization rates were significantly reduced 40 and 46% with the addition of 0.0025 and 0.0037% total protein from AWWE. The ISP activity in ice cream was not hindered by its inclusion in mix prior to pasteurization. A synergistic effect between ISP and stabilizer was observed, as ISP activity was reduced in the absence of stabilizer in ice cream formulations. A remarkably smoother texture for ice creams containing ISP after heat-shock storage was evident by sensory evaluation. The efficiency of ISP from AWWE in controlling ice crystal growth in ice cream has been demonstrated.

There goes the sea ice: following Arctic sea ice parcels and their properties.

Science.gov (United States)

Tschudi, M. A.; Tooth, M.; Meier, W.; Stewart, S.

2017-12-01

Arctic sea ice distribution has changed considerably over the last couple of decades. Sea ice extent record minimums have been observed in recent years, the distribution of ice age now heavily favors younger ice, and sea ice is likely thinning. This new state of the Arctic sea ice cover has several impacts, including effects on marine life, feedback on the warming of the ocean and atmosphere, and on the future evolution of the ice pack. The shift in the state of the ice cover, from a pack dominated by older ice, to the current state of a pack with mostly young ice, impacts specific properties of the ice pack, and consequently the pack's response to the changing Arctic climate. For example, younger ice typically contains more numerous melt ponds during the melt season, resulting in a lower albedo. First-year ice is typically thinner and more fragile than multi-year ice, making it more susceptible to dynamic and thermodynamic forcing. To investigate the response of the ice pack to climate forcing during summertime melt, we have developed a database that tracks individual Arctic sea ice parcels along with associated properties as these parcels advect during the summer. Our database tracks parcels in the Beaufort Sea, from 1985 - present, along with variables such as ice surface temperature, albedo, ice concentration, and convergence. We are using this database to deduce how these thousands of tracked parcels fare during summer melt, i.e. what fraction of the parcels advect through the Beaufort, and what fraction melts out? The tracked variables describe the thermodynamic and dynamic forcing on these parcels during their journey. This database will also be made available to all interested investigators, after it is published in the near future. The attached image shows the ice surface temperature of all parcels (right) that advected through the Beaufort Sea region (left) in 2014.

IceMap250—Automatic 250 m Sea Ice Extent Mapping Using MODIS Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Charles Gignac

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The sea ice cover in the North evolves at a rapid rate. To adequately monitor this evolution, tools with high temporal and spatial resolution are needed. This paper presents IceMap250, an automatic sea ice extent mapping algorithm using MODIS reflective/emissive bands. Hybrid cloud-masking using both the MOD35 mask and a visibility mask, combined with downscaling of Bands 3–7 to 250 m, are utilized to delineate sea ice extent using a decision tree approach. IceMap250 was tested on scenes from the freeze-up, stable cover, and melt seasons in the Hudson Bay complex, in Northeastern Canada. IceMap250 first product is a daily composite sea ice presence map at 250 m. Validation based on comparisons with photo-interpreted ground-truth show the ability of the algorithm to achieve high classification accuracy, with kappa values systematically over 90%. IceMap250 second product is a weekly clear sky map that provides a synthesis of 7 days of daily composite maps. This map, produced using a majority filter, makes the sea ice presence map even more accurate by filtering out the effects of isolated classification errors. The synthesis maps show spatial consistency through time when compared to passive microwave and national ice services maps.

Viscosity of interfacial water regulates ice nucleation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Kaiyong; Chen, Jing; Zhang, Qiaolan; Zhang, Yifan; Xu, Shun; Zhou, Xin; Cui, Dapeng; Wang, Jianjun; Song, Yanlin

2014-01-01

Ice formation on solid surfaces is an important phenomenon in many fields, such as cloud formation and atmospheric icing, and a key factor for applications in preventing freezing. Here, we report temperature-dependent nucleation rates of ice for hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces. The results show that hydrophilic surface presents a lower ice nucleation rate. We develop a strategy to extract the thermodynamic parameters, J 0 and Γ, in the context of classical nucleation theory. From the extracted J 0 and Γ, we reveal the dominant role played by interfacial water. The results provide an insight into freezing mechanism on solid surfaces

Feasibility Study and Demonstration of an Aluminum and Ice Solid Propellant

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Timothee L. Pourpoint

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Aluminum-water reactions have been proposed and studied for several decades for underwater propulsion systems and applications requiring hydrogen generation. Aluminum and water have also been proposed as a frozen propellant, and there have been proposals for other refrigerated propellants that could be mixed, frozen in situ, and used as solid propellants. However, little work has been done to determine the feasibility of these concepts. With the recent availability of nanoscale aluminum, a simple binary formulation with water is now feasible. Nanosized aluminum has a lower ignition temperature than micron-sized aluminum particles, partly due to its high surface area, and burning times are much faster than micron aluminum. Frozen nanoscale aluminum and water mixtures are stable, as well as insensitive to electrostatic discharge, impact, and shock. Here we report a study of the feasibility of an nAl-ice propellant in small-scale rocket experiments. The focus here is not to develop an optimized propellant; however improved formulations are possible. Several static motor experiments have been conducted, including using a flight-weight casing. The flight weight casing was used in the first sounding rocket test of an aluminum-ice propellant, establishing a proof of concept for simple propellant mixtures making use of nanoscale particles.

Effect of intermediate soil cover on municipal solid waste decomposition.

Science.gov (United States)

Márquez-Benavides, L; Watson-Craik, I

2003-01-01

A complex series of chemical and microbiological reactions is initiated with the burial of refuse in a sanitary landfill. At the end of each labour day, the municipal solid wastes (MSW) are covered with native soil (or an alternative material). To investigate interaction between the intermediate cover and the MSW, five sets of columns were set up, one packed with refuse only, and four with a soil-refuse mixture (a clay loam, an organic-rich peaty soil, a well limed sandy soil and a chalky soil). The anaerobic degradation over 6 months was followed in terms of leachate volatile fatty acids, chemical oxygen demand, pH and ammoniacal-N performance. Results suggest that the organic-rich peaty soil may accelerate the end of the acidogenic phase. Clay appeared not to have a significant effect on the anaerobic degradation process.

Sea-ice dynamics strongly promote Snowball Earth initiation and destabilize tropical sea-ice margins

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Voigt

2012-12-01

Full Text Available The Snowball Earth bifurcation, or runaway ice-albedo feedback, is defined for particular boundary conditions by a critical CO₂ and a critical sea-ice cover (SI, both of which are essential for evaluating hypotheses related to Neoproterozoic glaciations. Previous work has shown that the Snowball Earth bifurcation, denoted as (CO₂, SI^*, differs greatly among climate models. Here, we study the effect of bare sea-ice albedo, sea-ice dynamics and ocean heat transport on (CO₂, SI^* in the atmosphere–ocean general circulation model ECHAM5/MPI-OM with Marinoan (~ 635 Ma continents and solar insolation (94% of modern. In its standard setup, ECHAM5/MPI-OM initiates a~Snowball Earth much more easily than other climate models at (CO₂, SI^* ≈ (500 ppm, 55%. Replacing the model's standard bare sea-ice albedo of 0.75 by a much lower value of 0.45, we find (CO₂, SI^* ≈ (204 ppm, 70%. This is consistent with previous work and results from net evaporation and local melting near the sea-ice margin. When we additionally disable sea-ice dynamics, we find that the Snowball Earth bifurcation can be pushed even closer to the equator and occurs at a hundred times lower CO₂: (CO₂, SI^* ≈ (2 ppm, 85%. Therefore, the simulation of sea-ice dynamics in ECHAM5/MPI-OM is a dominant determinant of its high critical CO₂ for Snowball initiation relative to other models. Ocean heat transport has no effect on the critical sea-ice cover and only slightly decreases the critical CO₂. For disabled sea-ice dynamics, the state with 85% sea-ice cover is stabilized by the Jormungand mechanism and shares characteristics with the Jormungand climate states. However, there is no indication of the Jormungand bifurcation and hysteresis in ECHAM5/MPI-OM. The state with 85% sea-ice cover therefore is a soft Snowball state rather than a true

Sunlight, Sea Ice, and the Ice Albedo Feedback in a Changing Arctic Sea Ice Cover

Science.gov (United States)

2015-09-30

fraction product and the remotely sensed albedo product in the context of understanding the surface radiation budget. Particular attention is paid to...Stamnes, Chapter 2 The Polar Environment: Sun, Clouds, and Ice, in Ocean Colour Remote Sensing in Polar Seas, p 5-25, in press. Istomina, L, G

Sunlight, Sea Ice, and the Ice Albedo Feedback in a Changing Artic Sea Ice Cover

Science.gov (United States)

2015-11-30

the remotely sensed albedo product in the context of understanding the surface radiation budget. Particular attention is paid to the infrequent...Chapter 2 The Polar Environment: Sun, Clouds, and Ice, in Ocean Colour Remote Sensing in Polar Seas, p 5-25, in press. Istomina, L, G. Heygster, M

An integrated approach to the remote sensing of floating ice

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell, W. J.; Ramseier, R. O.; Weeks, W. F.; Gloersen, P.

1976-01-01

Review article on remote sensing applications to glaciology. Ice parameters sensed include: ice cover vs open water, ice thickness, distribution and morphology of ice formations, vertical resolution of ice thickness, ice salinity (percolation and drainage of brine; flushing of ice body with fresh water), first-year ice and multiyear ice, ice growth rate and surface heat flux, divergence of ice packs, snow cover masking ice, behavior of ice shelves, icebergs, lake ice and river ice; time changes. Sensing techniques discussed include: satellite photographic surveys, thermal IR, passive and active microwave studies, microwave radiometry, microwave scatterometry, side-looking radar, and synthetic aperture radar. Remote sensing of large aquatic mammals and operational ice forecasting are also discussed.

Effetively trapping air or lqiud water for anti-icing applications

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jianjun

2014-03-01

Icing on solid surfaces leads to operational difficulties and high maintenance efforts for power networks, aircrafts, ships, ground transportation vehicles and house-hold refrigerators, to name but a few. In extreme cases, icing on surfaces causes disastrous events such as crash of aircrafts and collapse of power networks, which result in severe economic impact and large loss of life. This talk is focused on the fundamentals of the ice formation and adhesion of ice with solid substrates aiming for fighting against icing on solid surfaces. When the supercooling is low, it would be possible to remove supercooled liquid water from the solid surfaces before freezing occurs. To achieve this, we design and constructed surfaces that can trap the air at the subfreezing temperature thus condensed water microdroplets could be spontaneously removed after the coalescence. When the supercooling is high, icing on surfaces occurs spontaniously. In this case, we constructed coatings on which aqueous lubricating layer could be trapped, thus the ice adhesion on the coating is so low that the ice formed atop could be removed by a wind action or its own gravity.

NO ICE HYDROGENATION: A SOLID PATHWAY TO NH{sub 2}OH FORMATION IN SPACE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Congiu, Emanuele; Dulieu, Francois; Chaabouni, Henda; Baouche, Saoud; Lemaire, Jean Louis [LERMA-LAMAp, Universite de Cergy-Pontoise, Observatoire de Paris, ENS, UPMC, UMR 8112 du CNRS, 5 Mail Gay Lussac, 95000 Cergy Pontoise Cedex (France); Fedoseev, Gleb; Ioppolo, Sergio; Lamberts, Thanja; Linnartz, Harold [Raymond and Beverly Sackler Laboratory for Astrophysics, Leiden Observatory, University of Leiden, P.O. Box 9513, 2300 RA Leiden (Netherlands); Laffon, Carine; Parent, Philippe [Laboratoire de Chimie-Physique, Matiere et Rayonnement, Universite Pierre-et-Marie Curie (Paris 06) and CNRS (UMR 7614), 11 rue Pierre-et-Marie-Curie, 75231 Paris (France); Cuppen, Herma M., E-mail: emanuele.congiu@u-cergy.fr [Faculty of Science, Radboud University Nijmegen, IMM, P.O. Box 9010, NL 6500 GL Nijmegen (Netherlands)

2012-05-01

Icy dust grains in space act as catalytic surfaces onto which complex molecules form. These molecules are synthesized through exothermic reactions from precursor radicals and, mostly, hydrogen atom additions. Among the resulting products are species of biological relevance, such as hydroxylamine-NH{sub 2}OH-a precursor molecule in the formation of amino acids. In this Letter, laboratory experiments are described that demonstrate NH{sub 2}OH formation in interstellar ice analogs for astronomically relevant temperatures via successive hydrogenation reactions of solid nitric oxide (NO). Inclusion of the experimental results in an astrochemical gas-grain model proves the importance of a solid-state NO+H reaction channel as a starting point for prebiotic species in dark interstellar clouds and adds a new perspective to the way molecules of biological importance may form in space.

Local Cloudiness Development Forecast Based on Simulation of Solid Phase Formation Processes in the Atmosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Barodka, Siarhei; Kliutko, Yauhenia; Krasouski, Alexander; Papko, Iryna; Svetashev, Alexander; Turishev, Leonid

2013-04-01

Nowadays numerical simulation of thundercloud formation processes is of great interest as an actual problem from the practical point of view. Thunderclouds significantly affect airplane flights, and mesoscale weather forecast has much to contribute to facilitate the aviation forecast procedures. An accurate forecast can certainly help to avoid aviation accidents due to weather conditions. The present study focuses on modelling of the convective clouds development and thunder clouds detection on the basis of mesoscale atmospheric processes simulation, aiming at significantly improving the aeronautical forecast. In the analysis, the primary weather radar information has been used to be further adapted for mesoscale forecast systems. Two types of domains have been selected for modelling: an internal one (with radius of 8 km), and an external one (with radius of 300 km). The internal domain has been directly applied to study the local clouds development, and the external domain data has been treated as initial and final conditions for cloud cover formation. The domain height has been chosen according to the civil aviation forecast data (i.e. not exceeding 14 km). Simulations of weather conditions and local clouds development have been made within selected domains with the WRF modelling system. In several cases, thunderclouds are detected within the convective clouds. To specify the given category of clouds, we employ a simulation technique of solid phase formation processes in the atmosphere. Based on modelling results, we construct vertical profiles indicating the amount of solid phase in the atmosphere. Furthermore, we obtain profiles demonstrating the amount of ice particles and large particles (hailstones). While simulating the processes of solid phase formation, we investigate vertical and horizontal air flows. Consequently, we attempt to separate the total amount of solid phase into categories of small ice particles, large ice particles and hailstones. Also, we

Canadian snow and sea ice: historical trends and projections

Science.gov (United States)

Mudryk, Lawrence R.; Derksen, Chris; Howell, Stephen; Laliberté, Fred; Thackeray, Chad; Sospedra-Alfonso, Reinel; Vionnet, Vincent; Kushner, Paul J.; Brown, Ross

2018-04-01

The Canadian Sea Ice and Snow Evolution (CanSISE) Network is a climate research network focused on developing and applying state of the art observational data to advance dynamical prediction, projections, and understanding of seasonal snow cover and sea ice in Canada and the circumpolar Arctic. Here, we present an assessment from the CanSISE Network on trends in the historical record of snow cover (fraction, water equivalent) and sea ice (area, concentration, type, and thickness) across Canada. We also assess projected changes in snow cover and sea ice likely to occur by mid-century, as simulated by the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) suite of Earth system models. The historical datasets show that the fraction of Canadian land and marine areas covered by snow and ice is decreasing over time, with seasonal and regional variability in the trends consistent with regional differences in surface temperature trends. In particular, summer sea ice cover has decreased significantly across nearly all Canadian marine regions, and the rate of multi-year ice loss in the Beaufort Sea and Canadian Arctic Archipelago has nearly doubled over the last 8 years. The multi-model consensus over the 2020-2050 period shows reductions in fall and spring snow cover fraction and sea ice concentration of 5-10 % per decade (or 15-30 % in total), with similar reductions in winter sea ice concentration in both Hudson Bay and eastern Canadian waters. Peak pre-melt terrestrial snow water equivalent reductions of up to 10 % per decade (30 % in total) are projected across southern Canada.

Coordinated Mapping of Sea Ice Deformation Features with Autonomous Vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Maksym, T.; Williams, G. D.; Singh, H.; Weissling, B.; Anderson, J.; Maki, T.; Ackley, S. F.

2016-12-01

Decreases in summer sea ice extent in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas has lead to a transition from a largely perennial ice cover, to a seasonal ice cover. This drives shifts in sea ice production, dynamics, ice types, and thickness distribution. To examine how the processes driving ice advance might also impact the morphology of the ice cover, a coordinated ice mapping effort was undertaken during a field campaign in the Beaufort Sea in October, 2015. Here, we present observations of sea ice draft topography from six missions of an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle run under different ice types and deformation features observed during autumn freeze-up. Ice surface features were also mapped during coordinated drone photogrammetric missions over each site. We present preliminary results of a comparison between sea ice surface topography and ice underside morphology for a range of sample ice types, including hummocked multiyear ice, rubble fields, young ice ridges and rafts, and consolidated pancake ice. These data are compared to prior observations of ice morphological features from deformed Antarctic sea ice. Such data will be useful for improving parameterizations of sea ice redistribution during deformation, and for better constraining estimates of airborne or satellite sea ice thickness.

Ocean Profile Measurements During the Seasonal Ice Zone Reconnaissance Surveys

Science.gov (United States)

2014-09-30

ice cover in 2014. The consequent reduced melting early in the summer delays the onset of sea - ice - albedo feed back in accelerating melt throughout the...Chukchi sea seasonal sea ice zone (SIZ) utilizing US Coast Guard Arctic Domain Awareness (ADA) flights of opportunity. This report covers our grant...region between maximum winter sea ice extent and minimum summer sea ice extent. As such, it contains the full range of positions of the marginal ice

Multi-decadal Arctic sea ice roughness.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsamados, M.; Stroeve, J.; Kharbouche, S.; Muller, J. P., , Prof; Nolin, A. W.; Petty, A.; Haas, C.; Girard-Ardhuin, F.; Landy, J.

2017-12-01

The transformation of Arctic sea ice from mainly perennial, multi-year ice to a seasonal, first-year ice is believed to have been accompanied by a reduction of the roughness of the ice cover surface. This smoothening effect has been shown to (i) modify the momentum and heat transfer between the atmosphere and ocean, (ii) to alter the ice thickness distribution which in turn controls the snow and melt pond repartition over the ice cover, and (iii) to bias airborne and satellite remote sensing measurements that depend on the scattering and reflective characteristics over the sea ice surface topography. We will review existing and novel remote sensing methodologies proposed to estimate sea ice roughness, ranging from airborne LIDAR measurement (ie Operation IceBridge), to backscatter coefficients from scatterometers (ASCAT, QUICKSCAT), to multi angle maging spectroradiometer (MISR), and to laser (Icesat) and radar altimeters (Envisat, Cryosat, Altika, Sentinel-3). We will show that by comparing and cross-calibrating these different products we can offer a consistent multi-mission, multi-decadal view of the declining sea ice roughness. Implications for sea ice physics, climate and remote sensing will also be discussed.

Modern shelf ice, equatorial Aeolis Quadrangle, Mars

Science.gov (United States)

Brakenridge, G. R.

1993-01-01

As part of a detailed study of the geological and geomorphological evolution of Aeolis Quadrangle, I have encountered evidence suggesting that near surface ice exists at low latitudes and was formed by partial or complete freezing of an inland sea. The area of interest is centered at approximately -2 deg, 196 deg. As seen in a suite of Viking Orbiter frames obtained at a range of approximately 600 km, the plains surface at this location is very lightly cratered or uncratered, and it is thus of late Amazonian age. Extant topographic data indicate that the Amazonian plains at this location occupy a trough whose surface lies at least 1000 m below the Mars datum. A reasonable hypothesis is that quite recent surface water releases, perhaps associated with final evolution of large 'outflow chasms' to the south, but possibly from other source areas, filled this trough, that ice floes formed almost immediately, and that either grounded ice or an ice-covered sea still persists. A reasonable hypothesis is that quite recent surface water releases, perhaps associated with final evolution of large 'outflow chasms' to the south, but possibly from other source areas, filled this trough, that ice floes formed almost immediately, and that either grounded ice or an ice-covered sea still persists. In either case, the thin (a few meters at most) high albedo, low thermal inertia cover of aeolian materials was instrumental in allowing ice preservation, and at least the lower portions of this dust cover may be cemented by water ice. Detailed mapping using Viking stereopairs and quantitative comparisons to terrestrial shelf ice geometries are underway.

Satellite-derived ice data sets no. 2: Arctic monthly average microwave brightness temperatures and sea ice concentrations, 1973-1976

Science.gov (United States)

Parkinson, C. L.; Comiso, J. C.; Zwally, H. J.

1987-01-01

A summary data set for four years (mid 70's) of Arctic sea ice conditions is available on magnetic tape. The data include monthly and yearly averaged Nimbus 5 electrically scanning microwave radiometer (ESMR) brightness temperatures, an ice concentration parameter derived from the brightness temperatures, monthly climatological surface air temperatures, and monthly climatological sea level pressures. All data matrices are applied to 293 by 293 grids that cover a polar stereographic map enclosing the 50 deg N latitude circle. The grid size varies from about 32 X 32 km at the poles to about 28 X 28 km at 50 deg N. The ice concentration parameter is calculated assuming that the field of view contains only open water and first-year ice with an ice emissivity of 0.92. To account for the presence of multiyear ice, a nomogram is provided relating the ice concentration parameter, the total ice concentration, and the fraction of the ice cover which is multiyear ice.

The formation of ice sails

Science.gov (United States)

Fowler, A. C.; Mayer, C.

2017-11-01

Debris-covered glaciers are prone to the formation of a number of supraglacial geomorphological features, and generally speaking, their upper surfaces are far from level surfaces. Some of these features are due to radiation screening or enhancing properties of the debris cover, but theoretical explanations of the consequent surface forms are in their infancy. In this paper we consider a theoretical model for the formation of "ice sails", which are regularly spaced bare ice features which are found on debris-covered glaciers in the Karakoram.

Classification of new-ice in the Greenland Sea using Satellite SSM/I radiometer and SeaWinds scatterometer data and comparison with ice model

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tonboe, Rasmus; Pedersen, Leif Toudal

2005-01-01

In the ice covered waters of the Greenland Sea the polarisation ratio of QuikSCAT SeaWinds Ku-band (13.4 GHz) scatterometer measurements and the polarisation ratio of DMSP-SSM/I 19 GHz radiometer measurements are used in combination to classify new-ice and mature ice. In particular, the formation...... to the physical transition of the ice cover from pancake ice to a consolidated young-ice sheet. The classification of each pixel into ice or water is done using two scatterometer parameters, namely the polarisation ratio and the daily standard deviation of the backscatter. (C) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights...

Improving Arctic Sea Ice Observations and Data Access to Support Advances in Sea Ice Forecasting

Science.gov (United States)

Farrell, S. L.

2017-12-01

The economic and strategic importance of the Arctic region is becoming apparent. One of the most striking and widely publicized changes underway is the declining sea ice cover. Since sea ice is a key component of the climate system, its ongoing loss has serious, and wide-ranging, socio-economic implications. Increasing year-to-year variability in the geographic location, concentration, and thickness of the Arctic ice cover will pose both challenges and opportunities. The sea ice research community must be engaged in sustained Arctic Observing Network (AON) initiatives so as to deliver fit-for-purpose remote sensing data products to a variety of stakeholders including Arctic communities, the weather forecasting and climate modeling communities, industry, local, regional and national governments, and policy makers. An example of engagement is the work currently underway to improve research collaborations between scientists engaged in obtaining and assessing sea ice observational data and those conducting numerical modeling studies and forecasting ice conditions. As part of the US AON, in collaboration with the Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee (IARPC), we are developing a strategic framework within which observers and modelers can work towards the common goal of improved sea ice forecasting. Here, we focus on sea ice thickness, a key varaible of the Arctic ice cover. We describe multi-sensor, and blended, sea ice thickness data products under development that can be leveraged to improve model initialization and validation, as well as support data assimilation exercises. We will also present the new PolarWatch initiative (polarwatch.noaa.gov) and discuss efforts to advance access to remote sensing satellite observations and improve communication with Arctic stakeholders, so as to deliver data products that best address societal needs.

Variability and Trends in Sea Ice Extent and Ice Production in the Ross Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Comiso, Josefino; Kwok, Ronald; Martin, Seelye; Gordon, Arnold L.

2011-01-01

Salt release during sea ice formation in the Ross Sea coastal regions is regarded as a primary forcing for the regional generation of Antarctic Bottom Water. Passive microwave data from November 1978 through 2008 are used to examine the detailed seasonal and interannual characteristics of the sea ice cover of the Ross Sea and the adjacent Bellingshausen and Amundsen seas. For this period the sea ice extent in the Ross Sea shows the greatest increase of all the Antarctic seas. Variability in the ice cover in these regions is linked to changes in the Southern Annular Mode and secondarily to the Antarctic Circumpolar Wave. Over the Ross Sea shelf, analysis of sea ice drift data from 1992 to 2008 yields a positive rate of increase in the net ice export of about 30,000 sq km/yr. For a characteristic ice thickness of 0.6 m, this yields a volume transport of about 20 cu km/yr, which is almost identical, within error bars, to our estimate of the trend in ice production. The increase in brine rejection in the Ross Shelf Polynya associated with the estimated increase with the ice production, however, is not consistent with the reported Ross Sea salinity decrease. The locally generated sea ice enhancement of Ross Sea salinity may be offset by an increase of relatively low salinity of the water advected into the region from the Amundsen Sea, a consequence of increased precipitation and regional glacial ice melt.

Retrieval of the ocean wave spectrum in open and thin ice covered ocean waters from ERS Synthetic Aperture Radar images

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Carolis, G.

2001-01-01

This paper concerns with the task of retrieving ocean wave spectra form imagery provided by space-borne SAR systems such as that on board ERS satellite. SAR imagery of surface wave fields travelling into open ocean and into thin sea ice covers composed of frazil and pancake icefields is considered. The major purpose is to gain insight on how the spectral changes can be related to sea ice properties of geophysical interest such as the thickness. Starting from SAR image cross spectra computed from Single Look Complex (SLC) SAR images, the ocean wave spectrum is retrieved using an inversion procedure based on the gradient descent algorithm. The capability of this method when applied to satellite SAR sensors is investigated. Interest in the SAR image cross spectrum exploitation is twofold: first, the directional properties of the ocean wave spectra are retained; second, external wave information needed to initialize the inversion procedure may be greatly reduced using only information included in the SAR image cross spectrum itself. The main drawback is that the wind waves spectrum could be partly lost and its spectral peak wave number underestimated. An ERS-SAR SLC image acquired on April 10, 1993 over the Greenland Sea was selected as test image. A pair of windows that include open-sea only and sea ice cover, respectively, were selected. The inversions were carried out using different guess wave spectra taken from SAR image cross spectra. Moreover, care was taken to properly handle negative values eventually occurring during the inversion runs. This results in a modification of the gradient descending the technique that is required if a non-negative solution of the wave spectrum is searched for. Results are discussed in view of the possibility of SAR data to detect ocean wave dispersion as a means for the retrieval of ice thickness

Radiation Effects in Hydrogen-Laden Porous Water Ice Films: Implications for Interstellar Ices

Science.gov (United States)

Raut, Ujjwal; Baragiola, Raul; Mitchell, Emma; Shi, Jianming

H _{2} is the dominant gas in the dense clouds of the interstellar medium (ISM). At densities of 10 (5) cm (-3) , an H _{2} molecule arrives at the surface of a 0.1 mum-sized, ice-covered dust grain once every few seconds [1]. At 10 K, H _{2} can diffuse into the pores of the ice mantle and adsorb at high-energy binding sites, loading the ice with hydrogen over the lifetime of the cloud. These icy grains are also impacted by galactic cosmic rays and stellar winds (in clouds with embedded protostar). Based on the available cosmic proton flux spectrum [2], we estimate a small impact rate of nearly 1 hit per year on a 0.1 μm sized grain, or 10 (-7) times the impact frequency of the neutral H _{2}. The energy deposited by such impacts can release the adsorbed H _{2} into the gas phase (impact desorption or sputtering). Recently, we have reported on a new process of ion-induced enhanced adsorption, where molecules from the gas phase are incorporated into the film when irradiation is performed in the presence of ambient gas [3]. The interplay between ion-induced ejection and adsorption can be important in determining the gas-solid balance in the ISM. To understand the effects of cosmic rays/stellar winds impacts on interstellar ice immersed in H _{2} gas, we have performed irradiation of porous amorphous ice films loaded with H _{2} through co-deposition or adsorption following growth. The irradiations were performed with 100 keV H (+) using fluxes of 10 (10) -10 (12) H (+) cm (-2) s (-1) at 7 K, in presence of ambient H _{2} at pressures ranging from 10 (-5) to 10 (-8) Torr. Our initial results show a net loss in adsorbed H _{2} during irradiation, from competing ion-induced ejection and adsorption. The H _{2} loss per ion decreases exponentially with fluence, with a cross-section of 10 (-13) cm (2) . In addition to hydrogen removal, irradiation also leads to trapping of H _{2} in the ice film, from closing of the pores during irradiation [4]. As a result, 2.6 percent

Solid-phase equilibria on Pluto's surface

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Sugata P.; Kargel, Jeffrey S.

2018-03-01

Pluto's surface is covered by volatile ices that are in equilibrium with the atmosphere. Multicomponent phase equilibria may be calculated using a thermodynamic equation of state and, without additional assumptions, result in methane-rich and nitrogen-rich solid phases. The former is formed at temperature range between the atmospheric pressure-dependent sublimation and condensation points, while the latter is formed at temperatures lower than the sublimation point. The results, calculated for the observed 11 μbar atmospheric pressure and composition, are consistent with recent work derived from observations by New Horizons.

A rapid transition from ice covered CO2–rich waters to a biologically mediated CO2 sink in the eastern Weddell Gyre

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W. Geibert

2008-09-01

Full Text Available Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW, locally called Warm Deep Water (WDW, enters the Weddell Gyre in the southeast, roughly at 25° E to 30° E. In December 2002 and January 2003 we studied the effect of entrainment of WDW on the fugacity of carbon dioxide (fCO2 and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC in Weddell Sea surface waters. Ultimately the fCO2 difference across the sea surface drives air-sea fluxes of CO2. Deep CTD sections and surface transects of fCO2 were made along the Prime Meridian, a northwest-southeast section, and along 17° E to 23° E during cruise ANT XX/2 on FS Polarstern. Upward movement and entrainment of WDW into the winter mixed layer had significantly increased DIC and fCO2 below the sea ice along 0° W and 17° E to 23° E, notably in the southern Weddell Gyre. Nonetheless, the ice cover largely prevented outgassing of CO2 to the atmosphere. During and upon melting of the ice, biological activity rapidly reduced surface water fCO2 by up to 100 μatm, thus creating a sink for atmospheric CO2. Despite the tendency of the surfacing WDW to cause CO2 supersaturation, the Weddell Gyre may well be a CO2 sink on an annual basis due to this effective mechanism involving ice cover and ensuing biological fCO2 reduction. Dissolution of calcium carbonate (CaCO3 in melting sea ice may play a minor role in this rapid reduction of surface water fCO2.

Prediction of ice accretion and anti-icing heating power on wind turbine blades using standard commercial software

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Villalpando, Fernando; Reggio, Marcelo; Ilinca, Adrian

2016-01-01

An approach to numerically simulate ice accretion on 2D sections of a wind turbine blade is presented. The method uses standard commercial ANSYS-Fluent and Matlab tools. The Euler-Euler formulation is used to calculate the water impingement on the airfoil, and a UDF (Used Defined Function) has been devised to turn the airfoil's solid wall into a permeable boundary. Mayer's thermodynamic model is implemented in Matlab for computing ice thickness and for updating the airfoil contour. A journal file is executed to systematize the procedure: meshing, droplet trajectory calculation, thermodynamic model application for computing ice accretion, and the updating of airfoil contours. The proposed ice prediction strategy has been validated using iced airfoil contours obtained experimentally in the AMIL refrigerated wind tunnel (Anti-icing Materials International Laboratory). Finally, a numerical prediction method has been generated for anti-icing assessment, and its results compared with data obtained in this laboratory. - Highlights: • A methodology for ice accretion prediction using commercial software is proposed. • Euler model gives better prediction of airfoil water collection with detached flow. • A source term is used to change from a solid wall to a permeable wall in Fluent. • Energy needed for ice-accretion mitigation system is predicted.

Novel two-step laser ablation and ionization mass spectrometry (2S-LAIMS) of actor-spectator ice layers: Probing chemical composition of D{sub 2}O ice beneath a H{sub 2}O ice layer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang, Rui, E-mail: ryang73@ustc.edu; Gudipati, Murthy S., E-mail: gudipati@jpl.nasa.gov [Science Division, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Mail Stop 183-301, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, California 91109 (United States)

2014-03-14

In this work, we report for the first time successful analysis of organic aromatic analytes imbedded in D{sub 2}O ices by novel infrared (IR) laser ablation of a layered non-absorbing D{sub 2}O ice (spectator) containing the analytes and an ablation-active IR-absorbing H{sub 2}O ice layer (actor) without the analyte. With these studies we have opened up a new method for the in situ analysis of solids containing analytes when covered with an IR laser-absorbing layer that can be resonantly ablated. This soft ejection method takes advantage of the tenability of two-step infrared laser ablation and ultraviolet laser ionization mass spectrometry, previously demonstrated in this lab to study chemical reactions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in cryogenic ices. The IR laser pulse tuned to resonantly excite only the upper H{sub 2}O ice layer (actor) generates a shockwave upon impact. This shockwave penetrates the lower analyte-containing D{sub 2}O ice layer (spectator, a non-absorbing ice that cannot be ablated directly with the wavelength of the IR laser employed) and is reflected back, ejecting the contents of the D{sub 2}O layer into the vacuum where they are intersected by a UV laser for ionization and detection by a time-of-flight mass spectrometer. Thus, energy is transmitted from the laser-absorbing actor layer into the non-absorbing spectator layer resulting its ablation. We found that isotope cross-contamination between layers was negligible. We also did not see any evidence for thermal or collisional chemistry of PAH molecules with H{sub 2}O molecules in the shockwave. We call this “shockwave mediated surface resonance enhanced subsurface ablation” technique as “two-step laser ablation and ionization mass spectrometry of actor-spectator ice layers.” This method has its roots in the well-established MALDI (matrix assisted laser desorption and ionization) method. Our method offers more flexibility to optimize both the processes—ablation and

Penetrating Shortwave Radiation and Sea Ice Algae feedbacks using the Community Earth System Model

Science.gov (United States)

Arntsen, A. E.; Perovich, D. K.; Bailey, D. A.; Holland, M. M.

2017-12-01

Transmittance of solar radiation through the sea ice cover determines energy transfer to the upper ocean in the form of heat as well as photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) available for the growth of under ice phytoplankton and bottom ice algal communities. A thinning ice cover, increased pond coverage, and earlier melt onset has increased light availability to the upper ocean in contemporary Arctic ice-covered waters. To investigate seasonal and spatial variability of solar shortwave irradiance penetrating the ice cover in the Beaufort and Chukchi Sea regions, we use the fully coupled Community Earth System Model (CESM) in conjunction with a multistream radiative transfer model constrained and initiated by in situ observations. Results inform the importance of light attenuation by ice-based algal pigments within large scale global climate models. We demonstrate the presence of bio-optical feedbacks related to a younger ice cover and examine how these relationships are impacting the trajectory of under ice blooms and the energy budget of the ice-ocean system.

Seismic explosion sources on an ice cap

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Shulgin, Alexey; Thybo, Hans

2015-01-01

crustal model can be modelled. A crucial challenge for applying the technique is to control the sources. Here, we present data that describe the efficiency of explosive sources in the ice cover. Analysis of the data shows, that the ice cap traps a significant amount of energy, which is observed......Controlled source seismic investigation of crustal structure below ice covers is an emerging technique. We have recently conducted an explosive refraction/wide-angle reflection seismic experiment on the ice cap in east-central Greenland. The data-quality is high for all shot points and a full...

Exploring the Habitability of Ice-covered Waterworlds: The Deep-Sea Hydrothermal System of the Aurora Mount at Gakkel Ridge, Arctic Ocean (82°54' N, 6°15W, 3900 m)

Science.gov (United States)

Boetius, A.; Bach, W.; Borowski, C.; Diehl, A.; German, C. R.; Kaul, N. E.; Koehler, J.; Marcon, Y.; Mertens, C.; Molari, M.; Schlindwein, V. S. N.; Tuerke, A.; Wegener, G.

2014-12-01

The geographic remoteness of the ultraslow Gakkel Ridge in the ice-covered Arctic Ocean raises many questions about the nature and biogeography of its habitats. In 2001, the two-ice-breaker mission AMORE (RV POLARSTERN and USCGC HEALY) detected hydrothermal plumes and evidence for seafloor venting associated with volcanic ridges rising from the rift valley floor of 4.2 km depth (Edmonds et al., 2003; Michael et al., 2003). The AURORA expedition in July 2014 (RV POLARSTERN Cruise PS86) targeted this "Aurora" field at the SW limit of Gakkel Ridge, to investigate its habitats, communities and their energy sources. No robots can yet be deployed through ice-cover to explore such deep habitats and ice-breaking research vessels cannot hold position in the thick multiyear ice. Instead, we estimated ice-drift to predict suitable start positions, then attached POLARSTERN to a matching ice floe, to achieve the bottom trajectories that we required for targeted exploration. The Aurora mount is volcanic in origin formed from mounded pillow basalts overlain by about a meter of sediment and cut through by steep cliffs revealing basalt pillows in outcrop and in talus piles. We identified persistent plume activity in the water column above the mount at 3100-3600 m (800-300 m off-bottom of its top) characterized by anomalies in turbidity, Eh, methane, temperature, density, and elevated microbial chemoautotrophic activity. Using a towed camera-, and multisensor- platform (OFOS) we located active venting as the source of this plume together with inactive chimneys and associated craters on the SW flank of Mt.Aurora. Its dominantly filter-feeding fauna is apparently sustained by venting of energy-rich fluids and microbial transfer of this geofuel into nutrition. This communication presents first results of our recent fieldwork and experimental investigations in Summer 2014 to explore deep-sea ecosystems in ice-covered oceans.

Ice and ocean velocity in the Arctic marginal ice zone: Ice roughness and momentum transfer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sylvia T. Cole

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The interplay between sea ice concentration, sea ice roughness, ocean stratification, and momentum transfer to the ice and ocean is subject to seasonal and decadal variations that are crucial to understanding the present and future air-ice-ocean system in the Arctic. In this study, continuous observations in the Canada Basin from March through December 2014 were used to investigate spatial differences and temporal changes in under-ice roughness and momentum transfer as the ice cover evolved seasonally. Observations of wind, ice, and ocean properties from four clusters of drifting instrument systems were complemented by direct drill-hole measurements and instrumented overhead flights by NASA operation IceBridge in March, as well as satellite remote sensing imagery about the instrument clusters. Spatially, directly estimated ice-ocean drag coefficients varied by a factor of three with rougher ice associated with smaller multi-year ice floe sizes embedded within the first-year-ice/multi-year-ice conglomerate. Temporal differences in the ice-ocean drag coefficient of 20–30% were observed prior to the mixed layer shoaling in summer and were associated with ice concentrations falling below 100%. The ice-ocean drag coefficient parameterization was found to be invalid in September with low ice concentrations and small ice floe sizes. Maximum momentum transfer to the ice occurred for moderate ice concentrations, and transfer to the ocean for the lowest ice concentrations and shallowest stratification. Wind work and ocean work on the ice were the dominant terms in the kinetic energy budget of the ice throughout the melt season, consistent with free drift conditions. Overall, ice topography, ice concentration, and the shallow summer mixed layer all influenced mixed layer currents and the transfer of momentum within the air-ice-ocean system. The observed changes in momentum transfer show that care must be taken to determine appropriate parameterizations

Climate regulates alpine lake ice cover phenology and aquatic ecosystem structure

Science.gov (United States)

Preston, Daniel L.; Caine, Nel; McKnight, Diane M.; Williams, Mark W.; Hell, Katherina; Miller, Matthew P.; Hart, Sarah J.; Johnson, Pieter T.J.

2016-01-01

High-elevation aquatic ecosystems are highly vulnerable to climate change, yet relatively few records are available to characterize shifts in ecosystem structure or their underlying mechanisms. Using a long-term dataset on seven alpine lakes (3126 to 3620 m) in Colorado, USA, we show that ice-off dates have shifted seven days earlier over the past 33 years and that spring weather conditions – especially snowfall – drive yearly variation in ice-off timing. In the most well-studied lake, earlier ice-off associated with increases in water residence times, thermal stratification, ion concentrations, dissolved nitrogen, pH, and chlorophyll-a. Mechanistically, low spring snowfall and warm temperatures reduce summer stream flow (increasing lake residence times) but enhance melting of glacial and permafrost ice (increasing lake solute inputs). The observed links among hydrological, chemical, and biological responses to climate factors highlight the potential for major shifts in the functioning of alpine lakes due to forecasted climate change.

Improving Surface Mass Balance Over Ice Sheets and Snow Depth on Sea Ice

Science.gov (United States)

Koenig, Lora Suzanne; Box, Jason; Kurtz, Nathan

2013-01-01

Surface mass balance (SMB) over ice sheets and snow on sea ice (SOSI) are important components of the cryosphere. Large knowledge gaps remain in scientists' abilities to monitor SMB and SOSI, including insufficient measurements and difficulties with satellite retrievals. On ice sheets, snow accumulation is the sole mass gain to SMB, and meltwater runoff can be the dominant single loss factor in extremely warm years such as 2012. SOSI affects the growth and melt cycle of the Earth's polar sea ice cover. The summer of 2012 saw the largest satellite-recorded melt area over the Greenland ice sheet and the smallest satellite-recorded Arctic sea ice extent, making this meeting both timely and relevant.

Concentrations of sunscreens and antioxidant pigments in Arctic Calanus spp. in relation to ice cover, ultraviolet radiation, and the phytoplankton spring bloom

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hylander, Samuel; Kiørboe, Thomas; Snoeijs, Pauline

2015-01-01

, namely mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) and the carotenoid astaxanthin, from March to May in Calanus finmarchicus, Calanus glacialis and Calanus hyperboreus. Ice cover was 100% in the beginning of March, started to break up during April and was gone by the end of May. UVR-exposure in the water column...

The multiphase physics of sea ice: a review for model developers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. C. Hunke

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Rather than being solid throughout, sea ice contains liquid brine inclusions, solid salts, microalgae, trace elements, gases, and other impurities which all exist in the interstices of a porous, solid ice matrix. This multiphase structure of sea ice arises from the fact that the salt that exists in seawater cannot be incorporated into lattice sites in the pure ice component of sea ice, but remains in liquid solution. Depending on the ice permeability (determined by temperature, salinity and gas content, this brine can drain from the ice, taking other sea ice constituents with it. Thus, sea ice salinity and microstructure are tightly interconnected and play a significant role in polar ecosystems and climate. As large-scale climate modeling efforts move toward "earth system" simulations that include biological and chemical cycles, renewed interest in the multiphase physics of sea ice has strengthened research initiatives to observe, understand and model this complex system. This review article provides an overview of these efforts, highlighting known difficulties and requisite observations for further progress in the field. We focus on mushy layer theory, which describes general multiphase materials, and on numerical approaches now being explored to model the multiphase evolution of sea ice and its interaction with chemical, biological and climate systems.

CO-ices in embedded Young Stellar Objects

Science.gov (United States)

Teixeira, Teresa Cláeira V. S.

1998-09-01

Stars are born in dense cores within molecular clouds, enshrouded in large cocoons of gas and dust which completely obscure the forming star. The large degree of obscuration towards the young stars is due to the presence of solid dust grains in their circumstellar envelopes, which efficiently absorb the radiation from the star at visual and ultraviolet wavelengths, reradiating that energy at far-infrared and submillimeter wavelengths. The composition and structure of the dust grains is not well known, but current studies point to grains having a refractory core and acquiring ice mantles in the cool, shielded conditions of molecular clouds. Such ice mantles are the subject of this thesis. Infrared spectroscopy is an important tool in the study of the complex ice mantles on interstellar grains. A variety of absorption features at these wavelengths, which have been identified as the vibrational transitions of the molecules in the ices, can provide important information on the composition, structure and evolution of the grains. The work reported in this thesis consists of an observational study of the composition of the ice mantles acquired by the dust grains in molecular clouds (with particular emphasis on the CO-ices in the material surrounding embedded Young Stellar Objects in nearby molecular clouds), what can be learned from that about the physical conditions in the regions where the ice mantles exist, and what may affect their survival and evolution. In this work, spectra of the 4.67 micron solid CO absorption feature are presented, mostly towards embedded objects in Taurus. The thesis starts with a brief overview of technical aspects of spectroscopic observations at thermal infrared wavelengths, where the CO stretch absorption feature is located. The observations and data reduction procedures are then reported and discussed in detail. The likely composition of the CO-bearing ices is analysed by fitting the observations with laboratory data. The statistical

Global ice volume variations through the last glacial cycle simulated by a 3-D ice-dynamical model

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bintanja, R.; Wal, R.S.W. van de; Oerlemans, J.

2002-01-01

A coupled ice sheet—ice shelf—bedrock model was run at 20km resolution to simulate the evolution of global ice cover during the last glacial cycle. The mass balance model uses monthly mean temperature and precipitation as input and incorporates the albedo—mass balance feedback. The model is forced

Review of Ice-Induced Scour Impacts to Navigation and Structures

Science.gov (United States)

2017-07-17

Channel Responses to River Ice. Journal of Cold Regions Engineering 164:191–217. ———. 2008. Ice Effects on Sediment Transport in Rivers. In...Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell. Ettema, R., F. Braileanu, and M. Muste. 2000. Method for Estimating Sediment Transport in Ice-Covered Channels ... Sediment Transport in Ice-Covered Channels . International Journal of Sediment Research 301:63–67. ERDC SR-17-3 35 Knack, I. M., A. M. Tuthill

Sea-ice cover anomalies in the Arctic Basin associated with atmospheric variability from multi-decadal trends to intermittent quasi-biennial oscillations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Motoyoshi Ikeda

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Arctic Ocean sea ice has been diminishing since 1970, as shown by National Snow and Ice Data Center data. In addition to decadal variability, low ice anomalies in the Pacific–Siberian region have been occurring at shorter timescales. The influence of the widely-known Northern Annular Mode (NAM occurs across all seasons. In this study, empirical orthogonal function (EOF analysis was applied to sea-level pressure in National Centers for Environmental Prediction Reanalysis data for 1960–2007, showing the NAM to be the leading mode of variability and the Arctic Dipole Mode (ADM to be the second leading mode. The ADM changes markedly across seasons. In autumn–winter, it has a pole over Siberia and a pole over Greenland, at opposite signs at a several-year scale, whereas the spring–summer ADM (ADMSS has a pole over Europe and a pole over Canada. In the 1980s, the most influential mode shifted from the NAM to the ADM, when the Pacific sector had low ice cover at a 1-year lag from the positive ADM, which was marked by low pressure over Siberia. In years when the ADMSS was pronounced, it was responsible for distinct ice variability over the East Siberian–Laptev seas. The frequency separation in this study identified the contributions of the ADM and ADMSS. Effects of the latter are difficult to predict since it is intermittent and changes its sign biennially. The ADM and ADMSS should be closely watched in relation to the ongoing ice reduction in the Pacific–Siberian region.

Influence of isotopic disorder on solid state amorphization and polyamorphism in solid H2O -D2O solutions

Science.gov (United States)

Gromnitskaya, E. L.; Danilov, I. V.; Lyapin, A. G.; Brazhkin, V. V.

2015-10-01

We present a low-temperature and high-pressure ultrasonic study of elastic properties of isotopic H2O-D2O solid solutions, comparing their properties with those of the isotopically pure H2O and D2O ices. Measurements were carried out for solid state amorphization (SSA) from 1h to high-density amorphous (HDA) ice upon compression up to 1.8 GPa at 77 K and for the temperature-induced (77 -190 K ) u-HDA (unrelaxed HDA) → e-HDA (expanded HDA) → low-density amorphous (LDA )→1 c cascade of ice transformations near room pressure. There are many similarities in the elasticity behaviour of H2O ,D2O , and H2O-D2O solid solutions, including the softening of the shear elastic modulus as a precursor of SSA and the HDA →LDA transition. We have found significant isotopic effects during H/D substitution, including elastic softening of H2O -D2O solid solutions with respect to the isotopically pure ices in the case of the bulk moduli of ices 1c and 1h and for both bulk and shear elastic moduli of HDA ice at high pressures (>1 GPa ) . This softening is related to the configurational isotopic disorder in the solid solutions. At low pressures, the isotope concentration dependence of the elastic moduli of u-HDA ice changes remarkably and becomes monotonic with pronounced change of the bulk modulus (≈20 %) .

A Comparison of MODIS/VIIRS Cloud Masks over Ice-Bearing River: On Achieving Consistent Cloud Masking and Improved River Ice Mapping

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simon Kraatz

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The capability of frequently and accurately monitoring ice on rivers is important, since it may be possible to timely identify ice accumulations corresponding to ice jams. Ice jams are dam-like structures formed from arrested ice floes, and may cause rapid flooding. To inform on this potential hazard, the CREST River Ice Observing System (CRIOS produces ice cover maps based on MODIS and VIIRS overpass data at several locations, including the Susquehanna River. CRIOS uses the respective platform’s automatically produced cloud masks to discriminate ice/snow covered grid cells from clouds. However, since cloud masks are produced using each instrument’s data, and owing to differences in detector performance, it is quite possible that identical algorithms applied to even nearly identical instruments may produce substantially different cloud masks. Besides detector performance, cloud identification can be biased due to local (e.g., land cover, viewing geometry, and transient conditions (snow and ice. Snow/cloud confusions and large view angles can result in substantial overestimates of clouds and ice. This impacts algorithms, such as CRIOS, since false cloud cover precludes the determination of whether an otherwise reasonably cloud free grid consists of water or ice. Especially for applications aiming to frequently classify or monitor a location it is important to evaluate cloud masking, including false cloud detections. We present an assessment of three cloud masks via the parameter of effective revisit time. A 100 km stretch of up to 1.6 km wide river was examined with daily data sampled at 500 m resolution, examined over 317 days during winter. Results show that there are substantial differences between each of the cloud mask products, especially while the river bears ice. A contrast-based cloud screening approach was found to provide improved and consistent cloud and ice identification within the reach (95%–99% correlations, and 3%–7% mean

Petroleum activity in ice covered waters - development and operation phase. Focus of eventual consequential explanation; Petroleumsvirksomhet i isfylte farvann - utbyggings- og driftsfase. Maalfokusering for eventuell konsekvensutredning. Arbeidsdokument fra AKU/AEAM-seminar, Stavanger 4. - 6. desember 1995

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thomassen, J; Andresen, K H; Moe, K A

1996-06-01

This report from a seminar relates to the petroleum activities in the Barentshavet north. The focal point was to put on petroleum activities in ice covered waters covering the drilling and operation phase, to identify discharges from various technical solutions, and to classify possible research requirements when mapping the impacts of such components. In addition to this approach, the seminar also focused on other factors regarding drilling and production activities in ice covered waters. 3 refs., 13 figs., 25 tabs.

Human impacts on river ice regime in the Carpathian Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Takács, Katalin; Nagy, Balázs; Kern, Zoltán

2014-05-01

River ice is a very important component of the cryosphere, and is especially sensitive to climatic variability. Historical records of appearance or disappearance and timing of ice phenomena are useful indicators for past climatic variations (Williams, 1970). Long-term observations of river ice freeze-up and break-up dates are available for many rivers in the temperate or cold region to detect and analyze the effects of climate change on river ice regime. The ice regime of natural rivers is influenced by climatic, hydrological and morphological factors. Regular ice phenomena observation mostly dates back to the 19th century. During this long-term observation period, the human interventions affecting the hydrological and morphological factors have become more and more intensive (Beltaos and Prowse, 2009). The anthropogenic effects, such as river regulation, hydropower use or water pollution causes different changes in river ice regime (Ashton, 1986). To decrease the occurrence of floods and control the water discharge, nowadays most of the rivers are regulated. River regulation changes the morphological parameters of the river bed: the aim is to create solid and equable bed size and stream gradient to prevent river ice congestion. For the satisfaction of increasing water demands hydropower is also used. River damming results a condition like a lake upstream to the barrage; the flow velocity and the turbulence are low, so this might be favourable for river ice appearance and freeze-up (Starosolsky, 1990). Water pollution affects ice regime in two ways; certain water contaminants change the physical characteristics of the water, e.g. lessens the freezing point of the water. Moreover the thermal stress effect of industrial cooling water and communal wastewater is also important; in winter these water sources are usually warmer, than the water body of the river. These interventions result different changes in the characteristic features of river ice regime. Selected

Walrus areas of use in the Chukchi Sea during sparse sea ice cover

Science.gov (United States)

Jay, Chadwick V.; Fischbach, Anthony S.; Kochnev, Anatoly A.

2012-01-01

The Pacific walrus Odobenus rosmarus divergens feeds on benthic invertebrates on the continental shelf of the Chukchi and Bering Seas and rests on sea ice between foraging trips. With climate warming, ice-free periods in the Chukchi Sea have increased and are projected to increase further in frequency and duration. We radio-tracked walruses to estimate areas of walrus foraging and occupancy in the Chukchi Sea from June to November of 2008 to 2011, years when sea ice was sparse over the continental shelf in comparison to historical records. The earlier and more extensive sea ice retreat in June to September, and delayed freeze-up of sea ice in October to November, created conditions for walruses to arrive earlier and stay later in the Chukchi Sea than in the past. The lack of sea ice over the continental shelf from September to October caused walruses to forage in nearshore areas instead of offshore areas as in the past. Walruses did not frequent the deep waters of the Arctic Basin when sea ice retreated off the shelf. Walruses foraged in most areas they occupied, and areas of concentrated foraging generally corresponded to regions of high benthic biomass, such as in the northeastern (Hanna Shoal) and southwestern Chukchi Sea. A notable exception was the occurrence of concentrated foraging in a nearshore area of northwestern Alaska that is apparently depauperate in walrus prey. With increasing sea ice loss, it is likely that walruses will increase their use of coastal haul-outs and nearshore foraging areas, with consequences to the population that are yet to be understood.

Calcium carbonate as ikaite crystals in Antarctic sea ice

Science.gov (United States)

Dieckmann, Gerhard S.; Nehrke, Gernot; Papadimitriou, Stathys; Göttlicher, Jörg; Steininger, Ralph; Kennedy, Hilary; Wolf-Gladrow, Dieter; Thomas, David N.

2008-04-01

We report on the discovery of the mineral ikaite (CaCO3.6H2O) in sea-ice from the Southern Ocean. The precipitation of CaCO3 during the freezing of seawater has previously been predicted from thermodynamic modelling, indirect measurements, and has been documented in artificial sea ice during laboratory experiments but has not been reported for natural sea-ice. It is assumed that CaCO3 formation in sea ice may be important for a sea ice-driven carbon pump in ice-covered oceanic waters. Without direct evidence of CaCO3 precipitation in sea ice, its role in this and other processes has remained speculative. The discovery of CaCO3.6H2O crystals in natural sea ice provides the necessary evidence for the evaluation of previous assumptions and lays the foundation for further studies to help elucidate the role of ikaite in the carbon cycle of the seasonally sea ice-covered regions

Interactions between ice sheets, climate and the solid Earth

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Berg, J. van den

2007-01-01

The melting of ice sheets in response to increasing temperatures is an important contribution to present day sea level rise. To predict the amount of sea level rise and to assess its impact on populated coastal regions, an increased understanding of the physical processes governing ice sheets is

Under-Ice Phytoplankton Blooms Inhibited by Spring Convective Mixing in Refreezing Leads

Science.gov (United States)

Lowry, Kate E.; Pickart, Robert S.; Selz, Virginia; Mills, Matthew M.; Pacini, Astrid; Lewis, Kate M.; Joy-Warren, Hannah L.; Nobre, Carolina; van Dijken, Gert L.; Grondin, Pierre-Luc; Ferland, Joannie; Arrigo, Kevin R.

2018-01-01

Spring phytoplankton growth in polar marine ecosystems is limited by light availability beneath ice-covered waters, particularly early in the season prior to snowmelt and melt pond formation. Leads of open water increase light transmission to the ice-covered ocean and are sites of air-sea exchange. We explore the role of leads in controlling phytoplankton bloom dynamics within the sea ice zone of the Arctic Ocean. Data are presented from spring measurements in the Chukchi Sea during the Study of Under-ice Blooms In the Chukchi Ecosystem (SUBICE) program in May and June 2014. We observed that fully consolidated sea ice supported modest under-ice blooms, while waters beneath sea ice with leads had significantly lower phytoplankton biomass, despite high nutrient availability. Through an analysis of hydrographic and biological properties, we attribute this counterintuitive finding to springtime convective mixing in refreezing leads of open water. Our results demonstrate that waters beneath loosely consolidated sea ice (84-95% ice concentration) had weak stratification and were frequently mixed below the critical depth (the depth at which depth-integrated production balances depth-integrated respiration). These findings are supported by theoretical model calculations of under-ice light, primary production, and critical depth at varied lead fractions. The model demonstrates that under-ice blooms can form even beneath snow-covered sea ice in the absence of mixing but not in more deeply mixed waters beneath sea ice with refreezing leads. Future estimates of primary production should account for these phytoplankton dynamics in ice-covered waters.

Changes in the seasonality of Arctic sea ice and temperature

Science.gov (United States)

Bintanja, R.

2012-04-01

Observations show that the Arctic sea ice cover is currently declining as a result of climate warming. According to climate models, this retreat will continue and possibly accelerate in the near-future. However, the magnitude of this decline is not the same throughout the year. With temperatures near or above the freezing point, summertime Arctic sea ice will quickly diminish. However, at temperatures well below freezing, the sea ice cover during winter will exhibit a much weaker decline. In the future, the sea ice seasonal cycle will be no ice in summer, and thin one-year ice in winter. Hence, the seasonal cycle in sea ice cover will increase with ongoing climate warming. This in itself leads to an increased summer-winter contrast in surface air temperature, because changes in sea ice have a dominant influence on Arctic temperature and its seasonality. Currently, the annual amplitude in air temperature is decreasing, however, because winters warm faster than summer. With ongoing summer sea ice reductions there will come a time when the annual temperature amplitude will increase again because of the large seasonal changes in sea ice. This suggests that changes in the seasonal cycle in Arctic sea ice and temperature are closely, and intricately, connected. Future changes in Arctic seasonality (will) have an profound effect on flora, fauna, humans and economic activities.

Ice blasting device for washing pump

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hirose, Yasuo.

1992-01-01

In a nuclear power plant, when the inside of a pump casing such as a recycling pump is scrubbed, since operator's safety should be ensured, it requires a large-scaled operation. Then, a cover is attached to a flange of the pump casing, in which a driving portion is disposed passing through the cover vertically movably and rotatably, an arm is disposed bendably to the top end of the arm, and a blast nozzle is disposed to the top end of the arm for jetting ice particles, with a camera being disposed to the blast nozzle. The inside of the casing can be scrubbed safely and rapidly by an ice blast method by remote operation while monitoring the state of scrubbing for the inside of the casing by a camera. Further, since the flange of the pump casing for installing the ice blast device is covered by the cover, mists are not scattered to the outside. In addition, mists may be sucked and removed by an exhaustion duct. (N.H.)

Sea ice roughness: the key for predicting Arctic summer ice albedo

Science.gov (United States)

Landy, J.; Ehn, J. K.; Tsamados, M.; Stroeve, J.; Barber, D. G.

2017-12-01

Although melt ponds on Arctic sea ice evolve in stages, ice with smoother surface topography typically allows the pond water to spread over a wider area, reducing the ice-albedo and accelerating further melt. Building on this theory, we simulated the distribution of meltwater on a range of statistically-derived topographies to develop a quantitative relationship between premelt sea ice surface roughness and summer ice albedo. Our method, previously applied to ICESat observations of the end-of-winter sea ice roughness, could account for 85% of the variance in AVHRR observations of the summer ice-albedo [Landy et al., 2015]. Consequently, an Arctic-wide reduction in sea ice roughness over the ICESat operational period (from 2003 to 2008) explained a drop in ice-albedo that resulted in a 16% increase in solar heat input to the sea ice cover. Here we will review this work and present new research linking pre-melt sea ice surface roughness observations from Cryosat-2 to summer sea ice albedo over the past six years, examining the potential of winter roughness as a significant new source of sea ice predictability. We will further evaluate the possibility for high-resolution (kilometre-scale) forecasts of summer sea ice albedo from waveform-level Cryosat-2 roughness data in the landfast sea ice zone of the Canadian Arctic. Landy, J. C., J. K. Ehn, and D. G. Barber (2015), Albedo feedback enhanced by smoother Arctic sea ice, Geophys. Res. Lett., 42, 10,714-10,720, doi:10.1002/2015GL066712.

STABLE ISOTOPE GEOCHEMISTRY OF MASSIVE ICE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yurij K. Vasil’chuk

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The paper summarises stable-isotope research on massive ice in the Russian and North American Arctic, and includes the latest understanding of massive-ice formation. A new classification of massive-ice complexes is proposed, encompassing the range and variabilityof massive ice. It distinguishes two new categories of massive-ice complexes: homogeneousmassive-ice complexes have a similar structure, properties and genesis throughout, whereasheterogeneous massive-ice complexes vary spatially (in their structure and properties andgenetically within a locality and consist of two or more homogeneous massive-ice bodies.Analysis of pollen and spores in massive ice from Subarctic regions and from ice and snow cover of Arctic ice caps assists with interpretation of the origin of massive ice. Radiocarbon ages of massive ice and host sediments are considered together with isotope values of heavy oxygen and deuterium from massive ice plotted at a uniform scale in order to assist interpretation and correlation of the ice.

A natural ice boom

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hopper, H.R. [Manitoba Hydro, Winnipeg, MB (Canada)

1998-10-01

Planning for ice jams and ice movements are critical on the Nelson River in northern Manitoba in designing cofferdams. Experience on the St. Lawrence River demonstrated the possibility of exercising some control over ice action by judicious placement of log booms or ice control structures. The success of experiments with man-made controls led to field tests in which an ice sheet of sufficient magnitude and competence was introduced into the open water stream of the Nelson River. The ice sheet was subsequently jammed in a narrow channel, thereby creating a natural ice bridge or boom upstream of a proposed hydro development. Under favourable conditions, this boom would initiate the progression of the ice cover from its location upstream, cutting off the downstream reach from the ice producing potential of the upstream reach. Although ice would still be generated downstream, the length of the reach between the ice boom and the development site would be short enough that ice jamming at the development site would never occur. Although problems in blasting prevented the introduction of a competent ice sheet into the main stream of the river at the location chosen, sufficient confidence in the theory was gained to warrant further consideration. 4 refs., 1 tab., 10 figs.

Airborne Spectral Measurements of Surface-Atmosphere Anisotropy for Arctic Sea Ice and Tundra

Science.gov (United States)

Arnold, G. Thomas; Tsay, Si-Chee; King, Michael D.; Li, Jason Y.; Soulen, Peter F.

1999-01-01

Angular distributions of spectral reflectance for four common arctic surfaces: snow-covered sea ice, melt-season sea ice, snow-covered tundra, and tundra shortly after snowmelt were measured using an aircraft based, high angular resolution (1-degree) multispectral radiometer. Results indicate bidirectional reflectance is higher for snow-covered sea ice than melt-season sea ice at all wavelengths between 0.47 and 2.3 pm, with the difference increasing with wavelength. Bidirectional reflectance of snow-covered tundra is higher than for snow-free tundra for measurements less than 1.64 pm, with the difference decreasing with wavelength. Bidirectional reflectance patterns of all measured surfaces show maximum reflectance in the forward scattering direction of the principal plane, with identifiable specular reflection for the melt-season sea ice and snow-free tundra cases. The snow-free tundra had the most significant backscatter, and the melt-season sea ice the least. For sea ice, bidirectional reflectance changes due to snowmelt were more significant than differences among the different types of melt-season sea ice. Also the spectral-hemispherical (plane) albedo of each measured arctic surface was computed. Comparing measured nadir reflectance to albedo for sea ice and snow-covered tundra shows albedo underestimated 5-40%, with the largest bias at wavelengths beyond 1 pm. For snow-free tundra, nadir reflectance underestimates plane albedo by about 30-50%.

On the Arctic Ocean ice thickness response to changes in the external forcing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stranne, Christian; Bjoerk, Goeran [University of Gothenburg, Department of Earth Sciences, Box 460, Goeteborg (Sweden)

2012-12-15

Submarine and satellite observations show that the Arctic Ocean ice cover has undergone a large thickness reduction and a decrease in the areal extent during the last decades. Here the response of the Arctic Ocean ice cover to changes in the poleward atmospheric energy transport, F{sub wall}, is investigated using coupled atmosphere-ice-ocean column models. Two models with highly different complexity are used in order to illustrate the importance of different internal processes and the results highlight the dramatic effects of the negative ice thickness - ice volume export feedback and the positive surface albedo feedback. The steady state ice thickness as a function of F{sub wall} is determined for various model setups and defines what we call ice thickness response curves. When a variable surface albedo and snow precipitation is included, a complex response curve appears with two distinct regimes: a perennial ice cover regime with a fairly linear response and a less responsive seasonal ice cover regime. The two regimes are separated by a steep transition associated with surface albedo feedback. The associated hysteresis is however small, indicating that the Arctic climate system does not have an irreversible tipping point behaviour related to the surface albedo feedback. The results are discussed in the context of the recent reduction of the Arctic sea ice cover. A new mechanism related to regional and temporal variations of the ice divergence within the Arctic Ocean is presented as an explanation for the observed regional variation of the ice thickness reduction. Our results further suggest that the recent reduction in areal ice extent and loss of multiyear ice is related to the albedo dependent transition between seasonal and perennial ice i.e. large areas of the Arctic Ocean that has previously been dominated by multiyear ice might have been pushed below a critical mean ice thickness, corresponding to the above mentioned transition, and into a state dominated

Snow, ice and solar radiation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kuipers Munneke, P.

2009-01-01

The snow-covered ice sheets of Antarctica and Greenland reflect most of the incoming solar radiation. The reflectivity, commonly called the albedo, of snow on these ice sheets has been observed to vary in space and time. In this thesis, temporal and spatial changes in snow albedo is found to depend

How reversible is sea ice loss?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. K. Ridley

2012-02-01

Full Text Available It is well accepted that increasing atmospheric CO₂ results in global warming, leading to a decline in polar sea ice area. Here, the specific question of whether there is a tipping point in the sea ice cover is investigated. The global climate model HadCM3 is used to map the trajectory of sea ice area under idealised scenarios. The atmospheric CO₂ is first ramped up to four times pre-industrial levels (4 × CO₂, then ramped down to pre-industrial levels. We also examine the impact of stabilising climate at 4 × CO₂ prior to ramping CO₂ down to pre-industrial levels. Against global mean temperature, Arctic sea ice area is reversible, while the Antarctic sea ice shows some asymmetric behaviour – its rate of change slower, with falling temperatures, than its rate of change with rising temperatures. However, we show that the asymmetric behaviour is driven by hemispherical differences in temperature change between transient and stabilisation periods. We find no irreversible behaviour in the sea ice cover.

Meltwater storage in low-density near-surface bare ice in the Greenland ice sheet ablation zone

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, Matthew G.; Smith, Laurence C.; Rennermalm, Asa K.; Miège, Clément; Pitcher, Lincoln H.; Ryan, Jonathan C.; Yang, Kang; Cooley, Sarah W.

2018-03-01

We document the density and hydrologic properties of bare, ablating ice in a mid-elevation (1215 m a.s.l.) supraglacial internally drained catchment in the Kangerlussuaq sector of the western Greenland ice sheet. We find low-density (0.43-0.91 g cm-3, μ = 0.69 g cm-3) ice to at least 1.1 m depth below the ice sheet surface. This near-surface, low-density ice consists of alternating layers of water-saturated, porous ice and clear solid ice lenses, overlain by a thin (sheet ablation zone surface. A conservative estimate for the ˜ 63 km2 supraglacial catchment yields 0.009-0.012 km3 of liquid meltwater storage in near-surface, porous ice. Further work is required to determine if these findings are representative of broader areas of the Greenland ice sheet ablation zone, and to assess the implications for sub-seasonal mass balance processes, surface lowering observations from airborne and satellite altimetry, and supraglacial runoff processes.

Ice formation and growth shape bacterial community structure in Baltic Sea drift ice.

Science.gov (United States)

Eronen-Rasimus, Eeva; Lyra, Christina; Rintala, Janne-Markus; Jürgens, Klaus; Ikonen, Vilma; Kaartokallio, Hermanni

2015-02-01

Drift ice, open water and under-ice water bacterial communities covering several developmental stages from open water to thick ice were studied in the northern Baltic Sea. The bacterial communities were assessed with 16S rRNA gene terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism and cloning, together with bacterial abundance and production measurements. In the early stages, open water and pancake ice were dominated by Alphaproteobacteria and Actinobacteria, which are common bacterial groups in Baltic Sea wintertime surface waters. The pancake ice bacterial communities were similar to the open-water communities, suggesting that the parent water determines the sea-ice bacterial community in the early stages of sea-ice formation. In consolidated young and thick ice, the bacterial communities were significantly different from water bacterial communities as well as from each other, indicating community development in Baltic Sea drift ice along with ice-type changes. The thick ice was dominated by typical sea-ice genera from classes Flavobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria, similar to those in polar sea-ice bacterial communities. Since the thick ice bacterial community was remarkably different from that of the parent seawater, results indicate that thick ice bacterial communities were recruited from the rarer members of the seawater bacterial community. © FEMS 2014. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Solid organic residues produced by irradiation of hydrocarbon-containing H2O and H2O/NH3 ices - Infrared spectroscopy and astronomical implications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khare, B.N.; Thompson, W.R.; Murray, B.G.J.P.T.; Chyba, C.F.; Sagan, C.

1989-01-01

Plasma-discharge irradiations were conducted for the methane clathrate expected in outer solar system satellites and cometary nuclei; also irradiated were ices prepared from other combinations of H 2 O with CH 4 , C 2 H 6 , or C 2 H 2 . Upon evaporation of the yellowish-to-tan irradiated ices, it is found that a colored solid film adheres to the walls of the reaction vessel at room temperature. These organic films are found to exhibit IR band identifiable with alkane, aldehide, alcohol, and perhaps alkene, as well as substituted aromatic functional groups. These spectra are compared with previous studies of UV- or photon-irradiated nonclathrated hydrocarbon-containing ices. 73 refs

Sea ice and pollution-modulated changes in Greenland ice core methanesulfonate and bromine

Science.gov (United States)

Maselli, Olivia J.; Chellman, Nathan J.; Grieman, Mackenzie; Layman, Lawrence; McConnell, Joseph R.; Pasteris, Daniel; Rhodes, Rachael H.; Saltzman, Eric; Sigl, Michael

2017-01-01

Reconstruction of past changes in Arctic sea ice extent may be critical for understanding its future evolution. Methanesulfonate (MSA) and bromine concentrations preserved in ice cores have both been proposed as indicators of past sea ice conditions. In this study, two ice cores from central and north-eastern Greenland were analysed at sub-annual resolution for MSA (CH3SO3H) and bromine, covering the time period 1750-2010. We examine correlations between ice core MSA and the HadISST1 ICE sea ice dataset and consult back trajectories to infer the likely source regions. A strong correlation between the low-frequency MSA and bromine records during pre-industrial times indicates that both chemical species are likely linked to processes occurring on or near sea ice in the same source regions. The positive correlation between ice core MSA and bromine persists until the mid-20th century, when the acidity of Greenland ice begins to increase markedly due to increased fossil fuel emissions. After that time, MSA levels decrease as a result of declining sea ice extent but bromine levels increase. We consider several possible explanations and ultimately suggest that increased acidity, specifically nitric acid, of snow on sea ice stimulates the release of reactive Br from sea ice, resulting in increased transport and deposition on the Greenland ice sheet.

A TENTATIVE IDENTIFICATION OF HCN ICE ON TRITON

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burgdorf, M.; Cruikshank, D. P.; Dalle Ore, C. M.; Sekiguchi, T.; Nakamura, R.; Orton, G.; Quirico, E.; Schmitt, B.

2010-01-01

Spectra of Triton between 1.8 and 5.5 μm, obtained in 2007 May and 2009 November, have been analyzed to determine the global surface composition. The spectra were acquired with the grism and the prism of the Infrared Camera on board AKARI with spectral resolutions of 135 and 22, respectively. The data from 4 to 5 μm are shown in this Letter and compared to the spectra of N 2 , CO, and CO 2 , i.e., all the known ices on this moon that have distinct bands in this previously unexplored wavelength range. We report the detection of a 4σ absorption band at 4.76 μm (2101 cm -1 ), which we attribute tentatively to the presence of solid HCN. This is the sixth ice to be identified on Triton and an expected component of its surface because it is a precipitating photochemical product of Triton's thin N 2 and CH 4 atmosphere. It is also formed directly by irradiation of mixtures of N 2 and CH 4 ices. Here we consider only pure HCN, although it might be dissolved in N 2 on the surface of Triton because of the evaporation and recondensation of N 2 over its seasonal cycle. The AKARI spectrum of Triton also covers the wavelengths of the fundamental (1-0) band of β-phase N 2 ice (4.296 μm, 2328 cm -1 ), which has never been detected in an astronomical body before, and whose presence is consistent with the overtone (2-0) band previously reported. Fundamental bands of CO and CO 2 ices are also present.

Impact of sea ice cover changes on the Northern Hemisphere atmospheric winter circulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Handorf

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The response of the Arctic atmosphere to low and high sea ice concentration phases based on European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF Re-Analysis Interim (ERA-Interim atmospheric data and Hadley Centre's sea ice dataset (HadISST1 from 1989 until 2010 has been studied. Time slices of winter atmospheric circulation with high (1990–2000 and low (2001–2010 sea ice concentration in the preceding August/September have been analysed with respect to tropospheric interactions between planetary and baroclinic waves. It is shown that a changed sea ice concentration over the Arctic Ocean impacts differently the development of synoptic and planetary atmospheric circulation systems. During the low ice phase, stronger heat release to the atmosphere over the Arctic Ocean reduces the atmospheric vertical static stability. This leads to an earlier onset of baroclinic instability that further modulates the non-linear interactions between baroclinic wave energy fluxes on time scales of 2.5–6 d and planetary scales of 10–90 d. Our analysis suggests that Arctic sea ice concentration changes exert a remote impact on the large-scale atmospheric circulation during winter, exhibiting a barotropic structure with similar patterns of pressure anomalies at the surface and in the mid-troposphere. These are connected to pronounced planetary wave train changes notably over the North Pacific.

Sea-ice thickness from field measurements in the northwestern Barents Sea

Science.gov (United States)

King, Jennifer; Spreen, Gunnar; Gerland, Sebastian; Haas, Christian; Hendricks, Stefan; Kaleschke, Lars; Wang, Caixin

2017-02-01

The Barents Sea is one of the fastest changing regions of the Arctic, and has experienced the strongest decline in winter-time sea-ice area in the Arctic, at -23±4% decade-1. Sea-ice thickness in the Barents Sea is not well studied. We present two previously unpublished helicopter-borne electromagnetic (HEM) ice thickness measurements from the northwestern Barents Sea acquired in March 2003 and 2014. The HEM data are compared to ice thickness calculated from ice draft measured by ULS deployed between 1994 and 1996. These data show that ice thickness varies greatly from year to year; influenced by the thermodynamic and dynamic processes that govern local formation vs long-range advection. In a year with a large inflow of sea-ice from the Arctic Basin, the Barents Sea ice cover is dominated by thick multiyear ice; as was the case in 2003 and 1995. In a year with an ice cover that was mainly grown in situ, the ice will be thin and mechanically unstable; as was the case in 2014. The HEM data allow us to explore the spatial and temporal variability in ice thickness. In 2003 the dominant ice class was more than 2 years old; and modal sea-ice thickness varied regionally from 0.6 to 1.4 m, with the thinner ice being either first-year ice, or multiyear ice which had come into contact with warm Atlantic water. In 2014 the ice cover was predominantly locally grown ice less than 1 month old (regional modes of 0.5-0.8 m). These two situations represent two extremes of a range of possible ice thickness distributions that can present very different conditions for shipping traffic; or have a different impact on heat transport from ocean to atmosphere.

The Antarctic Ice Sheet, Sea Ice, and the Ozone Hole: Satellite Observations of how they are Changing

Science.gov (United States)

Parkinson, Claire L.

2012-01-01

Antarctica is the Earth's coldest and highest continent and has major impacts on the climate and life of the south polar vicinity. It is covered almost entirely by the Earth's largest ice sheet by far, with a volume of ice so great that if all the Antarctic ice were to go into the ocean (as ice or liquid water), this would produce a global sea level rise of about 60 meters (197 feet). The continent is surrounded by sea ice that in the wintertime is even more expansive than the continent itself and in the summertime reduces to only about a sixth of its wintertime extent. Like the continent, the expansive sea ice cover has major impacts, reflecting the sun's radiation back to space, blocking exchanges between the ocean and the atmosphere, and providing a platform for some animal species while impeding other species. Far above the continent, the Antarctic ozone hole is a major atmospheric phenomenon recognized as human-caused and potentially quite serious to many different life forms. Satellites are providing us with remarkable information about the ice sheet, the sea ice, and the ozone hole. Satellite visible and radar imagery are providing views of the large scale structure of the ice sheet never seen before; satellite laser altimetry has produced detailed maps of the topography of the ice sheet; and an innovative gravity-measuring two-part satellite has allowed mapping of regions of mass loss and mass gain on the ice sheet. The surrounding sea ice cover has a satellite record that goes back to the 1970s, allowing trend studies that show a decreasing sea ice presence in the region of the Bellingshausen and Amundsen seas, to the west of the prominent Antarctic Peninsula, but increasing sea ice presence around much of the rest of the continent. Overall, sea ice extent around Antarctica has increased at an average rate of about 17,000 square kilometers per year since the late 1970s, as determined from satellite microwave data that can be collected under both light and

Air-sea interactions in the marginal ice zone

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seth Zippel

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract The importance of waves in the Arctic Ocean has increased with the significant retreat of the seasonal sea-ice extent. Here, we use wind, wave, turbulence, and ice measurements to evaluate the response of the ocean surface to a given wind stress within the marginal ice zone, with a focus on the local wind input to waves and subsequent ocean surface turbulence. Observations are from the Beaufort Sea in the summer and early fall of 2014, with fractional ice cover of up to 50%. Observations showed strong damping and scattering of short waves, which, in turn, decreased the wind energy input to waves. Near-surface turbulent dissipation rates were also greatly reduced in partial ice cover. The reductions in waves and turbulence were balanced, suggesting that a wind-wave equilibrium is maintained in the marginal ice zone, though at levels much less than in open water. These results suggest that air-sea interactions are suppressed in the marginal ice zone relative to open ocean conditions at a given wind forcing, and this suppression may act as a feedback mechanism in expanding a persistent marginal ice zone throughout the Arctic.

Future Antarctic Bed Topography and Its Implications for Ice Sheet Dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Adhikari, Surendra; Ivins, Erik R.; Larour, Eric Y.; Seroussi, Helene L.; Morlighem, Mathieu; Nowicki, S.

2014-01-01

The Antarctic bedrock is evolving as the solid Earth responds to the past and ongoing evolution of the ice sheet. A recently improved ice loading history suggests that the Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS) has generally been losing its mass since the Last Glacial Maximum. In a sustained warming climate, the AIS is predicted to retreat at a greater pace, primarily via melting beneath the ice shelves.We employ the glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) capability of the Ice Sheet System Model (ISSM) to combine these past and future ice loadings and provide the new solid Earth computations for the AIS.We find that past loading is relatively less important than future loading for the evolution of the future bed topography. Our computations predict that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) may uplift by a few meters and a few tens of meters at years AD 2100 and 2500, respectively, and that the East Antarctic Ice Sheet is likely to remain unchanged or subside minimally except around the Amery Ice Shelf. The Amundsen Sea Sector in particular is predicted to rise at the greatest rate; one hundred years of ice evolution in this region, for example, predicts that the coastline of Pine Island Bay will approach roughly 45mmyr-1 in viscoelastic vertical motion. Of particular importance, we systematically demonstrate that the effect of a pervasive and large GIA uplift in the WAIS is generally associated with the flattening of reverse bed slope, reduction of local sea depth, and thus the extension of grounding line (GL) towards the continental shelf. Using the 3-D higher-order ice flow capability of ISSM, such a migration of GL is shown to inhibit the ice flow. This negative feedback between the ice sheet and the solid Earth may promote stability in marine portions of the ice sheet in the future.

Future Antarctic bed topography and its implications for ice sheet dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Adhikari, S.; Ivins, E. R.; Larour, E.; Seroussi, H.; Morlighem, M.; Nowicki, S.

2014-06-01

The Antarctic bedrock is evolving as the solid Earth responds to the past and ongoing evolution of the ice sheet. A recently improved ice loading history suggests that the Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS) has generally been losing its mass since the Last Glacial Maximum. In a sustained warming climate, the AIS is predicted to retreat at a greater pace, primarily via melting beneath the ice shelves. We employ the glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) capability of the Ice Sheet System Model (ISSM) to combine these past and future ice loadings and provide the new solid Earth computations for the AIS. We find that past loading is relatively less important than future loading for the evolution of the future bed topography. Our computations predict that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) may uplift by a few meters and a few tens of meters at years AD 2100 and 2500, respectively, and that the East Antarctic Ice Sheet is likely to remain unchanged or subside minimally except around the Amery Ice Shelf. The Amundsen Sea Sector in particular is predicted to rise at the greatest rate; one hundred years of ice evolution in this region, for example, predicts that the coastline of Pine Island Bay will approach roughly 45 mm yr-1 in viscoelastic vertical motion. Of particular importance, we systematically demonstrate that the effect of a pervasive and large GIA uplift in the WAIS is generally associated with the flattening of reverse bed slope, reduction of local sea depth, and thus the extension of grounding line (GL) towards the continental shelf. Using the 3-D higher-order ice flow capability of ISSM, such a migration of GL is shown to inhibit the ice flow. This negative feedback between the ice sheet and the solid Earth may promote stability in marine portions of the ice sheet in the future.

Proceedings of the 19. IAHR international symposium on ice : using new technology to understand water-ice interaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jasek, M.; Andrishak, R.; Siddiqui, A.

2008-01-01

This conference provided a venue for scientists, engineers and researchers an opportunity to expand their knowledge of water-ice interactions with reference to water resources, river and coastal hydraulics, risk analysis, energy and the environment. The the theme of new technology falls into 3 basic groups, notably measurement and instrumentation; remote sensing; and numerical simulation. The thermal regime of rivers was discussed along with ice mechanics, ice hydraulics, ice structures and modelling ice phenomena. The titles of the sessions were: river ice, glaciers and climate change; freeze-up processes on rivers and oceans; river ice-structure interactions; numerical simulations in ice engineering; river-ice break-up and ice jam formation; ice measurement; Grasse River ice evaluation; evaluation of structural ice control alternatives; remote sensing; hydropower and dam decommissioning; mechanical behaviour of river ice, ice covered flow and thermal modelling; mathematical and computer model formulations for ice friction and sea ice; ice bergs and ice navigation; ice crushing processes; sea ice and shore/structure interactions; ice properties, testing and physical modelling; ice actions on compliant structures; oil spills in ice; desalination, ice thickness and climate change; and, sea ice ridges. The conference featured 123 presentations, of which 20 have been catalogued separately for inclusion in this database. refs., tabs., figs

Inception of the Laurentide Ice Sheet using asynchronous coupling of a regional atmospheric model and an ice model

Science.gov (United States)

Birch, L.; Cronin, T.; Tziperman, E.

2017-12-01

The climate over the past 0.8 million years has been dominated by ice ages. Ice sheets have grown about every 100 kyrs, starting from warm interglacials, until they spanned continents. State-of-the-art global climate models (GCMs) have difficulty simulating glacial inception, or the transition of Earth's climate from an interglacial to a glacial state. It has been suggested that this failure may be related to their poorly resolved local mountain topography, due to their coarse spatial resolution. We examine this idea as well as the possible role of ice flow dynamics missing in GCMs. We investigate the growth of the Laurentide Ice Sheet at 115 kya by focusing on the mountain glaciers of Canada's Baffin Island, where geologic evidence indicates the last inception occurred. We use the Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF) in a regional, cloud-resolving configuration with resolved mountain terrain to explore how quickly Baffin Island could become glaciated with the favorable yet realizable conditions of 115 kya insolation, cool summers, and wet winters. Using the model-derived mountain glacier mass balance, we force an ice sheet model based on the shallow-ice approximation, capturing the ice flow that may be critical to the spread of ice sheets away from mountain ice caps. The ice sheet model calculates the surface area newly covered by ice and the change in the ice surface elevation, which we then use to run WRF again. Through this type of iterated asynchronous coupling, we investigate how the regional climate responds to both larger areas of ice cover and changes in ice surface elevation. In addition, we use the NOAH-MP Land model to characterize the importance of land processes, like refreezing. We find that initial ice growth on the Penny Ice Cap causes regional cooling that increases the accumulation on the Barnes Ice Cap. We investigate how ice and topography changes on Baffin Island may impact both the regional climate and the large-scale circulation.

Global Lake and River Ice Phenology Database

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Global Lake and River Ice Phenology Database contains freeze and thaw/breakup dates as well as other descriptive ice cover data for 865 lakes and rivers in the...

Principles of Vessel Route Planning in Ice on the Northern Sea Route

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tadeusz Pastusiak

2016-12-01

Full Text Available A complex of ice cover characteristics and the season of the year were considered in relation to vessel route planning in ice-covered areas on the NSR. The criteria for navigation in ice - both year-round and seasonal were analyzed. The analysis of the experts knowledge, dissipated in the literature, allowed to identify some rules of route planning in ice-covered areas. The most important processes from the navigation point of view are the development and disintegration of ice, the formation and disintegration of fast ice and behavior of the ice massifs and polynyas. The optimal route is selected on basis of available analysis and forecast maps of ice conditions and ice class, draught and seaworthiness of the vessel. The boundary of the ice indicates areas accessible to vessels without ice class. Areas with a concentration of ice from 0 to 6/10 are used for navigation of vessels of different ice classes. Areas of concentration of ice from 7/10 up are eligible for navigation for icebreakers and vessels with a high ice class with the assistance of icebreakers. These rules were collected in the decision tree. Following such developed decision-making model the master of the vessel may take decision independently by accepting grading criteria of priorities resulting from his knowledge, experience and the circumstances of navigation. Formalized form of decision making model reduces risk of the "human factor" in the decision and thereby help improve the safety of maritime transport.

ICESat Observations of Arctic Sea Ice: A First Look

Science.gov (United States)

Kwok, Ron; Zwally, H. Jay; Yi, Donghui

2004-01-01

Analysis of near-coincident ICESat and RADARSAT imagery shows that the retrieved elevations from the laser altimeter are sensitive to new openings (containing thin ice or open water) in the sea ice cover as well as to surface relief of old and first-year ice. The precision of the elevation estimates, measured over relatively flat sea ice, is approx. 2 cm. Using the thickness of thin-ice in recent openings to estimate sea level references, we obtain the sea-ice freeboard along the altimeter tracks. This step is necessitated by the large uncertainties in the sea surface topography compared to that required for accurate determination of freeboard. Unknown snow depth introduces the largest uncertainty in the conversion of freeboard to ice thickness. Surface roughness is also derived, for the first time, from the variability of successive elevation estimates along the altimeter track. Overall, these ICESat measurements provide an unprecedented view of the Arctic Ocean ice cover at length scales at and above the spatial dimension of the altimeter footprint of approx. 70 m.

Triple Isotope Water Measurements of Lake Untersee Ice using Off-Axis ICOS

Science.gov (United States)

Berman, E. S.; Huang, Y. W.; Andersen, D. T.; Gupta, M.; McKay, C. P.

2015-12-01

Lake Untersee (71.348°S, 13.458°E) is the largest surface freshwater lake in the interior of the Gruber Mountains of central Queen Maud Land in East Antarctica. The lake is permanently covered with ice, is partly bounded by glacier ice and has a mean annual air temperature of -10°C. In contrast to other Antarctic lakes the dominating physical process controlling ice-cover dynamics is low summer temperatures and high wind speeds resulting in sublimation rather than melting as the main mass-loss process. The ice-cover of the lake is composed of lake-water ice formed during freeze-up and rafted glacial ice derived from the Anuchin Glacier. The mix of these two fractions impacts the energy balance of the lake, which directly affects ice-cover thickness. Ice-cover is important if one is to understand the physical, chemical, and biological linkages within these unique, physically driven ecosystems. We have analyzed δ2H, δ18O, and δ17O from samples of lake and glacier ice collected at Lake Untersee in Dec 2014. Using these data we seek to answer two specific questions: Are we able to determine the origin and history of the lake ice, discriminating between rafted glacial ice and lake water? Can isotopic gradients in the surface ice indicate the ablation (sublimation) rate of the surface ice? The triple isotope water analyzer developed by Los Gatos Research (LGR 912-0032) uses LGR's patented Off-Axis ICOS (Integrated Cavity Output Spectroscopy) technology and incorporates proprietary internal thermal control for high sensitivity and optimal instrument stability. This analyzer measures δ2H, δ18O, and δ17O from water, as well as the calculated d-excess and 17O-excess. The laboratory precision in high performance mode for both δ17O and δ18O is 0.03 ‰, and for δ2H is 0.2 ‰. Methodology and isotope data from Lake Untersee samples are presented. Figure: Ice samples were collected across Lake Untersee from both glacial and lake ice regions for this study.

Optical properties of melting first-year Arctic sea ice

Science.gov (United States)

Light, Bonnie; Perovich, Donald K.; Webster, Melinda A.; Polashenski, Christopher; Dadic, Ruzica

2015-11-01

The albedo and transmittance of melting, first-year Arctic sea ice were measured during two cruises of the Impacts of Climate on the Eco-Systems and Chemistry of the Arctic Pacific Environment (ICESCAPE) project during the summers of 2010 and 2011. Spectral measurements were made for both bare and ponded ice types at a total of 19 ice stations in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. These data, along with irradiance profiles taken within boreholes, laboratory measurements of the optical properties of core samples, ice physical property observations, and radiative transfer model simulations are employed to describe representative optical properties for melting first-year Arctic sea ice. Ponded ice was found to transmit roughly 4.4 times more total energy into the ocean, relative to nearby bare ice. The ubiquitous surface-scattering layer and drained layer present on bare, melting sea ice are responsible for its relatively high albedo and relatively low transmittance. Light transmittance through ponded ice depends on the physical thickness of the ice and the magnitude of the scattering coefficient in the ice interior. Bare ice reflects nearly three-quarters of the incident sunlight, enhancing its resiliency to absorption by solar insolation. In contrast, ponded ice absorbs or transmits to the ocean more than three-quarters of the incident sunlight. Characterization of the heat balance of a summertime ice cover is largely dictated by its pond coverage, and light transmittance through ponded ice shows strong contrast between first-year and multiyear Arctic ice covers.

Numerical modelling of thermodynamics and dynamics of sea ice in the Baltic Sea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Herman

2011-04-01

Full Text Available In this paper, a numerical dynamic-thermo-dynamic sea-ice model for the Baltic Sea is used to analyze the variability of ice conditions in three winter seasons. The modelling results are validated with station (water temperature and satellite data (ice concentration as well as by qualitative comparisons with the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute ice charts. Analysis of the results addresses two major questions. One concerns effects of meteorological forcing on the spatio-temporal distribution of ice concentration in the Baltic. Patterns of correlations between air temperature, wind speed, and ice-covered area are demonstrated to be different in larger, more open sub-basins (e.g., the Bothnian Sea than in the smaller ones (e.g., the Bothnian Bay. Whereas the correlations with the air temperature are positive in both cases, the influence of wind is pronounced only in large basins, leading to increase/decrease of areas with small/large ice concentrations, respectively. The other question concerns the role of ice dynamics in the evolution of the ice cover. By means of simulations with the dynamic model turned on and off, the ice dynamics is shown to play a crucial role in interactions between the ice and the upper layers of the water column, especially during periods with highly varying wind speeds and directions. In particular, due to the fragmentation of the ice cover and the modified surface fluxes, the ice dynamics influences the rate of change of the total ice volume, in some cases by as much as 1 km³ per day. As opposed to most other numerical studies on the sea-ice in the Baltic Sea, this work concentrates on the short-term variability of the ice cover and its response to the synoptic-scale forcing.

On the nature of the sea ice albedo feedback in simple models.

Science.gov (United States)

Moon, W; Wettlaufer, J S

2014-08-01

We examine the nature of the ice-albedo feedback in a long-standing approach used in the dynamic-thermodynamic modeling of sea ice. The central issue examined is how the evolution of the ice area is treated when modeling a partial ice cover using a two-category-thickness scheme; thin sea ice and open water in one category and "thick" sea ice in the second. The problem with the scheme is that the area evolution is handled in a manner that violates the basic rules of calculus, which leads to a neglected area evolution term that is equivalent to neglecting a leading-order latent heat flux. We demonstrate the consequences by constructing energy balance models with a fractional ice cover and studying them under the influence of increased radiative forcing. It is shown that the neglected flux is particularly important in a decaying ice cover approaching the transitions to seasonal or ice-free conditions. Clearly, a mishandling of the evolution of the ice area has leading-order effects on the ice-albedo feedback. Accordingly, it may be of considerable importance to reexamine the relevant climate model schemes and to begin the process of converting them to fully resolve the sea ice thickness distribution in a manner such as remapping, which does not in principle suffer from the pathology we describe.

Methane excess in Arctic surface water-triggered by sea ice formation and melting.

Science.gov (United States)

Damm, E; Rudels, B; Schauer, U; Mau, S; Dieckmann, G

2015-11-10

Arctic amplification of global warming has led to increased summer sea ice retreat, which influences gas exchange between the Arctic Ocean and the atmosphere where sea ice previously acted as a physical barrier. Indeed, recently observed enhanced atmospheric methane concentrations in Arctic regions with fractional sea-ice cover point to unexpected feedbacks in cycling of methane. We report on methane excess in sea ice-influenced water masses in the interior Arctic Ocean and provide evidence that sea ice is a potential source. We show that methane release from sea ice into the ocean occurs via brine drainage during freezing and melting i.e. in winter and spring. In summer under a fractional sea ice cover, reduced turbulence restricts gas transfer, then seawater acts as buffer in which methane remains entrained. However, in autumn and winter surface convection initiates pronounced efflux of methane from the ice covered ocean to the atmosphere. Our results demonstrate that sea ice-sourced methane cycles seasonally between sea ice, sea-ice-influenced seawater and the atmosphere, while the deeper ocean remains decoupled. Freshening due to summer sea ice retreat will enhance this decoupling, which restricts the capacity of the deeper Arctic Ocean to act as a sink for this greenhouse gas.

Atmospheric Icing on Sea Structures,

Science.gov (United States)

1984-04-01

results. ESTIMATION OF ICING INTENSITY Freezing process When supercooled water drops fall or move with wind, hit a structure, and freeze, the...a collision with another drop- let, with the ground, or with a structure. When a supercooled droplet hits a solid obstacle, it spreads and turns to...accretion is likely. The meteorological conditions that prevail during ship icing have been studied widely (Shektman 1968, Tabata 1968, Borisenkov and

Production and Evaluation of Ice Cream from Nigerian Tiger-Nut ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Ice cream was prepared from water-soluble extracts of the yellow variety of Nigerian tiger-nut. A modified standard method was used for the production of the tiger-nut milk ice cream. The resulting ice cream had pH of 7.10, 35% Brix, specific gravity of 1.0888 and total solids of 45.67%. The proximate composition of the ice ...

Southern Ocean CO2 sink: the contribution of the sea ice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Delille, B.; Vancoppenolle, Martin; Geilfus, Nicolas-Xavier

2014-01-01

at the air-sea ice interface. The sea ice changes from a transient source to a sink for atmospheric CO2. We upscale these observations to the whole Antarctic sea ice cover using the NEMO-LIM3 large-scale sea ice-ocean and provide first esti- mates of spring and summer CO2 uptake from the atmosphere...... by Antarctic sea ice. Over the spring- summer period, the Antarctic sea ice cover is a net sink of atmospheric CO2 of 0.029 Pg C, about 58% of the estimated annual uptake from the Southern Ocean. Sea ice then contributes significantly to the sink of CO2 of the Southern Ocean....... undersaturation while the underlying oceanic waters remains slightly oversaturated. The decrease from winter to summer of pCO2 in the brines is driven by dilution with melting ice, dissolution of carbonate crystals, and net primary production. As the ice warms, its permeability increases, allowing CO2 transfer...

Spatial Feature Reconstruction of Cloud-Covered Areas in Daily MODIS Composites

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephan Paul

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The opacity of clouds is the main problem for optical and thermal space-borne sensors, like the Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS. Especially during polar nighttime, the low thermal contrast between clouds and the underlying snow/ice results in deficiencies of the MODIS cloud mask and affected products. There are different approaches to retrieve information about frequently cloud-covered areas, which often operate with large amounts of days aggregated into single composites for a long period of time. These approaches are well suited for static-nature, slow changing surface features (e.g., fast-ice extent. However, this is not applicable to fast-changing features, like sea-ice polynyas. Therefore, we developed a spatial feature reconstruction to derive information for cloud-covered sea-ice areas based on the surrounding days weighted directly proportional with their temporal proximity to the initial day of interest. Its performance is tested based on manually-screened and artificially cloud-covered case studies of MODIS-derived polynya area data for the polynya in the Brunt Ice Shelf region of Antarctica. On average, we are able to completely restore the artificially cloud-covered test areas with a spatial correlation of 0.83 and a mean absolute spatial deviation of 21%.

Early Winter Sea Ice Dynamics in the Ross Sea from In Situ and Satellite Observations

Science.gov (United States)

Maksym, T.; Ackley, S. F.; Stammerjohn, S. E.; Tison, J. L.; Hoeppner, K.

2017-12-01

The Ross Sea sea ice cover is one of the few regions of the cryosphere that have been expanding in recent decades. However, 2017 saw a significantly delayed autumn ice advance and record low early winter sea ice extent. Understanding the causes and impacts of this variability has been hampered by a lack of in situ observations. A winter cruise into the Ross Sea in April-June 2017 provided some of the only in situ winter observations of sea ice processes in this region in almost 20 years. We present a first look at data from arrays of drifting buoys deployed in the ice pack and outflow from these polynyas, supplemented by a suite of high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data. Additional observations included high-resolution sonar imagery of ice deformation features from an autonomous underwater vehicle, shipboard visual observations of sea ice properties, and in situ measurements of snow and thickness and structural properties. These data show that the delay in ice advance led to a thin, highly dynamic sea ice pack, with substantial ice production and export from the Ross Ice Shelf and Terra Nova Bay polynyas. Despite these high rates of ice production, the pack ice remained thin due to rapid export and northward drift. Compared to the only prior winter observations made in 1995 and 1998, the ice was thinner, with less ridging and snow cover, reflecting a younger ice cover. Granular ice was less prevalent than in these prior cruises, particularly in the outer pack, likely due to less snow ice formation and less pancake ice formation at the advancing ice edge. Despite rapid basal ice growth, the buoy data suggest that deformation may be the dominant mechanism for sea ice thickening in the pack once an initial ice cover forms.

MODIS Snow and Sea Ice Products

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, Dorothy K.; Riggs, George A.; Salomonson, Vincent V.

2004-01-01

In this chapter, we describe the suite of Earth Observing System (EOS) Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Terra and Aqua snow and sea ice products. Global, daily products, developed at Goddard Space Flight Center, are archived and distributed through the National Snow and Ice Data Center at various resolutions and on different grids useful for different communities Snow products include binary snow cover, snow albedo, and in the near future, fraction of snow in a 5OO-m pixel. Sea ice products include ice extent determined with two different algorithms, and sea ice surface temperature. The algorithms used to develop these products are described. Both the snow and sea ice products, available since February 24,2000, are useful for modelers. Validation of the products is also discussed.

Ice ages and nuclear waste disposal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahonen, L.; Ruskeeniemi, T.; Luukkonen, A.; Pitkaenen, P.; Rasilainen, K.

2002-01-01

This report is an overview of Quaternary Ice Age and its potential consequences for nuclear waste disposal. Geological information on past climatic changes is shortly reviewed, based on the following records: geomorphological information, loessic deposits, deep-sea carbonate sediments, ice-core records, and continental calcite precipitates. Even though the present 'Great Ice Age' has lasted more that two million years, the present variation in cycles of about 100 000 years seems to have commenced only about 600 - 700 thousands years ago. According to the present understanding, southern Finland was during a major span of Weichsel free of continental ice sheet. However, the conditions may have been very cold, periglacial, when the continental ice sheet covered the Caledonian mountains and large areas of central Fennoscandia. The last glacial maximum of Weichsel glaciation was shorter than estimated earlier. Periglacial conditions are characterized by deep permafrost, reaching even the depth of nuclear waste disposal. Calculations of the advancement of permafrost indicate that the permafrost-front may reach the depth of about 500 meters in less than 10 000 years. The crust beneath the continental ice cover depresses, and rebounds when the ice sheet retreats. During the most intensive vertical movement of the crust, some crush zones may be activated and bedrock movements may take place along them. Due to the growth of ice sheets, ocean water table also depresses during glacial maximum, thus changing hydrogeological conditions in non-glaciated terrains. Increase in global ice volume is manifested in the stable oxygen and hydrogen isotope ratios. Based on isotope signals, as well other hydrogeochemical interpretation methods, indications of the earlier glaciations have been recognized in present groundwaters. (orig.)

Polynyas and Ice Production Evolution in the Ross Sea (PIPERS)

Science.gov (United States)

Ackley, S. F.

2017-12-01

One focus of the PIPERS cruise into the Ross Sea ice cover during April-June 2017 was the Terra Nova Bay (TNB) polynya where joint measurements of air-ice-ocean wave interaction were conducted over twelve days. In Terra Nova Bay, measurements were made in three katabatic wind events each with sustained winds over 35 ms-1 and air temperatures below -15C. Near shore, intense wave fields with wave amplitudes of over 2m and 7-9 sec periods built and large amounts of frazil ice crystals grew. The frazil ice gathered initially into short and narrow plumes that eventually were added laterally to create longer and wider streaks or bands. Breaking waves within these wider streaks were dampened which appeared to enhance the development of pancake ice. Eventually, the open water areas between the streaks sealed off, developing a complete ice cover of 100 percent concentration (80-90 percent pancakes, 20-10 percent frazil) over a wide front (30km). The pancakes continued to grow in diameter and thickness as waves alternately contracted and expanded the ice cover, with the thicker larger floes further diminishing the wave field and lateral motion between pancakes until the initial pancake ice growth ceased. The equilibrium thickness of the ice was 20-30cm in the pancake ice. While the waves had died off however, katabatic wind velocities were sustained and resulted in a wide area of concentrated, rafted, pancake ice that was rapidly advected downstream until the end of the katabatic event. High resolution TerraSar-X radar satellite imagery showed the length of the ice area produced in one single event extended over 300km or ten times the length of the open water area during one polynya event. The TNB polynya is therefore an "ice factory" where frazil ice is manufactured into pancake ice floes that are then pushed out of the assembly area and advected, rafted (and occasionally piled up into "dragon skin" ice), until the katabatic wind dies off at the coastal source.

Multiscale Observation System for Sea Ice Drift and Deformation

Science.gov (United States)

Lensu, M.; Haapala, J. J.; Heiler, I.; Karvonen, J.; Suominen, M.

2011-12-01

The drift and deformation of sea ice cover is most commonly followed from successive SAR images. The time interval between the images is seldom less than one day which provides rather crude approximation of the motion fields as ice can move tens of kilometers per day. This is particulary so from the viewpoint of operative services, seeking to provide real time information for ice navigating ships and other end users, as leads are closed and opened or ridge fields created in time scales of one hour or less. The ice forecast models are in a need of better temporal resolution for ice motion data as well. We present experiences from a multiscale monitoring system set up to the Bay of Bothnia, the northernmost basin of the Baltic Sea. The basin generates difficult ice conditions every winter while the ports are kept open with the help of an icebreaker fleet. The key addition to SAR imagery is the use of coastal radars for the monitoring of coastal ice fields. An independent server is used to tap the radar signal and process it to suit ice monitoring purposes. This is done without interfering the basic use of the radars, the ship traffic monitoring. About 20 images per minute are captured and sent to the headquarters for motion field extraction, website animation and distribution. This provides very detailed real time picture of the ice movement and deformation within 20 km range. The real time movements are followed in addition with ice drifter arrays, and using AIS ship identification data, from which the translation of ship cannels due to ice drift can be found out. To the operative setup is associated an extensive research effort that uses the data for ice drift model enhancement. The Baltic ice models seek to forecast conditions relevant to ship traffic, especilly hazardous ones like severe ice compression. The main missing link here is downscaling, or the relation of local scale ice dynamics and kinematics to the ice model scale behaviour. The data flow when

Processes driving sea ice variability in the Bering Sea in an eddying ocean/sea ice model: Mean seasonal cycle

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Linghan; McClean, Julie L.; Miller, Arthur J.; Eisenman, Ian; Hendershott, Myrl C.; Papadopoulos, Caroline A.

2014-12-01

The seasonal cycle of sea ice variability in the Bering Sea, together with the thermodynamic and dynamic processes that control it, are examined in a fine resolution (1/10°) global coupled ocean/sea-ice model configured in the Community Earth System Model (CESM) framework. The ocean/sea-ice model consists of the Los Alamos National Laboratory Parallel Ocean Program (POP) and the Los Alamos Sea Ice Model (CICE). The model was forced with time-varying reanalysis atmospheric forcing for the time period 1970-1989. This study focuses on the time period 1980-1989. The simulated seasonal-mean fields of sea ice concentration strongly resemble satellite-derived observations, as quantified by root-mean-square errors and pattern correlation coefficients. The sea ice energy budget reveals that the seasonal thermodynamic ice volume changes are dominated by the surface energy flux between the atmosphere and the ice in the northern region and by heat flux from the ocean to the ice along the southern ice edge, especially on the western side. The sea ice force balance analysis shows that sea ice motion is largely associated with wind stress. The force due to divergence of the internal ice stress tensor is large near the land boundaries in the north, and it is small in the central and southern ice-covered region. During winter, which dominates the annual mean, it is found that the simulated sea ice was mainly formed in the northern Bering Sea, with the maximum ice growth rate occurring along the coast due to cold air from northerly winds and ice motion away from the coast. South of St Lawrence Island, winds drive the model sea ice southwestward from the north to the southwestern part of the ice-covered region. Along the ice edge in the western Bering Sea, model sea ice is melted by warm ocean water, which is carried by the simulated Bering Slope Current flowing to the northwest, resulting in the S-shaped asymmetric ice edge. In spring and fall, similar thermodynamic and dynamic

Reconstructing the last Irish Ice Sheet 2: a geomorphologically-driven model of ice sheet growth, retreat and dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Greenwood, Sarah L.; Clark, Chris D.

2009-12-01

The ice sheet that once covered Ireland has a long history of investigation. Much prior work focussed on localised evidence-based reconstructions and ice-marginal dynamics and chronologies, with less attention paid to an ice sheet wide view of the first order properties of the ice sheet: centres of mass, ice divide structure, ice flow geometry and behaviour and changes thereof. In this paper we focus on the latter aspect and use our new, countrywide glacial geomorphological mapping of the Irish landscape (>39 000 landforms), and our analysis of the palaeo-glaciological significance of observed landform assemblages (article Part 1), to build an ice sheet reconstruction yielding these fundamental ice sheet properties. We present a seven stage model of ice sheet evolution, from initiation to demise, in the form of palaeo-geographic maps. An early incursion of ice from Scotland likely coalesced with local ice caps and spread in a south-westerly direction 200 km across Ireland. A semi-independent Irish Ice Sheet was then established during ice sheet growth, with a branching ice divide structure whose main axis migrated up to 140 km from the west coast towards the east. Ice stream systems converging on Donegal Bay in the west and funnelling through the North Channel and Irish Sea Basin in the east emerge as major flow components of the maximum stages of glaciation. Ice cover is reconstructed as extending to the continental shelf break. The Irish Ice Sheet became autonomous (i.e. separate from the British Ice Sheet) during deglaciation and fragmented into multiple ice masses, each decaying towards the west. Final sites of demise were likely over the mountains of Donegal, Leitrim and Connemara. Patterns of growth and decay of the ice sheet are shown to be radically different: asynchronous and asymmetric in both spatial and temporal domains. We implicate collapse of the ice stream system in the North Channel - Irish Sea Basin in driving such asymmetry, since rapid

Assessing the potential impacts of declining Arctic sea ice cover on the photochemical degradation of dissolved organic matter in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas

Science.gov (United States)

Logvinova, Christie L.; Frey, Karen E.; Mann, Paul J.; Stubbins, Aron; Spencer, Robert G. M.

2015-11-01

A warming and shifting climate in the Arctic has led to significant declines in sea ice over the last several decades. Although these changes in sea ice cover are well documented, large uncertainties remain in how associated increases in solar radiation transmitted to the underlying ocean water column will impact heating, biological, and biogeochemical processes in the Arctic Ocean. In this study, six under-ice marine, two ice-free marine, and two ice-free terrestrially influenced water samples were irradiated using a solar simulator for 72 h (representing ~10 days of ambient sunlight) to investigate dissolved organic matter (DOM) dynamics from the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. Solar irradiation caused chromophoric DOM (CDOM) light absorption at 254 nm to decrease by 48 to 63%. An overall loss in total DOM fluorescence intensity was also observed at the end of all experiments, and each of six components identified by parallel factor (PARAFAC) analysis was shown to be photoreactive in at least one experiment. Fluorescent DOM (FDOM) also indicated that the majority of DOM in under-ice and ice-free marine waters was likely algal-derived. Measurable changes in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) were only observed for sites influenced by riverine runoff. Losses of CDOM absorbance at shorter wavelengths suggest that the beneficial UV protection currently received by marine organisms may decline with the increased light transmittance associated with sea ice melt ponding and overall reductions of sea ice. Our FDOM analyses demonstrate that DOM irrespective of source was susceptible to photobleaching. Additionally, our findings suggest that photodegradation of CDOM in under-ice waters is not currently a significant source of carbon dioxide (CO2) (i.e., we did not observe systematic DOC loss). However, increases in primary production and terrestrial freshwater export expected under future climate change scenarios may cause an increase in CDOM quantity and shift in quality

Photophysiology and cellular composition of sea ice algae

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lizotte, M.P.

1989-01-01

The productivity of sea ice algae depends on their physiological capabilities and the environmental conditions within various microhabitats. Pack ice is the dominant form of sea ice, but the photosynthetic activity of associated algae has rarely been studied. Biomass and photosynthetic rates of ice algae of the Weddell-Scotia Sea were investigated during autumn and winter, the period when ice cover grows from its minimum to maximum. Biomass-specific photosynthetic rates typically ranged from 0.3 to 3.0 μg C · μg chl -1 · h -1 higher than land-fast ice algae but similar to Antarctic phytoplankton. Primary production in the pack ice during winter may be minor compared to annual phytoplankton production, but could represent a vital seasonal contribution to the Antarctic ecosystem. Nutrient supply may limit the productivity of ice algae. In McMurdo Sound, congelation ice algae appeared to be more nutrient deficient than underlying platelet ice algae based on: lower nitrogen:carbon, chlorophyll:carbon, and protein:carbohydrate; and 14 C-photosynthate distribution to proteins and phospholipids was lower, while distribution to polysaccharides and neutral lipids was higher. Depletion of nitrate led to decreased nitrogen:carbon, chlorophyll:carbon, protein:carbohydrate, and 14 C-photosynthate to proteins. Studied were conducted during the spring bloom; therefore, nutrient limitation may only apply to dense ice algal communities. Growth limiting conditions may be alleviated when algae are released into seawater during the seasonal recession of the ice cover. To continue growth, algae must adapt to the variable light field encountered in a mixed water column. Photoadaptation was studied in surface ice communities and in bottom ice communities

Sea-ice indicators of polar bear habitat

Science.gov (United States)

Stern, Harry L.; Laidre, Kristin L.

2016-09-01

Nineteen subpopulations of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) are found throughout the circumpolar Arctic, and in all regions they depend on sea ice as a platform for traveling, hunting, and breeding. Therefore polar bear phenology - the cycle of biological events - is linked to the timing of sea-ice retreat in spring and advance in fall. We analyzed the dates of sea-ice retreat and advance in all 19 polar bear subpopulation regions from 1979 to 2014, using daily sea-ice concentration data from satellite passive microwave instruments. We define the dates of sea-ice retreat and advance in a region as the dates when the area of sea ice drops below a certain threshold (retreat) on its way to the summer minimum or rises above the threshold (advance) on its way to the winter maximum. The threshold is chosen to be halfway between the historical (1979-2014) mean September and mean March sea-ice areas. In all 19 regions there is a trend toward earlier sea-ice retreat and later sea-ice advance. Trends generally range from -3 to -9 days decade-1 in spring and from +3 to +9 days decade-1 in fall, with larger trends in the Barents Sea and central Arctic Basin. The trends are not sensitive to the threshold. We also calculated the number of days per year that the sea-ice area exceeded the threshold (termed ice-covered days) and the average sea-ice concentration from 1 June through 31 October. The number of ice-covered days is declining in all regions at the rate of -7 to -19 days decade-1, with larger trends in the Barents Sea and central Arctic Basin. The June-October sea-ice concentration is declining in all regions at rates ranging from -1 to -9 percent decade-1. These sea-ice metrics (or indicators of habitat change) were designed to be useful for management agencies and for comparative purposes among subpopulations. We recommend that the National Climate Assessment include the timing of sea-ice retreat and advance in future reports.

Impact assessment of intermediate soil cover on landfill stabilization by characterizing landfilled municipal solid waste.

Science.gov (United States)

Qi, Guangxia; Yue, Dongbei; Liu, Jianguo; Li, Rui; Shi, Xiaochong; He, Liang; Guo, Jingting; Miao, Haomei; Nie, Yongfeng

2013-10-15

Waste samples at different depths of a covered municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill in Beijing, China, were excavated and characterized to investigate the impact of intermediate soil cover on waste stabilization. A comparatively high amount of unstable organic matter with 83.3 g kg(-1) dry weight (dw) total organic carbon was detected in the 6-year-old MSW, where toxic inorganic elements containing As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn of 10.1, 0.98, 85.49, 259.7, 530.4, 30.5, 84.0, and 981.7 mg kg(-1) dw, respectively, largely accumulated because of the barrier effect of intermediate soil cover. This accumulation resulted in decreased microbial activities. The intermediate soil cover also caused significant reduction in moisture in MSW under the soil layer, which was as low as 25.9%, and led to inefficient biodegradation of 8- and 10-year-old MSW. Therefore, intermediate soil cover with low permeability seems to act as a barrier that divides a landfill into two landfill cells with different degradation processes by restraining water flow and hazardous matter. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Impact of Arctic sea-ice retreat on the recent change in cloud-base height during autumn

Science.gov (United States)

Sato, K.; Inoue, J.; Kodama, Y.; Overland, J. E.

2012-12-01

temperature (K) for (a) ice-free cases (R/V Mirai during September) and (b) ice-covered case (SHEBA during September 1998). (c) Vertical profiles of air temperature from 1000 hPa to 150 hPa (solid lines: observations north of 75°N, and dashed lines: the ERA-Interim reanalysis over 75-82.5°N, 150-170°W). Green, blue, and red lines denote profiles derived from observations by NP stations (the 1980s), SHEBA (1998), and the R/V Mirai (the 2000s), respectively. (d) Temperature trend calculated by the ERA-Interim reanalysis over the area.

Global ice sheet modeling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hughes, T.J.; Fastook, J.L.

1994-05-01

The University of Maine conducted this study for Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) as part of a global climate modeling task for site characterization of the potential nuclear waste respository site at Yucca Mountain, NV. The purpose of the study was to develop a global ice sheet dynamics model that will forecast the three-dimensional configuration of global ice sheets for specific climate change scenarios. The objective of the third (final) year of the work was to produce ice sheet data for glaciation scenarios covering the next 100,000 years. This was accomplished using both the map-plane and flowband solutions of our time-dependent, finite-element gridpoint model. The theory and equations used to develop the ice sheet models are presented. Three future scenarios were simulated by the model and results are discussed

Photosynthetic production in the central Arctic Ocean during the record sea-ice minimum in 2012

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fernández-Méndez, M.; Katlein, C.; Rabe, B.; Nicolaus, M.; Peeken, I.; Bakker, K.; Flores, H.; Boetius, A.

2015-01-01

The ice-covered central Arctic Ocean is characterized by low primary productivity due to light and nutrient limitations. The recent reduction in ice cover has the potential to substantially increase phytoplankton primary production, but little is yet known about the fate of the ice-associated

Solid state physics

CERN Document Server

Burns, Gerald

2013-01-01

Solid State Physics, International Edition covers the fundamentals and the advanced concepts of solid state physics. The book is comprised of 18 chapters that tackle a specific aspect of solid state physics. Chapters 1 to 3 discuss the symmetry aspects of crystalline solids, while Chapter 4 covers the application of X-rays in solid state science. Chapter 5 deals with the anisotropic character of crystals. Chapters 6 to 8 talk about the five common types of bonding in solids, while Chapters 9 and 10 cover the free electron theory and band theory. Chapters 11 and 12 discuss the effects of moveme

Summer Arctic sea ice character from satellite microwave data

Science.gov (United States)

Carsey, F. D.

1985-01-01

It is pointed out that Arctic sea ice and its environment undergo a number of changes during the summer period. Some of these changes affect the ice cover properties and, in turn, their response to thermal and mechanical forcing throughout the year. The main objective of this investigation is related to the development of a method for estimating the areal coverage of exposed ice, melt ponds, and leads, which are the basic surface variables determining the local surface albedo. The study is based on data obtained in a field investigation conducted from Mould Bay (NWT), Nimbus 5 satellite data, and Seasat data. The investigation demonstrates that microwave data from satellites, especially microwave brightness temperature, provide good data for estimating important characteristics of summer sea ice cover.

Reassigning hydrogen-bond centering in dense ice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benoit, Magali; Romero, Aldo H.; Marx, Dominik

2002-01-01

Hydrogen bonds in H 2 O ice change dramatically upon compression. Thereby a hydrogen-bonded molecular crystal, ice VII, is transformed to an atomic crystal, ice X. Car-Parrinello simulations reproduce the features of the x-ray diffraction spectra up to about 170 GPa but allow for analysis in real space. Starting from molecular ice VII with static orientational disorder, dynamical translational disordering occurs first via creation of ionic defects, which results in a systematic violation of the ice rules. As a second step, the transformation to an atomic solid and thus hydrogen-bond centering occurs around 110 GPa at 300 K and no novel phase is found up to at least 170 GPa

Hydrocarbons (aliphatic and aromatic) in the snow-ice cover in the Arctic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nemirovskaya, I.A.; Novigatsky, A.N.; Kluvitkin, A.A.

2002-01-01

This paper presented the concentration and composition of aliphatic hydrocarbons and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in snow and ice-infested waters in the France-Victoria trough in the northern Barents Sea and in the Mendeleev ridge in the Amerasian basin of the Arctic Ocean. Extreme conditions such as low temperatures, ice sheets and the polar nights render the arctic environment susceptible to oil spills. Hydrocarbons found in these northern seas experience significant transformations. In order to determine the sources, pathways and transformations of the pollutants, it is necessary to know their origin. Hydrocarbon distributions is determined mostly by natural hydrobiological and geochemical conditions. The regularity of migration is determined by natural factors such as formation and circulation of air and ice drift. There is evidence suggesting that the hydrocarbons come from pyrogenic sources. It was noted that hydrocarbons could be degraded even at low temperatures. 17 refs., 1 tab

High-resolution ice thickness and bed topography of a land-terminating section of the Greenland Ice Sheet

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lindbäck, K.; Pettersson, R.; Doyle, S. H.

2014-01-01

We present ice thickness and bed topography maps with high spatial resolution (250 to 500 m) of a and-terminating section of the Greenland Ice Sheet derived from combined ground-based and airborne radar surveys. The data have a total area of ~12000 km2 and cover the whole ablation area of the out...

A century of ice retreat on Kilimanjaro: the mapping reloaded

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. J. Cullen

2013-03-01

Full Text Available A new and consistent time series of glacier retreat on Kilimanjaro over the last century has been established by re-interpreting two historical maps and processing nine satellite images, which removes uncertainty about the location and extent of past and present ice bodies. Three-dimensional visualization techniques were used in conjunction with aerial and ground-based photography to facilitate the interpretation of ice boundaries over eight epochs between 1912 and 2011. The glaciers have retreated from their former extent of 11.40 km2 in 1912 to 1.76 km2 in 2011, which represents a total loss of about 85% of the ice cover over the last 100 yr. The total loss of ice cover is in broad agreement with previous estimates, but to further characterize the spatial and temporal variability of glacier retreat a cluster analysis using topographical information (elevation, slope and aspect was performed to segment the ice cover as observed in 1912, which resulted in three glacier zones being identified. Linear extrapolation of the retreat in each of the three identified glacier assemblages implies the ice cover on the western slopes of Kilimanjaro will be gone before 2020, while the remaining ice bodies on the plateau and southern slopes will most likely disappear by 2040. It is highly unlikely that any body of ice will be present on Kilimanjaro after 2060 if present-day climatological conditions are maintained. Importantly, the geo-statistical approach developed in this study provides us with an additional tool to characterize the physical processes governing glacier retreat on Kilimanjaro. It remains clear that, to use glacier response to unravel past climatic conditions on Kilimanjaro, the transition from growth to decay of the plateau glaciers must be further resolved, in particular the mechanisms responsible for vertical cliff development.

Plant species potentially suitable for cover on low-level solid nuclear waste disposal sites: a literature review

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brenkert, A.L.; Parr, P.D.; Taylor, F.G.

1984-09-01

This report reviews available literature on soil conditions, hydrology, and climatological data and suggests plant species suitable for covering the low-level nuclear waste disposal areas in the White Oak Creek Watershed within the Oak Ridge Reservation. Literature on naturally invading species and secondary succession, on plant species used for reclamation of coal spoils and roadsides, and on horticultural species is reviewed. The potential of plant species to take up, or mine, the waste through deep rooting is assessed. The effects of vegetation cover on the water balance in a watershed are reviewed. Several conclusions are presented concerning the management of vegetation cover on low-level solid waste disposal areas. 163 references, 2 figures, 9 tables.

Plant species potentially suitable for cover on low-level solid nuclear waste disposal sites: a literature review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brenkert, A.L.; Parr, P.D.; Taylor, F.G.

1984-09-01

This report reviews available literature on soil conditions, hydrology, and climatological data and suggests plant species suitable for covering the low-level nuclear waste disposal areas in the White Oak Creek Watershed within the Oak Ridge Reservation. Literature on naturally invading species and secondary succession, on plant species used for reclamation of coal spoils and roadsides, and on horticultural species is reviewed. The potential of plant species to take up, or mine, the waste through deep rooting is assessed. The effects of vegetation cover on the water balance in a watershed are reviewed. Several conclusions are presented concerning the management of vegetation cover on low-level solid waste disposal areas. 163 references, 2 figures, 9 tables

Linking Regional Winter Sea Ice Thickness and Surface Roughness to Spring Melt Pond Fraction on Landfast Arctic Sea Ice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sasha Nasonova

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The Arctic sea ice cover has decreased strongly in extent, thickness, volume and age in recent decades. The melt season presents a significant challenge for sea ice forecasting due to uncertainty associated with the role of surface melt ponds in ice decay at regional scales. This study quantifies the relationships of spring melt pond fraction (fp with both winter sea ice roughness and thickness, for landfast first-year sea ice (FYI and multiyear sea ice (MYI. In 2015, airborne measurements of winter sea ice thickness and roughness, as well as high-resolution optical data of melt pond covered sea ice, were collected along two ~5.2 km long profiles over FYI- and MYI-dominated regions in the Canadian Arctic. Statistics of winter sea ice thickness and roughness were compared to spring fp using three data aggregation approaches, termed object and hybrid-object (based on image segments, and regularly spaced grid-cells. The hybrid-based aggregation approach showed strongest associations because it considers the morphology of the ice as well as footprints of the sensors used to measure winter sea ice thickness and roughness. Using the hybrid-based data aggregation approach it was found that winter sea ice thickness and roughness are related to spring fp. A stronger negative correlation was observed between FYI thickness and fp (Spearman rs = −0.85 compared to FYI roughness and fp (rs = −0.52. The association between MYI thickness and fp was also negative (rs = −0.56, whereas there was no association between MYI roughness and fp. 47% of spring fp variation for FYI and MYI can be explained by mean thickness. Thin sea ice is characterized by low surface roughness allowing for widespread ponding in the spring (high fp whereas thick sea ice has undergone dynamic thickening and roughening with topographic features constraining melt water into deeper channels (low fp. This work provides an important contribution towards the parameterizations of fp in

Assessing deformation and morphology of Arctic landfast sea ice using InSAR to support use and management of coastal ice

Science.gov (United States)

Dammann, D. O.; Eicken, H.; Meyer, F. J.; Mahoney, A. R.

2016-12-01

Arctic landfast sea ice provides important services to people, including coastal communities and industry, as well as key marine biota. In many regions of the Arctic, the use of landfast sea ice by all stakeholders is increasingly limited by reduced stability of the ice cover, which results in more deformation and rougher ice conditions as well as reduced extent and an increased likelihood of detachment from the shore. Here, we use Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (InSAR) to provide stakeholder-relevant data on key constraints for sea ice use, in particular ice stability and morphology, which are difficult to assess using conventional SAR. InSAR has the capability to detect small-scale landfast ice displacements, which are linked to important coastal hazards, including the formation of cracks, ungrounding of ice pressure ridges, and catastrophic breakout events. While InSAR has previously been used to identify the extent of landfast ice and regions of deformation within, quantitative analysis of small-scale ice motion has yet to be thoroughly validated and its potential remains largely underutilized in sea ice science. Using TanDEM-X interferometry, we derive surface displacements of landfast ice within Elson Lagoon near Barrow, Alaska, which we validate using in-situ DGPS data. We then apply an inverse model to estimate rates and patterns of shorefast ice deformation in other regions of landfast ice using interferograms generated with long-temporal baseline L-band ALOS-1 PALSAR-1 data. The model is able to correctly identify deformation modes and proxies for the associated relative internal elastic stress. The derived potential for fractures corresponds well with large-scale sea ice patterns and local in-situ observations. The utility of InSAR to quantify sea ice roughness has also been explored using TanDEM-X bistatic interferometry, which eliminates the effects of temporal changes in the ice cover. The InSAR-derived DEM shows good correlation with a high

Modeling Commercial Turbofan Engine Icing Risk With Ice Crystal Ingestion

Science.gov (United States)

Jorgenson, Philip C. E.; Veres, Joseph P.

2013-01-01

The occurrence of ice accretion within commercial high bypass aircraft turbine engines has been reported under certain atmospheric conditions. Engine anomalies have taken place at high altitudes that have been attributed to ice crystal ingestion, partially melting, and ice accretion on the compression system components. The result was degraded engine performance, and one or more of the following: loss of thrust control (roll back), compressor surge or stall, and flameout of the combustor. As ice crystals are ingested into the fan and low pressure compression system, the increase in air temperature causes a portion of the ice crystals to melt. It is hypothesized that this allows the ice-water mixture to cover the metal surfaces of the compressor stationary components which leads to ice accretion through evaporative cooling. Ice accretion causes a blockage which subsequently results in the deterioration in performance of the compressor and engine. The focus of this research is to apply an engine icing computational tool to simulate the flow through a turbofan engine and assess the risk of ice accretion. The tool is comprised of an engine system thermodynamic cycle code, a compressor flow analysis code, and an ice particle melt code that has the capability of determining the rate of sublimation, melting, and evaporation through the compressor flow path, without modeling the actual ice accretion. A commercial turbofan engine which has previously experienced icing events during operation in a high altitude ice crystal environment has been tested in the Propulsion Systems Laboratory (PSL) altitude test facility at NASA Glenn Research Center. The PSL has the capability to produce a continuous ice cloud which are ingested by the engine during operation over a range of altitude conditions. The PSL test results confirmed that there was ice accretion in the engine due to ice crystal ingestion, at the same simulated altitude operating conditions as experienced previously in

submitter Heterogeneous ice nucleation of viscous secondary organic aerosol produced from ozonolysis of α-pinene

CERN Document Server

Ignatius, Karoliina; Järvinen, Emma; Nichman, Leonid; Fuchs, Claudia; Gordon, Hamish; Herenz, Paul; Hoyle, Christopher R; Duplissy, Jonathan; Garimella, Sarvesh; Dias, Antonio; Frege, Carla; Höppel, Niko; Tröstl, Jasmin; Wagner, Robert; Yan, Chao; Amorim, Antonio; Baltensperger, Urs; Curtius, Joachim; Donahue, Neil M; Gallagher, Martin W; Kirkby, Jasper; Kulmala, Markku; Möhler, Ottmar; Saathoff, Harald; Schnaiter, Martin; Tomé, Antonio; Virtanen, Annele; Worsnop, Douglas; Stratmann, Frank

2016-01-01

There are strong indications that particles containing secondary organic aerosol (SOA) exhibit amorphous solid or semi-solid phase states in the atmosphere. This may facilitate heterogeneous ice nucleation and thus influence cloud properties. However, experimental ice nucleation studies of biogenic SOA are scarce. Here, we investigated the ice nucleation ability of viscous SOA particles. The SOA particles were produced from the ozone initiated oxidation of α-pinene in an aerosol chamber at temperatures in the range from −38 to −10 ◦C at 5–15 % relative humidity with respect to water to ensure their formation in a highly viscous phase state, i.e. semi-solid or glassy. The ice nucleation ability of SOA particles with different sizes was investigated with a new continuous flow diffusion chamber. For the first time, we observed heterogeneous ice nucleation of viscous α-pinene SOA for ice saturation ratios between 1.3 and 1.4 significantly below the homogeneous freezing limit. The maximum frozen fraction...

Developing A Model for Lake Ice Phenology Using Satellite Remote Sensing Observations

Science.gov (United States)

Skoglund, S. K.; Weathers, K. C.; Norouzi, H.; Prakash, S.; Ewing, H. A.

2017-12-01

Many northern temperate freshwater lakes are freezing over later and thawing earlier. This shift in timing, and the resulting shorter duration of seasonal ice cover, is expected to impact ecological processes, negatively affecting aquatic species and the quality of water we drink. Long-term, direct observations have been used to analyze changes in ice phenology, but those data are sparse relative to the number of lakes affected. Here we develop a model to utilize remote sensing data in approximating the dates of ice-on and ice-off for many years over a variety of lakes. Day and night surface temperatures from MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) Aqua and Terra (MYD11A1 and MOD11A1 data products) for 2002-2017 were utilized in combination with observed ice-on and ice-off dates of Lake Auburn, Maine, to determine the ability of MODIS data to match ground-based observations. A moving average served to interpolate MODIS temperature data to fill data gaps from cloudy days. The nighttime data were used for ice-off, and the daytime measurements were used for ice-on predictions to avoid fluctuations between day and night ice/water status. The 0˚C intercepts of those data were used to mark approximate days of ice-on or ice-off. This revealed that approximations for ice-off dates were satisfactory (average ±8.2 days) for Lake Auburn as well as for Lake Sunapee, New Hampshire (average ±8.1 days), while approximations for Lake Auburn ice-on were less accurate and showed consistently earlier-than-observed ice-on dates (average -33.8 days). The comparison of observed and remotely sensed Lake Auburn ice cover duration showed relative agreement with a correlation coefficient of 0.46. Other remote sensing observations, such as the new GOES-R satellite, and further exploration of the ice formation process can improve ice-on approximation methods. The model shows promise for estimating ice-on, ice-off, and ice cover duration for northern temperate lakes.

Marginal Ice Zone Bibliography.

Science.gov (United States)

1985-06-01

Tsunamis, Gravimetry , Earth Tides, World Data Center A: Oceanography Recent Movements of the Earth’s National Oceanographic Data Center Crust...sufficiently low, the dissolved salts precipitate out in the form of solid hydrates. It has been proposed that these solid hydrates add to the overall...strength of the ice. The first salt hydrate to precipitate should be that of sodium sul- * fate, Na2SO4IOH2O (the sulfate ion is the second most

Upper Ocean Evolution Across the Beaufort Sea Marginal Ice Zone

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, C.; Rainville, L.; Gobat, J. I.; Perry, M. J.; Freitag, L. E.; Webster, S.

2016-12-01

The observed reduction of Arctic summertime sea ice extent and expansion of the marginal ice zone (MIZ) have profound impacts on the balance of processes controlling sea ice evolution, including the introduction of several positive feedback mechanisms that may act to accelerate melting. Examples of such feedbacks include increased upper ocean warming though absorption of solar radiation, elevated internal wave energy and mixing that may entrain heat stored in subsurface watermasses (e.g., the relatively warm Pacific Summer and Atlantic waters), and elevated surface wave energy that acts to deform and fracture sea ice. Spatial and temporal variability in ice properties and open water fraction impact these processes. To investigate how upper ocean structure varies with changing ice cover, how the balance of processes shift as a function of ice fraction and distance from open water, and how these processes impact sea ice evolution, a network of autonomous platforms sampled the atmosphere-ice-ocean system in the Beaufort, beginning in spring, well before the start of melt, and ending with the autumn freeze-up. Four long-endurance autonomous Seagliders occupied sections that extended from open water, through the marginal ice zone, deep into the pack during summer 2014 in the Beaufort Sea. Gliders penetrated up to 200 km into the ice pack, under complete ice cover for up to 10 consecutive days. Sections reveal strong fronts where cold, ice-covered waters meet waters that have been exposed to solar warming, and O(10 km) scale eddies near the ice edge. In the pack, Pacific Summer Water and a deep chlorophyll maximum form distinct layers at roughly 60 m and 80 m, respectively, which become increasingly diffuse late in the season as they progress through the MIZ and into open water. Stratification just above the Pacific Summer Water rapidly weakens near the ice edge and temperature variance increases, likely due to mixing or energetic vertical exchange associated with strong

Influence of Ice Particle Surface Roughening on the Global Cloud Radiative Effect

Science.gov (United States)

Yi, Bingqi; Yang, Ping; Baum, Bryan A.; LEcuyer, Tristan; Oreopoulos, Lazaros; Mlawer, Eli J.; Heymsfield, Andrew J.; Liou, Kuo-Nan

2013-01-01

Ice clouds influence the climate system by changing the radiation budget and large-scale circulation. Therefore, climate models need to have an accurate representation of ice clouds and their radiative effects. In this paper, new broadband parameterizations for ice cloud bulk scattering properties are developed for severely roughened ice particles. The parameterizations are based on a general habit mixture that includes nine habits (droxtals, hollow/solid columns, plates, solid/hollow bullet rosettes, aggregate of solid columns, and small/large aggregates of plates). The scattering properties for these individual habits incorporate recent advances in light-scattering computations. The influence of ice particle surface roughness on the ice cloud radiative effect is determined through simulations with the Fu-Liou and the GCM version of the Rapid Radiative Transfer Model (RRTMG) codes and the National Center for Atmospheric Research Community Atmosphere Model (CAM, version 5.1). The differences in shortwave (SW) and longwave (LW) radiative effect at both the top of the atmosphere and the surface are determined for smooth and severely roughened ice particles. While the influence of particle roughening on the single-scattering properties is negligible in the LW, the results indicate that ice crystal roughness can change the SW forcing locally by more than 10 W m(exp -2) over a range of effective diameters. The global-averaged SW cloud radiative effect due to ice particle surface roughness is estimated to be roughly 1-2 W m(exp -2). The CAM results indicate that ice particle roughening can result in a large regional SW radiative effect and a small but nonnegligible increase in the global LW cloud radiative effect.

Sea-ice indicators of polar bear habitat

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. L. Stern

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Nineteen subpopulations of polar bears (Ursus maritimus are found throughout the circumpolar Arctic, and in all regions they depend on sea ice as a platform for traveling, hunting, and breeding. Therefore polar bear phenology – the cycle of biological events – is linked to the timing of sea-ice retreat in spring and advance in fall. We analyzed the dates of sea-ice retreat and advance in all 19 polar bear subpopulation regions from 1979 to 2014, using daily sea-ice concentration data from satellite passive microwave instruments. We define the dates of sea-ice retreat and advance in a region as the dates when the area of sea ice drops below a certain threshold (retreat on its way to the summer minimum or rises above the threshold (advance on its way to the winter maximum. The threshold is chosen to be halfway between the historical (1979–2014 mean September and mean March sea-ice areas. In all 19 regions there is a trend toward earlier sea-ice retreat and later sea-ice advance. Trends generally range from −3 to −9 days decade−1 in spring and from +3 to +9 days decade−1 in fall, with larger trends in the Barents Sea and central Arctic Basin. The trends are not sensitive to the threshold. We also calculated the number of days per year that the sea-ice area exceeded the threshold (termed ice-covered days and the average sea-ice concentration from 1 June through 31 October. The number of ice-covered days is declining in all regions at the rate of −7 to −19 days decade−1, with larger trends in the Barents Sea and central Arctic Basin. The June–October sea-ice concentration is declining in all regions at rates ranging from −1 to −9 percent decade−1. These sea-ice metrics (or indicators of habitat change were designed to be useful for management agencies and for comparative purposes among subpopulations. We recommend that the National Climate Assessment include the timing of sea-ice retreat and advance in

A Decade of High-Resolution Arctic Sea Ice Measurements from Airborne Altimetry

Science.gov (United States)

Duncan, K.; Farrell, S. L.; Connor, L. N.; Jackson, C.; Richter-Menge, J.

2017-12-01

Satellite altimeters carried on board ERS-1,-2, EnviSat, ICESat, CryoSat-2, AltiKa and Sentinel-3 have transformed our ability to map the thickness and volume of the polar sea ice cover, on seasonal and decadal time-scales. The era of polar satellite altimetry has coincided with a rapid decline of the Arctic ice cover, which has thinned, and transitioned from a predominantly multi-year to first-year ice cover. In conjunction with basin-scale satellite altimeter observations, airborne surveys of the Arctic Ocean at the end of winter are now routine. These surveys have been targeted to monitor regions of rapid change, and are designed to obtain the full snow and ice thickness distribution, across a range of ice types. Sensors routinely deployed as part of NASA's Operation IceBridge (OIB) campaigns include the Airborne Topographic Mapper (ATM) laser altimeter, the frequency-modulated continuous-wave snow radar, and the Digital Mapping System (DMS). Airborne measurements yield high-resolution data products and thus present a unique opportunity to assess the quality and characteristics of the satellite observations. We present a suite of sea ice data products that describe the snow depth and thickness of the Arctic ice cover during the last decade. Fields were derived from OIB measurements collected between 2009-2017, and from reprocessed data collected during ad-hoc sea ice campaigns prior to OIB. Our bespoke algorithms are designed to accommodate the heterogeneous sea ice surface topography, that varies at short spatial scales. We assess regional and inter-annual variability in the sea ice thickness distribution. Results are compared to satellite-derived ice thickness fields to highlight the sensitivities of satellite footprints to the tails of the thickness distribution. We also show changes in the dynamic forcing shaping the ice pack over the last eight years through an analysis of pressure-ridge sail-height distributions and surface roughness conditions

History of sea ice in the Arctic

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Polyak, Leonid; Alley, Richard B.; Andrews, John T.

2010-01-01

Arctic sea-ice extent and volume are declining rapidly. Several studies project that the Arctic Ocean may become seasonally ice-free by the year 2040 or even earlier. Putting this into perspective requires information on the history of Arctic sea-ice conditions through the geologic past. This inf......Arctic sea-ice extent and volume are declining rapidly. Several studies project that the Arctic Ocean may become seasonally ice-free by the year 2040 or even earlier. Putting this into perspective requires information on the history of Arctic sea-ice conditions through the geologic past...... Optimum, and consistently covered at least part of the Arctic Ocean for no less than the last 13–14 million years. Ice was apparently most widespread during the last 2–3 million years, in accordance with Earth’s overall cooler climate. Nevertheless, episodes of considerably reduced sea ice or even...

Global Daily Sea Ice Concentration Reprocessing Data Set for 1978-2007 from the EUMETSAT Ocean and Sea Ice Satellite Application Facility (NODC Accession 0068294)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — These data constitute the reprocessed sea ice concentration data set from the EUMETSAT Ocean and Sea Ice Satellite Application Facility (OSI SAF), covering the...

A critical review of the measurement of ice adhesion to solid substrates

Science.gov (United States)

Work, Andrew; Lian, Yongsheng

2018-04-01

Ice adhesion is an issue spanning a wide range of technical fields. In the aerospace industry, ice accretion has led to a large number of casualties and costs the industry billions of dollars every year. To design effective anti-/de-icing systems, the adhesion of ice to surfaces must be understood. In this review paper, the authors surveyed for papers providing methods for the measurement of ice adhesion. 113 papers were identified for comparison, with data being extracted from 58 papers with common test surfaces (aluminum, steel, Teflon® (Chemours), and polyurethane). The methods used were categorized and data were compared based on their precision and the trends they demonstrated. Conceptual problems were identified with the tests used in the literature and discussed, and open questions relevant to testing the adhesion of ice were identified. Several key parameters affecting ice adhesion identified from the literature were temperature, surface roughness, strain rate, and impact velocity. Their effects on adhesion strength were discussed. While researching this topic, it was discovered that many papers did not report the strain rate in their tests, and the vast majority of papers did not correct their data for stress concentrations on the surface, either of which has been shown to cause variation in the data by one order of magnitude. Data compared from the literature typically spanned one to three orders of magnitude. The causes of these variations were discussed.

Frozen waterfall (or ice cascade) growth and decay: a thermodynamic approach

Science.gov (United States)

Gauthier, Francis; Montagnat, Maurine; Weiss, Jérôme; Allard, Michel; Hétu, Bernard

2013-04-01

The ice volume evolution of an ice cascade was studied using a thermodynamic model. The model was developed from meteorological data collected in the vicinity of the waterfall and validated from ice volume measurements estimated from terrestrial LiDAR images. The ice cascade forms over a 45 m high rockwall located in northern Gaspésie, Québec, Canada. Two stages of formation were identified. During the first stage, the growth is mainly controlled by air convection around the flowing and freefalling water. The ice cascade growth rate increases with the decreasing air temperature below 0°C and when the water flow reaches its lowest level. During the second stage, the ice cascade covers the entire rockwall surface, water flow is isolated from the outside environment and ice volume increases asymptotically. Heat is evacuated from the water flow through the ice cover by conduction. The growth is mainly controlled by the radiation energy balance but more specifically by the longwave radiation emitted at the ice surface during the night. In spring, melting of the ice cascade is clearly dependant on the sensible heat carried by the increasing water flow and the diffuse solar radiation received at the ice surface during the day.

Scaling aspects of the sea-ice-drift dynamics and pack fracture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Chmel

2007-05-01

Full Text Available A study of the sea-ice dynamics in the periods of time prior to and during the cycles of basin-wide fragmentation of the ice cover in the Arctic Ocean is presented. The fractal geometry of the ice-sheets limited by leads and ridges was assessed using the satellite images, while the data on the correlated sea-ice motion were obtained in the research stations "North Pole 32" and "North Pole 33" established on the ice pack. The revealed decrease of the fractal dimension as a result of large-scale fragmentation is consistent with the localization of the fracture process (leads propagation. At the same time, the scaling properties of the distribution of amplitudes of ice-fields accelerations were insensitive to the event of sea-ice fragmentation. The temporal distribution of the accelerations was scale-invariant during "quiet" periods of sea-ice drift but disordered in the period of mechanical perturbation. The period of decorrelated (in time ice-field motion during the important fracture event was interpreted as an inter-level transition in the hierarchic dynamical system. The mechanism of the long-range correlations in the sea-ice cover, including the fracture process, is suggested to be in relation with the self-organized oscillation dynamics inherent in the ice pack.

Ice Thickness, Melting Rates and Styles of Activity in Ice-Volcano Interaction

Science.gov (United States)

Gudmundsson, M. T.

2005-12-01

In most cases when eruptions occur within glaciers they lead to rapid ice melting, jokulhlaups and/or lahars. Many parameters influence the style of activity and its impact on the environment. These include ice thickness (size of glacier), bedrock geometry, magma flow rate and magma composition. The eruptions that have been observed can roughly be divided into: (1) eruptions under several hundred meters thick ice on a relatively flat bedrock, (2) eruptions on flat or sloping bed through relatively thin ice, and (3) volcanism where effects are limitied to confinement of lava flows or melting of ice by pyroclastic flows or surges. This last category (ice-contact volcanism) need not cause much ice melting. Many of the deposits formed by Pleistocene volcanism in Iceland, British Columbia and Antarctica belong to the first category. An important difference between this type of activity and submarine activity (where pressure is hydrostatic) is that pressure at vents may in many cases be much lower than glaciostatic due to partial support of ice cover over vents by the surrounding glacier. Reduced pressure favours explosive activity. Thus the effusive/explosive transition may occur several hundred metres underneath the ice surface. Explosive fragmentation of magma leads to much higher rates of heat transfer than does effusive eruption of pillow lavas, and hence much higher melting rates. This effect of reduced pressure at vents will be less pronounced in a large ice sheet than in a smaller glacier or ice cap, since the hydraulic gradient that drives water away from an eruption site will be lower in the large glacier. This may have implications for form and type of eruption deposits and their relationship with ice thickness and glacier size.

Janus effect of antifreeze proteins on ice nucleation.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Kai; Wang, Chunlei; Ma, Ji; Shi, Guosheng; Yao, Xi; Fang, Haiping; Song, Yanlin; Wang, Jianjun

2016-12-20

The mechanism of ice nucleation at the molecular level remains largely unknown. Nature endows antifreeze proteins (AFPs) with the unique capability of controlling ice formation. However, the effect of AFPs on ice nucleation has been under debate. Here we report the observation of both depression and promotion effects of AFPs on ice nucleation via selectively binding the ice-binding face (IBF) and the non-ice-binding face (NIBF) of AFPs to solid substrates. Freezing temperature and delay time assays show that ice nucleation is depressed with the NIBF exposed to liquid water, whereas ice nucleation is facilitated with the IBF exposed to liquid water. The generality of this Janus effect is verified by investigating three representative AFPs. Molecular dynamics simulation analysis shows that the Janus effect can be established by the distinct structures of the hydration layer around IBF and NIBF. Our work greatly enhances the understanding of the mechanism of AFPs at the molecular level and brings insights to the fundamentals of heterogeneous ice nucleation.

Microfabricated Ice-Detection Sensor

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

DeAnna, Russell

1997-01-01

.... The sensor is capable of distinguishing between an ice covered and a clean surface. It employs a bulk micromachined wafer with a 7 micrometers thick, boron doped, silicon diaphragm which serves as one plate of a parallel plate capacitor...

A study of Arctic sea ice freeboard heights, gravity anomalies and dynamic topography from ICESat measurementes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skourup, Henriette

The Arctic sea ice cover has a great influence on the climate and is believed to respond rapidly to climate changes. Since 2003 the Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) laser altimetry mission has provided satellite altimetry over the ice covered Arctic Ocean up to 86 N. In this thesis...

Bioinspired Materials for Controlling Ice Nucleation, Growth, and Recrystallization.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Zhiyuan; Liu, Kai; Wang, Jianjun

2018-05-15

Ice formation, mainly consisting of ice nucleation, ice growth, and ice recrystallization, is ubiquitous and crucial in wide-ranging fields from cryobiology to atmospheric physics. Despite active research for more than a century, the mechanism of ice formation is still far from satisfactory. Meanwhile, nature has unique ways of controlling ice formation and can provide resourceful avenues to unravel the mechanism of ice formation. For instance, antifreeze proteins (AFPs) protect living organisms from freezing damage via controlling ice formation, for example, tuning ice nucleation, shaping ice crystals, and inhibiting ice growth and recrystallization. In addition, AFP mimics can have applications in cryopreservation of cells, tissues, and organs, food storage, and anti-icing materials. Therefore, continuous efforts have been made to understand the mechanism of AFPs and design AFP inspired materials. In this Account, we first review our recent research progress in understanding the mechanism of AFPs in controlling ice formation. A Janus effect of AFPs on ice nucleation was discovered, which was achieved via selectively tethering the ice-binding face (IBF) or the non-ice-binding face (NIBF) of AFPs to solid surfaces and investigating specifically the effect of the other face on ice nucleation. Through molecular dynamics (MD) simulation analysis, we observed ordered hexagonal ice-like water structure atop the IBF and disordered water structure atop the NIBF. Therefore, we conclude that the interfacial water plays a critical role in controlling ice formation. Next, we discuss the design and fabrication of AFP mimics with capabilities in tuning ice nucleation and controlling ice shape and growth, as well as inhibiting ice recrystallization. For example, we tuned ice nucleation via modifying solid surfaces with supercharged unfolded polypeptides (SUPs) and polyelectrolyte brushes (PBs) with different counterions. We found graphene oxide (GO) and oxidized quasi

Unequal ice-sheet erosional impacts across low-relief shield terrain in northern Fennoscandia

Science.gov (United States)

Ebert, Karin; Hall, Adrian M.; Kleman, Johan; Andersson, Jannike

2015-03-01

Much previous work on Late Cenozoic glacial erosion patterns in bedrock has focussed on mountain areas. Here we identify varying impacts of ice sheet erosion on the low-relief bedrock surface of the Fennoscandian shield, and examine the geological, topographical and glaciological controls on these patterns. We combine GIS-mapping of topographical, hydrological and weathering data with field observations. We identify and investigate areas with similar geology and general low relief that show different degrees of ice sheet erosional impact, despite similar ice cover histories. On two transects with a total area of ~ 84 000 km2 across the northern Fennoscandian shield, we first establish patterns of glacial erosion and then examine why glacially streamlined areas exist adjacent to areas of negligible glacial erosion. The northern transect includes two areas of exceptional glacial preservation, the Parkajoki area in Sweden and the so-called ice divide zone in Finland, each of which preserve tors and deep saprolite covers. The southern transect, overlapping in the northern part with the first transect, includes areas of well developed glacial streamlining, with bedrock areas stripped of loose material and barely any weathering remnants. For both areas, we firstly present contrasting indicators for ice sheet erosional impact: streamlined and non-streamlined inselbergs; parallel and dendritic/rectangular drainage patterns; and the absence and presence of Neogene weathering remnants. This is followed by an investigation of factors that possibly influence ice sheet erosional impact: ice cover history, ice cover duration and thickness, bedrock type and structure, and topography. We find that the erosional impact of the Fennoscandian ice sheet has varied across the study area. Distinct zones of ice sheet erosion are identified in which indicators of either low or high erosion coexist in the same parts of the transects. No direct impact of rock type on glacial erosion patterns

Towards an assessment of the balance state of the Greenland Ice Sheet

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boeggild, C.E.; Mayer, C.; Podlech, S.; Taurisano, A.; Nielsen, S.

2004-07-01

The climate of Europe is strongly influenced by heat transport by ocean currents flowing from equatorial regions towards the Arctic. During recent years, research has been increasingly focused on factors affecting this circulation, e.g. the freshwater budget of the Arctic that is influenced by glacial melt water from north and East Greenland outlet glaciers. Furthermore, the climate is affected by snow cover, which, apart from its contribution to the freshwater budget, provides feedback effects in that it reflects most of the solar radiation. Apart from Arctic sea-ice cover, the Greenland Ice Sheet is the largest permanent ice- and snow-covered area in the northern hemisphere, with an area of 1.67 x 10{sup 6} km{sup 2} and by far the largest storage of ice with a volume of 2.93 x 10{sup 6} km{sup 3}. Most of the mass loss from the Greenland Ice Sheet occurs in the marginal region of the ice sheet, which is also the area where the largest changes in albedo occur. The Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) has for many years carried out research along the Greenland Ice Sheet margin to monitor changes of mass balance and melt conditions. (BA)

Influence of ice thickness and surface properties on light transmission through Arctic sea ice.

Science.gov (United States)

Katlein, Christian; Arndt, Stefanie; Nicolaus, Marcel; Perovich, Donald K; Jakuba, Michael V; Suman, Stefano; Elliott, Stephen; Whitcomb, Louis L; McFarland, Christopher J; Gerdes, Rüdiger; Boetius, Antje; German, Christopher R

2015-09-01

The observed changes in physical properties of sea ice such as decreased thickness and increased melt pond cover severely impact the energy budget of Arctic sea ice. Increased light transmission leads to increased deposition of solar energy in the upper ocean and thus plays a crucial role for amount and timing of sea-ice-melt and under-ice primary production. Recent developments in underwater technology provide new opportunities to study light transmission below the largely inaccessible underside of sea ice. We measured spectral under-ice radiance and irradiance using the new Nereid Under-Ice (NUI) underwater robotic vehicle, during a cruise of the R/V Polarstern to 83°N 6°W in the Arctic Ocean in July 2014. NUI is a next generation hybrid remotely operated vehicle (H-ROV) designed for both remotely piloted and autonomous surveys underneath land-fast and moving sea ice. Here we present results from one of the first comprehensive scientific dives of NUI employing its interdisciplinary sensor suite. We combine under-ice optical measurements with three dimensional under-ice topography (multibeam sonar) and aerial images of the surface conditions. We investigate the influence of spatially varying ice-thickness and surface properties on the spatial variability of light transmittance during summer. Our results show that surface properties such as melt ponds dominate the spatial distribution of the under-ice light field on small scales (sea ice-thickness is the most important predictor for light transmission on larger scales. In addition, we propose the use of an algorithm to obtain histograms of light transmission from distributions of sea ice thickness and surface albedo.

Ross Sea Polynyas: Response of Ice Concentration Retrievals to Large Areas of Thin Ice

Science.gov (United States)

Kwok, R.; Comiso, J. C.; Martin, S.; Drucker, R.

2007-01-01

For a 3-month period between May and July of 2005, we examine the response of the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR-E) Enhanced NASA Team 2 (NT2) and AMSR-E Bootstrap (ABA) ice concentration algorithms to large areas of thin ice of the Ross Sea polynyas. Coincident Envisat Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) coverage of the region during this period offers a detailed look at the development of the polynyas within several hundred kilometers of the ice front. The high-resolution imagery and derived ice motion fields show bands of polynya ice, covering up to approximately 105 km(sup 2) of the Ross Sea, that are associated with wind-forced advection. In this study, ice thickness from AMSR-E 36 GHz polarization information serves as the basis for examination of the response. The quality of the thickness of newly formed sea ice (<10 cm) from AMSR-E is first assessed with thickness estimates derived from ice surface temperatures from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument. The effect of large areas of thin ice in lowering the ice concentration estimates from both NT2/ABA approaches is clearly demonstrated. Results show relatively robust relationships between retrieved ice concentrations and thin ice thickness estimates that differ between the two algorithms. These relationships define the approximate spatial coincidence of ice concentration and thickness isopleths. Using the 83% (ABA) and 91% (NT2) isopleths as polynya boundaries, we show that the computed coverage compares well with that using the estimated 10-cm thickness contour. The thin ice response characterized here suggests that in regions with polynyas, the retrieval results could be used to provide useful geophysical information, namely thickness and coverage.

Inorganic carbon dynamics of melt pond-covered first year sea ice in the Canadian Arctic

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Geilfus, Nicolas-Xavier; Galley, R.J.; Crabeck, O.

2014-01-01

Melt pond formation is a common feature of the spring and summer Arctic sea ice. However, the role of the melt ponds formation and the impact of the sea ice melt on both the direction and size of CO2 flux between air and sea is still unknown. Here we describe the CO2-carbonate chemistry of melting...... a strong decrease of the total alkalinity (TA), total dissolved inorganic carbon (TCO2) and partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) within the bulk sea ice and the brine. Later on, melt pond formation affects both the bulk sea ice and the brine system. As melt ponds are formed from melted snow the in situ melt pond...

Ecology of southern ocean pack ice.

Science.gov (United States)

Brierley, Andrew S; Thomas, David N

2002-01-01

Around Antarctica the annual five-fold growth and decay of sea ice is the most prominent physical process and has a profound impact on marine life there. In winter the pack ice canopy extends to cover almost 20 million square kilometres--some 8% of the southern hemisphere and an area larger than the Antarctic continent itself (13.2 million square kilometres)--and is one of the largest, most dynamic ecosystems on earth. Biological activity is associated with all physical components of the sea-ice system: the sea-ice surface; the internal sea-ice matrix and brine channel system; the underside of sea ice and the waters in the vicinity of sea ice that are modified by the presence of sea ice. Microbial and microalgal communities proliferate on and within sea ice and are grazed by a wide range of proto- and macrozooplankton that inhabit the sea ice in large concentrations. Grazing organisms also exploit biogenic material released from the sea ice at ice break-up or melt. Although rates of primary production in the underlying water column are often low because of shading by sea-ice cover, sea ice itself forms a substratum that provides standing stocks of bacteria, algae and grazers significantly higher than those in ice-free areas. Decay of sea ice in summer releases particulate and dissolved organic matter to the water column, playing a major role in biogeochemical cycling as well as seeding water column phytoplankton blooms. Numerous zooplankton species graze sea-ice algae, benefiting additionally because the overlying sea-ice ceiling provides a refuge from surface predators. Sea ice is an important nursery habitat for Antarctic krill, the pivotal species in the Southern Ocean marine ecosystem. Some deep-water fish migrate to shallow depths beneath sea ice to exploit the elevated concentrations of some zooplankton there. The increased secondary production associated with pack ice and the sea-ice edge is exploited by many higher predators, with seals, seabirds and whales

On the potential for abrupt Arctic winter sea-ice loss

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bathiany, S.; Notz, Dirk; Mauritsen, T.; Raedel, G.; Brovkin, V.

2016-01-01

The authors examine the transition from a seasonally ice-covered Arctic to an Arctic Ocean that is sea ice free all year round under increasing atmospheric CO2 levels. It is shown that in comprehensive climate models, such loss of Arctic winter sea ice area is faster than the preceding loss of

Global warming related transient albedo feedback in the Arctic and its relation to the seasonality of sea ice

Science.gov (United States)

Andry, Olivier; Bintanja, Richard; Hazeleger, Wilco

2015-04-01

The Arctic is warming two to three times faster than the global average. Arctic sea ice cover is very sensitive to this warming and has reached historic minima in late summer in recent years (i.e. 2007, 2012). Considering that the Arctic Ocean is mainly ice-covered and that the albedo of sea ice is very high compared to that of open water, the change in sea ice cover is very likely to have a strong impact on the local surface albedo feedback. Here we quantify the temporal changes in surface albedo feedback in response to global warming. Usually feedbacks are evaluated as being representative and constant for long time periods, but we show here that the strength of climate feedbacks in fact varies strongly with time. For instance, time series of the amplitude of the surface albedo feedback, derived from future climate simulations (CIMP5, RCP8.5 up to year 2300) using a kernel method, peaks around the year 2100. This maximum is likely caused by an increased seasonality in sea-ice cover that is inherently associated with sea ice retreat. We demonstrate that the Arctic average surface albedo has a strong seasonal signature with a maximum in spring and a minimum in late summer/autumn. In winter when incoming solar radiation is minimal the surface albedo doesn't have an important effect on the energy balance of the climate system. The annual mean surface albedo is thus determined by the seasonality of both downwelling shortwave radiation and sea ice cover. As sea ice cover reduces the seasonal signature is modified, the transient part from maximum sea ice cover to its minimum is shortened and sharpened. The sea ice cover is reduced when downwelling shortwave radiation is maximum and thus the annual surface albedo is drastically smaller. Consequently the change in annual surface albedo with time will become larger and so will the surface albedo feedback. We conclude that a stronger seasonality in sea ice leads to a stronger surface albedo feedback, which accelerates

Experimental study of natural convection melting of ice in salt solutions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fang, L.J.; Cheung, F.B.; Linehan, J.H.; Pedersen, D.R.

1984-01-01

The solid-liquid interface morphology and the micro-physical process near the moving phase boundary during natural convection melting of a horizontal layer of ice by an overlying pool of salt solution were studied experimentally. A cathetometer which amplifies the interface region was used to measure the ice melting rate. Also measured were the temperature transients of the liquid pool. Within the temperature and the density ratio ranges explored, the ice melting rate was found to be very sensitive to the ratio of pool-to-ice melt density but independent of pool-to-ice temperature difference. By varying the density ratio, three different flow regimes and morphologies of the solid-liquid interface were observed, with melt streamers emanating from the crests of the wavy interface into the pool in all three cases. The measured wavelengths (spacing) between the streamers for four different pairs of materials were correlated with the density ratio and found to agree favorably with the predictions of Taylor instability theory

A Warming Surface but a Cooling Top of Atmosphere Associated with Warm, Moist Air Mass Advection over the Ice and Snow Covered Arctic

Science.gov (United States)

Sedlar, J.

2015-12-01

Atmospheric advection of heat and moisture from lower latitudes to the high-latitude Arctic is a critical component of Earth's energy cycle. Large-scale advective events have been shown to make up a significant portion of the moist static energy budget of the Arctic atmosphere, even though such events are typically infrequent. The transport of heat and moisture over surfaces covered by ice and snow results in dynamic changes to the boundary layer structure, stability and turbulence, as well as to diabatic processes such as cloud distribution, microphysics and subsequent radiative effects. Recent studies have identified advection into the Arctic as a key mechanism for modulating the melt and freeze of snow and sea ice, via modification to all-sky longwave radiation. This paper examines the radiative impact during summer of such Arctic advective events at the top of the atmosphere (TOA), considering also the important role they play for the surface energy budget. Using infrared sounder measurements from the AIRS satellite, the summer frequency of significantly stable and moist advective events from 2003-2014 are characterized; justification of AIRS profiles over the Arctic are made using radiosoundings during a 3-month transect (ACSE) across the Eastern Arctic basin. One such event was observed within the East Siberian Sea in August 2014 during ACSE, providing in situ verification on the robustness and capability of AIRS to monitor advective cases. Results will highlight the important surface warming aspect of stable, moist instrusions. However a paradox emerges as such events also result in a cooling at the TOA evident on monthly mean TOA radiation. Thus such events have a climatic importance over ice and snow covered surfaces across the Arctic. ERA-Interim reanalyses are examined to provide a longer term perspective on the frequency of such events as well as providing capability to estimate meridional fluxes of moist static energy.

Do Climate Models Simulate the Right Sea Ice Trends for the Wrong Reasons?

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenblum, E. J.; Eisenman, I.

2016-02-01

Observations indicate that the Arctic sea ice cover is rapidly retreating while the Antarctic sea ice cover is steadily expanding. State-of-the-art climate models, by contrast, predict a moderate decrease in both the Arctic and Antarctic sea ice cover. A number of recent studies have attributed this discrepancy in each hemisphere to natural variability. Here we examine sea ice changes during 1979-2013 in simulations from the most recent Coupled Model Intercomparison Project as well as the Community Earth System Model Large Ensemble. We find that after accounting for biases in the level of global warming in each simulation, the possibility that natural variability alone could explain the difference between models and observations becomes exceedingly small. This suggests instead that there is a systematic bias in the climate models or possibly the observations.

Arctic sea ice decline: Projected changes in timing and extent of sea ice in the Bering and Chukchi Seas

Science.gov (United States)

Douglas, David C.

2010-01-01

The Arctic region is warming faster than most regions of the world due in part to increasing greenhouse gases and positive feedbacks associated with the loss of snow and ice cover. One consequence has been a rapid decline in Arctic sea ice over the past 3 decades?a decline that is projected to continue by state-of-the-art models. Many stakeholders are therefore interested in how global warming may change the timing and extent of sea ice Arctic-wide, and for specific regions. To inform the public and decision makers of anticipated environmental changes, scientists are striving to better understand how sea ice influences ecosystem structure, local weather, and global climate. Here, projected changes in the Bering and Chukchi Seas are examined because sea ice influences the presence of, or accessibility to, a variety of local resources of commercial and cultural value. In this study, 21st century sea ice conditions in the Bering and Chukchi Seas are based on projections by 18 general circulation models (GCMs) prepared for the fourth reporting period by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2007. Sea ice projections are analyzed for each of two IPCC greenhouse gas forcing scenarios: the A1B `business as usual? scenario and the A2 scenario that is somewhat more aggressive in its CO2 emissions during the second half of the century. A large spread of uncertainty among projections by all 18 models was constrained by creating model subsets that excluded GCMs that poorly simulated the 1979-2008 satellite record of ice extent and seasonality. At the end of the 21st century (2090-2099), median sea ice projections among all combinations of model ensemble and forcing scenario were qualitatively similar. June is projected to experience the least amount of sea ice loss among all months. For the Chukchi Sea, projections show extensive ice melt during July and ice-free conditions during August, September, and October by the end of the century, with high agreement

Astronomical Ice: The Effects of Treating Ice as a Porous Media on the Dynamics and Evolution of Extraterrestrial Ice-Ocean Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Buffo, J.; Schmidt, B. E.

2015-12-01

With the prevalence of water and ice rich environments in the solar system, and likely the universe, becoming more apparent, understanding the evolutionary dynamics and physical processes of such locales is of great importance. Piqued interest arises from the understanding that the persistence of all known life depends on the presence of liquid water. As in situ investigation is currently infeasible, accurate numerical modeling is the best technique to demystify these environments. We will discuss an evolving model of ice-ocean interaction aimed at realistically describing the behavior of the ice-ocean interface by treating basal ice as a porous media, and its possible implications on the formation of astrobiological niches. Treating ice as a porous media drastically affects the thermodynamic properties it exhibits. Thus inclusion of this phenomenon is critical in accurately representing the dynamics and evolution of all ice-ocean environments. This model utilizes equations that describe the dynamics of sea ice when it is treated as a porous media (Hunke et. al. 2011), coupled with a basal melt and accretion model (Holland and Jenkins 1999). Combined, these two models produce the most accurate description of the processes occurring at the base of terrestrial sea ice and ice shelves, capable of resolving variations within the ice due to environmental pressures. While these models were designed for application to terrestrial environments, the physics occurring at any ice-water interface is identical, and these models can be used to represent the evolution of a variety of icy astronomical bodies. As terrestrial ice shelves provide a close analog to planetary ice-ocean environments, we truth test the models validity against observations of ice shelves. We apply this model to the ice-ocean interface of the icy Galilean moon Europa. We include profiles of temperature, salinity, solid fraction, and Darcy velocity, as well as temporally and spatially varying melt and

Environmental constraints on West Antarctic ice-sheet formation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lindstrom, D R; MacAyeal, D R

1987-01-01

Small perturbations in Antarctic environmental conditions can culminate in the demise of the Antarctic ice sheet's western sector. This may have happened during the last interglacial period, and could recur within the next millennium due to atmospheric warming from trace gas and CO/sub 2/ increases. In this study, we investigate the importance of sea-level, accumulation rate, and ice influx from the East Antarctic ice sheet in the re-establishment of the West Antarctic ice sheet from a thin cover using a time-dependent numerical ice-shelf model. Our results show that a precursor to the West Antarctic ice sheet can form within 3000 years. Sea-level lowering caused by ice-sheet development in the Northern Hemisphere has the greatest environmental influence. Under favorable conditions, ice grounding occurs over all parts of the West Antarctic ice sheet except up-stream of Thwaites Glacier and in the Ross Sea region.

Deep ice and salty oceans of icy worlds, how high pressures influence their thermodynamics and provide constrains on extraterrestrial habitability

Science.gov (United States)

Journaux, B.; Brown, J. M.; Bollengier, O.; Abramson, E.

2017-12-01

As in Earth arctic and Antarctic regions, suspected extraterrestrial deep oceans in icy worlds (i.e. icy moons and water-rich exoplanets) chemistry and thermodynamic state will strongly depend on their equilibrium with H2O ice and present solutes. Na-Mg-Cl-SO4 salt species are currently the main suspected ionic solutes to be present in deep oceans based on remote sensing, magnetic field measurements, cryovolcanism ice grains chemical analysis and chondritic material aqueous alteration chemical models. Unlike on our planet, deep extraterrestrial ocean might also be interacting at depth with high pressure ices (e.g. III, V, VI, VI, X) which have different behavior compared to ice Ih. Unfortunately, the pressures and temperatures inside these hydrospheres differ significantly from the one found in Earth aqueous environments, so most of our current thermodynamic databases do not cover the range of conditions relevant for modeling realistically large icy worlds interiors. Recent experimental results have shown that the presence of solutes, and more particularly salts, in equilibrium with high pressure ices have large effects on the stability, buoyancy and chemistry of all the phases present at these extreme conditions. High pressure in-situ measurements using diamond anvil cell apparatus were operated both at the University of washington and at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility on aqueous systems phase diagrams with Na-Mg-Cl-SO4 species, salt incorporation in high pressure ices and density inversions between the solid and the fluids. These results suggest a more complex picture of the interior structure, dynamic and chemical evolution of large icy worlds hydrospheres when solutes are taken into account, compared to current models mainly using pure water. Based on our in-situ experimental measurements, we propose the existence of new liquid environments at greater depths and the possibility of solid state transport of solute through the high pressure ices

Ice thickness measurements and volume estimates for glaciers in Norway

Science.gov (United States)

Andreassen, Liss M.; Huss, Matthias; Melvold, Kjetil; Elvehøy, Hallgeir; Winsvold, Solveig H.

2014-05-01

Whereas glacier areas in many mountain regions around the world now are well surveyed using optical satellite sensors and available in digital inventories, measurements of ice thickness are sparse in comparison and a global dataset does not exist. Since the 1980s ice thickness measurements have been carried out by ground penetrating radar on many glaciers in Norway, often as part of contract work for hydropower companies with the aim to calculate hydrological divides of ice caps. Measurements have been conducted on numerous glaciers, covering the largest ice caps as well as a few smaller mountain glaciers. However, so far no ice volume estimate for Norway has been derived from these measurements. Here, we give an overview of ice thickness measurements in Norway, and use a distributed model to interpolate and extrapolate the data to provide an ice volume estimate of all glaciers in Norway. We also compare the results to various volume-area/thickness-scaling approaches using values from the literature as well as scaling constants we obtained from ice thickness measurements in Norway. Glacier outlines from a Landsat-derived inventory from 1999-2006 together with a national digital elevation model were used as input data for the ice volume calculations. The inventory covers all glaciers in mainland Norway and consists of 2534 glaciers (3143 glacier units) covering an area of 2692 km2 ± 81 km2. To calculate the ice thickness distribution of glaciers in Norway we used a distributed model which estimates surface mass balance distribution, calculates the volumetric balance flux and converts it into thickness using the flow law for ice. We calibrated this model with ice thickness data for Norway, mainly by adjusting the mass balance gradient. Model results generally agree well with the measured values, however, larger deviations were found for some glaciers. The total ice volume of Norway was estimated to be 275 km3 ± 30 km3. From the ice thickness data set we selected

Heterogeneous condensation of ice mantle around silicate core grain in molecular cloud

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hasegawa, H.

1984-01-01

Interstellar water ice grains are observed in the cold and dense regions such as molecular clouds, HII regions and protostellar objects. The water ice is formed from gas phase during the cooling stage of cosmic gas with solid grain surfaces of high temperature silicate minerals. It is a question whether the ice is formed through the homogeneous condensation process (as the ice alone) or the heterogeneous one (as the ice around the pre-existing high temperature mineral grains). (author)

Impact of surface nanostructure on ice nucleation.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xiang-Xiong; Chen, Min; Fu, Ming

2014-09-28

Nucleation of water on solid surface can be promoted noticeably when the lattice parameter of a surface matches well with the ice structure. However, the characteristic length of the surface lattice reported is generally less than 0.5 nm and is hardly tunable. In this paper, we show that a surface with nanoscale roughness can also remarkably promote ice nucleation if the characteristic length of the surface structure matches well with the ice crystal. A series of surfaces composed of periodic grooves with same depth but different widths are constructed in molecular dynamics simulations. Water cylinders are placed on the constructed surfaces and frozen at constant undercooling. The nucleation rates of the water cylinders are calculated in the simulation using the mean first-passage time method and then used to measure the nucleation promotion ability of the surfaces. Results suggest that the nucleation behavior of the supercooled water is significantly sensitive to the width of the groove. When the width of the groove matches well with the specific lengths of the ice crystal structure, the nucleation can be promoted remarkably. If the width does not match with the ice crystal, this kind of promotion disappears and the nucleation rate is even smaller than that on the smooth surface. Simulations also indicate that even when water molecules are adsorbed onto the surface structure in high-humidity environment, the solid surface can provide promising anti-icing ability as long as the characteristic length of the surface structure is carefully designed to avoid geometric match.

High Artic Glaciers and Ice Caps Ice Mass Change from GRACE, Regional Climate Model Output and Altimetry.

Science.gov (United States)

Ciraci, E.; Velicogna, I.; Fettweis, X.; van den Broeke, M. R.

2016-12-01

The Arctic hosts more than the 75% of the ice covered regions outside from Greenland and Antarctica. Available observations show that increased atmospheric temperatures during the last century have contributed to a substantial glaciers retreat in all these regions. We use satellite gravimetry by the NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), and apply a least square fit mascon approach to calculate time series of ice mass change for the period 2002-2016. Our estimates show that arctic glaciers have constantly contributed to the sea level rise during the entire observation period with a mass change of -170+/-20 Gt/yr equivalent to the 80% of the total ice mass change from the world Glacier and Ice Caps (GIC) excluding the Ice sheet peripheral GIC, which we calculated to be -215+/-32 GT/yr, with an acceleration of 9+/-4 Gt/yr2. The Canadian Archipelago is the main contributor to the total mass depletion with an ice mass trend of -73+/-9 Gt/yr and a significant acceleration of -7+/-3 Gt/yr2. The increasing mass loss is mainly determined by melting glaciers located in the northern part of the archipelago.In order to investigate the physical processes driving the observed ice mass loss we employ satellite altimetry and surface mass balance (SMB) estimates from Regional climate model outputs available for the same time period covered by the gravimetry data. We use elevation data from the NASA ICESat (2003-2009) and ESA CryoSat-2 (2010-2016) missions to estimate ice elevation changes. We compare GRACE ice mass estimates with time series of surface mass balance from the Regional Climate Model (RACMO-2) and the Modèle Atmosphérique Régional (MAR) and determine the portion of the total mass change explained by the SMB signal. We find that in Iceland and in the and the Canadian Archipelago the SMB signal explains most of the observed mass changes, suggesting that ice discharge may play a secondary role here. In other region, e.g. in Svalbar, the SMB signal

Classification of debris-covered glaciers and rock glaciers in the Andes of central Chile

Science.gov (United States)

Janke, Jason R.; Bellisario, Antonio C.; Ferrando, Francisco A.

2015-07-01

In the Dry Andes of Chile (17 to 35° S), debris-covered glaciers and rock glaciers are differentiated from true glaciers based on the percentage of surface debris cover, thickness of surface debris, and ice content. Internal ice is preserved by an insulating cover of thick debris, which acts as a storage reservoir to release water during the summer and early fall. These landforms are more numerous than glaciers in the central Andes; however, the existing legislation only recognizes uncovered or semicovered glaciers as a water resource. Glaciers, debris-covered glaciers, and rock glaciers are being altered or removed by mining operations to extract valuable minerals from the mountains. In addition, agricultural expansion and population growth in this region have placed additional demands on water resources. In a warmer climate, as glaciers recede and seasonal water availability becomes condensed over the course of a snowmelt season, rock glaciers and debris-covered glaciers contribute a larger component of base flow to rivers and streams. As a result, identifying and locating these features to implement sustainable regional planning for water resources is important. The objective of this study is to develop a classification system to identify debris-covered glaciers and rock glaciers based on the interpretation of satellite imagery and aerial photographs. The classification system is linked to field observations and measurements of ice content. Debris-covered glaciers have three subclasses: surface coverage of semi (class 1) and fully covered (class 2) glaciers differentiates the first two forms, whereas debris thickness is critical for class 3 when glaciers become buried with more than 3 m of surface debris. Based on field observations, the amount of ice decreases from more than 85%, to 65-85%, to 45-65% for semi, fully, and buried debris-covered glaciers, respectively. Rock glaciers are characterized by three stages. Class 4 rock glaciers have pronounced

Ice crystal precipitation at Dome C site (East Antarctica)

Science.gov (United States)

Santachiara, G.; Belosi, F.; Prodi, F.

2016-01-01

For the first time, falling ice crystals were collected on glass slides covered with a thin layer of 2% formvar in chloroform at the Dome Concordia site (Dome C), Antarctica. Samplings were performed in the framework of the 27th Italian Antarctica expedition of the Italian National Program for Research in Antarctica in the period 21 February-6 August 2012. Events of clear-sky precipitations and precipitations from clouds were considered and the replicas obtained were examined under Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Several shapes of ice crystals were identified, including ;diamond dust; (plates, pyramids, hollow and solid columns), and crystal aggregates varying in complexity. Single events often contained both small (10 μm to 50 μm) and large (hundreds of microns) crystals, suggesting that crystals can form simultaneously near the ground (height of a few hundred metres) and at higher layers (height of thousands of metres). Images of sampled crystal replicas showed that single bullets are not produced separately, but by the disintegration of combinations of bullets. Rimed ice crystals were absent in the Dome C samples, i.e. the only mode of crystal growth was water vapour diffusion. On considering the aerosol in the sampled crystals, we reached the conclusion that inertial impaction, interception and Brownian motion were insufficient to explain the scavenged aerosol. We therefore presume that phoretic forces play a role in scavenging during the crystal growth process.

The interaction of ultraviolet light with Arctic sea ice during SHEBA

Science.gov (United States)

Perovich, Donald K.

The reflection, absorption and transmission of ultraviolet light by a sea-ice cover strongly impacts primary productivity, higher trophic components of the food web, and humans. Measurements of the incident irradiance at 305, 320, 340 and 380 nm and of the photosynthetically active radiation were made from April through September 1998 as part of the SHEBA (Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean program) field experiment in the Arctic Ocean. In addition, observations of snow depth and ice thickness were made at more than 100 sites encompassing a comprehensive range of conditions. The thickness observations were combined with a radiative transfer model to compute a time series of the ultraviolet light transmitted by the ice cover from April through September. Peak values of incident ultraviolet irradiance occurred in mid-June. Peak transmittance was later in the summer at the end of the melt season when the snow cover had completely melted, the ice had thinned and pond coverage was extensive. The fraction of the incident ultraviolet irradiance transmitted through the ice increased by several orders of magnitude as the melt season progressed. Ultraviolet transmittance was approximately a factor of ten greater for melt ponds than bare ice. Climate change has the potential to alter the amplitude and timing of the annual albedo cycle of sea ice. If the onset of melt occurs at increasingly earlier dates, ultraviolet transmittance will be significantly enhanced, with potentially deleterious biological impacts.

A globally complete map of supraglacial debris cover and a new toolkit for debris cover research

Science.gov (United States)

Herreid, Sam; Pellicciotti, Francesca

2017-04-01

A growing canon of literature is focused on resolving the processes and implications of debris cover on glaciers. However, this work is often confined to a handful of glaciers that were likely selected based on criteria optimizing their suitability to test a specific hypothesis or logistical ease. The role of debris cover in a glacier system is likely to not go overlooked in forthcoming research, yet the magnitude of this role at a global scale has not yet been fully described. Here, we present a map of debris cover for all glacierized regions on Earth including the Greenland Ice Sheet using 30 m Landsat data. This dataset will begin to open a wider context to the high quality, localized findings from the debris-covered glacier research community and help inform large-scale modeling efforts. A global map of debris cover also facilitates analysis attempting to isolate first order geomorphological and climate controls of supraglacial debris production. Furthering the objective of expanding the inclusion of debris cover in forthcoming research, we also present an under development suite of open-source, Python based tools. Requiring minimal and often freely available input data, we have automated the mapping of: i) debris cover, ii) ice cliffs, iii) debris cover evolution over the Landsat era and iv) glacier flow instabilities from altered debris structures. At the present time, debris extent is the only globally complete quantity but with the expanding repository of high quality global datasets and further tool development minimizing manual tasks and computational cost, we foresee all of these tools being applied globally in the near future.

Ice and AIS: ship speed data and sea ice forecasts in the Baltic Sea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

U. Löptien

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The Baltic Sea is a seasonally ice-covered marginal sea located in a densely populated area in northern Europe. Severe sea ice conditions have the potential to hinder the intense ship traffic considerably. Thus, sea ice fore- and nowcasts are regularly provided by the national weather services. Typically, the forecast comprises several ice properties that are distributed as prognostic variables, but their actual usefulness is difficult to measure, and the ship captains must determine their relative importance and relevance for optimal ship speed and safety ad hoc. The present study provides a more objective approach by comparing the ship speeds, obtained by the automatic identification system (AIS, with the respective forecasted ice conditions. We find that, despite an unavoidable random component, this information is useful to constrain and rate fore- and nowcasts. More precisely, 62–67% of ship speed variations can be explained by the forecasted ice properties when fitting a mixed-effect model. This statistical fit is based on a test region in the Bothnian Sea during the severe winter 2011 and employs 15 to 25 min averages of ship speed.

Observations of the PCB distribution within and in-between ice, snow, ice-rafted debris, ice-interstitial water, and seawater in the Barents Sea marginal ice zone and the North Pole area.

Science.gov (United States)

Gustafsson, O; Andersson, P; Axelman, J; Bucheli, T D; Kömp, P; McLachlan, M S; Sobek, A; Thörngren, J-O

2005-04-15

To evaluate the two hypotheses of locally elevated exposure of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in ice-associated microenvironments and ice as a key carrier for long-range transport of POPs to the Arctic marginal ice zone (MIZ), dissolved and particulate polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were analyzed in ice, snow, ice-interstitial water (IIW), seawater in the melt layer underlying the ice, and in ice-rafted sediment (IRS) from the Barents Sea MIZ to the high Arctic in the summer of 2001. Ultra-clean sampling equipment and protocols were specially developed for this expedition, including construction of a permanent clean room facility and a stainless steel seawater intake system on the I/B ODEN as well as two mobile 370 l ice-melting systems. Similar concentrations were found in several ice-associated compartments. For instance, the concentration of one of the most abundant congeners, PCB 52, was typically on the order of 0.1-0.3 pg l(-1) in the dissolved (melted) phase of the ice, snow, IIW, and underlying seawater while its particulate organic-carbon (POC) normalized concentrations were around 1-3 ng gPOC(-1) in the ice, snow, IIW, and IRS. The solid-water distribution of PCBs in ice was well correlated with and predictable from K(ow) (ice log K(oc)-log K(ow) regressions: p<0.05, r2=0.78-0.98, n=9), indicating near-equilibrium partitioning of PCBs within each local ice system. These results do generally not evidence the existence of physical microenvironments with locally elevated POP exposures. However, there were some indications that the ice-associated system had harbored local environments with higher exposure levels earlier/before the melting/vegetative season, as a few samples had PCB concentrations elevated by factors of 5-10 relative to the typical values, and the elevated levels were predominantly found at the station where melting had putatively progressed the least. The very low PCB concentrations and absence of any significant concentration

Observations of the PCB distribution within and in-between ice, snow, ice-rafted debris, ice-interstitial water, and seawater in the Barents Sea marginal ice zone and the North Pole area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gustafsson, Oe.; Andersson, P.; Axelman, J.; Bucheli, T.D.; Koemp, P.; McLachlan, M.S.; Sobek, A.; Thoerngren, J.-O.

2005-01-01

To evaluate the two hypotheses of locally elevated exposure of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in ice-associated microenvironments and ice as a key carrier for long-range transport of POPs to the Arctic marginal ice zone (MIZ), dissolved and particulate polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were analyzed in ice, snow, ice-interstitial water (IIW), seawater in the melt layer underlying the ice, and in ice-rafted sediment (IRS) from the Barents Sea MIZ to the high Arctic in the summer of 2001. Ultra-clean sampling equipment and protocols were specially developed for this expedition, including construction of a permanent clean room facility and a stainless steel seawater intake system on the I/B ODEN as well as two mobile 370 l ice-melting systems. Similar concentrations were found in several ice-associated compartments. For instance, the concentration of one of the most abundant congeners, PCB 52, was typically on the order of 0.1-0.3 pg l -1 in the dissolved (melted) phase of the ice, snow, IIW, and underlying seawater while its particulate organic-carbon (POC) normalized concentrations were around 1-3 ng gPOC -1 in the ice, snow, IIW, and IRS. The solid-water distribution of PCBs in ice was well correlated with and predictable from K ow (ice log K oc -log K ow regressions: p 2 =0.78-0.98, n=9), indicating near-equilibrium partitioning of PCBs within each local ice system. These results do generally not evidence the existence of physical microenvironments with locally elevated POP exposures. However, there were some indications that the ice-associated system had harbored local environments with higher exposure levels earlier/before the melting/vegetative season, as a few samples had PCB concentrations elevated by factors of 5-10 relative to the typical values, and the elevated levels were predominantly found at the station where melting had putatively progressed the least. The very low PCB concentrations and absence of any significant concentration gradients, both

Temporal dynamics of ikaite in experimental sea ice

Science.gov (United States)

Rysgaard, S.; Wang, F.; Galley, R. J.; Grimm, R.; Notz, D.; Lemes, M.; Geilfus, N.-X.; Chaulk, A.; Hare, A. A.; Crabeck, O.; Else, B. G. T.; Campbell, K.; Sørensen, L. L.; Sievers, J.; Papakyriakou, T.

2014-08-01

Ikaite (CaCO3 · 6H2O) is a metastable phase of calcium carbonate that normally forms in a cold environment and/or under high pressure. Recently, ikaite crystals have been found in sea ice, and it has been suggested that their precipitation may play an important role in air-sea CO2 exchange in ice-covered seas. Little is known, however, of the spatial and temporal dynamics of ikaite in sea ice. Here we present evidence for highly dynamic ikaite precipitation and dissolution in sea ice grown at an outdoor pool of the Sea-ice Environmental Research Facility (SERF) in Manitoba, Canada. During the experiment, ikaite precipitated in sea ice when temperatures were below -4 °C, creating three distinct zones of ikaite concentrations: (1) a millimeter-to-centimeter-thin surface layer containing frost flowers and brine skim with bulk ikaite concentrations of >2000 μmol kg-1, (2) an internal layer with ikaite concentrations of 200-400 μmol kg-1, and (3) a bottom layer with ikaite concentrations of ikaite crystals to dissolve. Manual removal of the snow cover allowed the sea ice to cool and brine salinities to increase, resulting in rapid ikaite precipitation. The observed ikaite concentrations were on the same order of magnitude as modeled by FREZCHEM, which further supports the notion that ikaite concentration in sea ice increases with decreasing temperature. Thus, varying snow conditions may play a key role in ikaite precipitation and dissolution in sea ice. This could have a major implication for CO2 exchange with the atmosphere and ocean that has not been accounted for previously.

Sea ice production and transport of pollutants in Laptev Sea, 1979 to 1992

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rigor, I.; Colony, R.

1995-01-01

About 900,000 km 2 of the polar pack ice is transferred annually from the Arctic Basin to the North Atlantic. The largest portion of this exported ice cover is created by the large scale divergence within the ice pack, but a significant portion of the ice cover originates in the marginal seas, either by fall freezing of the seasonally ice free waters or by wintertime advection away from the coast. The main objective of this study was to estimate the annual production of ice in the Laptev Sea and to determine its ultimate fate. The study was motivated by the possibility that ice formed in the Laptev Sea may be an agent for the long range transport of pollutants such as radionuclides. The authors have attempted to characterize the mean and interannual variability of ice production by investigating the winter production and subsequent melt of ice in the Laptev Sea from 1979 through 1992. The general approach was to associate pollution transport with the net exchange of ice area from the Laptev Sea to the perennial ice pack. The primary data sets supporting the study were ice charts, ice motion and geostrophic wind. 3 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab

Long-range-transported bioaerosols captured in snow cover on Mount Tateyama, Japan: impacts of Asian-dust events on airborne bacterial dynamics relating to ice-nucleation activities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. Maki

2018-06-01

Full Text Available The westerly wind travelling at high altitudes over eastern Asia transports aerosols from the Asian deserts and urban areas to downwind areas such as Japan. These long-range-transported aerosols include not only mineral particles but also microbial particles (bioaerosols, that impact the ice-cloud formation processes as ice nuclei. However, the detailed relations of airborne bacterial dynamics to ice nucleation in high-elevation aerosols have not been investigated. Here, we used the aerosol particles captured in the snow cover at altitudes of 2450 m on Mt Tateyama to investigate sequential changes in the ice-nucleation activities and bacterial communities in aerosols and elucidate the relationships between the two processes. After stratification of the snow layers formed on the walls of a snow pit on Mt Tateyama, snow samples, including aerosol particles, were collected from 70 layers at the lower (winter accumulation and upper (spring accumulation parts of the snow wall. The aerosols recorded in the lower parts mainly came from Siberia (Russia, northern Asia and the Sea of Japan, whereas those in the upper parts showed an increase in Asian dust particles originating from the desert regions and industrial coasts of Asia. The snow samples exhibited high levels of ice nucleation corresponding to the increase in Asian dust particles. Amplicon sequencing analysis using 16S rRNA genes revealed that the bacterial communities in the snow samples predominately included plant associated and marine bacteria (phyla Proteobacteria during winter, whereas during spring, when dust events arrived frequently, the majority were terrestrial bacteria of phyla Actinobacteria and Firmicutes. The relative abundances of Firmicutes (Bacilli showed a significant positive relationship with the ice nucleation in snow samples. Presumably, Asian dust events change the airborne bacterial communities over Mt Tateyama and carry terrestrial bacterial populations, which

Long-range-transported bioaerosols captured in snow cover on Mount Tateyama, Japan: impacts of Asian-dust events on airborne bacterial dynamics relating to ice-nucleation activities

Science.gov (United States)

Maki, Teruya; Furumoto, Shogo; Asahi, Yuya; Lee, Kevin C.; Watanabe, Koichi; Aoki, Kazuma; Murakami, Masataka; Tajiri, Takuya; Hasegawa, Hiroshi; Mashio, Asami; Iwasaka, Yasunobu

2018-06-01

The westerly wind travelling at high altitudes over eastern Asia transports aerosols from the Asian deserts and urban areas to downwind areas such as Japan. These long-range-transported aerosols include not only mineral particles but also microbial particles (bioaerosols), that impact the ice-cloud formation processes as ice nuclei. However, the detailed relations of airborne bacterial dynamics to ice nucleation in high-elevation aerosols have not been investigated. Here, we used the aerosol particles captured in the snow cover at altitudes of 2450 m on Mt Tateyama to investigate sequential changes in the ice-nucleation activities and bacterial communities in aerosols and elucidate the relationships between the two processes. After stratification of the snow layers formed on the walls of a snow pit on Mt Tateyama, snow samples, including aerosol particles, were collected from 70 layers at the lower (winter accumulation) and upper (spring accumulation) parts of the snow wall. The aerosols recorded in the lower parts mainly came from Siberia (Russia), northern Asia and the Sea of Japan, whereas those in the upper parts showed an increase in Asian dust particles originating from the desert regions and industrial coasts of Asia. The snow samples exhibited high levels of ice nucleation corresponding to the increase in Asian dust particles. Amplicon sequencing analysis using 16S rRNA genes revealed that the bacterial communities in the snow samples predominately included plant associated and marine bacteria (phyla Proteobacteria) during winter, whereas during spring, when dust events arrived frequently, the majority were terrestrial bacteria of phyla Actinobacteria and Firmicutes. The relative abundances of Firmicutes (Bacilli) showed a significant positive relationship with the ice nucleation in snow samples. Presumably, Asian dust events change the airborne bacterial communities over Mt Tateyama and carry terrestrial bacterial populations, which possibly induce ice

Impact of increasing antarctic glacial freshwater release on regional sea-ice cover in the Southern Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Merino, Nacho; Jourdain, Nicolas C.; Le Sommer, Julien; Goosse, Hugues; Mathiot, Pierre; Durand, Gael

2018-01-01

The sensitivity of Antarctic sea-ice to increasing glacial freshwater release into the Southern Ocean is studied in a series of 31-year ocean/sea-ice/iceberg model simulations. Glaciological estimates of ice-shelf melting and iceberg calving are used to better constrain the spatial distribution and magnitude of freshwater forcing around Antarctica. Two scenarios of glacial freshwater forcing have been designed to account for a decadal perturbation in glacial freshwater release to the Southern Ocean. For the first time, this perturbation explicitly takes into consideration the spatial distribution of changes in the volume of Antarctic ice shelves, which is found to be a key component of changes in freshwater release. In addition, glacial freshwater-induced changes in sea ice are compared to typical changes induced by the decadal evolution of atmospheric states. Our results show that, in general, the increase in glacial freshwater release increases Antarctic sea ice extent. But the response is opposite in some regions like the coastal Amundsen Sea, implying that distinct physical mechanisms are involved in the response. We also show that changes in freshwater forcing may induce large changes in sea-ice thickness, explaining about one half of the total change due to the combination of atmospheric and freshwater changes. The regional contrasts in our results suggest a need for improving the representation of freshwater sources and their evolution in climate models.

Sea ice contribution to the air-sea CO{sub 2} exchange in the Arctic and Southern Oceans

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rysgaard, Soeren (Greenland Climate Research Centre, Greenland Inst. of Natural Resources, Nuuk, Greenland (Denmark); Centre for Earth Observation Science, CHR Faculty of Environment Earth and Resources, Univ. of Manitoba, Winnipeg (Canada)), e-mail: rysgaard@natur.gl; Bendtsen, Joergen (Greenland Climate Research Centre, Greenland Inst. of Natural Resources, Nuuk, Greenland (Denmark); Centre for Ice and Climate, Niels Bohr Inst., Univ. of Copenhagen, Copenhagen O (Denmark)); Delille, Bruno (Unit' e d' Oceanographie Chimique, Interfacultary Centre for Marine Research, Universite de Liege, Liege (Belgium)); Dieckmann, Gerhard S. (Alfred Wegener Inst. for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven (Germany)); Glud, Ronnie N. (Greenland Climate Research Centre, Greenland Inst. of Natural Resources, Nuuk, Greenland (Denmark); Scottish Association of Marine Sciences, Scotland UK, Southern Danish Univ. and NordCee, Odense M (Denmark)); Kennedy, Hilary; Papadimitriou, Stathys (School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor Univ., Menai Bridge, Anglesey, Wales (United Kingdom)); Mortensen, John (Greenland Climate Research Centre, Greenland Inst. of Natural Resources, Nuuk, Greenland (Denmark)); Thomas, David N. (School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor Univ., Menai Bridge, Anglesey, Wales (United Kingdom); Finnish Environment Inst. (SYKE), Marine Research Centre, Helsinki (Finland)); Tison, Jean-Louis (Glaciology Unit, Dept. of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, Bruxelles, (Belgium))

2011-11-15

Although salt rejection from sea ice is a key process in deep-water formation in ice-covered seas, the concurrent rejection of CO{sub 2} and the subsequent effect on air-sea CO{sub 2} exchange have received little attention. We review the mechanisms by which sea ice directly and indirectly controls the air-sea CO{sub 2} exchange and use recent measurements of inorganic carbon compounds in bulk sea ice to estimate that oceanic CO{sub 2} uptake during the seasonal cycle of sea-ice growth and decay in ice-covered oceanic regions equals almost half of the net atmospheric CO{sub 2} uptake in ice-free polar seas. This sea-ice driven CO{sub 2} uptake has not been considered so far in estimates of global oceanic CO{sub 2} uptake. Net CO{sub 2} uptake in sea-ice-covered oceans can be driven by; (1) rejection during sea-ice formation and sinking of CO{sub 2}-rich brine into intermediate and abyssal oceanic water masses, (2) blocking of air-sea CO{sub 2} exchange during winter, and (3) release of CO{sub 2}-depleted melt water with excess total alkalinity during sea-ice decay and (4) biological CO{sub 2} drawdown during primary production in sea ice and surface oceanic waters

SIMULATION AND INVESTIGATION OF TIRE TREAD BLOCKS INTERACTION WITH ICE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrius Ružinskas

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The car tire is an essential subject analysing its interaction with the road. From tire’s tread condition, geometry and rubber compound depends grip and vehicle stability. This is especially relevant in winter time, when roads are covered with the layer of snow or ice. Generally, new tires are tested in real traffic conditions using vehicles. However, ensuring these conditions requires many resources and sometimes it could be a big challenge. For this reason, simulation of the tire interaction with the road becomes more important in nowadays tire researches. Since the tire is a complex engineering subject, the tire tread blocks could be separated for individual analysis. The interaction between the dry ice and the tread block with sipes was analysed using finite element analysis. The tread block was described using hyperelastic Mooney­Rivlin material model. The deformations, distribution of the contact pressure and shear stresses were obtained for the soft and hard rubber compounds with different vertical load conditions. Also a solid tread block interaction was analysed and it was found that values of contact pressure and shear stresses are much lower comparing to siped tread block.

Direct observations of atmosphere - sea ice - ocean interactions during Arctic winter and spring storms

Science.gov (United States)

Graham, R. M.; Itkin, P.; Granskog, M. A.; Assmy, P.; Cohen, L.; Duarte, P.; Doble, M. J.; Fransson, A.; Fer, I.; Fernandez Mendez, M.; Frey, M. M.; Gerland, S.; Haapala, J. J.; Hudson, S. R.; Liston, G. E.; Merkouriadi, I.; Meyer, A.; Muilwijk, M.; Peterson, A.; Provost, C.; Randelhoff, A.; Rösel, A.; Spreen, G.; Steen, H.; Smedsrud, L. H.; Sundfjord, A.

2017-12-01

To study the thinner and younger sea ice that now dominates the Arctic the Norwegian Young Sea ICE expedition (N-ICE2015) was launched in the ice-covered region north of Svalbard, from January to June 2015. During this time, eight local and remote storms affected the region and rare direct observations of the atmosphere, snow, ice and ocean were conducted. Six of these winter storms passed directly over the expedition and resulted in air temperatures rising from below -30oC to near 0oC, followed by abrupt cooling. Substantial snowfall prior to the campaign had already formed a snow pack of approximately 50 cm, to which the February storms contributed an additional 6 cm. The deep snow layer effectively isolated the ice cover and prevented bottom ice growth resulting in low brine fluxes. Peak wind speeds during winter storms exceeded 20 m/s, causing strong snow re-distribution, release of sea salt aerosol and sea ice deformation. The heavy snow load caused widespread negative freeboard; during sea ice deformation events, level ice floes were flooded by sea water, and at least 6-10 cm snow-ice layer was formed. Elevated deformation rates during the most powerful winter storms damaged the ice cover permanently such that the response to wind forcing increased by 60 %. As a result of a remote storm in April deformation processes opened about 4 % of the total area into leads with open water, while a similar amount of ice was deformed into pressure ridges. The strong winds also enhanced ocean mixing and increased ocean heat fluxes three-fold in the pycnocline from 4 to 12 W/m2. Ocean heat fluxes were extremely large (over 300 W/m2) during storms in regions where the warm Atlantic inflow is located close to surface over shallow topography. This resulted in very large (5-25 cm/day) bottom ice melt and in cases flooding due to heavy snow load. Storm events increased the carbon dioxide exchange between the atmosphere and ocean but also affected the pCO2 in surface waters

Heterogeneous ice nucleation of viscous secondary organic aerosol produced from ozonolysis of α-pinene

Science.gov (United States)

Ignatius, Karoliina; Kristensen, Thomas B.; Järvinen, Emma; Nichman, Leonid; Fuchs, Claudia; Gordon, Hamish; Herenz, Paul; Hoyle, Christopher R.; Duplissy, Jonathan; Garimella, Sarvesh; Dias, Antonio; Frege, Carla; Höppel, Niko; Tröstl, Jasmin; Wagner, Robert; Yan, Chao; Amorim, Antonio; Baltensperger, Urs; Curtius, Joachim; Donahue, Neil M.; Gallagher, Martin W.; Kirkby, Jasper; Kulmala, Markku; Möhler, Ottmar; Saathoff, Harald; Schnaiter, Martin; Tomé, Antonio; Virtanen, Annele; Worsnop, Douglas; Stratmann, Frank

2016-05-01

There are strong indications that particles containing secondary organic aerosol (SOA) exhibit amorphous solid or semi-solid phase states in the atmosphere. This may facilitate heterogeneous ice nucleation and thus influence cloud properties. However, experimental ice nucleation studies of biogenic SOA are scarce. Here, we investigated the ice nucleation ability of viscous SOA particles. The SOA particles were produced from the ozone initiated oxidation of α-pinene in an aerosol chamber at temperatures in the range from -38 to -10 °C at 5-15 % relative humidity with respect to water to ensure their formation in a highly viscous phase state, i.e. semi-solid or glassy. The ice nucleation ability of SOA particles with different sizes was investigated with a new continuous flow diffusion chamber. For the first time, we observed heterogeneous ice nucleation of viscous α-pinene SOA for ice saturation ratios between 1.3 and 1.4 significantly below the homogeneous freezing limit. The maximum frozen fractions found at temperatures between -39.0 and -37.2 °C ranged from 6 to 20 % and did not depend on the particle surface area. Global modelling of monoterpene SOA particles suggests that viscous biogenic SOA particles are indeed present in regions where cirrus cloud formation takes place. Hence, they could make up an important contribution to the global ice nucleating particle budget.

Cell viability, pigments and photosynthetic performance of Arctic phytoplankton in contrasting ice-covered and open-water conditions during the spring-summer transition

KAUST Repository

Alou-Font, E

2015-12-02

© Inter-Research 2016. We examined phytoplankton biomass and community composition (mostly based on pigments) as well as cell viability with the cell digestion assay in surface waters of the Canadian Beaufort Sea during the spring-summer transition. Our aim was to understand phytoplankton responses to the large environmental changes (irradiance, temperature and nutrients) occurring during this period. Two categories of stations were visited in May and June 2008: ice-covered (IC), exposed to low irradiances, and open-water (OW), exposed to higher irradiances. We observed a large variation in the percentage of living cells (%LC) relative to the total community. No relationship was found between %LC and nitrate concentration (the nutrient potentially limiting in this environment). The in situ irradiance influenced the status of the cells at OW stations. Mean surface mixed layer irradiances >600 μmol photons m-2 s-1 were associated with low cell viability and a decline in photosynthetic performance (Fv/Fm). For IC stations, %LC declined at temperatures above 0°C, whereas for OW stations, it increased, suggesting that ice melting resulted in the release into surface waters of unhealthy cells from the bottom ice in one case, and that seasonal warming favored the communities present in open waters. A chlorophyll degradation pigment tentatively identified as pyropheophorbide a-\\'like\\' showed a significant negative relationship between its concentration (relative to chlorophyll a) and the %LC and Fv/Fm. Our results suggest that the melting conditions influence the distribution of this pigment and that it may be useful as a marker for low cell viability of ice algae being released into surface waters.

Cell viability, pigments and photosynthetic performance of Arctic phytoplankton in contrasting ice-covered and open-water conditions during the spring-summer transition

KAUST Repository

Alou-Font, E; Roy, S; Agusti, Susana; Gosselin, M

2015-01-01

© Inter-Research 2016. We examined phytoplankton biomass and community composition (mostly based on pigments) as well as cell viability with the cell digestion assay in surface waters of the Canadian Beaufort Sea during the spring-summer transition. Our aim was to understand phytoplankton responses to the large environmental changes (irradiance, temperature and nutrients) occurring during this period. Two categories of stations were visited in May and June 2008: ice-covered (IC), exposed to low irradiances, and open-water (OW), exposed to higher irradiances. We observed a large variation in the percentage of living cells (%LC) relative to the total community. No relationship was found between %LC and nitrate concentration (the nutrient potentially limiting in this environment). The in situ irradiance influenced the status of the cells at OW stations. Mean surface mixed layer irradiances >600 μmol photons m-2 s-1 were associated with low cell viability and a decline in photosynthetic performance (Fv/Fm). For IC stations, %LC declined at temperatures above 0°C, whereas for OW stations, it increased, suggesting that ice melting resulted in the release into surface waters of unhealthy cells from the bottom ice in one case, and that seasonal warming favored the communities present in open waters. A chlorophyll degradation pigment tentatively identified as pyropheophorbide a-'like' showed a significant negative relationship between its concentration (relative to chlorophyll a) and the %LC and Fv/Fm. Our results suggest that the melting conditions influence the distribution of this pigment and that it may be useful as a marker for low cell viability of ice algae being released into surface waters.

Observed ices in the Solar System

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, Roger N.; Grundy, Will; Carlson, Robert R.; Noll, Keith; Gudipati, Murthy; Castillo-Rogez, Julie C.

2013-01-01

Ices have been detected and mapped on the Earth and all planets and/or their satellites further from the sun. Water ice is the most common frozen volatile observed and is also unambiguously detected or inferred in every planet and/or their moon(s) except Venus. Carbon dioxide is also extensively found in all systems beyond the Earth except Pluto although it sometimes appears to be trapped rather than as an ice on some objects. The largest deposits of carbon dioxide ice is on Mars. Sulfur dioxide ice is found in the Jupiter system. Nitrogen and methane ices are common beyond the Uranian system. Saturn’s moon Titan probably has the most complex active chemistry involving ices, with benzene (C6H6) and many tentative or inferred compounds including ices of Cyanoacetylene (HC3N), Toluene (C7H8), Cyanogen (C2N2), Acetonitrile (CH3CN), H2O, CO2, and NH3. Confirming compounds on Titan is hampered by its thick smoggy atmosphere. Ammonia was predicted on many icy moons but is notably absent among the definitively detected ices with the possible exception of Enceladus. Comets, storehouses of many compounds that could exist as ices in their nuclei, have only had small amounts of water ice definitively detected on their surfaces. Only one asteroid has had a direct detection of surface water ice, although its presence can be inferred in others. This chapter reviews some of the properties of ices that lead to their detection, and surveys the ices that have been observed on solid surfaces throughout the Solar System.

Single-scattering properties of ice particles in the microwave regime: Temperature effect on the ice refractive index with implications in remote sensing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ding, Jiachen; Bi, Lei; Yang, Ping; Kattawar, George W.; Weng, Fuzhong; Liu, Quanhua; Greenwald, Thomas

2017-01-01

An ice crystal single-scattering property database is developed in the microwave spectral region (1 to 874 GHz) to provide the scattering, absorption, and polarization properties of 12 ice crystal habits (10-plate aggregate, 5-plate aggregate, 8-column aggregate, solid hexagonal column, hollow hexagonal column, hexagonal plate, solid bullet rosette, hollow bullet rosette, droxtal, oblate spheroid, prolate spheroid, and sphere) with particle maximum dimensions from 2 µm to 10 mm. For each habit, four temperatures (160, 200, 230, and 270 K) are selected to account for temperature dependence of the ice refractive index. The microphysical and scattering properties include projected area, volume, extinction efficiency, single-scattering albedo, asymmetry factor, and six independent nonzero phase matrix elements (i.e. P_1_1, P_1_2, P_2_2, P_3_3, P_4_3 and P_4_4). The scattering properties are computed by the Invariant Imbedding T-Matrix (II-TM) method and the Improved Geometric Optics Method (IGOM). The computation results show that the temperature dependence of the ice single-scattering properties in the microwave region is significant, particularly at high frequencies. Potential active and passive remote sensing applications of the database are illustrated through radar reflectivity and radiative transfer calculations. For cloud radar applications, ignoring temperature dependence has little effect on ice water content measurements. For passive microwave remote sensing, ignoring temperature dependence may lead to brightness temperature biases up to 5 K in the case of a large ice water path. - Highlights: • Single-scattering properties of ice crystals are computed from 1 to 874 GHz. • Ice refractive index temperature dependence is considered at 160, 200, 230 and 270 K. • Potential applications of the database to microwave remote sensing are illustrated. • Ignoring temperature dependence of ice refractive index can lead to 5 K difference in IWP retrieval

Investigating cosmic rays and air shower physics with IceCube/IceTop

Science.gov (United States)

Dembinski, Hans

2017-06-01

IceCube is a cubic-kilometer detector in the deep ice at South Pole. Its square-kilometer surface array, IceTop, is located at 2800 m altitude. IceTop is large and dense enough to cover the cosmic-ray energy spectrum from PeV to EeV energies with a remarkably small systematic uncertainty, thanks to being close to the shower maximum. The experiment offers new insights into hadronic physics of air showers by observing three components: the electromagnetic signal at the surface, GeV muons in the periphery of the showers, and TeV muons in the deep ice. The cosmic-ray flux is measured with the surface signal. The mass composition is extracted from the energy loss of TeV muons observed in the deep ice in coincidence with signals at the surface. The muon lateral distribution is obtained from GeV muons identified in surface signals in the periphery of the shower. The energy spectrum of the most energetic TeV muons is also under study, as well as special events with laterally separated TeV muon tracks which originate from high-pT TeV muons. A combination of all these measurements opens the possibility to perform powerful new tests of hadronic interaction models used to simulate air showers. The latest results will be reviewed from this perspective.

Investigating cosmic rays and air shower physics with IceCube/IceTop

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dembinski Hans

2017-01-01

Full Text Available IceCube is a cubic-kilometer detector in the deep ice at South Pole. Its square-kilometer surface array, IceTop, is located at 2800 m altitude. IceTop is large and dense enough to cover the cosmic-ray energy spectrum from PeV to EeV energies with a remarkably small systematic uncertainty, thanks to being close to the shower maximum. The experiment offers new insights into hadronic physics of air showers by observing three components: the electromagnetic signal at the surface, GeV muons in the periphery of the showers, and TeV muons in the deep ice. The cosmic-ray flux is measured with the surface signal. The mass composition is extracted from the energy loss of TeV muons observed in the deep ice in coincidence with signals at the surface. The muon lateral distribution is obtained from GeV muons identified in surface signals in the periphery of the shower. The energy spectrum of the most energetic TeV muons is also under study, as well as special events with laterally separated TeV muon tracks which originate from high-pT TeV muons. A combination of all these measurements opens the possibility to perform powerful new tests of hadronic interaction models used to simulate air showers. The latest results will be reviewed from this perspective.

Computational modeling of ice cracking and break-up from helicopter blades

KAUST Repository

Shiping, Zhang; Khurram, Rooh Ul Amin; Fouladi, Habibollah; Habashi, Wagdi G (Ed)

2012-01-01

In order to reduce the danger of impact onto components caused by break-up, it is important to analyze the shape of shed ice accumulated during flight. In this paper, we will present a 3D finite element method (FEM) to predict the shed ice shape by using a fluid-solid interaction (FSI) approach to determine the loads, and linear fracture mechanics to track crack propagation. Typical icing scenarios for helicopters are analyzed, and the possibility of ice break-up is investigated.

Computational modeling of ice cracking and break-up from helicopter blades

KAUST Repository

Shiping, Zhang

2012-06-25

In order to reduce the danger of impact onto components caused by break-up, it is important to analyze the shape of shed ice accumulated during flight. In this paper, we will present a 3D finite element method (FEM) to predict the shed ice shape by using a fluid-solid interaction (FSI) approach to determine the loads, and linear fracture mechanics to track crack propagation. Typical icing scenarios for helicopters are analyzed, and the possibility of ice break-up is investigated.

Ecology under lake ice

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hampton, Stephanie E.; Galloway, Aaron W. E.; Powers, Stephen M.; Ozersky, Ted; Woo, Kara H.; Batt, Ryan D.; Labou, Stephanie G.; O'Reilly, Catherine M.; Sharma, Sapna; Lottig, Noah R.; Stanley, Emily H.; North, Rebecca L.; Stockwell, Jason D.; Adrian, Rita; Weyhenmeyer, Gesa A.; Arvola, Lauri; Baulch, Helen M.; Bertani, Isabella; Bowman, Larry L., Jr.; Carey, Cayelan C.; Catalan, Jordi; Colom-Montero, William; Domine, Leah M.; Felip, Marisol; Granados, Ignacio; Gries, Corinna; Grossart, Hans-Peter; Haberman, Juta; Haldna, Marina; Hayden, Brian; Higgins, Scott N.; Jolley, Jeff C.; Kahilainen, Kimmo K.; Kaup, Enn; Kehoe, Michael J.; MacIntyre, Sally; Mackay, Anson W.; Mariash, Heather L.; Mckay, Robert M.; Nixdorf, Brigitte; Noges, Peeter; Noges, Tiina; Palmer, Michelle; Pierson, Don C.; Post, David M.; Pruett, Matthew J.; Rautio, Milla; Read, Jordan S.; Roberts, Sarah L.; Ruecker, Jacqueline; Sadro, Steven; Silow, Eugene A.; Smith, Derek E.; Sterner, Robert W.; Swann, George E. A.; Timofeyev, Maxim A.; Toro, Manuel; Twiss, Michael R.; Vogt, Richard J.; Watson, Susan B.; Whiteford, Erika J.; Xenopoulos, Marguerite A.

Winter conditions are rapidly changing in temperate ecosystems, particularly for those that experi-ence periods of snow and ice cover. Relatively little is known of winter ecology in these systems,due to a historical research focus on summer ‘growing seasons’. We executed the first global

Extracellular ice phase transitions in insects.

Science.gov (United States)

Hawes, T C

2014-01-01

At temperatures below their temperature of crystallization (Tc), the extracellular body fluids of insects undergo a phase transition from liquid to solid. Insects that survive the transition to equilibrium (complete freezing of the body fluids) are designated as freeze tolerant. Although this phenomenon has been reported and described in many Insecta, current nomenclature and theory does not clearly delineate between the process of transition (freezing) and the final solid phase itself (the frozen state). Thus freeze tolerant insects are currently, by convention, described in terms of the temperature at which the crystallization of their body fluids is initiated, Tc. In fact, the correct descriptor for insects that tolerate freezing is the temperature of equilibrium freezing, Tef. The process of freezing is itself a separate physical event with unique physiological stresses that are associated with ice growth. Correspondingly there are a number of insects whose physiological cryo-limits are very specifically delineated by this transitional envelope. The distinction also has considerable significance for our understanding of insect cryobiology: firstly, because the ability to manage endogenous ice growth is a fundamental segregator of cryotype; and secondly, because our understanding of internal ice management is still largely nascent.

The impact of the snow cover on sea-ice thickness products retrieved by Ku-band radar altimeters

Science.gov (United States)

Ricker, R.; Hendricks, S.; Helm, V.; Perovich, D. K.

2015-12-01

Snow on sea ice is a relevant polar climate parameter related to ocean-atmospheric interactions and surface albedo. It also remains an important factor for sea-ice thickness products retrieved from Ku-band satellite radar altimeters like Envisat or CryoSat-2, which is currently on its mission and the subject of many recent studies. Such satellites sense the height of the sea-ice surface above the sea level, which is called sea-ice freeboard. By assuming hydrostatic equilibrium and that the main scattering horizon is given by the snow-ice interface, the freeboard can be transformed into sea-ice thickness. Therefore, information about the snow load on hemispherical scale is crucial. Due to the lack of sufficient satellite products, only climatological values are used in current studies. Since such values do not represent the high variability of snow distribution in the Arctic, they can be a substantial contributor to the total sea-ice thickness uncertainty budget. Secondly, recent studies suggest that the snow layer cannot be considered as homogenous, but possibly rather featuring a complex stratigraphy due to wind compaction and/or ice lenses. Therefore, the Ku-band radar signal can be scattered at internal layers, causing a shift of the main scattering horizon towards the snow surface. This alters the freeboard and thickness retrieval as the assumption that the main scattering horizon is given by the snow-ice interface is no longer valid and introduces a bias. Here, we present estimates for the impact of snow depth uncertainties and snow properties on CryoSat-2 sea-ice thickness retrievals. We therefore compare CryoSat-2 freeboard measurements with field data from ice mass-balance buoys and aircraft campaigns from the CryoSat Validation Experiment. This unique validation dataset includes airborne laser scanner and radar altimeter measurements in spring coincident to CryoSat-2 overflights, and allows us to evaluate how the main scattering horizon is altered by the

Controls on Arctic sea ice from first-year and multi-year ice survival rates

Science.gov (United States)

Armour, K.; Bitz, C. M.; Hunke, E. C.; Thompson, L.

2009-12-01

The recent decrease in Arctic sea ice cover has transpired with a significant loss of multi-year (MY) ice. The transition to an Arctic that is populated by thinner first-year (FY) sea ice has important implications for future trends in area and volume. We develop a reduced model for Arctic sea ice with which we investigate how the survivability of FY and MY ice control various aspects of the sea-ice system. We demonstrate that Arctic sea-ice area and volume behave approximately as first-order autoregressive processes, which allows for a simple interpretation of September sea-ice in which its mean state, variability, and sensitivity to climate forcing can be described naturally in terms of the average survival rates of FY and MY ice. This model, used in concert with a sea-ice simulation that traces FY and MY ice areas to estimate the survival rates, reveals that small trends in the ice survival rates explain the decline in total Arctic ice area, and the relatively larger loss of MY ice area, over the period 1979-2006. Additionally, our model allows for a calculation of the persistence time scales of September area and volume anomalies. A relatively short memory time scale for ice area (~ 1 year) implies that Arctic ice area is nearly in equilibrium with long-term climate forcing at all times, and therefore observed trends in area are a clear indication of a changing climate. A longer memory time scale for ice volume (~ 5 years) suggests that volume can be out of equilibrium with climate forcing for long periods of time, and therefore trends in ice volume are difficult to distinguish from its natural variability. With our reduced model, we demonstrate the connection between memory time scale and sensitivity to climate forcing, and discuss the implications that a changing memory time scale has on the trajectory of ice area and volume in a warming climate. Our findings indicate that it is unlikely that a “tipping point” in September ice area and volume will be

Estimating Summer Ocean Heating in the Arctic Ice Pack Using High-Resolution Satellite Imagery

Science.gov (United States)

2014-09-01

8 D. THE BEAUFORT SEA ICE MARGINAL ICE ZONE ...............................9 1. Sea Ice - Albedo Feedback...seasonal evolution of sea ice albedo for MYI (blue) and FYI (red). Plot (c) is the daily solar heat input. Plot (d) is the time averaged solar heat... ice cover has decreased extensively, particularly in the summer months (from Lee et al. 2012). 13 1. Sea Ice - Albedo Feedback Albedo is a

Time-series measurements of methane (CH4) distribution during open water and ice-cover in lakes throughout the Mackenzie River Delta (Canada)

Science.gov (United States)

McIntosh, H.; Lapham, L.; Orcutt, B.; Wheat, C. G.; Lesack, L.; Bergstresser, M.; Dallimore, S. R.; MacLeod, R.; Cote, M.

2016-12-01

Arctic lakes are known to emit large amounts of methane to the atmosphere and their importance to the global methane (CH4) cycle has been recognized. It is well known CH4 builds up in Arctic lakes during ice-cover, but the amount of and when the CH4 is released to the atmosphere is not well known. Our preliminary results suggest the largest flux of CH4 from lakes to the atmosphere occurs slightly before complete ice-out; while others have shown the largest flux occurs when lakes overturn in the spring. During ice-out, CH4 can also be oxidized by methane oxidizing bacteria before it can efflux to the atmosphere from the surface water. In order to elucidate the processes contributing to Arctic lake CH4 emissions, continuous, long-term and large scale spatial sampling is required; however it is difficult to achieve in these remote locations. We address this problem using two sampling techniques. 1) We deployed osmotically powered pumps (OsmoSamplers), which were able to autonomously and continuously collect lake bottom water over the course of a year from multiple lakes in the Mackenzie River Delta. OsmoSamplers were placed in four lakes in the mid Delta near Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada, two lakes in the outer Delta, and two coastal lakes on Richard's Island in 2015. The dissolved CH4 concentration, stable isotope content of CH4 (δ13C-CH4), and dissolved sulfate concentrations in bottom water from these lakes will be presented to better understand methane dynamics under the ice and over time. 2) Along with the time-series data, we will also present data from discrete samples collected from 40 lakes in the mid Delta during key time periods, before and immediately after the spring ice-out. By determining the CH4 dynamics throughout the year we hope to improve predictions of how CH4 emissions may change in a warming Arctic environment.

Simulating Arctic clouds during Arctic Radiation- IceBridge Sea and Ice Experiment (ARISE)

Science.gov (United States)

Bromwich, D. H.; Hines, K. M.; Wang, S. H.

2015-12-01

The representation within global and regional models of the extensive low-level cloud cover over polar oceans remains a critical challenge for quantitative studies and forecasts of polar climate. In response, the polar-optimized version of the Weather Research and Forecasting model (Polar WRF) is used to simulate the meteorology, boundary layer, and Arctic clouds during the September-October 2014 Arctic Radiation- IceBridge Sea and Ice Experiment (ARISE) project. Polar WRF was developed with several adjustments to the sea ice thermodynamics in WRF. ARISE was based out of Eielson Air Force Base near Fairbanks, Alaska and included multiple instrumented C-130 aircraft flights over open water and sea ice of the Beaufort Sea. Arctic boundary layer clouds were frequently observed within cold northeasterly flow over the open ocean and ice. Preliminary results indicate these clouds were primarily liquid water, with characteristics differing between open water and sea ice surfaces. Simulated clouds are compared to ARISE observations. Furthermore, Polar WRF simulations are run for the August-September 2008 Arctic Summer Cloud Ocean Study (ASCOS) for comparison to the ARISE. Preliminary analysis shows that simulated low-level water clouds over the sea ice are too extensive during the the second half of the ASCOS field program. Alternatives and improvements to the Polar WRF cloud schemes are considered. The goal is to use the ARISE and ASCOS observations to achieve an improved polar supplement to the WRF code for open water and sea ice that can be provided to the Polar WRF community.

Sea ice contribution to the air-sea CO(2) exchange in the Arctic and Southern Oceans

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rysgaard...[], Søren; Bendtsen, Jørgen; Delille, B.

2011-01-01

Although salt rejection from sea ice is a key process in deep-water formation in ice-covered seas, the concurrent rejection of CO(2) and the subsequent effect on air-sea CO(2) exchange have received little attention. We review the mechanisms by which sea ice directly and indirectly controls the air......-sea CO(2) exchange and use recent measurements of inorganic carbon compounds in bulk sea ice to estimate that oceanic CO(2) uptake during the seasonal cycle of sea-ice growth and decay in ice-covered oceanic regions equals almost half of the net atmospheric CO(2) uptake in ice-free polar seas. This sea......-sea CO(2) exchange during winter, and (3) release of CO(2)-depleted melt water with excess total alkalinity during sea-ice decay and (4) biological CO(2) drawdown during primary production in sea ice and surface oceanic waters....

Controls on Arctic sea ice from first-year and multi-year survival rates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hunke, Jes [Los Alamos National Laboratory

2009-01-01

The recent decrease in Arctic sea ice cover has transpired with a significant loss of multi year ice. The transition to an Arctic that is populated by thinner first year sea ice has important implications for future trends in area and volume. Here we develop a reduced model for Arctic sea ice with which we investigate how the survivability of first year and multi year ice control the mean state, variability, and trends in ice area and volume.

Study of ice-related flow features around Tanaica Montes, Mars: Implications for late amazonian debris-covered glaciation

Science.gov (United States)

Sinha, Rishitosh K.; Vijayan, S.; Bharti, Rajiv R.

2017-11-01

Lobate debris aprons (LDA) and lineated valley fill (LVF) have been broadly recognized in the mid-latitudes of Mars and their subsequent analyses using data from the SHAllow RADar (SHARAD) instrument has suggested evidence for contemporary ice preserved beneath these features. In this study, we conduct detailed characterization of newly identified LDA flow units within the Tanaica Montes region (39.55˚ N, 269.17˚ E) of Mars to assess and understand the similarities in their emplacement with respect to LDA flow units mapped in other regions of Mars. We utilize the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) Context Camera (CTX) images and SHAllow RADar (SHARAD) datasets for geomorphic and subsurface analysis and Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) point tracks for topographic analysis. Geomorphic observation of LDA flow units surrounding the montes flanks and massif walls reveal integrated pattern of convergence and divergence and evidence of bending and deflection within the flow lines that resulted in concentric, loop-like flow patterns in the downslope. Brain-terrain texture and craters with varying morphological characteristics (ring-mold type) is suggestive that LDAs may be similar to ice-rich, debris-covered glaciers. MOLA point track based convex-up topographic profiles of LDAs suggest that their thickness vary in the range of ∼100-200 m in both the northwestern and southeastern portions of study region. Further, the slope values of mapped LDA surfaces within the study region are within ∼0.1˚-4˚. The extent of mapped LDAs within the study region is such that some of the low elevation (∼0.8-1.3 km) portions of montes flanks are surrounded by relatively less extent (up to ∼0.5-0.8 km) of LDA flow units. Geomorphic and topographic evidence for flow units that appear to be superposed on the main LDA body collectively suggest the possibility of episodic glacial activity in the region. Furthermore, based on the alignment of subsurface

Simulation of the Greenland Ice Sheet over two glacial–interglacial cycles: investigating a sub-ice-shelf melt parameterization and relative sea level forcing in an ice-sheet–ice-shelf model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. L. Bradley

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Observational evidence, including offshore moraines and sediment cores, confirm that at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM the Greenland ice sheet (GrIS expanded to a significantly larger spatial extent than seen at present, grounding into Baffin Bay and out onto the continental shelf break. Given this larger spatial extent and its close proximity to the neighbouring Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS and Innuitian Ice Sheet (IIS, it is likely these ice sheets will have had a strong non-local influence on the spatial and temporal behaviour of the GrIS. Most previous paleo ice-sheet modelling simulations recreated an ice sheet that either did not extend out onto the continental shelf or utilized a simplified marine ice parameterization which did not fully include the effect of ice shelves or neglected the sensitivity of the GrIS to this non-local bedrock signal from the surrounding ice sheets. In this paper, we investigated the evolution of the GrIS over the two most recent glacial–interglacial cycles (240 ka BP to the present day using the ice-sheet–ice-shelf model IMAU-ICE. We investigated the solid earth influence of the LIS and IIS via an offline relative sea level (RSL forcing generated by a glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA model. The RSL forcing governed the spatial and temporal pattern of sub-ice-shelf melting via changes in the water depth below the ice shelves. In the ensemble of simulations, at the glacial maximums, the GrIS coalesced with the IIS to the north and expanded to the continental shelf break to the southwest but remained too restricted to the northeast. In terms of the global mean sea level contribution, at the Last Interglacial (LIG and LGM the ice sheet added 1.46 and −2.59 m, respectively. This LGM contribution by the GrIS is considerably higher (∼  1.26 m than most previous studies whereas the contribution to the LIG highstand is lower (∼  0.7 m. The spatial and temporal behaviour of the northern margin was

Temporal dynamics of ikaite in experimental sea ice

OpenAIRE

S. Rysgaard; F. Wang; R. J. Galley; R. Grimm; D. Notz; M. Lemes; N.-X. Geilfus; A. Chaulk; A. A. Hare; O. Crabeck; B. G. T. Else; K. Campbell; L. L. Sørensen; J. Sievers; T. Papakyriakou

2014-01-01

Ikaite (CaCO3 · 6H2O) is a metastable phase of calcium carbonate that normally forms in a cold environment and/or under high pressure. Recently, ikaite crystals have been found in sea ice, and it has been suggested that their precipitation may play an important role in air–sea CO2 exchange in ice-covered seas. Little is known, however, of the spatial and temporal dynamics of ikaite in sea ice. Here we present evidence for highly dynamic ikaite precipitation and dissolution i...

Photochemistry of PAHs in cosmic water ice. The effect of concentration on UV-VIS spectroscopy and ionization efficiency

Science.gov (United States)

Cuylle, Steven H.; Allamandola, Louis J.; Linnartz, Harold

2014-02-01

Context. Observations and models show that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are ubiquitous in the interstellar medium. Like other molecules in dense clouds, PAHs accrete onto interstellar dust grains, where they are embedded in an ice matrix dominated by water. In the laboratory, mixed molecular ices (not containing PAHs) have been extensively studied using Fourier transform infrared absorption spectroscopy. Experiments including PAHs in ices have started, however, the concentrations used are typically much higher than the concentrations expected for interstellar ices. Optical spectroscopy offers a sensitive alternative. Aims: We report an experimental study of the effect PAH concentration has on the electronic spectra and the vacuum UV (VUV) driven processes of PAHs in water-rich ices. The goal is to apply the outcome to cosmic ices. Methods: Optical spectroscopic studies allow us to obtain in-situ and quasi real-time electronic solid state spectra of two prototypical PAHs (pyrene and coronene) embedded in water ice under VUV photoprocessing. The study is carried out on PAH:H2O concentrations in the range of 1:30 000 to pure PAH, covering the temperature range from 12 to 125 K. Results: PAH concentration strongly influences the efficiency of PAH cation formation. At low concentrations, ionization efficiencies are over 60% dropping to about 15% at 1:1000. Increasing the PAH concentration reveals spectral broadening in neutral and cation PAH spectra attributed to PAH clustering inside the ice. At the PAH concentrations expected for interstellar ices, some 10 to 20% may be present as cations. The presence of PAHs in neutral and ion form will add distinctive absorption bands to cosmic ice optical spectra and this may serve as a tool to determine PAH concentrations.

Melting ice, growing trade?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sami Bensassi

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Large reductions in Arctic sea ice, most notably in summer, coupled with growing interest in Arctic shipping and resource exploitation have renewed interest in the economic potential of the Northern Sea Route (NSR. Two key constraints on the future viability of the NSR pertain to bathymetry and the future evolution of the sea ice cover. Climate model projections of future sea ice conditions throughout the rest of the century suggest that even under the most “aggressive” emission scenario, increases in international trade between Europe and Asia will be very low. The large inter-annual variability of weather and sea ice conditions in the route, the Russian toll imposed for transiting the NSR, together with high insurance costs and scarce loading/unloading opportunities, limit the use of the NSR. We show that even if these obstacles are removed, the duration of the opening of the NSR over the course of the century is not long enough to offer a consequent boost to international trade at the macroeconomic level.

Experimental investigation of ice and snow melting process on pavement utilizing geothermal tail water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Huajun; Zhao Jun; Chen Zhihao

2008-01-01

Road ice and snow melting based on low temperature geothermal tail water is of significance to realize energy cascading utilization. A small scale ice and snow melting system is built in this work. Experiments of dynamic melting processes of crushed ice, solid ice, artificial snow and natural snow are conducted on concrete pavement. The results show that the melting process of ice and snow includes three phases: a starting period, a linear period and an accelerated period. The critical value of the snow free area ratio between the linear period and the accelerated period is about 0.6. The physical properties of ice and snow, linked with ambient conditions, have an obvious effect on the melting process. The difference of melting velocity and melting time between ice and snow is compared. To reduce energy consumption, the formation of ice on roads should be avoided if possible. The idling process is an effective pathway to improve the performance of melting systems. It is feasible to utilize geothermal tail water of about 40 deg. C for melting ice and snow on winter roads, and it is unnecessary to keep too high fluid temperatures during the practical design and applications. Besides, with the exception of solid ice, the density and porosity of snow and ice tend to be decreasing and increasing, respectively, as the ambient temperature decreases

Photolysis of aromatic pollutants in clean and dirty ice

Science.gov (United States)

Kahan, T.; Malley, P.; Stathis, A.

2015-12-01

Anthropogenic aromatic pollutants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and substituted benzenes often become more toxic following atmospheric oxidation. Photolysis of these pollutants in ice can be much faster than that in aqueous solution, which might lead to higher carcinogenic loadings in snow-covered regions. In this work we investigate two things. First, we investigate whether toluene, which has been detected at very elevated concentrations near hydraulic fracturing operations, can undergo photolysis at ice surfaces. Toluene in aqueous solution does not absorb sunlight, so photolysis has not been considered a potential atmospheric fate. However, benzene was recently demonstrated to undergo a significant red shift in its absorbance at ice surfaces, leading to photolysis under environmentally-relevant conditions. Here we show that toluene also undergoes photolysis at ice surfaces. In a second set of experiments, we have investigated the effects of organic matter on the photolysis kinetics ofPAHs in ice and at ice surfaces. We found that very small loadings of hydrophobic organics such as octanol can significantly suppress PAH photolysis kinetics in ice, but that the primary effect of the more soluble fulvic acid is competitive photon absorption. Our results show that photochemistry of anthropogenic pollutants can follow very different mechanisms and kinetics in ice than in aqueous solution, and that the photochemical fate of these pollutants depends strongly on the composition of the snow. These results have implications for pollutant fate and human health in a wide range of snow-covered environments including remote areas, cities, and regions near gas and oil extraction operations.

Sea and Freshwater Ice Concentration from VIIRS on Suomi NPP and the Future JPSS Satellites

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yinghui Liu

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Information on ice is important for shipping, weather forecasting, and climate monitoring. Historically, ice cover has been detected and ice concentration has been measured using relatively low-resolution space-based passive microwave data. This study presents an algorithm to detect ice and estimate ice concentration in clear-sky areas over the ocean and inland lakes and rivers using high-resolution data from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS onboard the Suomi National Polar Orbiting Partnership (S-NPP and on future Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS satellites, providing spatial detail that cannot be obtained with passive microwave data. A threshold method is employed with visible and infrared observations to identify ice, then a tie-point algorithm is used to determine the representative reflectance/temperature of pure ice, estimate the ice concentration, and refine the ice cover mask. The VIIRS ice concentration is validated using observations from Landsat 8. Results show that VIIRS has an overall bias of −0.3% compared to Landsat 8 ice concentration, with a precision (uncertainty of 9.5%. Biases and precision values for different ice concentration subranges from 0% to 100% can be larger.

On the nature of the sea ice albedo feedback in simple models

OpenAIRE

Moon, Woosok; Wettlaufer, John S.

2013-01-01

We examine the nature of the ice-albedo feedback in a long standing approach used in the dynamic-thermodynamic modeling of sea ice. The central issue examined is how the evolution of the ice area is treated when modeling a partial ice cover using a two-category-thickness scheme; thin sea ice and open water in one category and "thick" sea ice in the second. The problem with the scheme is that the area-evolution is handled in a manner that violates the basic rules of calculus, which leads to a ...

Time-Dependent Variations in the Arctic’s Surface Albedo Feedback and the Link to Seasonality in Sea Ice

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Andry, Olivier; Bintanja, Richard; Hazeleger, Wilco

2017-01-01

The Arctic is warming 2 to 3 times faster than the global average. Arctic sea ice cover is very sensitive to this warming and has reached historic minima in late summer in recent years (e.g., 2007 and 2012). Considering that the Arctic Ocean is mainly ice covered and that the albedo of sea ice is

Formation of ice XII at low temperatures and high pressures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schober, H.; Koza, M.; Toelle, A.; Fujara, F.

1999-01-01

Complete text of publication follows. Solid water features a large variety of crystalline as well as two amorphous phases. The versatility of water's behavior has been reinforced recently by the identification of still another form of crystalline ice [1]. Ice XII was obtained by cooling liquid water to 260 K at a pressure of 5.5 kbar. Ice XII could be produced in a completely different region of water's phase diagram [2]. Using a. piston-cylinder apparatus ice XII was formed during the production of high-density amorphous ice (HDA) at 77 K as described previously [3]. The amount of crystalline ice XII contamination within the HDA sample varies in a so far unpredictable way with both extremes, i.e. pure HDA as well as pure ice XII. realized. Our results indicate that water's phase diagram needs modification in the region assigned to HDA. Ice XII is characterized as well as its transition towards cubic ice by elastic and inelastic neutron scattering. (author)

Evolution of the Marginal Ice Zone: Adaptive Sampling with Autonomous Gliders

Science.gov (United States)

2015-09-30

release; distribution is unlimited. Evolution of the Marginal Ice Zone: Adaptive Sampling with Autonomous Gliders Craig M. Lee, Luc Rainville and Jason I...missions in ice-covered waters , where they provide several unique capabilities. Ice-capable Seagliders can maintain persistent (many months) sampling ...irradiance. Careful calibration casts, including water sampling , were conducted during both the deployment and recovery cruises. An example of a

The phase diagram of water at negative pressures: virtual ices.

Science.gov (United States)

Conde, M M; Vega, C; Tribello, G A; Slater, B

2009-07-21

The phase diagram of water at negative pressures as obtained from computer simulations for two models of water, TIP4P/2005 and TIP5P is presented. Several solid structures with lower densities than ice Ih, so-called virtual ices, were considered as possible candidates to occupy the negative pressure region of the phase diagram of water. In particular the empty hydrate structures sI, sII, and sH and another, recently proposed, low-density ice structure. The relative stabilities of these structures at 0 K was determined using empirical water potentials and density functional theory calculations. By performing free energy calculations and Gibbs-Duhem integration the phase diagram of TIP4P/2005 was determined at negative pressures. The empty hydrates sII and sH appear to be the stable solid phases of water at negative pressures. The phase boundary between ice Ih and sII clathrate occurs at moderate negative pressures, while at large negative pressures sH becomes the most stable phase. This behavior is in reasonable agreement with what is observed in density functional theory calculations.

A New Discrete Element Sea-Ice Model for Earth System Modeling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Turner, Adrian Keith [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2017-03-10

Sea ice forms a frozen crust of sea water oating in high-latitude oceans. It is a critical component of the Earth system because its formation helps to drive the global thermohaline circulation, and its seasonal waxing and waning in the high north and Southern Ocean signi cantly affects planetary albedo. Usually 4{6% of Earth's marine surface is covered by sea ice at any one time, which limits the exchange of heat, momentum, and mass between the atmosphere and ocean in the polar realms. Snow accumulates on sea ice and inhibits its vertical growth, increases its albedo, and contributes to pooled water in melt ponds that darken the Arctic ice surface in the spring. Ice extent and volume are subject to strong seasonal, inter-annual and hemispheric variations, and climatic trends, which Earth System Models (ESMs) are challenged to simulate accurately (Stroeve et al., 2012; Stocker et al., 2013). This is because there are strong coupled feedbacks across the atmosphere-ice-ocean boundary layers, including the ice-albedo feedback, whereby a reduced ice cover leads to increased upper ocean heating, further enhancing sea-ice melt and reducing incident solar radiation re ected back into the atmosphere (Perovich et al., 2008). A reduction in perennial Arctic sea-ice during the satellite era has been implicated in mid-latitude weather changes, including over North America (Overland et al., 2015). Meanwhile, most ESMs have been unable to simulate observed inter-annual variability and trends in Antarctic sea-ice extent during the same period (Gagne et al., 2014).

Drivers of past and future Arctic sea-ice evolution in CMIP5 models

Science.gov (United States)

Burgard, Clara; Notz, Dirk

2016-04-01

The Arctic sea-ice cover has been melting rapidly over the last decades. The main drivers of this sea-ice retreat are assumed to be changes in sea-ice thermodynamics, driven by changes in atmospheric surface fluxes and the oceanic heat flux at the base of the ice. To identify the fluxes most affecting past and future sea-ice evolution (under the RCP4.5 scenario) in climate models, we analyzed the surface energy budget over the Arctic Ocean in global climate models involved in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 5 (CMIP5) framework. In the multi-model ensemble annual mean, the sum of atmospheric fluxes increases from 1990 to 2045, mainly driven by an increase of the radiative surface fluxes and decreases from 2045 to 2099, mainly driven by an increase in upward turbulent heat fluxes. However, due to the large model spread, the future changes in the sum of atmospheric fluxes are not significant. These non-significant changes result from several effects counteracting each other under climate change. On the one hand, a higher CO2 concentration, air temperature and air moisture lead to a higher incoming energy flux (incoming longwave radiation). On the other hand, the resulting melt of sea ice leads to higher outgoing energy fluxes (outgoing longwave radiation, sensible heat flux, latent heat flux). Shortwave radiation behaves differently, but also in two counteracting ways, as higher air moisture leads to a decrease in incoming shortwave radiation and less sea-ice cover leads to a decrease in outgoing shortwave radiation. The small changes in the atmospheric fluxes can be converted to an energy gain or loss by the ocean/sea-ice system, either as sensible heat by changing the oceanic heat content or as latent heat by changing the sea-ice volume. Such analysis in the multi-model ensemble mean shows that the loss of energy at the surface due to atmospheric fluxes is decreasing during the 21st century, leading to an increase in oceanic heat content and an increase in

Cloud and surface textural features in polar regions

Science.gov (United States)

Welch, Ronald M.; Kuo, Kwo-Sen; Sengupta, Sailes K.

1990-01-01

The study examines the textural signatures of clouds, ice-covered mountains, solid and broken sea ice and floes, and open water. The textural features are computed from sum and difference histogram and gray-level difference vector statistics defined at various pixel displacement distances derived from Landsat multispectral scanner data. Polar cloudiness, snow-covered mountainous regions, solid sea ice, glaciers, and open water have distinguishable texture features. This suggests that textural measures can be successfully applied to the detection of clouds over snow-covered mountains, an ability of considerable importance for the modeling of snow-melt runoff. However, broken stratocumulus cloud decks and thin cirrus over broken sea ice remain difficult to distinguish texturally. It is concluded that even with high spatial resolution imagery, it may not be possible to distinguish broken stratocumulus and thin clouds from sea ice in the marginal ice zone using the visible channel textural features alone.

Evidence of recent changes in the ice regime of lakes in the Canadian High Arctic from spaceborne satellite observations

Science.gov (United States)

Surdu, Cristina M.; Duguay, Claude R.; Fernández Prieto, Diego

2016-05-01

Arctic lakes, through their ice cover phenology, are a key indicator of climatic changes that the high-latitude environment is experiencing. In the case of lakes in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA), many of which are ice covered more than 10 months per year, warmer temperatures could result in ice regime shifts. Within the dominant polar-desert environment, small local warmer areas have been identified. These relatively small regions - polar oases - with longer growing seasons and greater biological productivity and diversity are secluded from the surrounding barren polar desert. The ice regimes of 11 lakes located in both polar-desert and polar-oasis environments, with surface areas between 4 and 542 km2, many of unknown bathymetry, were documented. In order to investigate the response of ice cover of lakes in the CAA to climate conditions during recent years, a 15-year time series (1997-2011) of RADARSAT-1/2 ScanSAR Wide Swath, ASAR Wide Swath, and Landsat acquisitions were analyzed. Results show that melt onset occurred earlier for all observed lakes. With the exception of Lower Murray Lake, all lakes experienced earlier summer ice minimum and water-clear-of-ice (WCI) dates, with greater changes being observed for polar-oasis lakes (9-24 days earlier WCI dates for lakes located in polar oases and 2-20 days earlier WCI dates for polar-desert lakes). Additionally, results suggest that some lakes may be transitioning from a perennial/multiyear to a seasonal ice regime, with only a few lakes maintaining a multiyear ice cover on occasional years. Aside Lake Hazen and Murray Lakes, which preserved their ice cover during the summer of 2009, no residual ice was observed on any of the other lakes from 2007 to 2011.

Pan-Arctic sea ice-algal chl a biomass and suitable habitat are largely underestimated for multiyear ice.

Science.gov (United States)

Lange, Benjamin A; Flores, Hauke; Michel, Christine; Beckers, Justin F; Bublitz, Anne; Casey, John Alec; Castellani, Giulia; Hatam, Ido; Reppchen, Anke; Rudolph, Svenja A; Haas, Christian

2017-11-01

There is mounting evidence that multiyear ice (MYI) is a unique component of the Arctic Ocean and may play a more important ecological role than previously assumed. This study improves our understanding of the potential of MYI as a suitable habitat for sea ice algae on a pan-Arctic scale. We sampled sea ice cores from MYI and first-year sea ice (FYI) within the Lincoln Sea during four consecutive spring seasons. This included four MYI hummocks with a mean chl a biomass of 2.0 mg/m 2 , a value significantly higher than FYI and MYI refrozen ponds. Our results support the hypothesis that MYI hummocks can host substantial ice-algal biomass and represent a reliable ice-algal habitat due to the (quasi-) permanent low-snow surface of these features. We identified an ice-algal habitat threshold value for calculated light transmittance of 0.014%. Ice classes and coverage of suitable ice-algal habitat were determined from snow and ice surveys. These ice classes and associated coverage of suitable habitat were applied to pan-Arctic CryoSat-2 snow and ice thickness data products. This habitat classification accounted for the variability of the snow and ice properties and showed an areal coverage of suitable ice-algal habitat within the MYI-covered region of 0.54 million km 2 (8.5% of total ice area). This is 27 times greater than the areal coverage of 0.02 million km 2 (0.3% of total ice area) determined using the conventional block-model classification, which assigns single-parameter values to each grid cell and does not account for subgrid cell variability. This emphasizes the importance of accounting for variable snow and ice conditions in all sea ice studies. Furthermore, our results indicate the loss of MYI will also mean the loss of reliable ice-algal habitat during spring when food is sparse and many organisms depend on ice-algae. © 2017 The Authors. Global Change Biology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A multifunctional setup to record FTIR and UV-vis spectra of organic molecules and their photoproducts in astronomical ices.

Science.gov (United States)

Kofman, V; Witlox, M J A; Bouwman, J; Ten Kate, I L; Linnartz, H

2018-05-01

This article describes a new, multi-functional, high-vacuum ice setup that allows to record the in situ and real-time spectra of vacuum UV (VUV)-irradiated non-volatile molecules embedded in a low-temperature (10 K) amorphous solid water environment. Three complementary diagnostic tools-UV-visible (UV-vis) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and temperature-programmed desorption quadrupole mass spectrometry-can be used to simultaneously study the physical and chemical behavior of the organic molecules in the ice upon VUV irradiation. The setup is equipped with a temperature-controlled sublimation oven that enables the controlled homogeneous deposition of solid species such as amino acids, nucleobases, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in ice mixtures prepared from precursor gases and/or liquids. The resulting ice is photo-processed with a microwave discharge hydrogen lamp, generating VUV radiation with a spectral energy distribution representative for the interstellar medium. The characteristics, performance, and future potential of the system are discussed by describing three different applications. First, a new method is introduced, which uses broadband interference transmission fringes recorded during ice deposition, to determine the wavelength-dependent refractive index, n λ , of amorphous solid water. This approach is also applicable to other solids, pure and mixed. Second, the UV-vis and FTIR spectroscopy of an VUV-irradiated triphenylene:water ice mixture is discussed, monitoring the ionization efficiency of PAHs in interstellar ice environments. The third and final example investigates the stability of solid glycine upon VUV irradiation by monitoring the formation of dissociation products in real time.

A multifunctional setup to record FTIR and UV-vis spectra of organic molecules and their photoproducts in astronomical ices

Science.gov (United States)

Kofman, V.; Witlox, M. J. A.; Bouwman, J.; ten Kate, I. L.; Linnartz, H.

2018-05-01

This article describes a new, multi-functional, high-vacuum ice setup that allows to record the in situ and real-time spectra of vacuum UV (VUV)-irradiated non-volatile molecules embedded in a low-temperature (10 K) amorphous solid water environment. Three complementary diagnostic tools—UV-visible (UV-vis) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and temperature-programmed desorption quadrupole mass spectrometry—can be used to simultaneously study the physical and chemical behavior of the organic molecules in the ice upon VUV irradiation. The setup is equipped with a temperature-controlled sublimation oven that enables the controlled homogeneous deposition of solid species such as amino acids, nucleobases, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in ice mixtures prepared from precursor gases and/or liquids. The resulting ice is photo-processed with a microwave discharge hydrogen lamp, generating VUV radiation with a spectral energy distribution representative for the interstellar medium. The characteristics, performance, and future potential of the system are discussed by describing three different applications. First, a new method is introduced, which uses broadband interference transmission fringes recorded during ice deposition, to determine the wavelength-dependent refractive index, nλ, of amorphous solid water. This approach is also applicable to other solids, pure and mixed. Second, the UV-vis and FTIR spectroscopy of an VUV-irradiated triphenylene:water ice mixture is discussed, monitoring the ionization efficiency of PAHs in interstellar ice environments. The third and final example investigates the stability of solid glycine upon VUV irradiation by monitoring the formation of dissociation products in real time.

Constraints on the properties of Pluto's nitrogen-ice rich layer from convection simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, T.; McKinnon, W. B.; Schenk, P.

2016-12-01

Pluto's Sputnik Planum basin (informally named) displays regular cellular patterns strongly suggesting that solid-state convection is occurring in a several-kilometers-deep nitrogen-ice rich layer (McKinnon et al., Convection in a volatile nitrogen-ice-rich layer drives Pluto's geological vigour, Nature 534, 82-85, 2016). We investigate the behavior of thermal convection in 2-D that covers a range of parameters applicable to the nitrogen ice layer to constrain its properties such that these long-wavelength surface features can be explained. We perform a suite of numerical simulations of convection with basal heating and temperature-dependent viscosity in either exponential form or Arrhenius form. For a plausible range of Rayleigh numbers and viscosity contrasts for solid nitrogen, convection can occur in all possible regimes: sluggish lid, transitional, or stagnant lid, or the layer could be purely conducting. We suggest the range of depth and temperature difference across the layer for convection to occur. We observe that the plume dynamics can be widely different in terms of the aspect ratio of convecting cells, or the width and spacing of plumes, and also in the lateral movement of plumes. These differences depend on the regime of convection determined by the Rayleigh number and the actual viscosity contrast across the layer, but is not sensitive to whether the viscosity is in Arrhenius or exponential form. The variations in plume dynamics result in different types of dynamic topography, which can be compared with the observed horizontal and vertical scales of the cells in Sputnik Planum. Based on these simulations we suggest several different possibilities for the formation and evolution of Sputnik Planum, which may be a consequence of the time-dependent behavior of thermal convection.

Indigenous Knowledge and Sea Ice Science: What Can We Learn from Indigenous Ice Users?

Science.gov (United States)

Eicken, H.

2010-12-01

Drawing on examples mostly from Iñupiaq and Yup’ik sea-ice expertise in coastal Alaska, this contribution examines how local, indigenous knowledge (LIK) can inform and guide geophysical and biological sea-ice research. Part of the relevance of LIK derives from its linkage to sea-ice use and the services coastal communities derive from the ice cover. As a result, indigenous experts keep track of a broad range of sea-ice variables at a particular location. These observations are embedded into a broader worldview that speaks to both long-term variability or change and to the system of values associated with ice use. The contribution examines eight different contexts in which LIK in study site selection and assessment of a sampling campaign in the context of inter annual variability, the identification of rare or inconspicuous phenomena or events, the contribution by indigenous experts to hazard assessment and emergency response, the record of past and present climate embedded in LIK, and the value of holistic sea-ice knowledge in detecting subtle, intertwined patterns of environmental change. The relevance of local, indigenous sea-ice expertise in helping advance adaptation and responses to climate change as well as its potential role in guiding research questions and hypotheses are also examined. The challenges that may have to be overcome in creating an interface for exchange between indigenous experts and seaice researchers are considered. Promising approaches to overcome these challenges include cross-cultural, interdisciplinary education, and the fostering of Communities of Practice.

Impact of ice cover and freshwater discharge on the pelagic food web

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Torkel Gissel

-scale ocean and the ice sheet - for two reasons. First, it is plausible that a sizable portion of the observed glacier acceleration and retreat was triggered by increased submarine melting of the glaciers’ margins. Second, the melt water from Greenland must transit through the fjord before reaching Greenland......Mass loss from the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) quadrupled over the past two decades owing to increased surface melt and the widespread retreat and speedup of marine-terminating glaciers. These physical changes have sparked interest in Greenland’s glacial fjords - the conduits between the large......’s continental shelves - where it can impact the ocean circulation and the downstream marine ecosystems. Using data collected from several Greenland fjord/glacier systems we show that the freshwater discharge in these coastal waters is mediated by a complex interplay of atmospheric forcing, subglacial processes...

On the relationship between atmospheric circulation and the fluctuations in the sea ice extents of the Bering and Okhotsk Seas

Science.gov (United States)

Cavalieri, D. J.; Parkinson, C. L.

1987-01-01

The influence of the hemispheric atmospheric circulation on the sea ice covers of the Bering Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk is examined using data obtained with the Nimbus 5 electrically scanning microwave radiometer for the four winters of the 1973-1976 period. The 3-day averaged sea ice extent data were used to establish periods for which there is an out-of-phase relationship between fluctuations of the two ice covers. A comparison of the sea-level atmospheric pressure field with the seasonal, interannual, and short-term sea ice fluctuations reveal an association between changes in the phase and the amplitude of the long waves in the atmosphere and advance and retreat of Arctic ice covers.

Observations of Recent Arctic Sea Ice Volume Loss and Its Impact on Ocean-Atmosphere Energy Exchange and Ice Production

Science.gov (United States)

Kurtz, N. T.; Markus, T.; Farrell, S. L.; Worthen, D. L.; Boisvert, L. N.

2011-01-01

Using recently developed techniques we estimate snow and sea ice thickness distributions for the Arctic basin through the combination of freeboard data from the Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) and a snow depth model. These data are used with meteorological data and a thermodynamic sea ice model to calculate ocean-atmosphere heat exchange and ice volume production during the 2003-2008 fall and winter seasons. The calculated heat fluxes and ice growth rates are in agreement with previous observations over multiyear ice. In this study, we calculate heat fluxes and ice growth rates for the full distribution of ice thicknesses covering the Arctic basin and determine the impact of ice thickness change on the calculated values. Thinning of the sea ice is observed which greatly increases the 2005-2007 fall period ocean-atmosphere heat fluxes compared to those observed in 2003. Although there was also a decline in sea ice thickness for the winter periods, the winter time heat flux was found to be less impacted by the observed changes in ice thickness. A large increase in the net Arctic ocean-atmosphere heat output is also observed in the fall periods due to changes in the areal coverage of sea ice. The anomalously low sea ice coverage in 2007 led to a net ocean-atmosphere heat output approximately 3 times greater than was observed in previous years and suggests that sea ice losses are now playing a role in increasing surface air temperatures in the Arctic.