Development of a Capacitive Ice Sensor to Measure Ice Growth in Real Time

PubMed Central

Zhi, Xiang; Cho, Hyo Chang; Wang, Bo; Ahn, Cheol Hee; Moon, Hyeong Soon; Go, Jeung Sang

2015-01-01

This paper presents the development of the capacitive sensor to measure the growth of ice on a fuel pipe surface in real time. The ice sensor consists of pairs of electrodes to detect the change in capacitance and a thermocouple temperature sensor to examine the ice formation situation. In addition, an environmental chamber was specially designed to control the humidity and temperature to simulate the ice formation conditions. From the humidity, a water film is formed on the ice sensor, which results in an increase in capacitance. Ice nucleation occurs, followed by the rapid formation of frost ice that decreases the capacitance suddenly. The capacitance is saturated. The developed ice sensor explains the ice growth providing information about the icing temperature in real time. PMID:25808770

Development of a capacitive ice sensor to measure ice growth in real time.

PubMed

Zhi, Xiang; Cho, Hyo Chang; Wang, Bo; Ahn, Cheol Hee; Moon, Hyeong Soon; Go, Jeung Sang

2015-03-19

This paper presents the development of the capacitive sensor to measure the growth of ice on a fuel pipe surface in real time. The ice sensor consists of pairs of electrodes to detect the change in capacitance and a thermocouple temperature sensor to examine the ice formation situation. In addition, an environmental chamber was specially designed to control the humidity and temperature to simulate the ice formation conditions. From the humidity, a water film is formed on the ice sensor, which results in an increase in capacitance. Ice nucleation occurs, followed by the rapid formation of frost ice that decreases the capacitance suddenly. The capacitance is saturated. The developed ice sensor explains the ice growth providing information about the icing temperature in real time.

Ice crystal growth in a dynamic thermal diffusion chamber

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Keller, V. W.

1980-01-01

Ice crystals were grown in a supersaturated environment produced by a dynamic thermal diffusion chamber, which employed two horizontal plates separated by a distance of 2.5 cm. Air was circulated between and along the 1.2 m length of the plates past ice crystals which nucleated and grew from a fiber suspended vertically between the two plates. A zoom stereo microscope with a magnification which ranged from 3X to 80X and both 35 mm still photographs and 16 mm time lapse cine films taken through the microscope were used to study the variation of the shape and linear growth rate of ice crystals as a function of the ambient temperature, the ambient supersaturation, and the forced ventilation velocity. The ambient growth conditions were varied over the range of temperature 0 to -40 C, over the range of supersaturation 4% to 50% with respect to ice, and over the range of forced ventilation velocities 0 cm/s to 20 cm/s.

Modeling the growth and decay of the Antarctic Peninsula Ice Sheet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Payne, A. J.; Sugden, D. E.; Clapperton, C. M.

1989-03-01

A model of the growth and decay of the Antarctic Peninsula Ice Sheet during the last glacial/interglacial cycle is used to identify the main controls on ice sheet behavior. Using as input glaciological assumptions derived by W. F. Budd and I. N. Smith (1982, Annals of Glaciology3, 42-49), bedrock topography, isostatic compensation, and mass balance relationships, the model is driven by sea-level change over the last 40,000 yr in association with assumed changes in the rate of melting beneath ice shelves. An ice sheet dome over 3.5 km thick grows on the offshore shelf and straits west of the Antarctic Peninsula and reaches a maximum at 18,000 yr B.P. Collapse begins at 14,000 yr B.P. but becomes rapid and continuous after 10,000 yr B.P. The present stable ice cover is achieved at 6500 yr B.P. Ice growth and decay are characterized by thresholds which separate periods of steady state from periods of rapid transition; the thresholds usually relate to topography. Tests show that ice sheet behavior is most sensitive to sea-level change, basal marine melting, and accumulation and is less sensitive to isostasy, spatial variation in accumulation, calving rates, and ice flow parameterization. Tests of the model against field evidence show good agreement in places, as well as discrepancies which require further work.

Growth inhibition at the ice prismatic plane induced by a spruce budworm antifreeze protein: a molecular dynamics simulation study.

PubMed

Nada, H; Furukawa, Y

2011-11-28

A molecular dynamics simulation was conducted to investigate the growth kinetics at the ice prismatic interface to which a spruce budworm antifreeze protein was bound. Two initial binding conformations of the protein at the interface--one energetically stable and the other energetically unstable--were examined. For both binding conformations, the growth of ice was observed around the protein. A sharp decrease in the rate of ice growth was observed around the protein that initially had the energetically stable binding conformation. Simulation results suggest that the observed decrease in the ice growth rate was attributable to melting point depression caused by the Gibbs-Thomson effect. The protein that initially had the energetically unstable binding conformation markedly relaxed so as to stably bind to the prismatic plane interface of the grown ice; thereafter, a decrease in the ice growth rate was observed as well. However, the binding conformation that the protein approached during the relaxation was different from that of the protein that initially had the energetically stable binding conformation. Thus, the simulation indicates the existence of two binding conformations for inducing a decrease in the ice growth rate. The results are possibly related to the hyperactivity of a spruce budworm antifreeze protein in real systems.

Inhibition of Ice Growth and Recrystallization by Zirconium Acetate and Zirconium Acetate Hydroxide

PubMed Central

Mizrahy, Ortal; Bar-Dolev, Maya; Guy, Shlomit; Braslavsky, Ido

2013-01-01

The control over ice crystal growth, melting, and shaping is important in a variety of fields, including cell and food preservation and ice templating for the production of composite materials. Control over ice growth remains a challenge in industry, and the demand for new cryoprotectants is high. Naturally occurring cryoprotectants, such as antifreeze proteins (AFPs), present one solution for modulating ice crystal growth; however, the production of AFPs is expensive and inefficient. These obstacles can be overcome by identifying synthetic substitutes with similar AFP properties. Zirconium acetate (ZRA) was recently found to induce the formation of hexagonal cavities in materials prepared by ice templating. Here, we continue this line of study and examine the effects of ZRA and a related compound, zirconium acetate hydroxide (ZRAH), on ice growth, shaping, and recrystallization. We found that the growth rate of ice crystals was significantly reduced in the presence of ZRA and ZRAH, and that solutions containing these compounds display a small degree of thermal hysteresis, depending on the solution pH. The compounds were found to inhibit recrystallization in a manner similar to that observed in the presence of AFPs. The favorable properties of ZRA and ZRAH suggest tremendous potential utility in industrial applications. PMID:23555701

Oscillations and accelerations of ice crystal growth rates in microgravity in presence of antifreeze glycoprotein impurity in supercooled water.

PubMed

Furukawa, Yoshinori; Nagashima, Ken; Nakatsubo, Shun-Ichi; Yoshizaki, Izumi; Tamaru, Haruka; Shimaoka, Taro; Sone, Takehiko; Yokoyama, Etsuro; Zepeda, Salvador; Terasawa, Takanori; Asakawa, Harutoshi; Murata, Ken-Ichiro; Sazaki, Gen

2017-03-06

The free growth of ice crystals in supercooled bulk water containing an impurity of glycoprotein, a bio-macromolecule that functions as 'antifreeze' in living organisms in a subzero environment, was observed under microgravity conditions on the International Space Station. We observed the acceleration and oscillation of the normal growth rates as a result of the interfacial adsorption of these protein molecules, which is a newly discovered impurity effect for crystal growth. As the convection caused by gravity may mitigate or modify this effect, secure observations of this effect were first made possible by continuous measurements of normal growth rates under long-term microgravity condition realized only in the spacecraft. Our findings will lead to a better understanding of a novel kinetic process for growth oscillation in relation to growth promotion due to the adsorption of protein molecules and will shed light on the role that crystal growth kinetics has in the onset of the mysterious antifreeze effect in living organisms, namely, how this protein may prevent fish freezing.

Oscillations and accelerations of ice crystal growth rates in microgravity in presence of antifreeze glycoprotein impurity in supercooled water

PubMed Central

Furukawa, Yoshinori; Nagashima, Ken; Nakatsubo, Shun-ichi; Yoshizaki, Izumi; Tamaru, Haruka; Shimaoka, Taro; Sone, Takehiko; Yokoyama, Etsuro; Zepeda, Salvador; Terasawa, Takanori; Asakawa, Harutoshi; Murata, Ken-ichiro; Sazaki, Gen

2017-01-01

The free growth of ice crystals in supercooled bulk water containing an impurity of glycoprotein, a bio-macromolecule that functions as ‘antifreeze’ in living organisms in a subzero environment, was observed under microgravity conditions on the International Space Station. We observed the acceleration and oscillation of the normal growth rates as a result of the interfacial adsorption of these protein molecules, which is a newly discovered impurity effect for crystal growth. As the convection caused by gravity may mitigate or modify this effect, secure observations of this effect were first made possible by continuous measurements of normal growth rates under long-term microgravity condition realized only in the spacecraft. Our findings will lead to a better understanding of a novel kinetic process for growth oscillation in relation to growth promotion due to the adsorption of protein molecules and will shed light on the role that crystal growth kinetics has in the onset of the mysterious antifreeze effect in living organisms, namely, how this protein may prevent fish freezing. PMID:28262787

Effect of Common Cryoprotectants on Critical Warming Rates and Ice Formation in Aqueous Solutions

PubMed Central

Hopkins, Jesse B.; Badeau, Ryan; Warkentin, Matthew; Thorne, Robert E.

2012-01-01

Ice formation on warming is of comparable or greater importance to ice formation on cooling in determining survival of cryopreserved samples. Critical warming rates required for ice-free warming of vitrified aqueous solutions of glycerol, dimethyl sulfoxide, ethylene glycol, polyethylene glycol 200 and sucrose have been measured for warming rates of order 10 to 104 K/s. Critical warming rates are typically one to three orders of magnitude larger than critical cooling rates. Warming rates vary strongly with cooling rates, perhaps due to the presence of small ice fractions in nominally vitrified samples. Critical warming and cooling rate data spanning orders of magnitude in rates provide rigorous tests of ice nucleation and growth models and their assumed input parameters. Current models with current best estimates for input parameters provide a reasonable account of critical warming rates for glycerol solutions at high concentrations/low rates, but overestimate both critical warming and cooling rates by orders of magnitude at lower concentrations and larger rates. In vitrification protocols, minimizing concentrations of potentially damaging cryoprotectants while minimizing ice formation will require ultrafast warming rates, as well as fast cooling rates to minimize the required warming rates. PMID:22728046

Sea-ice induced growth decline in Arctic shrubs.

PubMed

Forchhammer, Mads

2017-08-01

Measures of increased tundra plant productivity have been associated with the accelerating retreat of the Arctic sea-ice. Emerging studies document opposite effects, advocating for a more complex relationship between the shrinking sea-ice and terrestrial plant productivity. I introduce an autoregressive plant growth model integrating effects of biological and climatic conditions for analysing individual ring-width growth time series. Using 128 specimens of Salix arctica , S. glauca and Betula nana sampled across Greenland to Svalbard, an overall negative effect of the retreating June sea-ice extent was found on the annual growth. The negative effect of the retreating June sea-ice was observed for younger individuals with large annual growth allocations and with little or no trade-off between previous and current year's growth. © 2017 The Author(s).

Sensitivity of open-water ice growth and ice concentration evolution in a coupled atmosphere-ocean-sea ice model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Xiaoxu; Lohmann, Gerrit

2017-09-01

A coupled atmosphere-ocean-sea ice model is applied to investigate to what degree the area-thickness distribution of new ice formed in open water affects the ice and ocean properties. Two sensitivity experiments are performed which modify the horizontal-to-vertical aspect ratio of open-water ice growth. The resulting changes in the Arctic sea-ice concentration strongly affect the surface albedo, the ocean heat release to the atmosphere, and the sea-ice production. The changes are further amplified through a positive feedback mechanism among the Arctic sea ice, the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), and the surface air temperature in the Arctic, as the Fram Strait sea ice import influences the freshwater budget in the North Atlantic Ocean. Anomalies in sea-ice transport lead to changes in sea surface properties of the North Atlantic and the strength of AMOC. For the Southern Ocean, the most pronounced change is a warming along the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), owing to the interhemispheric bipolar seasaw linked to AMOC weakening. Another insight of this study lies on the improvement of our climate model. The ocean component FESOM is a newly developed ocean-sea ice model with an unstructured mesh and multi-resolution. We find that the subpolar sea-ice boundary in the Northern Hemisphere can be improved by tuning the process of open-water ice growth, which strongly influences the sea ice concentration in the marginal ice zone, the North Atlantic circulation, salinity and Arctic sea ice volume. Since the distribution of new ice on open water relies on many uncertain parameters and the knowledge of the detailed processes is currently too crude, it is a challenge to implement the processes realistically into models. Based on our sensitivity experiments, we conclude a pronounced uncertainty related to open-water sea ice growth which could significantly affect the climate system sensitivity.

Submarine melt rates under Greenland's ice tongues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilson, Nat; Straneo, Fiametta; Heimbach, Patrick; Cenedese, Claudia

2017-04-01

The few remaining ice tongues (ice-shelf like extensions) of Greenland's glaciers are undergoing rapid changes with potential implications for the stability of the ice sheet. Submarine melting is recognized as a major contributor to mass loss, yet the magnitude and spatial distribution of melt are poorly known or understood. Here, we use high resolution satellite imagery to infer the magnitude and spatial variability of melt rates under Greenland's largest remaining ice tongues: Ryder Glacier, Petermann Glacier and Nioghalvfjerdsbræ (79 North Glacier). We find that submarine plus aerial melt approximately balance the ice flux from the grounded ice sheet for the first two while at Nioghalvfjerdsbræ the total melt flux exceeds the inflow of ice indicating thinning of the ice tongue. We also show that melt rates under the ice tongues vary considerably, exceeding 60 m yr-1 near the grounding zone and decaying rapidly downstream. Channels, likely originating from upstream subglacial channels, give rise to large melt variations across the ice tongues. Using derived melt rates, we test simplified melt parameterizations appropriate for ice sheet models and find the best agreement with those that incorporate ice tongue geometry in the form of depth and slope.

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

PubMed

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

Ice Particle Growth Under Conditions of the Upper Troposphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peterson, Harold S.; Bailey, Matthew; Hallett, John

2010-01-01

Atmospheric conditions for growth of ice crystals (temperature and ice supersaturation) are often not well constrained and it is necessary to simulate such conditions in the laboratory to investigate such growth under well controlled conditions over many hours. The growth of ice crystals from the vapour in both prism and basal planes was observed at temperatures of -60 C and -70 C under ice supersaturation up to 100% (200% relative humidity) at pressures derived from the standard atmosphere in a static diffusion chamber. Crystals grew outward from a vertical glass filament, thickening in the basal plane by addition of macroscopic layers greater than 2 microns, leading to growth in the prism plane by passing of successive layers conveniently viewed by time lapse video.

High-Strain-Rate Compression Testing of Ice

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shazly, Mostafa; Prakash, Vikas; Lerch, Bradley A.

2006-01-01

In the present study a modified split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) was employed to study the effect of strain rate on the dynamic material response of ice. Disk-shaped ice specimens with flat, parallel end faces were either provided by Dartmouth College (Hanover, NH) or grown at Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, OH). The SHPB was adapted to perform tests at high strain rates in the range 60 to 1400/s at test temperatures of -10 and -30 C. Experimental results showed that the strength of ice increases with increasing strain rates and this occurs over a change in strain rate of five orders of magnitude. Under these strain rate conditions the ice microstructure has a slight influence on the strength, but it is much less than the influence it has under quasi-static loading conditions. End constraint and frictional effects do not influence the compression tests like they do at slower strain rates, and therefore the diameter/thickness ratio of the samples is not as critical. The strength of ice at high strain rates was found to increase with decreasing test temperatures. Ice has been identified as a potential source of debris to impact the shuttle; data presented in this report can be used to validate and/or develop material models for ice impact analyses for shuttle Return to Flight efforts.

Ice nucleation in the upper troposphere: Sensitivity to aerosol number density, temperature, and cooling rate

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jensen, E. J.; Toon, O. B.

1994-01-01

We have investigated the processes that control ice crystal nucleation in the upper troposphere using a numerical model. Nucleation of ice resulting from cooling was simulated for a range of aerosol number densities, initial temperatures, and cooling rates. In contrast to observations of stratus clouds, we find that the number of ice crystals that nucleate in cirrus is relatively insensitive to the number of aerosols present. The ice crystal size distribution at the end of the nucleation process is unaffected by the assumed initial aerosol number density. Essentially, nucleation continues until enough ice crystals are present such that their deposition growth rapidly depletes the vapor and shuts off any further nucleation. However, the number of ice crystals nucleated increases rapidly with decreasing initial temperature and increasing cooling rate. This temperature dependence alone could explain the large ice crystal number density observed in very cold tropical cirrus.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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.

Comparison of Aircraft Icing Growth Assessment Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wright, William; Potapczuk, Mark G.; Levinson, Laurie H.

2011-01-01

A research project is underway to produce computer software that can accurately predict ice growth under any meteorological conditions for any aircraft surface. An extensive comparison of the results in a quantifiable manner against the database of ice shapes that have been generated in the NASA Glenn Icing Research Tunnel (IRT) has been performed, including additional data taken to extend the database in the Super-cooled Large Drop (SLD) regime. The project shows the differences in ice shape between LEWICE 3.2.2, GlennICE, and experimental data. The project addresses the validation of the software against a recent set of ice-shape data in the SLD regime. This validation effort mirrors a similar effort undertaken for previous validations of LEWICE. Those reports quantified the ice accretion prediction capabilities of the LEWICE software. Several ice geometry features were proposed for comparing ice shapes in a quantitative manner. The resulting analysis showed that LEWICE compared well to the available experimental data.

Bacterial Standing Stock, Activity, and Carbon Production during Formation and Growth of Sea Ice in the Weddell Sea, Antarctica.

PubMed

Grossmann, S; Dieckmann, G S

1994-08-01

Bacterial response to formation and growth of sea ice was investigated during autumn in the northeastern Weddell Sea. Changes in standing stock, activity, and carbon production of bacteria were determined in successive stages of ice development. During initial ice formation, concentrations of bacterial cells, in the order of 1 x 10 to 3 x 10 liter, were not enhanced within the ice matrix. This suggests that physical enrichment of bacteria by ice crystals is not effective. Due to low concentrations of phytoplankton in the water column during freezing, incorporation of bacteria into newly formed ice via attachment to algal cells or aggregates was not recorded in this study. As soon as the ice had formed, the general metabolic activity of bacterial populations was strongly suppressed. Furthermore, the ratio of [H]leucine incorporation into proteins to [H]thymidine incorporation into DNA changed during ice growth. In thick pack ice, bacterial activity recovered and growth rates up to 0.6 day indicated actively dividing populations. However, biomass-specific utilization of organic compounds remained lower than in open water. Bacterial concentrations of up to 2.8 x 10 cells liter along with considerably enlarged cell volumes accumulated within thick pack ice, suggesting reduced mortality rates of bacteria within the small brine pores. In the course of ice development, bacterial carbon production increased from about 0.01 to 0.4 mug of C liter h. In thick ice, bacterial secondary production exceeded primary production of microalgae.

A Multi-Moment Bulkwater Ice Microphysics Scheme with Consideration of the Adaptive Growth Habit and Apparent Density for Pristine Ice in the WRF Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsai, T. C.; Chen, J. P.; Dearden, C.

2014-12-01

The wide variety of ice crystal shapes and growth habits makes it a complicated issue in cloud models. This study developed the bulk ice adaptive habit parameterization based on the theoretical approach of Chen and Lamb (1994) and introduced a 6-class hydrometeors double-moment (mass and number) bulk microphysics scheme with gamma-type size distribution function. Both the proposed schemes have been implemented into the Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF) model forming a new multi-moment bulk microphysics scheme. Two new moments of ice crystal shape and volume are included for tracking pristine ice's adaptive habit and apparent density. A closure technique is developed to solve the time evolution of the bulk moments. For the verification of the bulk ice habit parameterization, some parcel-type (zero-dimension) calculations were conducted and compared with binned numerical calculations. The results showed that: a flexible size spectrum is important in numerical accuracy, the ice shape can significantly enhance the diffusional growth, and it is important to consider the memory of growth habit (adaptive growth) under varying environmental conditions. Also, the derived results with the 3-moment method were much closer to the binned calculations. A field campaign of DIAMET was selected to simulate in the WRF model for real-case studies. The simulations were performed with the traditional spherical ice and the new adaptive shape schemes to evaluate the effect of crystal habits. Some main features of narrow rain band, as well as the embedded precipitation cells, in the cold front case were well captured by the model. Furthermore, the simulations produced a good agreement in the microphysics against the aircraft observations in ice particle number concentration, ice crystal aspect ratio, and deposition heating rate especially within the temperature region of ice secondary multiplication production.

Upper ocean stratification and sea ice growth rates during the summer-fall transition, as revealed by Elephant seal foraging in the Adélie Depression, East Antarctica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williams, G. D.; Hindell, M.; Houssais, M.-N.; Tamura, T.; Field, I. C.

2011-03-01

Southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina), fitted with Conductivity-Temperature-Depth sensors at Macquarie Island in January 2005 and 2010, collected unique oceanographic observations of the Adélie and George V Land continental shelf (140-148° E) during the summer-fall transition (late February through April). This is a key region of dense shelf water formation from enhanced sea ice growth/brine rejection in the local coastal polynyas. In 2005, two seals occupied the continental shelf break near the grounded icebergs at the northern end of the Mertz Glacier Tongue for several weeks from the end of February. One of the seals migrated west to the Dibble Ice Tongue, apparently utilising the Antarctic Slope Front current near the continental shelf break. In 2010, immediately after that year's calving of the Mertz Glacier Tongue, two seals migrated to the same region but penetrated much further southwest across the Adélie Depression and sampled the Commonwealth Bay polynya from March through April. Here we present observations of the regional oceanography during the summer-fall transition, in particular (i) the zonal distribution of modified Circumpolar Deep Water exchange across the shelf break, (ii) the upper ocean stratification across the Adélie Depression, including alongside iceberg C-28 that calved from the Mertz Glacier and (iii) the convective overturning of the deep remnant seasonal mixed layer in Commonwealth Bay from sea ice growth. Heat and freshwater budgets to 200-300 m are used to estimate the ocean heat content (400→50 MJ m-2), flux (50-200 W m-2 loss) and sea ice growth rates (maximum of 7.5-12.5 cm day-1). Mean seal-derived sea ice growth rates were within the range of satellite-derived estimates from 1992-2007 using ERA-Interim data. We speculate that the continuous foraging by the seals within Commonwealth Bay during the summer/fall transition was due to favorable feeding conditions resulting from the convective overturning of the deep

Growth rate of crystalline ice and the diffusivity of supercooled water from 126 to 262 K

DOE PAGES

Xu, Yuntao; Petrik, Nikolay G.; Smith, R. Scott; ...

2016-12-12

Understanding deeply supercooled water is key to unraveling many of water’s anomalous properties. However, this has proven difficult due to rapid and uncontrolled crystallization. Using a pulsed laser heating technique, we measure the growth rate of crystalline ice, G(T), for 180 K < T < 262 K, i.e. deep within water’s “no man’s land.” The self-diffusion of supercooled liquid water, D(T), is obtained from G(T) using the Wilson-Frenkel model of crystal growth. For T > 237 K, G(T) and D(T) have super-Arrhenius (“fragile”) temperature dependences, but both crossover to Arrhenius (“strong”) behavior with a large activation energy in “no man’smore » land.” The fact that G(T) and D(T) are smoothly varying rules out the hypothesis that liquid water’s properties have a singularity at or near 228 K. However the results are consistent with a previous prediction for D(T) that assumed no thermodynamic transitions occur in “no man’s land.« less

Arctic ice shelves and ice islands: Origin, growth and disintegration, physical characteristics, structural-stratigraphic variability, and dynamics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jeffries, M.O.

1992-08-01

Ice shelves are thick, floating ice masses most often associated with Antarctica where they are seaward extensions of the grounded Antarctic ice sheet and sources of many icebergs. However, there are also ice shelves in the Arctic, primarily located along the north coast of Ellesmere Island in the Canadian High Arctic. The only ice shelves in North America and the most extensive in the north polar region, the Ellesmere ice shelves originate from glaciers and from sea ice and are the source of ice islands, the tabular icebergs of the Arctic Ocean. The present state of knowledge and understanding ofmore » these ice features is summarized in this paper. It includes historical background to the discovery and early study of ice shelves and ice islands, including the use of ice islands as floating laboratories for polar geophysical research. Growth mechanisms and age, the former extent and the twentieth century disintegration of the Ellesmere ice shelves, and the processes and mechanisms of ice island calving are summarized. Surface features, thickness, thermal regime, and the size, shape, and numbers of ice islands are discussed. The structural-stratigraphic variability of ice islands and ice shelves and the complex nature of their growth and development are described. Large-scale and small-scale dynamics of ice islands are described, and the results of modeling their drift and recurrence intervals are presented. The conclusion identifies some unanswered questions and future research opportunities and needs. 97 refs., 18 figs.« less

Ice cream structural elements that affect melting rate and hardness.

PubMed

Muse, M R; Hartel, R W

2004-01-01

Statistical models were developed to reveal which structural elements of ice cream affect melting rate and hardness. Ice creams were frozen in a batch freezer with three types of sweetener, three levels of the emulsifier polysorbate 80, and two different draw temperatures to produce ice creams with a range of microstructures. Ice cream mixes were analyzed for viscosity, and finished ice creams were analyzed for air cell and ice crystal size, overrun, and fat destabilization. The ice phase volume of each ice cream were calculated based on the freezing point of the mix. Melting rate and hardness of each hardened ice cream was measured and correlated with the structural attributes by using analysis of variance and multiple linear regression. Fat destabilization, ice crystal size, and the consistency coefficient of the mix were found to affect the melting rate of ice cream, whereas hardness was influenced by ice phase volume, ice crystal size, overrun, fat destabilization, and the rheological properties of the mix.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

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

PubMed

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.

Listeria monocytogenes Growth Kinetics in Milkshakes Made from Naturally and Artificially Contaminated Ice Cream.

PubMed

Salazar, Joelle K; Bathija, Vriddi M; Carstens, Christina K; Narula, Sartaj S; Shazer, Arlette; Stewart, Diana; Tortorello, Mary Lou

2018-01-01

This study assessed the growth of Listeria monocytogenes in milkshakes made using the process-contaminated ice cream associated with a listeriosis outbreak in comparison to milkshakes made with artificially contaminated ice cream. For all temperatures, growth kinetics including growth rates, lag phases, maximum populations, and population increases were determined for the naturally and artificially derived contaminants at 5, 10, 15, and 25°C storage for 144 h. The artificially inoculated L. monocytogenes presented lower growth rates and shorter lag phases than the naturally contaminated populations at all temperatures except for 5°C, where the reverse was observed. At 25°C, lag phases of the naturally and artificially contaminated L. monocytogenes were 11.6 and 7.8 h, respectively. The highest increase in population was observed for the artificially inoculated pathogen at 15°C after 96 h (6.16 log CFU/mL) of storage. Growth models for both contamination states in milkshakes were determined. In addition, this study evaluated the antimicrobial effectiveness of flavoring agents, including strawberry, chocolate and mint, on the growth of the pathogen in milkshakes during 10°C storage. All flavor additions resulted in decreased growth rates of L. monocytogenes for both contamination states. The addition of chocolate and mint flavoring also resulted in significantly longer lag phases for both contamination states. This study provides insight into the differences in growth between naturally and artificially contaminated L. monocytogenes in a food product.

Listeria monocytogenes Growth Kinetics in Milkshakes Made from Naturally and Artificially Contaminated Ice Cream

PubMed Central

Salazar, Joelle K.; Bathija, Vriddi M.; Carstens, Christina K.; Narula, Sartaj S.; Shazer, Arlette; Stewart, Diana; Tortorello, Mary Lou

2018-01-01

This study assessed the growth of Listeria monocytogenes in milkshakes made using the process-contaminated ice cream associated with a listeriosis outbreak in comparison to milkshakes made with artificially contaminated ice cream. For all temperatures, growth kinetics including growth rates, lag phases, maximum populations, and population increases were determined for the naturally and artificially derived contaminants at 5, 10, 15, and 25°C storage for 144 h. The artificially inoculated L. monocytogenes presented lower growth rates and shorter lag phases than the naturally contaminated populations at all temperatures except for 5°C, where the reverse was observed. At 25°C, lag phases of the naturally and artificially contaminated L. monocytogenes were 11.6 and 7.8 h, respectively. The highest increase in population was observed for the artificially inoculated pathogen at 15°C after 96 h (6.16 log CFU/mL) of storage. Growth models for both contamination states in milkshakes were determined. In addition, this study evaluated the antimicrobial effectiveness of flavoring agents, including strawberry, chocolate and mint, on the growth of the pathogen in milkshakes during 10°C storage. All flavor additions resulted in decreased growth rates of L. monocytogenes for both contamination states. The addition of chocolate and mint flavoring also resulted in significantly longer lag phases for both contamination states. This study provides insight into the differences in growth between naturally and artificially contaminated L. monocytogenes in a food product. PMID:29416531

Lattice Boltzmann Simulation of Water Isotope Fractionation During Growth of Ice Crystals in Clouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, G.; Depaolo, D.; Kang, Q.; Zhang, D.

2006-12-01

The isotopic composition of precipitation, especially that of snow, plays a special role in the global hydrological cycle and in reconstruction of past climates using polar ice cores. The fractionation of the major water isotope species (HHO, HDO, HHO-18) during ice crystal formation is critical to understanding the global distribution of isotopes in precipitation. Ice crystal growth in clouds is traditionally treated with a spherically- symmetric steady state diffusion model, with semi-empirical modifications added to account for ventilation and for complex crystal morphology. Although it is known that crystal growth rate, which depends largely on the degree of vapor over-saturation, determines crystal morphology, there are no existing quantitative models that directly relate morphology to the vapor saturation factor. Since kinetic (vapor phase diffusion-controlled) isotopic fractionation also depends on growth rate, there should be a direct relationship between vapor saturation, crystal morphology, and crystal isotopic composition. We use a 2D Lattice-Boltzmann model to simulate diffusion-controlled ice crystal growth from vapor- oversaturated air. In the model, crystals grow solely according to the diffusive fluxes just above the crystal surfaces, and hence crystal morphology arises from the initial and boundary conditions in the model and does not need to be specified a priori. The input parameters needed are the isotope-dependent vapor deposition rate constant (k) and the water vapor diffusivity in air (D). The values of both k and D can be computed from kinetic theory, and there are also experimentally determined values of D. The deduced values of k are uncertain to the extent that the sticking coefficient (or accommodation coefficient) for ice is uncertain. The ratio D/k is a length that determines the minimum scale of dendritic growth features and allows us to scale the numerical calculations to atmospheric conditions using a dimensionless Damkohler number

Implementation of Combined Feather and Surface-Normal Ice Growth Models in LEWICE/X

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Velazquez, M. T.; Hansman, R. J., Jr.

1995-01-01

Experimental observations have shown that discrete rime ice growths called feathers, which grow in approximately the direction of water droplet impingement, play an important role in the growth of ice on accreting surfaces for some thermodynamic conditions. An improved physical model of ice accretion has been implemented in the LEWICE 2D panel-based ice accretion code maintained by the NASA Lewis Research Center. The LEWICE/X model of ice accretion explicitly simulates regions of feather growth within the framework of the LEWICE model. Water droplets impinging on an accreting surface are withheld from the normal LEWICE mass/energy balance and handled in a separate routine; ice growth resulting from these droplets is performed with enhanced convective heat transfer approximately along droplet impingement directions. An independent underlying ice shape is grown along surface normals using the unmodified LEWICE method. The resulting dual-surface ice shape models roughness-induced feather growth observed in icing wind tunnel tests. Experiments indicate that the exact direction of feather growth is dependent on external conditions. Data is presented to support a linear variation of growth direction with temperature and cloud water content. Test runs of LEWICE/X indicate that the sizes of surface regions containing feathers are influenced by initial roughness element height. This suggests that a previous argument that feather region size is determined by boundary layer transition may be incorrect. Simulation results for two typical test cases give improved shape agreement over unmodified LEWICE.

Accretion growth of water-ice grains in astrophysically-relevant dusty plasma experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chai, Kil-Byoung; Marshall, Ryan; Bellan, Paul

2016-10-01

The grain growth process in the Caltech water-ice dusty plasma experiment has been studied using a high-speed camera equipped with a long-distance microscope lens. It is found that (i) the ice grain number density decreases four-fold as the average grain length increases from 20 to 80 um, (ii) the ice grain length has a log-normal distribution rather than a power-law dependence, and (iii) no collisions between ice grains are apparent. The grains have a large negative charge so the agglomeration growth is prevented by their strong mutual repulsion. It is concluded that direct accretion of water molecules is in good agreement with the observed ice grain growth. The volumetric packing factor of the ice grains must be less than 0.25 in order for the grain kinetic energy to be sufficiently small to prevent collisions between ice grains; this conclusion is consistent with ice grain images showing a fractal character.

Enhanced ice sheet growth in Eurasia owing to adjacent ice-dammed lakes.

PubMed

Krinner, G; Mangerud, J; Jakobsson, M; Crucifix, M; Ritz, C; Svendsen, J I

2004-01-29

Large proglacial lakes cool regional summer climate because of their large heat capacity, and have been shown to modify precipitation through mesoscale atmospheric feedbacks, as in the case of Lake Agassiz. Several large ice-dammed lakes, with a combined area twice that of the Caspian Sea, were formed in northern Eurasia about 90,000 years ago, during the last glacial period when an ice sheet centred over the Barents and Kara seas blocked the large northbound Russian rivers. Here we present high-resolution simulations with an atmospheric general circulation model that explicitly simulates the surface mass balance of the ice sheet. We show that the main influence of the Eurasian proglacial lakes was a significant reduction of ice sheet melting at the southern margin of the Barents-Kara ice sheet through strong regional summer cooling over large parts of Russia. In our simulations, the summer melt reduction clearly outweighs lake-induced decreases in moisture and hence snowfall, such as has been reported earlier for Lake Agassiz. We conclude that the summer cooling mechanism from proglacial lakes accelerated ice sheet growth and delayed ice sheet decay in Eurasia and probably also in North America.

Measurements of sea ice mass redistribution during ice deformation event in Arctic winter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Itkin, P.; Spreen, G.; King, J.; Rösel, A.; Skourup, H.; Munk Hvidegaard, S.; Wilkinson, J.; Oikkonen, A.; Granskog, M. A.; Gerland, S.

2016-12-01

Sea-ice growth during high winter is governed by ice dynamics. The highest growth rates are found in leads that open under divergent conditions, where exposure to the cold atmosphere promotes thermodynamic growth. Additionally ice thickens dynamically, where convergence causes rafting and ridging. We present a local study of sea-ice growth and mass redistribution between two consecutive airborne measurements, on 19 and 24 April 2015, during the N-ICE2015 expedition in the area north of Svalbard. Between the two overflights an ice deformation event was observed. Airborne laser scanner (ALS) measurements revisited the same sea-ice area of approximately 3x3 km. By identifying the sea surface within the ALS measurements as a reference the sea ice plus snow freeboard was obtained with a spatial resolution of 5 m. By assuming isostatic equilibrium of level floes, the freeboard heights can be converted to ice thickness. The snow depth is estimated from in-situ measurements. Sea ice thickness measurements were made in the same area as the ALS measurements by electromagnetic sounding from a helicopter (HEM), and with a ground-based device (EM31), which allows for cross-validation of the sea-ice thickness estimated from all 3 procedures. Comparison of the ALS snow freeboard distributions between the first and second overflight shows a decrease in the thin ice classes and an increase of the thick ice classes. While there was no observable snowfall and a very low sea-ice growth of older level ice during this period, an autonomous buoy array deployed in the surroundings of the area measured by the ALS shows first divergence followed by convergence associated with shear. To quantify and link the sea ice deformation with the associated sea-ice thickness change and mass redistribution we identify over 100 virtual buoys in the ALS data from both overflights. We triangulate the area between the buoys and calculate the strain rates and freeboard change for each individual triangle

Ice-surface adsorption enhanced colligative effect of antifreeze proteins in ice growth inhibition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mao, Yougang; Ba, Yong

2006-09-01

This Communication describes a mechanism to explain antifreeze protein's function to inhibit the growth of ice crystals. We propose that the adsorption of antifreeze protein (AFP) molecules on an ice surface induces a dense AFP-water layer, which can significantly decrease the mole fraction of the interfacial water and, thus, lower the temperature for a seed ice crystal to grow in a super-cooled AFP solution. This mechanism can also explain the nearly unchanged melting point for the ice crystal due to the AFP's ice-surface adsorption. A mathematical model combining the Langmuir theory of adsorption and the colligative effect of thermodynamics has been proposed to find the equilibrium constants of the ice-surface adsorptions, and the interfacial concentrations of AFPs through fitting the theoretical curves to the experimental thermal hysteresis data. This model has been demonstrated by using the experimental data of serial size-mutated beetle Tenebrio molitor (Tm) AFPs. It was found that the AFP's ice-surface adsorptions could increase the interfacial AFP's concentrations by 3 to 4 orders compared with those in the bulk AFP solutions.

Correlations Among Ice Measurements, Impingement Rates Icing Conditions, and Drag Coefficients for Unswept NACA 65A004 Airfoil

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gray, Vernon H.

1958-01-01

An empirical relation has been obtained by which the change in drag coefficient caused by ice formations on an unswept NACA 65AO04 airfoil section can be determined from the following icing and operating conditions: icing time, airspeed, air total temperature, liquid-water content, cloud droplet impingement efficiencies, airfoil chord length, and angles of attack. The correlation was obtained by use of measured ice heights and ice angles. These measurements were obtained from a variety of ice formations, which were carefully photographed, cross-sectioned, and weighed. Ice weights increased at a constant rate with icing time in a rime icing condition and at progressively increasing rates in glaze icing conditions. Initial rates of ice collection agreed reasonably well with values predicted from droplet impingement data. Experimental droplet impingement rates obtained on this airfoil section agreed with previous theoretical calculations for angles of attack of 40 or less. Disagreement at higher angles of attack was attributed to flow separation from the upper surface of the experimental airfoil model.

Cylindrically symmetric Green's function approach for modeling the crystal growth morphology of ice.

PubMed

Libbrecht, K G

1999-08-01

We describe a front-tracking Green's function approach to modeling cylindrically symmetric crystal growth. This method is simple to implement, and with little computer power can adequately model a wide range of physical situations. We apply the method to modeling the hexagonal prism growth of ice crystals, which is governed primarily by diffusion along with anisotropic surface kinetic processes. From ice crystal growth observations in air, we derive measurements of the kinetic growth coefficients for the basal and prism faces as a function of temperature, for supersaturations near the water saturation level. These measurements are interpreted in the context of a model for the nucleation and growth of ice, in which the growth dynamics are dominated by the structure of a disordered layer on the ice surfaces.

A toy model linking atmospheric thermal radiation and sea ice growth

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thorndike, A. S.

1992-01-01

A simplified analytical model of sea ice growth is presented where the atmosphere is in thermal radiative equilibrium with the ice. This makes the downwelling longwave radiation reaching the ice surface an internal variable rather than a specified forcing. Analytical results demonstrate how the ice state depends on properties of the ice and on the externally specified climate.

Towards a new parameterization of ice particles growth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krakovska, Svitlana; Khotyayintsev, Volodymyr; Bardakov, Roman; Shpyg, Vitaliy

2017-04-01

Ice particles are the main component of polar clouds, unlike in warmer regions. That is why correct representation of ice particle formation and growth in NWP and other numerical atmospheric models is crucial for understanding of the whole chain of water transformation, including precipitation formation and its further deposition as snow in polar glaciers. Currently, parameterization of ice in atmospheric models is among the most difficult challenges. In the presented research, we present a renewed theoretical analysis of the evolution of mixed cloud or cold fog from the moment of ice nuclei activation until complete crystallization. The simplified model is proposed that includes both supercooled cloud droplets and initially uniform particles of ice, as well as water vapor. We obtain independent dimensionless input parameters of a cloud, and find main scenarios and stages of evolution of the microphysical state of the cloud. The characteristic times and particle sizes have been found, as well as the peculiarities of microphysical processes at each stage of evolution. In the future, the proposed original and physically grounded approximations may serve as a basis for a new scientifically substantiated and numerically efficient parameterizations of microphysical processes in mixed clouds for modern atmospheric models. The relevance of theoretical analysis is confirmed by numerical modeling for a wide range of combinations of possible conditions in the atmosphere, including cold polar regions. The main conclusion of the research is that until complete disappearance of cloud droplets, the growth of ice particles occurs at a practically constant humidity corresponding to the saturated humidity over water, regardless to all other parameters of a cloud. This process can be described by the one differential equation of the first order. Moreover, a dimensionless parameter has been proposed as a quantitative criterion of a transition from dominant depositional to intense

Time-Lapse, in Situ Imaging of Ice Crystal Growth Using Confocal Microscopy

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Ice crystals nucleate and grow when a water solution is cooled below its freezing point. The growth velocities and morphologies of the ice crystals depend on many parameters, such as the temperature of ice growth, the melting temperature, and the interactions of solutes with the growing crystals. Three types of morphologies may appear: dendritic, cellular (or fingerlike), or the faceted equilibrium form. Understanding and controlling which type of morphology is formed is essential in several domains, from biology to geophysics and materials science. Obtaining, in situ, three dimensional observations without introducing artifacts due to the experimental technique is nevertheless challenging. Here we show how we can use laser scanning confocal microscopy to follow in real-time the growth of smoothed and faceted ice crystals in zirconium acetate solutions. Both qualitative and quantitative observations can be made. In particular, we can precisely measure the lateral growth velocity of the crystals, a measure otherwise difficult to obtain. Such observations should help us understand the influence of the parameters that control the growth of ice crystals in various systems. PMID:27917410

Time-Lapse, in Situ Imaging of Ice Crystal Growth Using Confocal Microscopy.

PubMed

Marcellini, Moreno; Noirjean, Cecile; Dedovets, Dmytro; Maria, Juliette; Deville, Sylvain

2016-11-30

Ice crystals nucleate and grow when a water solution is cooled below its freezing point. The growth velocities and morphologies of the ice crystals depend on many parameters, such as the temperature of ice growth, the melting temperature, and the interactions of solutes with the growing crystals. Three types of morphologies may appear: dendritic, cellular (or fingerlike), or the faceted equilibrium form. Understanding and controlling which type of morphology is formed is essential in several domains, from biology to geophysics and materials science. Obtaining, in situ, three dimensional observations without introducing artifacts due to the experimental technique is nevertheless challenging. Here we show how we can use laser scanning confocal microscopy to follow in real-time the growth of smoothed and faceted ice crystals in zirconium acetate solutions. Both qualitative and quantitative observations can be made. In particular, we can precisely measure the lateral growth velocity of the crystals, a measure otherwise difficult to obtain. Such observations should help us understand the influence of the parameters that control the growth of ice crystals in various systems.

On The Importance of Connecting Laboratory Measurements of Ice Crystal Growth with Model Parameterizations: Predicting Ice Particle Properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harrington, J. Y.

2017-12-01

Parameterizing the growth of ice particles in numerical models is at an interesting cross-roads. Most parameterizations developed in the past, including some that I have developed, parse model ice into numerous categories based primarily on the growth mode of the particle. Models routinely possess smaller ice, snow crystals, aggregates, graupel, and hail. The snow and ice categories in some models are further split into subcategories to account for the various shapes of ice. There has been a relatively recent shift towards a new class of microphysical models that predict the properties of ice particles instead of using multiple categories and subcategories. Particle property models predict the physical characteristics of ice, such as aspect ratio, maximum dimension, effective density, rime density, effective area, and so forth. These models are attractive in the sense that particle characteristics evolve naturally in time and space without the need for numerous (and somewhat artificial) transitions among pre-defined classes. However, particle property models often require fundamental parameters that are typically derived from laboratory measurements. For instance, the evolution of particle shape during vapor depositional growth requires knowledge of the growth efficiencies for the various axis of the crystals, which in turn depends on surface parameters that can only be determined in the laboratory. The evolution of particle shapes and density during riming, aggregation, and melting require data on the redistribution of mass across a crystals axis as that crystal collects water drops, ice crystals, or melts. Predicting the evolution of particle properties based on laboratory-determined parameters has a substantial influence on the evolution of some cloud systems. Radiatively-driven cirrus clouds show a broader range of competition between heterogeneous nucleation and homogeneous freezing when ice crystal properties are predicted. Even strongly convective squall

Growth rate of crystalline ice and the diffusivity of supercooled water from 126 to 262 K

PubMed Central

Xu, Yuntao; Smith, R. Scott; Kay, Bruce D.

2016-01-01

Understanding deeply supercooled water is key to unraveling many of water’s anomalous properties. However, developing this understanding has proven difficult due to rapid and uncontrolled crystallization. Using a pulsed-laser–heating technique, we measure the growth rate of crystalline ice, G(T), for 180 K < T < 262 K, that is, deep within water’s “no man’s land” in ultrahigh-vacuum conditions. Isothermal measurements of G(T) are also made for 126 K ≤ T ≤ 151 K. The self-diffusion of supercooled liquid water, D(T), is obtained from G(T) using the Wilson–Frenkel model of crystal growth. For T > 237 K and P ∼ 10−8 Pa, G(T) and D(T) have super-Arrhenius (“fragile”) temperature dependences, but both cross over to Arrhenius (“strong”) behavior with a large activation energy in no man’s land. The fact that G(T) and D(T) are smoothly varying rules out the hypothesis that liquid water’s properties have a singularity at or near 228 K at ambient pressures. However, the results are consistent with a previous prediction for D(T) that assumed no thermodynamic transitions occur in no man’s land. PMID:27956609

Basal melt rates of Filchner Ice Shelf, Antarctica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Humbert, A.; Nicholls, K. W.; Corr, H. F. J.; Steinhage, D.; Stewart, C.; Zeising, O.

2017-12-01

Thinning of ice shelves around Antarctica has been found to be partly driven by an increase in basal melt as a result of warmer waters entering the sub-ice shelf cavity. In-situ observations of basal melt rate are, however, sparse. A new robust and efficient phase sensitive radio echo sounder (pRES) allows to measure change in ice thickness and vertical strain at high accuracy, so that the contribution of basal melt to the change in thickness can be estimated. As modeling studies suggest that the cavity beneath Filchner Ice Shelf, Antarctica, might be prone to intrusion of warm water pulses within this century, we wished to derive a baseline dataset and an understanding of its present day spatial variability. Here we present results from pRES measurements over two field seasons, 2015/16-16/17, comprising 86 datasets over the southern Filchner Ice Shelf, covering an area of about 6500km2. The maximum melt rate is only slightly more than 1m/a, but the spatial distribution exhibits a complex pattern. For the purpose of testing variability of basal melt rates on small spatial scales, we performed 26 measurements over distances of about 1km, and show that the melt rates do not vary by more than 0.25m/a.

Determining Greenland Ice Sheet Accumulation Rates from Radar Remote Sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jezek, Kenneth C.

2001-01-01

An important component of NASA's Program for Arctic Regional Climate Assessment (PARCA) is a mass balance investigation of the Greenland Ice Sheet. The mass balance is calculated by taking the difference between the snow accumulation and the ice discharge of the ice sheet. Uncertainties in this calculation include the snow accumulation rate, which has traditionally been determined by interpolating data from ice core samples taken throughout the ice sheet. The sparse data associated with ice cores, coupled with the high spatial and temporal resolution provided by remote sensing, have motivated scientists to investigate relationships between accumulation rate and microwave observations.

Methane hydrate synthesis from ice: Influence of pressurization and ethanol on optimizing formation rates and hydrate yield

USGS Publications Warehouse

Chen, Po-Chun.; Huang, Wuu-Liang; Stern, Laura A.

2010-01-01

Polycrystalline methane gas hydrate (MGH) was synthesized using an ice-seeding method to investigate the influence of pressurization and ethanol on the hydrate formation rate and gas yield of the resulting samples. When the reactor is pressurized with CH4 gas without external heating, methane hydrate can be formed from ice grains with yields up to 25% under otherwise static conditions. The rapid temperature rise caused by pressurization partially melts the granular ice, which reacts with methane to form hydrate rinds around the ice grains. The heat generated by the exothermic reaction of methane hydrate formation buffers the sample temperature near the melting point of ice for enough time to allow for continuous hydrate growth at high rates. Surprisingly, faster rates and higher yields of methane hydrate were found in runs with lower initial temperatures, slower rates of pressurization, higher porosity of the granular ice samples, or mixtures with sediments. The addition of ethanol also dramatically enhanced the formation of polycrystalline MGH. This study demonstrates that polycrystalline MGH with varied physical properties suitable for different laboratory tests can be manufactured by controlling synthesis procedures or parameters. Subsequent dissociation experiments using a gas collection apparatus and flowmeter confirmed high methane saturation (CH 4·2O, with n = 5.82 ± 0.03) in the MGH. Dissociation rates of the various samples synthesized at diverse conditions may be fitted to different rate laws, including zero and first order.

Upper ocean stratification and sea ice growth rates during the summer-fall transition, as revealed by Elephant seal foraging in the Adélie Depression, East Antarctica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williams, G. D.; Hindell, M.; Houssais, M.-N.; Tamura, T.; Field, I. C.

2010-11-01

Southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina), fitted with Conductivity-Temperature-Depth sensors at Macquarie Island in January 2005 and 2010, collected unique oceanographic observations of the Adélie and George V Land continental shelf (140-148° E) during the summer-fall transition (late February through April). This is a key region of dense shelf water formation from enhanced sea ice growth/brine-rejection in the local coastal polynyas. In 2005 two seals occupied the continental shelf break near the grounded icebergs at the northern end of the Mertz Glacier Tongue for nearly two weeks at the onset of sea ice growth. One of the seals migrated north thereafter and the other headed west, possibly utilising the Antarctic Slope Front current near the continental shelf break. In 2010, after that years calving of the Mertz Glacier Tongue, two seals migrated to the same region but penetrated much further southwest across the Adélie Depression and occupied the Commonwealth Bay polynya from March through April. Here we present unique observations of the regional oceanography during the summer-fall transition, in particular (a) the zonal distribution of modified Circumpolar Deep Water exchange across the shelf break, (b) the upper ocean stratification across the Adélie Depression, including alongside iceberg C-28 that calved from the Mertz Glacier and (c) the convective overturning of the deep remnant seasonal mixed layer in Commonwealth Bay from sea ice growth (7.5-12.5 cm s-1). Heat and freshwater budgets to 200-300 m are used to estimate the ocean heat content, heat flux and sea ice growth rates. We speculate that the continuous foraging by the seals within Commonwealth Bay during the summer-fall transition was due to favorable feeding conditions resulting from the convective overturning of the deep seasonal mixed layer and chlorophyll maximum that is a reported feature of this location.

Formation of hexagonal and cubic ice during low-temperature growth

PubMed Central

Thürmer, Konrad; Nie, Shu

2013-01-01

From our daily life we are familiar with hexagonal ice, but at very low temperature ice can exist in a different structure––that of cubic ice. Seeking to unravel the enigmatic relationship between these two low-pressure phases, we examined their formation on a Pt(111) substrate at low temperatures with scanning tunneling microscopy and atomic force microscopy. After completion of the one-molecule-thick wetting layer, 3D clusters of hexagonal ice grow via layer nucleation. The coalescence of these clusters creates a rich scenario of domain-boundary and screw-dislocation formation. We discovered that during subsequent growth, domain boundaries are replaced by growth spirals around screw dislocations, and that the nature of these spirals determines whether ice adopts the cubic or the hexagonal structure. Initially, most of these spirals are single, i.e., they host a screw dislocation with a Burgers vector connecting neighboring molecular planes, and produce cubic ice. Films thicker than ∼20 nm, however, are dominated by double spirals. Their abundance is surprising because they require a Burgers vector spanning two molecular-layer spacings, distorting the crystal lattice to a larger extent. We propose that these double spirals grow at the expense of the initially more common single spirals for an energetic reason: they produce hexagonal ice. PMID:23818592

An experimental and theoretical study of the ice accretion process during artificial and natural icing conditions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kirby, Mark S.; Hansman, R. John

1988-01-01

Real-time measurements of ice growth during artificial and natural icing conditions were conducted using an ultrasonic pulse-echo technique. This technique allows ice thickness to be measured with an accuracy of + or - 0.5 mm; in addition, the ultrasonic signal characteristics may be used to detect the presence of liquid on the ice surface and hence discern wet and dry ice growth behavior. Ice growth was measured on the stagnation line of a cylinder exposed to artificial icing conditions in the NASA Lewis Icing Research Tunnel (IRT), and similarly for a cylinder exposed in flight to natural icing conditions. Ice thickness was observed to increase approximately linearly with exposure time during the initial icing period. The ice accretion rate was found to vary with cloud temperature during wet ice growth, and liquid runback from the stagnation region was inferred. A steady-state energy balance model for the icing surface was used to compare heat transfer characteristics for IRT and natural icing conditions. Ultrasonic measurements of wet and dry ice growth observed in the IRT and in flight were compared with icing regimes predicted by a series of heat transfer coefficients. The heat transfer magnitude was generally inferred to be higher for the IRT than for the natural icing conditions encountered in flight. An apparent variation in the heat transfer magnitude was also observed for flights conducted through different natural icing-cloud formations.

Thermodynamic and Dynamic Aspects of Ice Nucleation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barahona, Donifan

2018-01-01

It is known that ice nucleating particles (INP) immersed within supercooled droplets promote the formation of ice. Common theoretical models used to represent this process assume that the immersed particle lowers the work of ice nucleation without significantly affecting the dynamics of water in the vicinity of the particle. This is contrary to evidence showing that immersed surfaces significantly affect the viscosity and diffusivity of vicinal water. To study how this may affect ice formation this work introduces a model linking the ice nucleation rate to the modification of the dynamics and thermodynamics of vicinal water by immersed particles. It is shown that INP that significantly reduce the work of ice nucleation also pose strong limitations to the growth of the nascent ice germs. This leads to the onset of a new ice nucleation regime, called spinodal ice nucleation, where the dynamics of ice germ growth instead of the ice germ size determines the nucleation rate. Nucleation in this regime is characterized by an enhanced sensitivity to particle area and cooling rate. Comparison of the predicted ice nucleation rate against experimental measurements for a diverse set of species relevant to cloud formation suggests that spinodal ice nucleation may be common in nature.

Apparatus for single ice crystal growth from the melt.

PubMed

Zepeda, Salvador; Nakatsubo, Shunichi; Furukawa, Yoshinori

2009-11-01

A crystal growth apparatus was designed and built to study the effect of growth modifiers, antifreeze proteins and antifreeze glycoproteins (AFGPs), on ice crystal growth kinetics and morphology. We used a capillary growth technique to obtain a single ice crystal with well-defined crystallographic orientation grown in AFGP solution. The basal plane was readily observed by rotation of the capillary. The main growth chamber is approximately a 0.8 ml cylindrical volume. A triple window arrangement was used to minimize temperature gradients and allow for up to 10 mm working distance objective lens. Temperature could be established to within +/-10 mK in as little as 3.5 min and controlled to within +/-2 mK after 15 min for at least 10 h. The small volume growth chamber and fast equilibration times were necessary for parabolic flight microgravity experiments. The apparatus was designed for use with inverted and side mount configurations.

Investigating the Sensitivity of Nucleation Parameterization on Ice Growth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gaudet, L.; Sulia, K. J.

2017-12-01

The accurate prediction of precipitation from lake-effect snow events associated with the Great Lakes region depends on the parameterization of thermodynamic and microphysical processes, including the formation and subsequent growth of frozen hydrometeors. More specifically, the formation of ice hydrometeors has been represented through varying forms of ice nucleation parameterizations considering the different nucleation modes (e.g., deposition, condensation-freezing, homogeneous). These parameterizations have been developed from in-situ measurements and laboratory observations. A suite of nucleation parameterizations consisting of those published in Meyers et al. (1992) and DeMott et al. (2010) as well as varying ice nuclei data sources are coupled with the Adaptive Habit Model (AHM, Harrington et al. 2013), a microphysics module where ice crystal aspect ratio and density are predicted and evolve in time. Simulations are run with the AHM which is implemented in the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model to investigate the effect of ice nucleation parameterization on the non-spherical growth and evolution of ice crystals and the subsequent effects on liquid-ice cloud-phase partitioning. Specific lake-effect storms that were observed during the Ontario Winter Lake-Effect Systems (OWLeS) field campaign (Kristovich et al. 2017) are examined to elucidate this potential microphysical effect. Analysis of these modeled events is aided by dual-polarization radar data from the WSR-88D in Montague, New York (KTYX). This enables a comparison of the modeled and observed polarmetric and microphysical profiles of the lake-effect clouds, which involves investigating signatures of reflectivity, specific differential phase, correlation coefficient, and differential reflectivity. Microphysical features of lake-effect bands, such as ice, snow, and liquid mixing ratios, ice crystal aspect ratio, and ice density are analyzed to understand signatures in the aforementioned modeled

Ice forming experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vali, G.

1982-01-01

A low gravity experiment to assess the effect of the presence of supercooled cloud droplets on the diffusional growth rate of ice crystals is described. The theoretical work and the feasibility studies are summarized. The nucleation of ice crystals in supercooled clouds is also discussed.

Rate and state dependent processes in sea ice deformation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sammonds, P. R.; Scourfield, S.; Lishman, B.

2014-12-01

Realistic models of sea ice processes and properties are needed to assess sea ice thickness, extent and concentration and, when run within GCMs, provide prediction of climate change. The deformation of sea ice is a key control on the Arctic Ocean dynamics. But the deformation of sea ice is dependent not only on the rate of the processes involved but also the state of the sea ice and particular in terms of its evolution with time and temperature. Shear deformation is a dominant mechanism from the scale of basin-scale shear lineaments, through floe-floe interaction to block sliding in ice ridges. The shear deformation will not only depend on the speed of movement of ice surfaces but also the degree that the surfaces have bonded during thermal consolidation and compaction. Frictional resistance to sliding can vary by more than two orders of magnitude depending on the state of the interface. But this in turn is dependent upon both imposed conditions and sea ice properties such as size distribution of interfacial broken ice, angularity, porosity, salinity, etc. We review experimental results in sea ice mechanics from mid-scale experiments, conducted in the Hamburg model ship ice tank, simulating sea ice floe motion and interaction and compare these with laboratory experiments on ice friction done in direct shear from which a rate and state constitutive relation for shear deformation is derived. Finally we apply this to field measurement of sea ice friction made during experiments in the Barents Sea to assess the other environmental factors, the state terms, that need to be modelled in order to up-scale to Arctic Ocean-scale dynamics.

State of Arctic Sea Ice North of Svalbard during N-ICE2015

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rösel, Anja; King, Jennifer; Gerland, Sebastian

2016-04-01

The N-ICE2015 cruise, led by the Norwegian Polar Institute, was a drift experiment with the research vessel R/V Lance from January to June 2015, where the ship started the drift North of Svalbard at 83°14.45' N, 21°31.41' E. The drift was repeated as soon as the vessel drifted free. Altogether, 4 ice stations where installed and the complex ocean-sea ice-atmosphere system was studied with an interdisciplinary Approach. During the N-ICE2015 cruise, extensive ice thickness and snow depth measurements were performed during both, winter and summer conditions. Total ice and snow thickness was measured with ground-based and airborne electromagnetic instruments; snow depth was measured with a GPS snow depth probe. Additionally, ice mass balance and snow buoys were deployed. Snow and ice thickness measurements were performed on repeated transects to quantify the ice growth or loss as well as the snow accumulation and melt rate. Additionally, we collected independent values on surveys to determine the general ice thickness distribution. Average snow depths of 32 cm on first year ice, and 52 cm on multi-year ice were measured in January, the mean snow depth on all ice types even increased until end of March to 49 cm. The average total ice and snow thickness in winter conditions was 1.92 m. During winter we found a small growth rate on multi-year ice of about 15 cm in 2 months, due to above-average snow depths and some extraordinary storm events that came along with mild temperatures. In contrast thereto, we also were able to study new ice formation and thin ice on newly formed leads. In summer conditions an enormous melt rate, mainly driven by a warm Atlantic water inflow in the marginal ice zone, was observed during two ice stations with melt rates of up to 20 cm per 24 hours. To reinforce the local measurements around the ship and to confirm their significance on a larger scale, we compare them to airborne thickness measurements and classified SAR-satellite scenes. The

Close-up analysis of inflight ice accretion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reehorst, Andrew L.; Ratvasky, Thomas P.; Sims, James

1994-01-01

The objective of this effort was to validate in flight, data that has been gathered in the NASA Lewis Research Center's Icing Research Tunnel (IRT) over the past several years. All data was acquired in flight on the NASA Lewis Research Center's Twin Otter Icing Research Aircraft. A faired 3.5 in. diameter metal-clad cylinder exposed to the natural icing environment was observed by a close-up video camera. The grazing angle video footage was recorded to S-VHS video tape and after the icing encounter, the resultant ice shape was documented by 35 mm photography and pencil tracings. The feather growth area was of primary interest; however, all regions of the ice accretion, from the stagnation line to the aft edge of run back were observed and recorded. After analysis of the recorded data several interesting points became evident: (1) the measured flight feather growth rate is consistent with IRT values, (2) the feather growth rate appears to be influenced by droplet size, (3) the feathers were straighter in the lower, spottier LWC of flight in comparison to those observed in the IRT, (4) feather shedding and ice sublimation may be significant to the final ice shape, and (5) the snow encountered on these flights appeared to have little influence on ice growth.

Geodynamic Modeling of Planetary Ice-Oceans: Evolution of Ice-Shell Thickness in Convecting Two-Phase Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allu Peddinti, D.; McNamara, A. K.

2016-12-01

Along with the newly unveiled icy surface of Pluto, several icy planetary bodies show indications of an active surface perhaps underlain by liquid oceans of some size. This augments the interest to explore the evolution of an ice-ocean system and its surface implications. The geologically young surface of the Jovian moon Europa lends much speculation to variations in ice-shell thickness over time. Along with the observed surface features, it suggests the possibility of episodic convection and conduction within the ice-shell as it evolved. What factors would control the growth of the ice-shell as it forms? If and how would those factors determine the thickness of the ice-shell and consequently the heat transfer? Would parameters such as tidal heating or initial temperature affect how the ice-shell grows and to what significance? We perform numerical experiments using geodynamical models of the two-phase ice-water system to study the evolution of planetary ice-oceans such as that of Europa. The models evolve self-consistently from an initial liquid ocean as it cools with time. The effects of presence, absence and magnitude of tidal heating on ice-shell thickness are studied in different models. The vigor of convection changes as the ice-shell continues to thicken. Initial modeling results track changes in the growth rate of the ice-shell as the vigor of the convection changes. The magnitude and temporal location of the rate change varies with different properties of tidal heating and values of initial temperature. A comparative study of models is presented to demonstrate how as the ice-shell is forming, its growth rate and convection are affected by processes such as tidal heating.

Determining Greenland Ice Sheet Accumulation Rates from Radar Remote Sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jezek, Kenneth C.

2002-01-01

An important component of NASA's Program for Arctic Regional Climate Assessment (PARCA) is a mass balance investigation of the Greenland Ice Sheet. The mass balance is calculated by taking the difference between the areally Integrated snow accumulation and the net ice discharge of the ice sheet. Uncertainties in this calculation Include the snow accumulation rate, which has traditionally been determined by interpolating data from ice core samples taken from isolated spots across the ice sheet. The sparse data associated with ice cores juxtaposed against the high spatial and temporal resolution provided by remote sensing , has motivated scientists to investigate relationships between accumulation rate and microwave observations as an option for obtaining spatially contiguous estimates. The objective of this PARCA continuation proposal was to complete an estimate of surface accumulation rate on the Greenland Ice Sheet derived from C-band radar backscatter data compiled in the ERS-1 SAR mosaic of data acquired during, September-November, 1992. An empirical equation, based on elevation and latitude, is used to determine the mean annual temperature. We examine the influence of accumulation rate, and mean annual temperature on C-band radar backscatter using a forward model, which incorporates snow metamorphosis and radar backscatter components. Our model is run over a range of accumulation and temperature conditions. Based on the model results, we generate a look-up table, which uniquely maps the measured radar backscatter, and mean annual temperature to accumulation rate. Our results compare favorably with in situ accumulation rate measurements falling within our study area.

New insights into ice growth and melting modifications by antifreeze proteins

PubMed Central

Bar-Dolev, Maya; Celik, Yeliz; Wettlaufer, J. S.; Davies, Peter L.; Braslavsky, Ido

2012-01-01

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) evolved in many organisms, allowing them to survive in cold climates by controlling ice crystal growth. The specific interactions of AFPs with ice determine their potential applications in agriculture, food preservation and medicine. AFPs control the shapes of ice crystals in a manner characteristic of the particular AFP type. Moderately active AFPs cause the formation of elongated bipyramidal crystals, often with seemingly defined facets, while hyperactive AFPs produce more varied crystal shapes. These different morphologies are generally considered to be growth shapes. In a series of bright light and fluorescent microscopy observations of ice crystals in solutions containing different AFPs, we show that crystal shaping also occurs during melting. In particular, the characteristic ice shapes observed in solutions of most hyperactive AFPs are formed during melting. We relate these findings to the affinities of the hyperactive AFPs for the basal plane of ice. Our results demonstrate the relation between basal plane affinity and hyperactivity and show a clear difference in the ice-shaping mechanisms of most moderate and hyperactive AFPs. This study provides key aspects associated with the identification of hyperactive AFPs. PMID:22787007

Comparison in Schemes for Simulating Depositional Growth of Ice Crystal between Theoretical and Laboratory Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhai, Guoqing; Li, Xiaofan

2015-04-01

The Bergeron-Findeisen process has been simulated using the parameterization scheme for the depositional growth of ice crystal with the temperature-dependent theoretically predicted parameters in the past decades. Recently, Westbrook and Heymsfield (2011) calculated these parameters using the laboratory data from Takahashi and Fukuta (1988) and Takahashi et al. (1991) and found significant differences between the two parameter sets. There are two schemes that parameterize the depositional growth of ice crystal: Hsie et al. (1980), Krueger et al. (1995) and Zeng et al. (2008). In this study, we conducted three pairs of sensitivity experiments using three parameterization schemes and the two parameter sets. The pre-summer torrential rainfall event is chosen as the simulated rainfall case in this study. The analysis of root-mean-squared difference and correlation coefficient between the simulation and observation of surface rain rate shows that the experiment with the Krueger scheme and the Takahashi laboratory-derived parameters produces the best rain-rate simulation. The mean simulated rain rates are higher than the mean observational rain rate. The calculations of 5-day and model domain mean rain rates reveal that the three schemes with Takahashi laboratory-derived parameters tend to reduce the mean rain rate. The Krueger scheme together with the Takahashi laboratory-derived parameters generate the closest mean rain rate to the mean observational rain rate. The decrease in the mean rain rate caused by the Takahashi laboratory-derived parameters in the experiment with the Krueger scheme is associated with the reductions in the mean net condensation and the mean hydrometeor loss. These reductions correspond to the suppressed mean infrared radiative cooling due to the enhanced cloud ice and snow in the upper troposphere.

Laboratory studies on the uptake of aromatic hydrocarbons by ice crystals during vapor depositional crystal growth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fries, Elke; Starokozhev, Elena; Haunold, Werner; Jaeschke, Wolfgang; Mitra, Subir K.; Borrmann, Stephan; Schmidt, Martin U.

Uptake of aromatic hydrocarbons (AH) by ice crystals during vapor deposit growth was investigated in a walk-in cold chamber at temperatures of 242, 251, and 260 K, respectively. Ice crystals were grown from ambient air in the presence of gaseous AH namely: benzene (C 6H 6), toluene (methylbenzene, C 7H 8), the C 8H 10 isomers ethylbenzene, o-, m-, p-xylene (dimethylbenzenes), the C 9H 12 isomers n-propylbenzene, 4-ethyltoluene, 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene (1,3,5-TMB), 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene (1,2,4-TMB), 1,2,3-trimethylbenzene (1,2,3-TMB), and the C 10H 14 compound tert.-butylbenzene. Gas-phase concentrations calculated at 295 K were 10.3-20.8 μg m -3. Uptake of AH was detected by analyzing vapor deposited ice with a very sensitive method composed of solid-phase micro-extraction (SPME), followed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Ice crystal size was lower than 1 cm. At water vapor extents of 5.8, 6.0 and 8.1 g m -3, ice crystal shape changed with decreasing temperatures from a column at a temperature of 260 K, to a plate at 251 K, and to a dendrite at 242 K. Experimentally observed ice growth rates were between 3.3 and 13.3×10 -3 g s -1 m -2 and decreased at lower temperatures and lower value of water vapor concentration. Predicted growth rates were mostly slightly higher. Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX) were not detected in ice above their detection limits (DLs) of 25 pg g ice-1 (toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes) and 125 pg g ice-1 (benzene) over the entire temperature range. Median concentrations of n-propylbenzene, 4-ethyltoluene, 1,3,5-TMB, tert.-butylbenzene, 1,2,4-TMB, and 1,2,3-TMB were between 4 and 176 pg g ice-1 at gas concentrations of 10.3-10.7 μg m -3 calculated at 295 K. Uptake coefficients ( K) defined as the product of concentration of AH in ice and density of ice related to the product of their concentration in the gas phase and ice mass varied between 0.40 and 10.23. K increased with decreasing temperatures. Values of

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

Importance of aggregation and small ice crystals in cirrus clouds, based on observations and an ice particle growth model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mitchell, David L.; Chai, Steven K.; Dong, Yayi; Arnott, W. Patrick; Hallett, John

1993-01-01

The 1 November 1986 FIRE I case study was used to test an ice particle growth model which predicts bimodal size spectra in cirrus clouds. The model was developed from an analytically based model which predicts the height evolution of monomodal ice particle size spectra from the measured ice water content (IWC). Size spectra from the monomodal model are represented by a gamma distribution, N(D) = N(sub o)D(exp nu)exp(-lambda D), where D = ice particle maximum dimension. The slope parameter, lambda, and the parameter N(sub o) are predicted from the IWC through the growth processes of vapor diffusion and aggregation. The model formulation is analytical, computationally efficient, and well suited for incorporation into larger models. The monomodal model has been validated against two other cirrus cloud case studies. From the monomodal size spectra, the size distributions which determine concentrations of ice particles less than about 150 mu m are predicted.

Ice shelf basal melt rates around Antarctica from simulations and observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schodlok, M. P.; Menemenlis, D.; Rignot, E. J.

2016-02-01

We introduce an explicit representation of Antarctic ice shelf cavities in the Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean, Phase II (ECCO2) ocean retrospective analysis; and compare resulting basal melt rates and patterns to independent estimates from satellite observations. Two simulations are carried out: the first is based on the original ECCO2 vertical discretization; the second has higher vertical resolution particularly at the depth range of ice shelf cavities. The original ECCO2 vertical discretization produces higher than observed melt rates and leads to a misrepresentation of Southern Ocean water mass properties and transports. In general, thicker levels at the base of the ice shelves lead to increased melting because of their larger heat capacity. This strengthens horizontal gradients and circulation within and outside the cavities and, in turn, warm water transports from the shelf break to the ice shelves. The simulation with more vertical levels produces basal melt rates (1735 ± 164 Gt/a) and patterns that are in better agreement with observations. Thinner levels in the sub-ice-shelf cavities improve the representation of a fresh/cold layer at the ice shelf base and of warm/salty water near the bottom, leading to a sharper pycnocline and reduced vertical mixing underneath the ice shelf. Improved water column properties lead to more accurate melt rates and patterns, especially for melt/freeze patterns under large cold-water ice shelves. At the 18 km grid spacing of the ECCO2 model configuration, the smaller, warm-water ice shelves cannot be properly represented, with higher than observed melt rates in both simulations.

Microphysical growth state of ice particles and large-scale electrical structure of clouds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, Earle; Zhang, Renyi; Boccippio, Dennis

1994-01-01

Cloud temperature, liquid water content, and vertical air velocity are all considered in evaluating the microphysical growth state of ice phase precipitation particles in the atmosphere. The large-scale observations taken together with in situ measurements indicated that the most prevalent growth condition for large ice particles in active convection is sublimation during riming, whereas the most prevalent growth condition in stratiform precipitation is vapor deposition. The large-scale electrical observations lend further support to the idea that particles warmed by riming into sublimation charge negatively and particles in vapor deposition charge positively in collisions with small ice particles.

Modeling Europa's Ice-Ocean Interface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elsenousy, A.; Vance, S.; Bills, B. G.

2014-12-01

This work focuses on modeling the ice-ocean interface on Jupiter's Moon (Europa); mainly from the standpoint of heat and salt transfer relationship with emphasis on the basal ice growth rate and its implications to Europa's tidal response. Modeling the heat and salt flux at Europa's ice/ocean interface is necessary to understand the dynamics of Europa's ocean and its interaction with the upper ice shell as well as the history of active turbulence at this area. To achieve this goal, we used McPhee et al., 2008 parameterizations on Earth's ice/ocean interface that was developed to meet Europa's ocean dynamics. We varied one parameter at a time to test its influence on both; "h" the basal ice growth rate and on "R" the double diffusion tendency strength. The double diffusion tendency "R" was calculated as the ratio between the interface heat exchange coefficient αh to the interface salt exchange coefficient αs. Our preliminary results showed a strong double diffusion tendency R ~200 at Europa's ice-ocean interface for plausible changes in the heat flux due to onset or elimination of a hydrothermal activity, suggesting supercooling and a strong tendency for forming frazil ice.

Ice growth from supercooled aqueous solutions of benzene, naphthalene, and phenanthrene.

PubMed

Liyana-Arachchi, Thilanga P; Valsaraj, Kalliat T; Hung, Francisco R

2012-08-23

Classical molecular dynamics (MD) were performed to investigate the growth of ice from supercooled aqueous solutions of benzene, naphthalene, or phenanthrene. The main objective of this study is to explore the fate of those aromatic molecules after freezing of the supercooled aqueous solutions, i.e., if these molecules become trapped inside the ice lattice or if they are displaced to the QLL or to the interface with air. Ice growth from supercooled aqueous solutions of benzene, naphthalene, or phenanthrene result in the formation of quasi-liquid layers (QLLs) at the air/ice interface that are thicker than those observed when pure supercooled water freezes. Naphthalene and phenanthrene molecules in the supercooled aqueous solutions are displaced to the air/ice interface during the freezing process at both 270 and 260 K; no incorporation of these aromatics into the ice lattice is observed throughout the freezing process. Similar trends were observed during freezing of supercooled aqueous solutions of benzene at 270 K. In contrast, a fraction of the benzene molecules become trapped inside the ice lattice during the freezing process at 260 K, with the rest of the benzene molecules being displaced to the air/ice interface. These results suggest that the size of the aromatic molecule in the supercooled aqueous solution is an important parameter in determining whether these molecules become trapped inside the ice crystals. Finally, we also report potential of mean force (PMF) calculations aimed at studying the adsorption of gas-phase benzene and phenanthrene on atmospheric air/ice interfaces. Our PMF calculations indicate the presence of deep free energy minima for both benzene and phenanthrene at the air/ice interface, with these molecules adopting a flat orientation at the air/ice interface.

A method of predicting flow rates required to achieve anti-icing performance with a porous leading edge ice protection system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kohlman, D. L.; Albright, A. E.

1983-01-01

An analytical method was developed for predicting minimum flow rates required to provide anti-ice protection with a porous leading edge fluid ice protection system. The predicted flow rates compare with an average error of less than 10 percent to six experimentally determined flow rates from tests in the NASA Icing Research Tunnel on a general aviation wing section.

Growth and Survival of Some Probiotic Strains in Simulated Ice Cream Conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Homayouni, A.; Ehsani, M. R.; Azizi, A.; Razavi, S. H.; Yarmand, M. S.

A Completely Randomized Design (CRD) experiment was applied in triplicates to evaluate the survival of four probiotic strains in simulated ice cream conditions. The growth and survival rate of these probiotic strains (Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, Bifidobacterium bifidum and Bifidobacterium longum) in varying amount of sucrose (10, 15, 20 and 25%), oxygen scavenging components (0.05% L-cysteine and 0.05% L-ascorbate) and temperatures (4 and -20°C) during different periods of time (1, 2 and 3 months) were evaluated in MRS-broth medium. Optical density at 580 nm was used to measure growth. Lactobacilli strains proved to be highly resistant in comparison with Biffidobacteria strains. The viable cell number of Lactobacillus casei in different sucrose concentrations, different oxidoreduction potentials and refrigeration temperature was 1x1010, 2x108 and 5x107 cfu mL-1, respectively. Growth and survival rate of Lactobacillus casei showed to be the highest.

The effects of mixed layer dynamics on ice growth in the central Arctic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kitchen, Bruce R.

1992-09-01

The thermodynamic model of Thorndike (1992) is coupled to a one dimensional, two layer ocean entrainment model to study the effect of mixed layer dynamics on ice growth and the variation in the ocean heat flux into the ice due to mixed layer entrainment. Model simulations show the existence of a negative feedback between the ice growth and the mixed layer entrainment, and that the underlying ocean salinity has a greater effect on the ocean beat flux than does variations in the underlying ocean temperature. Model simulations for a variety of surface forcings and initial conditions demonstrate the need to include mixed layer dynamics for realistic ice prediction in the arctic.

Dynamical mechanism of antifreeze proteins to prevent ice growth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kutschan, B.; Morawetz, K.; Thoms, S.

2014-08-01

The fascinating ability of algae, insects, and fishes to survive at temperatures below normal freezing is realized by antifreeze proteins (AFPs). These are surface-active molecules and interact with the diffusive water-ice interface thus preventing complete solidification. We propose a dynamical mechanism on how these proteins inhibit the freezing of water. We apply a Ginzburg-Landau-type approach to describe the phase separation in the two-component system (ice, AFP). The free-energy density involves two fields: one for the ice phase with a low AFP concentration and one for liquid water with a high AFP concentration. The time evolution of the ice reveals microstructures resulting from phase separation in the presence of AFPs. We observed a faster clustering of pre-ice structure connected to a locking of grain size by the action of AFP, which is an essentially dynamical process. The adsorption of additional water molecules is inhibited and the further growth of ice grains stopped. The interfacial energy between ice and water is lowered allowing the AFPs to form smaller critical ice nuclei. Similar to a hysteresis in magnetic materials we observe a thermodynamic hysteresis leading to a nonlinear density dependence of the freezing point depression in agreement with the experiments.

Critical Supersaturation for Ice Crystal Growth: Laboratory Measurements and Atmospheric Modeling Implications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Magee, N.; Moyle, A.; Lamb, D.

2003-12-01

An improved understanding of ice crystal growth, particularly at low temperatures, is much in demand for the advancement of numerical modeling of atmospheric processes. Cirrus models must contend with the complexity of ice crystals growing in cold temperatures, low pressures, low supersaturations, and with multiple nucleation mechanisms. Recent observations have allowed increasingly realistic parameterizations of cirrus ice crystal microphysics, but these observations need to be supplemented by a fundamental understanding of growth processes affecting low-temperature crystals. Several experimental studies have demonstrated that certain ice crystals require a minimum "critical" supersaturation before exhibiting detectable growth. These crystals are presumed to be essentially defect-free, preventing vicinal hillock growth at the site of crystal dislocations. In the case of crystal growth by spiral dislocation, advancement of faces begins as soon as supersaturation is present. The finding of conditional critical supersaturations have analogies in other materials (metals, semiconductors, potassium dihydrogen phosphate) and are thermodynamically predicted given a two-dimensional nucleation growth mechanism. Previous measurements have determined the critical supersaturation for ice as a function of temperature and crystallographic face from 0 to --15° C with extrapolation to --30° C. For both basal and prism faces, critical supersaturation is seen to increase with decreasing temperature, suggesting that low-temperature, low-supersaturation processes are most likely to be affected by this critical contingency. We present laboratory results to verify and extend prior critical supersaturation measurements using a novel approach for supersaturation generation, control, and measurement. The crystals are grown on the tip of a fine glass fiber ( ˜10 microns in diameter) under varying conditions of temperature, pressure, and saturation. Supersaturation is generated when a pre

Accuracy improvement of the ice flow rate measurements on Antarctic ice sheet by DInSAR method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shiramizu, Kaoru; Doi, Koichiro; Aoyama, Yuichi

2015-04-01

DInSAR (Differential Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar) is an effective tool to measure the flow rate of slow flowing ice streams on Antarctic ice sheet with high resolution. In the flow rate measurement by DInSAR method, we use Digital Elevation Model (DEM) at two times in the estimating process. At first, we use it to remove topographic fringes from InSAR images. And then, it is used to project obtained displacements along Line-Of-Sight (LOS) direction to the actual flow direction. ASTER-GDEM widely-used for InSAR prosessing of the data of polar region has a lot of errors especially in the inland ice sheet area. Thus the errors yield irregular flow rates and directions. Therefore, quality of DEM has a substantial influence on the ice flow rate measurement. In this study, we created a new DEM (resolution 10m; hereinafter referred to as PRISM-DEM) based on ALOS/PRISM images, and compared PRISM-DEM and ASTER-GDEM. The study area is around Skallen, 90km south from Syowa Station, in the southern part of Sôya Coast, East Antarctica. For making DInSAR images, we used ALOS/PALSAR data of 13 pairs (Path633, Row 571-572), observed during the period from November 23, 2007 through January 16, 2011. PRISM-DEM covering the PALSAR scene was created from nadir and backward view images of ALOS/PRISM (Observation date: 2009/1/18) by applying stereo processing with a digital mapping equipment, and then the automatically created a primary DEM was corrected manually to make a final DEM. The number of irregular values of actual ice flow rate was reduced by applying PRISM-DEM compared with that by applying ASTER-GDEM. Additionally, an averaged displacement of approximately 0.5cm was obtained by applying PRISM-DEM over outcrop area, where no crustal displacement considered to occur during the recurrence period of ALOS/PALSAR (46days), while an averaged displacement of approximately 1.65 cm was observed by applying ASTER-GDEM. Since displacements over outcrop area are considered

Blocking rapid ice crystal growth through nonbasal plane adsorption of antifreeze proteins

PubMed Central

Olijve, Luuk L. C.; Meister, Konrad; DeVries, Arthur L.; Duman, John G.; Guo, Shuaiqi; Bakker, Huib J.; Voets, Ilja K.

2016-01-01

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) are a unique class of proteins that bind to growing ice crystal surfaces and arrest further ice growth. AFPs have gained a large interest for their use in antifreeze formulations for water-based materials, such as foods, waterborne paints, and organ transplants. Instead of commonly used colligative antifreezes such as salts and alcohols, the advantage of using AFPs as an additive is that they do not alter the physicochemical properties of the water-based material. Here, we report the first comprehensive evaluation of thermal hysteresis (TH) and ice recrystallization inhibition (IRI) activity of all major classes of AFPs using cryoscopy, sonocrystallization, and recrystallization assays. The results show that TH activities determined by cryoscopy and sonocrystallization differ markedly, and that TH and IRI activities are not correlated. The absence of a distinct correlation in antifreeze activity points to a mechanistic difference in ice growth inhibition by the different classes of AFPs: blocking fast ice growth requires rapid nonbasal plane adsorption, whereas basal plane adsorption is only relevant at long annealing times and at small undercooling. These findings clearly demonstrate that biomimetic analogs of antifreeze (glyco)proteins should be tailored to the specific requirements of the targeted application. PMID:26936953

Diffusion model validation and interpretation of stable isotopes in river and lake ice

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ferrick, M.G.; Calkins, D.J.; Perron, N.M.; Cragin, J.H.; Kendall, C.

2002-01-01

The stable isotope stratigraphy of river- and lake-ice archives winter hydroclimatic conditions, and can potentially be used to identify changing water sources or to provide important insights into ice formation processes and growth rates. However, accurate interpretations rely on known isotopic fractionation during ice growth. A one-dimensional diffusion model of the liquid boundary layer adjacent to an advancing solid interface, originally developed to simulate solute rejection by growing crystals, has been used without verification to describe non-equilibrium fractionation during congelation ice growth. Results are not in agreement, suggesting the presence of important uncertainties. In this paper we seek validation of the diffusion model for this application using large-scale laboratory experiments with controlled freezing rates and frequent sampling. We obtained consistent, almost constant, isotopic boundary layer thicknesses over a representative range of ice growth rates on both quiescent and well-mixed water. With the 18O boundary layer thickness from the laboratory, the model successfully quantified reduced river-ice growth rates relative to those of a nearby lake. These results were more representative and easier to obtain than those of a conventional thermal ice-growth model. This diffusion model validation and boundary layer thickness determination provide a powerful tool for interpreting the stable isotope stratigraphy of floating ice. The laboratory experiment also replicated successive fractionation events in response to a freeze-thaw-refreeze cycle, providing a mechanism for apparent ice fractionation that exceeds equilibrium. Analysis of the composition of snow ice and frazil ice in river and lake cores indicated surprising similarities between these ice forms. Published in 2002 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Mechanism of Ice Crystal Growth Habit and Shape Instability Development Below Water Saturation.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-08-01

The temperature dependence of the mass growth rate of ice crystals at water saturation had been intepreted in terms of the varia- tions with temperature...copy film and recorded by use of a camera for subsequent analysis. 3.3.4.3 Wedge-shaped chamber. A new geometry was introduced to thermal diffusion...camera, equippped with an Olympus Winder 2, a motor driven film advancer, an Olympus Varimagni 3600 rotating eyepiece attachment, and a Dot Line

Lifshitz interaction can promote ice growth at water-silica interfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boström, Mathias; Malyi, Oleksandr I.; Parashar, Prachi; Shajesh, K. V.; Thiyam, Priyadarshini; Milton, Kimball A.; Persson, Clas; Parsons, Drew F.; Brevik, Iver

2017-04-01

At air-water interfaces, the Lifshitz interaction by itself does not promote ice growth. On the contrary, we find that the Lifshitz force promotes the growth of an ice film, up to 1-8 nm thickness, near silica-water interfaces at the triple point of water. This is achieved in a system where the combined effect of the retardation and the zero frequency mode influences the short-range interactions at low temperatures, contrary to common understanding. Cancellation between the positive and negative contributions in the Lifshitz spectral function is reversed in silica with high porosity. Our results provide a model for how water freezes on glass and other surfaces.

Slow-slip events on the Whillans Ice Plain, Antarctica, described using rate-and-state friction as an ice stream sliding law

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lipovsky, Bradley Paul; Dunham, Eric M.

2017-04-01

The Whillans Ice Plain (WIP), Antarctica, experiences twice daily tidally modulated stick-slip cycles. Slip events last about 30 min, have sliding velocities as high as ˜0.5 mm/s (15 km/yr), and have total slip ˜0.5 m. Slip events tend to occur during falling ocean tide: just after high tide and just before low tide. To reproduce these characteristics, we use rate-and-state friction, which is commonly used to simulate tectonic faulting, as an ice stream sliding law. This framework describes the evolving strength of the ice-bed interface throughout stick-slip cycles. We present simulations that resolve the cross-stream dimension using a depth-integrated treatment of an elastic ice layer loaded by tides and steady ice inflow. Steady sliding with rate-weakening friction is conditionally stable with steady sliding occurring for sufficiently narrow ice streams relative to a nucleation length. Stick-slip cycles occur when the ice stream is wider than the nucleation length or, equivalently, when effective pressures exceed a critical value. Ice streams barely wider than the nucleation length experience slow-slip events, and our simulations suggest that the WIP is in this slow-slip regime. Slip events on the WIP show a sense of propagation, and we reproduce this behavior by introducing a rate-strengthening region in the center of the otherwise rate-weakening ice stream. If pore pressures are raised above a critical value, our simulations predict that the WIP would exhibit quasi-steady tidally modulated sliding as observed on other ice streams. This study validates rate-and-state friction as a sliding law to describe ice stream sliding styles.

Imaging radar studies of polar ice

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carsey, Frank

1993-01-01

A vugraph format presentation is given. The following topics are discussed: scientific overview, radar data opportunities, sea ice investigations, and ice sheet investigations. The Sea Ice Scientific Objectives are as follows: (1) to estimate globally the surface brine generation, heat flux, and fresh water advection (as ice); (2) to monitor phasing of seasonal melt and freeze events and accurately estimate melt and growth rates; and (3) to develop improved treatment of momentum transfer and ice mechanics in coupled air-sea-ice models.

Bioprospecting for microbial products that affect ice crystal formation and growth.

PubMed

Christner, Brent C

2010-01-01

At low temperatures, some organisms produce proteins that affect ice nucleation, ice crystal structure, and/or the process of recrystallization. Based on their ice-interacting properties, these proteins provide an advantage to species that commonly experience the phase change from water to ice or rarely experience temperatures above the melting point. Substances that bind, inhibit or enhance, and control the size, shape, and growth of ice crystals could offer new possibilities for a number of agricultural, biomedical, and industrial applications. Since their discovery more than 40 years ago, ice nucleating and structuring proteins have been used in cryopreservation, frozen food preparation, transgenic crops, and even weather modification. Ice-interacting proteins have demonstrated commercial value in industrial applications; however, the full biotechnological potential of these products has yet to be fully realized. The Earth's cold biosphere contains an almost endless diversity of microorganisms to bioprospect for microbial compounds with novel ice-interacting properties. Microorganisms are the most appropriate biochemical factories to cost effectively produce ice nucleating and structuring proteins on large commercial scales.

Ocean stratification reduces melt rates at the grounding zone of the Ross Ice Shelf

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Begeman, C. B.; Tulaczyk, S. M.; Marsh, O.; Mikucki, J.; Stanton, T. P.; Hodson, T. O.; Siegfried, M. R.; Powell, R. D.; Christianson, K. A.; King, M. A.

2017-12-01

Ocean-driven melting of ice shelves is often invoked as the primary mechanism for triggering ice loss from Antarctica. However, due to the difficulty in accessing the sub-ice-shelf ocean cavity, the relationship between ice-shelf melt rates and ocean conditions is poorly understood, particularly near the transition from grounded to floating ice, known as the grounding zone. Here we present the first borehole oceanographic observations from the grounding zone of Antarctica's largest ice shelf. Contrary to predictions that tidal currents near grounding zones should mix the water column, driving high ice-shelf melt rates, we find a stratified sub-ice-shelf water column. The vertical salinity gradient dominates stratification over a weakly unstable vertical temperature gradient; thus, stratification takes the form of a double-diffusive staircase. These conditions limit vertical heat fluxes and lead to low melt rates in the ice-shelf grounding zone. While modern grounding zone melt rates may presently be overestimated in models that assume efficient tidal mixing, the high sensitivity of double-diffusive staircases to ocean freshening and warming suggests future melt rates may be underestimated, biasing projections of global sea-level rise.

Comparative Views of Arctic Sea Ice Growth

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

how the sea ice cover grows and contorts over time. 'Using this new data set, we have the first estimates of how much ice has been produced and where it formed during the winter. We have never been able to do this before,' said Kwok. 'Through our radar maps of the Arctic Ocean, we can actually see ice breaking apart and thin ice growth in the new openings.'

RADARSAT gives researchers a piece of the overall puzzle every three days by creating a complete image of the Arctic. NASA scientists then put those puzzle pieces together to create a time-lapsed view of this remote and inhospitable region. So far, they have processed one season's worth of images.

'We can see large cracks in the ice cover, where most ice grows,' said Kwok. 'These cracks are much longer than previously thought, some as long as 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles),' Kwok continued. 'If the ice is thinning due to warming, we'll expect to see more of these long cracks over the Arctic Ocean.'

Scientists believe this is one of the most significant breakthroughs in the last two decades of ice research. 'We are now in a position to better understand the sea ice cover and the role of the Arctic Ocean in global climate change,' said Kwok.

Radar can see through clouds and any kind of weather system, day or night, and as the Arctic regions are usually cloud-covered and subject to long, dark winters, radar is proving to be extremely useful. However, compiling these data into extremely detailed pictures of the Arctic is a challenging task.

'This is truly a major innovation in terms of the quantities of data being processed and the novelty of the methods being used,' said Verne Kaupp, director of the Alaska SAR Facility at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.

The mission is a joint project between JPL, the Alaska SAR Facility, and the Canadian Space Agency. Launched by NASA in 1995, the Radarsat satellite is operated by the Canadian Space Agency. JPL manages the Sea Ice Thickness Derived From High

Ice nucleation rates of single protein complexes and single macromolecules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stratmann, F.; Wex, H.; Niedermeier, D.; Hartmann, S.; Augustin, S.; Clauss, T.; Voigtlaender, J.; Pummer, B.; Grothe, H.

2012-12-01

With our flow-tube LACIS (Leipzig Aerosol cloud Interaction Simulator), we measured immersion freezing of droplets containing biological ice nucleating (IN) agents. From our measurements, we were able to deduce ice nucleation rates for single IN protein complexes (for Snomax) and for IN macromolecules (in the case of Birch pollen). For the measurements, aerosol particles were produced from solutions/suspensions of either Snomax (deadened and partly fractionalized pseudomonas syringae bacteria) or of Birch pollen washing water (BW in the following). All particles were dried and size selected before entering LACIS. In LACIS, particles were activated to droplets, and we measured the fraction of all droplets that froze (F(ice)) as function of temperature. For Snomax, a strong increase in F(ice) was observed around -7 to -10°C, for BW around -19 to -25°C, respectively. After this initial steep increase, F(ice) stayed constant for both examined substances down to -35°C. We found that the values of F(ice) in the plateau region depended on the dry particle size. The initial solution used to generate the particles contained parts of bacteria with ice active protein complexes on them in the case of Snomax, or IN macromolecules in the case of BW (Pummer et al., 2011). We show that the distribution of the IN proteins or IN molecules in the aerosol particles follows the Poisson distribution. With this knowledge, derivation of the ice nucleation rates for single IN protein complexes or for single IN macromolecules is possible. Combining the Poisson distribution with a stochastic model and using the derived nucleation rates, we can reproduce not only our measurements for both examined substances, but also past measurements done for Snomax and even pseudomonas syringae bacteria. As an additional peculiarity, we seem to observe two different macromolecules being ice active for Birch trees growing in Central Europe or Northern Europe, with the latter initiating freezing at

Effect of simulated ice storm damage on loblolly pine tree and stand growth

Treesearch

Rodney E. Will; Thomas Hennessey; Thomas Lynch; Robert Heinemann; Randal Holeman; Dennis Wilson

2012-01-01

Ice damage to loblolly pine plantations is a recurrent problem in eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas with significant ice events occurring recently in 1995, twice in 2000, and in 2007. Following ice damage, forest owners need to decide to clear-cut and replant, thin or partial cut to rehabilitate, or take no action. A quantitative assessment of tree and stand growth...

Observations on the Growth of Roughness Elements Into Icing Feathers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vargas, Mario; Tsao, Jen, Ching

2007-01-01

This work presents the results of an experiment conducted in the Icing Research Tunnel at NASA Glenn Research Center to understand the process by which icing feathers are formed in the initial stages of ice accretion formation on swept wings. Close-up photographic data were taken on an aluminum NACA 0012 swept wing tip airfoil. Two types of photographic data were obtained: time sequence close-up photographic data during the run and close-up photographic data of the ice accretion at the end of each run. Icing runs were conducted for short ice accretion times from 10 to 180 sec. The time sequence close-up photographic data was used to study the process frame by frame and to create movies of how the process developed. The movies confirmed that at glaze icing conditions in the attachment line area icing feathers develop from roughness elements. The close-up photographic data at the end of each run showed that roughness elements change into a pointed shape with an upstream facet and join on the side with other elements having the same change to form ridges with pointed shape and upstream facet. The ridges develop into feathers when the upstream facet grows away to form the stem of the feather. The ridges and their growth into feathers were observed to form the initial scallop tips present in complete scallops.

Photochemistry of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in cosmic water ice. II. Near UV/VIS spectroscopy and ionization rates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bouwman, J.; Cuppen, H. M.; Steglich, M.; Allamandola, L. J.; Linnartz, H.

2011-05-01

Context. Mid-infrared emission features originating from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are observed towards photon dominated regions in space. Towards dense clouds, however, these emission features are quenched. Observations of dense clouds show that many simple volatile molecules are frozen out on interstellar grains, forming thin layers of ice. Recently, observations have shown that more complex non-volatile species, presumably including PAHs, also freeze out and contribute to the ongoing solid-state chemistry. Aims: The study presented here aims at obtaining reaction rate data that characterize PAH photochemistry upon vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) irradiation in an interstellar H2O ice analogue to explore the potential impact of PAH:H2O ice reactions on overall interstellar ice chemistry. To this end, the experimental results are implemented in a chemical model under simple interstellar cloud conditions. Methods: Time-dependent near-UV/VIS spectroscopy on the VUV photochemistry of anthracene, pyrene, benzo[ghi]perylene and coronene containing interstellar H2O ice analogs is performed at 25 and 125 K, using an optical absorption setup. Results: Near-UV/VIS absorption spectra are presented for these four PAHs and their photoproducts including cationic species trapped in H2O ice. Oscillator strengths of the cation absorption bands are derived relative to the oscillator strength of the neutral parent PAH. The loss of the parent and growth of PAH photoproducts are measured as a function of VUV dose, yielding solid state reaction constants. The rate constants are used in an exploratory astrochemical model, to assess the importance of PAH:H2O ice photoprocessing in UV exposed interstellar environments, compared with the timescales in which PAH molecules are incorporated in interstellar ices. Conclusions: All four PAHs studied here are found to be readily ionized upon VUV photolysis when trapped in H2O ice and exhibit similar rates for ionization at astronomically

Ice cover affects the growth of a stream-dwelling fish.

PubMed

Watz, Johan; Bergman, Eva; Piccolo, John J; Greenberg, Larry

2016-05-01

Protection provided by shelter is important for survival and affects the time and energy budgets of animals. It has been suggested that in fresh waters at high latitudes and altitudes, surface ice during winter functions as overhead cover for fish, reducing the predation risk from terrestrial piscivores. We simulated ice cover by suspending plastic sheeting over five 30-m-long stream sections in a boreal forest stream and examined its effects on the growth and habitat use of brown trout (Salmo trutta) during winter. Trout that spent the winter under the artificial ice cover grew more than those in the control (uncovered) sections. Moreover, tracking of trout tagged with passive integrated transponders showed that in the absence of the artificial ice cover, habitat use during the day was restricted to the stream edges, often under undercut banks, whereas under the simulated ice cover condition, trout used the entire width of the stream. These results indicate that the presence of surface ice cover may improve the energetic status and broaden habitat use of stream fish during winter. It is therefore likely that reductions in the duration and extent of ice cover due to climate change will alter time and energy budgets, with potentially negative effects on fish production.

Species-specific effects of a 1994 ice storm on radial tree growth in Delaware

Treesearch

Matthew Smolnik; Amy Hessl; J. J. Colbert

2006-01-01

Ice storms are recurrent disturbances that alter forest succession and forest structure throughout North America. However, long-term effects of ice storms on tree growth are largely unknown. Following a 1994 ice storm in Delaware, the Delaware Forest Service established seventy-five study plots to sample four species of trees (southern red oak [Quercus falcate...

Effects of ice storm damage on hardwood survival and growth in Ohio

Treesearch

Richard M. Turcotte; Thomas R. Elliott; Mary Ann Fajvan; Yong-Lak Park; Daniel A. Snider; Patrick C. Tobin

2012-01-01

In 2003, an ice storm occurred across four Mid-Atlantic states. This study investigated the effects of the ice-storm damage on growth and mortality of five tree species (Acer rubrum, Acer saccharum, Quercus alba, Quercus prinus, and Quercus rubra) from three forest stands in the Wayne National Forest in Ohio. We remeasured the same...

Quantifying Local Ablation Rates for the Greenland Ice Sheet Using Terrestrial LIDAR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kershner, C. M.; Pitcher, L. H.; LeWinter, A.; Finnegan, D. C.; Overstreet, B. T.; Miège, C.; Cooper, M. G.; Smith, L. C.; Rennermalm, A. K.

2016-12-01

Quantifying accurate ice surface ablation or melt rates for the Greenland Ice Sheet is important for calibrating and validating surface mass balance models and constraining sea level rise estimates. Common practice is to monitor surface ablation at defined points by manually measuring ice surface lowering in relation to stakes inserted into the ice / snow. However, this method does not account for the effects of local topography, solar zenith angle, and local variations in ice surface albedo/impurities on ablation rates. To directly address these uncertainties, we use a commercially available terrestrial LIDAR scanner (TLS) to monitor daily melt rates in the ablation zone of the Greenland Ice Sheet for 7 consecutive days in July 2016. Each survey is registered to previous scans using retroreflective cylinders and is georeferenced using static GPS measurements. Bulk ablation will be calculated using multi-temporal differential LIDAR techniques, and difficulties in referencing scans and collecting high quality surveys in this dynamic environment will be discussed, as well as areas for future research. We conclude that this novel application of TLS technology provides a spatially accurate, higher fidelity measurements of ablation across a larger area with less interpolation and less time spent than using traditional manual point based methods alone. Furthermore, this sets the stage for direct calibration, validation and cross-comparison with existing airborne (e.g. NASA's Airborne Topographic Mapper - ATM - onboard Operation IceBridge and NASA's Land, Vegetation & Ice Sensor - LVIS) and forthcoming spaceborne sensors (e.g. NASA's ICESat-2).

(abstract) Variations in Polarimetric Backscatter of Saline Ice Grown Under Diurnal Thermal Cycling Condition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nghiem, S. V.; Kwok, R.; Yueh, S. H.; Kong, J. A.; Hsu, C. C.; Ding, K. H.

1995-01-01

An experiment was carried out in January 1994 at the Geophysical Research Facility in the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory. To investigate effects on polarimetric scattering signatures of sea ice growth under diurnal temperature variations, an ice sheet was grown for 2.5 days for the thickness of 10 cm and a polarimetric radar operating at C-band was used to obtain backscattering data in conjunction with ice-characterization measurements. The ice sheet was grown in the late morning of January 19, 1994. The initial growth rate was slow due to high insolation and temperature. As the air temperature dropped during the night, the growth rate increased significantly. The air temperature changed drastically from about -10(deg)C to -35(deg)C between day and night. The temperature cycle was repeated during the next day and the growth rate varied in the same manner. The surface of the ice was partially covered by frost flowers and the areal coverage increased as the ice became thicker. Throughout the ice growth duration of 2.5 days, polarimetric backscatter data were collected at roughly every centimeter of ice growth. For each set of radar measurements of saline ice, a set of calibration measurements was carried out with trihedrial corner reflectors and a metallic sphere. Measured polarimetric backscattering coefficients of the ice sheet reveal a strong correlation between radar data and temperature variations. As the temperature increased (decreased), the backscatter increased (decreased) correspondingly. From the ice-characterization data, temperatures of the air, at the ice-air interface, and in the ice layer had the same variation trend. Another interesting experimental observation is that the salinity measured as a function of ice depth from a sample of 10-cm thich ice indicated that the salinity variations had a similar cycle as the temperature; i.e., the salinity profile recorded the history of the temperature variations. Characterization data of the

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

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

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.

Identification of Accretion as Grain Growth Mechanism in Astrophysically Relevant Water&ice Dusty Plasma Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marshall, Ryan S.; Chai, Kil-Byoung; Bellan, Paul M.

2017-03-01

The grain growth process in the Caltech water-ice dusty plasma experiment has been studied using a high-speed camera and a long-distance microscope lens. It is observed that (I) the ice grain number density decreases fourfold as the average grain major axis increases from 20 to 80 μm, (II) the major axis length has a log-normal distribution rather than a power-law dependence, and (III) no collisions between ice grains are apparent. The grains have a large negative charge resulting in strong mutual repulsion and this, combined with the fractal character of the ice grains, prevents them from agglomerating. In order for the grain kinetic energy to be sufficiently small to prevent collisions between ice grains, the volumetric packing factor (I.e., ratio of the actual volume to the volume of a circumscribing ellipsoid) of the ice grains must be less than ˜0.1 depending on the exact relative velocity of the grains in question. Thus, it is concluded that direct accretion of water molecules is very likely to dominate the observed ice grain growth.

Modelling and parameterizing the influence of tides on ice-shelf melt rates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jourdain, N.; Molines, J. M.; Le Sommer, J.; Mathiot, P.; de Lavergne, C.; Gurvan, M.; Durand, G.

2017-12-01

Significant Antarctic ice sheet thinning is observed in several sectors of Antarctica, in particular in the Amundsen Sea sector, where warm circumpolar deep waters affect basal melting. The later has the potential to trigger marine ice sheet instabilities, with an associated potential for rapid sea level rise. It is therefore crucial to simulate and understand the processes associated with ice-shelf melt rates. In particular, the absence of tides representation in ocean models remains a caveat of numerous ocean hindcasts and climate projections. In the Amundsen Sea, tides are relatively weak and the melt-induced circulation is stronger than the tidal circulation. Using a regional 1/12° ocean model of the Amundsen Sea, we nonetheless find that tides can increase melt rates by up to 36% in some ice-shelf cavities. Among the processes that can possibly affect melt rates, the most important is an increased exchange at the ice/ocean interface resulting from the presence of strong tidal currents along the ice drafts. Approximately a third of this effect is compensated by a decrease in thermal forcing along the ice draft, which is related to an enhanced vertical mixing in the ocean interior in presence of tides. Parameterizing the effect of tides is an alternative to the representation of explicit tides in an ocean model, and has the advantage not to require any filtering of ocean model outputs. We therefore explore different ways to parameterize the effects of tides on ice shelf melt. First, we compare several methods to impose tidal velocities along the ice draft. We show that getting a realistic spatial distribution of tidal velocities in important, and can be deduced from the barotropic velocities of a tide model. Then, we explore several aspects of parameterized tidal mixing to reproduce the tide-induced decrease in thermal forcing along the ice drafts.

Workman-Reynolds freezing potential measurements between ice and dilute salt solutions for single ice crystal faces.

PubMed

Wilson, P W; Haymet, A D J

2008-09-18

Workman-Reynolds freezing potentials have been measured for the first time across the interface between single crystals of ice 1h and dilute electrolyte solutions. The measured electric potential is a strictly nonequilibrium phenomenon and a function of the concentration of salt, freezing rate, orientation of the ice crystal, and time. When all these factors are controlled, the voltage is reproducible to the extent expected with ice growth experiments. Zero voltage is obtained with no growth or melting. For rapidly grown ice 1h basal plane in contact with a solution of 10 (-4) M NaCl the maximum voltage exceeds 30 V and decreases to zero at both high and low salt concentrations. These single-crystal experiments explain much of the data captured on this remarkable phenomenon since 1948.

Variable Basal Melt Rates of Antarctic Peninsula Ice Shelves, 1994-2016

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adusumilli, Susheel; Fricker, Helen Amanda; Siegfried, Matthew R.; Padman, Laurie; Paolo, Fernando S.; Ligtenberg, Stefan R. M.

2018-05-01

We have constructed 23-year (1994-2016) time series of Antarctic Peninsula (AP) ice-shelf height change using data from four satellite radar altimeters (ERS-1, ERS-2, Envisat, and CryoSat-2). Combining these time series with output from atmospheric and firn models, we partitioned the total height-change signal into contributions from varying surface mass balance, firn state, ice dynamics, and basal mass balance. On the Bellingshausen coast of the AP, ice shelves lost 84 ± 34 Gt a-1 to basal melting, compared to contributions of 50 ± 7 Gt a-1 from surface mass balance and ice dynamics. Net basal melting on the Weddell coast was 51 ± 71 Gt a-1. Recent changes in ice-shelf height include increases over major AP ice shelves driven by changes in firn state. Basal melt rates near Bawden Ice Rise, a major pinning point of Larsen C Ice Shelf, showed large increases, potentially leading to substantial loss of buttressing if sustained.

Arctic sea ice decline contributes to thinning lake ice trend in northern Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Alexeev, Vladimir; Arp, Christopher D.; Jones, Benjamin M.; Cai, Lei

2016-01-01

Field measurements, satellite observations, and models document a thinning trend in seasonal Arctic lake ice growth, causing a shift from bedfast to floating ice conditions. September sea ice concentrations in the Arctic Ocean since 1991 correlate well (r = +0.69,p < 0.001) to this lake regime shift. To understand how and to what extent sea ice affects lakes, we conducted model experiments to simulate winters with years of high (1991/92) and low (2007/08) sea ice extent for which we also had field measurements and satellite imagery characterizing lake ice conditions. A lake ice growth model forced with Weather Research and Forecasting model output produced a 7% decrease in lake ice growth when 2007/08 sea ice was imposed on 1991/92 climatology and a 9% increase in lake ice growth for the opposing experiment. Here, we clearly link early winter 'ocean-effect' snowfall and warming to reduced lake ice growth. Future reductions in sea ice extent will alter hydrological, biogeochemical, and habitat functioning of Arctic lakes and cause sub-lake permafrost thaw.

Southern Ocean frontal structure and sea-ice formation rates revealed by elephant seals

PubMed Central

Charrassin, J.-B.; Hindell, M.; Rintoul, S. R.; Roquet, F.; Sokolov, S.; Biuw, M.; Costa, D.; Boehme, L.; Lovell, P.; Coleman, R.; Timmermann, R.; Meijers, A.; Meredith, M.; Park, Y.-H.; Bailleul, F.; Goebel, M.; Tremblay, Y.; Bost, C.-A.; McMahon, C. R.; Field, I. C.; Fedak, M. A.; Guinet, C.

2008-01-01

Polar regions are particularly sensitive to climate change, with the potential for significant feedbacks between ocean circulation, sea ice, and the ocean carbon cycle. However, the difficulty in obtaining in situ data means that our ability to detect and interpret change is very limited, especially in the Southern Ocean, where the ocean beneath the sea ice remains almost entirely unobserved and the rate of sea-ice formation is poorly known. Here, we show that southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) equipped with oceanographic sensors can measure ocean structure and water mass changes in regions and seasons rarely observed with traditional oceanographic platforms. In particular, seals provided a 30-fold increase in hydrographic profiles from the sea-ice zone, allowing the major fronts to be mapped south of 60°S and sea-ice formation rates to be inferred from changes in upper ocean salinity. Sea-ice production rates peaked in early winter (April–May) during the rapid northward expansion of the pack ice and declined by a factor of 2 to 3 between May and August, in agreement with a three-dimensional coupled ocean–sea-ice model. By measuring the high-latitude ocean during winter, elephant seals fill a “blind spot” in our sampling coverage, enabling the establishment of a truly global ocean-observing system. PMID:18695241

The role of sediment supply in esker formation and ice tunnel evolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burke, Matthew J.; Brennand, Tracy A.; Sjogren, Darren B.

2015-05-01

Meltwater is an important part of the glacier system as it can directly influence ice sheet dynamics. Although it is important that ice sheet models incorporate accurate information about subglacial meltwater processes, the relative inaccessibility of contemporary ice sheet beds makes direct investigation challenging. Former ice sheet beds contain a wealth of meltwater landforms such as eskers that, if accurately interpreted, can provide detailed insight into the hydrology of former ice sheets. Eskers are the casts of ice-walled channels and are a common landform within the footprint of the last Laurentide and Cordilleran Ice Sheets. In south-western Alberta, esker distribution suggests that both water and sediment supply may have been important controls; the longest esker ridge segments are located within meltwater valleys partially filled by glaciofluvial sediments, whereas the shortest esker ridge segments are located in areas dominated by clast-poor till. Through detailed esker ridge planform and crest-type mapping, and near surface geophysics we reveal morpho-sedimentary relationships that suggest esker sedimentation was dynamic, but that esker distribution and architecture were primarily governed by sediment supply. Through comparison of these data with data from eskers elsewhere, we suggest three formative scenarios: 1) where sediment supply and flow powers were high, coarse sediment loads result in rapid deposition, and rates of thermo-mechanical ice tunnel growth is exceeded by the rate of ice tunnel closure due to sediment infilling. High sedimentation rates reduce ice tunnel cross-sectional area, cause an increase in meltwater flow velocity and force ice tunnel growth. Thus, ice tunnel growth is fastest where sedimentation rate is highest; this positive feedback results in a non-uniform ice tunnel geometry, and favours macroform development and non-uniform ridge geometry. 2) Where sediment supply is limited, but flow power high, the rate of sedimentation

Microfluidic experiments reveal that antifreeze proteins bound to ice crystals suffice to prevent their growth

PubMed Central

Celik, Yeliz; Drori, Ran; Pertaya-Braun, Natalya; Altan, Aysun; Barton, Tyler; Bar-Dolev, Maya; Groisman, Alex; Davies, Peter L.; Braslavsky, Ido

2013-01-01

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) are a subset of ice-binding proteins that control ice crystal growth. They have potential for the cryopreservation of cells, tissues, and organs, as well as for production and storage of food and protection of crops from frost. However, the detailed mechanism of action of AFPs is still unclear. Specifically, there is controversy regarding reversibility of binding of AFPs to crystal surfaces. The experimentally observed dependence of activity of AFPs on their concentration in solution appears to indicate that the binding is reversible. Here, by a series of experiments in temperature-controlled microfluidic devices, where the medium surrounding ice crystals can be exchanged, we show that the binding of hyperactive Tenebrio molitor AFP to ice crystals is practically irreversible and that surface-bound AFPs are sufficient to inhibit ice crystal growth even in solutions depleted of AFPs. These findings rule out theories of AFP activity relying on the presence of unbound protein molecules. PMID:23300286

Evidence for biological shaping of hair ice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hofmann, D.; Preuss, G.; Mätzler, C.

2015-07-01

An unusual ice type, called hair ice, grows on the surface of dead wood of broad-leaf trees at temperatures slightly below 0 °C. We describe this phenomenon and present physical, chemical, and biological investigations to gain insight in the properties and processes related to hair ice. Tests revealed that the biological activity of a winter-active fungus is required in the wood for enabling the growth of hair ice. We confirmed the fungus hypothesis originally suggested by Wegener (1918) by reproducing hair ice on wood samples. Treatment by heat and fungicide suppresses the formation of hair ice. Fruiting bodies of Asco- and Basidiomycota are identified on hair-ice-carrying wood. One species, Exidiopsis effusa (Ee), was present on all investigated samples. Both hair-ice-producing wood samples and those with killed fungus show essentially the same temperature variation, indicating that the heat produced by fungal metabolism is very small, that the freezing rate is not influenced by the fungus activity, and that ice segregation is the common mechanism of ice growth on the wood surface. The fungus plays the role of shaping the ice hairs and preventing them from recrystallisation. Melted hair ice indicates the presence of organic matter. Chemical analyses show a complex mixture of several thousand CHO(N,S) compounds similar to fulvic acids in dissolved organic matter (DOM). The evaluation reveals decomposed lignin as being the main constituent. Further work is needed to clarify its role in hair-ice growth and to identify the recrystallisation inhibitor.

Evidence for biological shaping of hair ice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hofmann, D.; Preuss, G.; Mätzler, C.

2015-04-01

An unusual ice type, called hair ice, grows on the surface of dead wood of broad-leaf trees at temperatures slightly below 0 °C. We describe this phenomenon and present physical, chemical, and biological investigations to gain insight in the properties and processes related to hair ice. Tests revealed that the biological activity of a winter-active fungus is required in the wood for enabling the growth of hair ice. We confirmed the fungus hypothesis originally suggested by Wegener (1918) by reproducing hair ice on wood samples. Treatment by heat and fungicide, respectively, suppresses the formation of hair ice. Fruiting bodies of Asco- and Basidiomycota are identified on hair-ice carrying wood. One species, Exidiopsis effusa (Ee), has been present on all investigated samples. Both hair-ice producing wood samples and those with killed fungus show essentially the same temperature variation, indicating that the heat produced by fungal metabolism is very small, that the freezing rate is not influenced by the fungus activity and that ice segregation is the common mechanism of ice growth at the wood surface. The fungus plays the role of shaping the ice hairs and to prevent them from recrystallisation. Melted hair ice indicates the presence of organic matter. Chemical analyses show a complex mixture of several thousand CHO(N,S)-compounds similar to fulvic acids in dissolved organic matter (DOM). The evaluation reveals decomposed lignin as the main constituent. Further work is needed to clarify its role in hair-ice growth and to identify the recrystallisation inhibitor.

ERS-1 SAR monitoring of ice growth on shallow lakes to determine water depth and availability in north west Alaska

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jeffries, Martin; Morris, Kim; Liston, Glen

1996-01-01

Images taken by the ERS-1 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) were used to identify and to differentiate between the lakes that freeze completely to the bottom and those that do not, on the North Slope, in northwestern Alaska. The ice thickness at the time each lake froze completely is determined with numerical ice growth model that gives a maximum simulated thickness of 2.2 m. A method combining the ERS-1 SAR images and numerical ice growth model was used to determine the ice growth and the water availability in these regions.

Development and test of a Microwave Ice Accretion Measurement Instrument (MIAMI)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Magenheim, B.; Rocks, J. K.

1982-01-01

The development of an ice accretion measurement instrument that is a highly sensitive, accurate, rugged and reliable microprocessor controlled device using low level microwave energy for non-instrusive real time measurement and recording of ice growth history, including ice thickness and accretion rate is discussed. Data is displayed and recorded digitally. New experimental data is presented, obtained with the instrument, which demonstrates its ability to measure ice growth on a two-dimensional airfoil. The device is suitable for aircraft icing protection. It may be mounted flush, non-intrusively, on any part of an aircraft skin including rotor blades and engine inlets.

Observing ice particle growth along fall streaks in mixed-phase clouds using spectral polarimetric radar data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pfitzenmaier, Lukas; Unal, Christine M. H.; Dufournet, Yann; Russchenberg, Herman W. J.

2018-06-01

The growth of ice crystals in presence of supercooled liquid droplets represents the most important process for precipitation formation in the mid-latitudes. However, such mixed-phase interaction processes remain relatively unknown, as capturing the complexity in cloud dynamics and microphysical variabilities turns to be a real observational challenge. Ground-based radar systems equipped with fully polarimetric and Doppler capabilities in high temporal and spatial resolutions such as the S-band transportable atmospheric radar (TARA) are best suited to observe mixed-phase growth processes. In this paper, measurements are taken with the TARA radar during the ACCEPT campaign (analysis of the composition of clouds with extended polarization techniques). Besides the common radar observables, the 3-D wind field is also retrieved due to TARA unique three beam configuration. The novelty of this paper is to combine all these observations with a particle evolution detection algorithm based on a new fall streak retrieval technique in order to study ice particle growth within complex precipitating mixed-phased cloud systems. In the presented cases, three different growth processes of ice crystals, plate-like crystals, and needles are detected and related to the presence of supercooled liquid water. Moreover, TARA observed signatures are assessed with co-located measurements obtained from a cloud radar and radiosondes. This paper shows that it is possible to observe ice particle growth processes within complex systems taking advantage of adequate technology and state of the art retrieval algorithms. A significant improvement is made towards a conclusive interpretation of ice particle growth processes and their contribution to rain production using fall streak rearranged radar data.

Modelled Growth and Decay of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet Through the Last Glacial Cycle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marshall, S. J.; Banwell, A.

2015-12-01

The Cordilleran Ice Sheet in western North America had an enigmatic evolution during the last glacial cycle, developing out of sync with the larger Laurentide and global glaciation. The geological record suggests that the ice sheet emerged late, ca. 45 ka, growing to be a fully-established ice sheet in isotope stages 3 and 2 and deglaciating late in the glacial cycle. This has been a challenge to model, and is a paleoclimatic curiosity, because the western Cordillera of North America is heavily glacierized today, and one would intuitively expect it to act as an inception centre for the Pleistocene ice sheets. The region receives heavy precipitation, and modest cooling should induce large-scale glacier expansion. Indeed, a Cordilleran Ice Sheet quickly nucleates in isotope substage 5d in most ice sheet modeling studies to date, and is a resilient feature throughout the glaciation. The fact that a full-scale Cordilleran Ice Sheet did not develop until relatively late argues for either: (a) ice sheet models that have been inadequate in resolving the process of alpine-style glaciation, i.e., the coalescence of alpine icefields, or (b) a climatic history in western North America that deviated strongly from the hemispheric-scale cooling which drove the growth of the Laurentide and Scandinavian Ice Sheets, as recorded in Greenland. We argue that reasonable reconstructions of Cordilleran Ice Sheet growth and decay implicate a combination of these two considerations. Sufficient model resolution is required to capture the valley-bottom melt that suppresses icefield coalescence, while early-glacial cooling must have been modest in the Pacific sector of North America. We argue for a persistent warm, dry climate relative to that in eastern North America and the Atlantic sector, likely associated with positive feedbacks between atmospheric circulation and the nascent Laurentide Ice Sheet (i.e., peristent circulation patterns similar to those of 2014-2015). This must have been

Modeling the evolution of the Laurentide Ice Sheet from MIS 3 to the Last Glacial Maximum: an approach using sea level modeling and ice flow dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weisenberg, J.; Pico, T.; Birch, L.; Mitrovica, J. X.

2017-12-01

The history of the Laurentide Ice Sheet since the Last Glacial Maximum ( 26 ka; LGM) is constrained by geological evidence of ice margin retreat in addition to relative sea-level (RSL) records in both the near and far field. Nonetheless, few observations exist constraining the ice sheet's extent across the glacial build-up phase preceding the LGM. Recent work correcting RSL records along the U.S. mid-Atlantic dated to mid-MIS 3 (50-35 ka) for glacial-isostatic adjustment (GIA) infer that the Laurentide Ice Sheet grew by more than three-fold in the 15 ky leading into the LGM. Here we test the plausibility of a late and extremely rapid glaciation by driving a high-resolution ice sheet model, based on a nonlinear diffusion equation for the ice thickness. We initialize this model at 44 ka with the mid-MIS 3 ice sheet configuration proposed by Pico et al. (2017), GIA-corrected basal topography, and mass balance representative of mid-MIS 3 conditions. These simulations predict rapid growth of the eastern Laurentide Ice Sheet, with rates consistent with achieving LGM ice volumes within 15 ky. We use these simulations to refine the initial ice configuration and present an improved and higher resolution model for North American ice cover during mid-MIS 3. In addition we show that assumptions of ice loads during the glacial phase, and the associated reconstructions of GIA-corrected basal topography, produce a bias that can underpredict ice growth rates in the late stages of the glaciation, which has important consequences for our understanding of the speed limit for ice growth on glacial timescales.

Burial of gas-phase HNO(3) by growing ice surfaces under tropospheric conditions.

PubMed

Ullerstam, Maria; Abbatt, Jonathan P D

2005-10-21

The uptake of gas-phase nitric acid by ice surfaces undergoing growth by vapor deposition has been performed for the first time under conditions of the free troposphere. The investigation was performed using a coated-wall flow tube coupled to a chemical ionization mass spectrometer, at nitric acid partial pressures between 10(-7) and 10(-6) hPa, at 214, 229 and 239 K. Ice surfaces were prepared as smooth ice films from ultra-pure water. During the experiments an excess flow of water vapor was added to the carrier gas flow and the existing ice surfaces grew by depositing water vapor. The average growth rates ranged from 0.7-5 microm min(-1), values similar to those which prevail in some portions of the atmosphere. With growing ice the long term uptake of nitric acid is significantly enhanced compared to an experiment performed at equilibrium, i.e. at 100% relative humidity (RH) with respect to ice. The fraction of HNO(3) that is deposited onto the growing ice surface is independent of the growth rate and may be driven by the solubility of the nitric acid in the growing ice film rather than by condensation kinetics alone.

An integrated approach to the remote sensing of floating ice

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

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.

Artificial Bone and Teeth through Controlled Ice Growth in Colloidal Suspensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tomsia, Antoni P.; Saiz, Eduardo; Deville, Sylvain

2007-06-01

The formation of regular patterns is a common feature of many solidification processes involving cast materials. We describe here how regular patterns can be obtained in porous alumina and hydroxyapatite (HAP) by controlling the freezing of ceramic slurries followed by subsequent ice sublimation and sintering, leading to multilayered porous ceramic structures with homogeneous and well-defined architecture. These porous materials can be infiltrated with a second phase of choice to yield biomimetic nacre-like composites with improved mechanical properties, which could be used for artificial bone and teeth applications. Proper control of the solidification patterns provides powerful means of control over the final functional properties. We discuss the relationships between the experimental results, ice growth fundamentals, the physics of ice and the interaction between inert particles and the solidification front during directional freezing.

Direct calculation of ice homogeneous nucleation rate for a molecular model of water.

PubMed

Haji-Akbari, Amir; Debenedetti, Pablo G

2015-08-25

Ice formation is ubiquitous in nature, with important consequences in a variety of environments, including biological cells, soil, aircraft, transportation infrastructure, and atmospheric clouds. However, its intrinsic kinetics and microscopic mechanism are difficult to discern with current experiments. Molecular simulations of ice nucleation are also challenging, and direct rate calculations have only been performed for coarse-grained models of water. For molecular models, only indirect estimates have been obtained, e.g., by assuming the validity of classical nucleation theory. We use a path sampling approach to perform, to our knowledge, the first direct rate calculation of homogeneous nucleation of ice in a molecular model of water. We use TIP4P/Ice, the most accurate among existing molecular models for studying ice polymorphs. By using a novel topological approach to distinguish different polymorphs, we are able to identify a freezing mechanism that involves a competition between cubic and hexagonal ice in the early stages of nucleation. In this competition, the cubic polymorph takes over because the addition of new topological structural motifs consistent with cubic ice leads to the formation of more compact crystallites. This is not true for topological hexagonal motifs, which give rise to elongated crystallites that are not able to grow. This leads to transition states that are rich in cubic ice, and not the thermodynamically stable hexagonal polymorph. This mechanism provides a molecular explanation for the earlier experimental and computational observations of the preference for cubic ice in the literature.

Direct calculation of ice homogeneous nucleation rate for a molecular model of water

PubMed Central

Haji-Akbari, Amir; Debenedetti, Pablo G.

2015-01-01

Ice formation is ubiquitous in nature, with important consequences in a variety of environments, including biological cells, soil, aircraft, transportation infrastructure, and atmospheric clouds. However, its intrinsic kinetics and microscopic mechanism are difficult to discern with current experiments. Molecular simulations of ice nucleation are also challenging, and direct rate calculations have only been performed for coarse-grained models of water. For molecular models, only indirect estimates have been obtained, e.g., by assuming the validity of classical nucleation theory. We use a path sampling approach to perform, to our knowledge, the first direct rate calculation of homogeneous nucleation of ice in a molecular model of water. We use TIP4P/Ice, the most accurate among existing molecular models for studying ice polymorphs. By using a novel topological approach to distinguish different polymorphs, we are able to identify a freezing mechanism that involves a competition between cubic and hexagonal ice in the early stages of nucleation. In this competition, the cubic polymorph takes over because the addition of new topological structural motifs consistent with cubic ice leads to the formation of more compact crystallites. This is not true for topological hexagonal motifs, which give rise to elongated crystallites that are not able to grow. This leads to transition states that are rich in cubic ice, and not the thermodynamically stable hexagonal polymorph. This mechanism provides a molecular explanation for the earlier experimental and computational observations of the preference for cubic ice in the literature. PMID:26240318

Ice sheet margins and ice shelves

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thomas, R. H.

1984-01-01

The effect of climate warming on the size of ice sheet margins in polar regions is considered. Particular attention is given to the possibility of a rapid response to warming on the order of tens to hundreds of years. It is found that the early response of the polar regions to climate warming would be an increase in the area of summer melt on the ice sheets and ice shelves. For sufficiently large warming (5-10C) the delayed effects would include the breakup of the ice shelves by an increase in ice drainage rates, particularly from the ice sheets. On the basis of published data for periodic changes in the thickness and melting rates of the marine ice sheets and fjord glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica, it is shown that the rate of retreat (or advance) of an ice sheet is primarily determined by: bedrock topography; the basal conditions of the grounded ice sheet; and the ice shelf condition downstream of the grounding line. A program of satellite and ground measurements to monitor the state of ice sheet equilibrium is recommended.

Linking atmospheric synoptic transport, cloud phase, surface energy fluxes, and sea-ice growth: observations of midwinter SHEBA conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Persson, P. Ola G.; Shupe, Matthew D.; Perovich, Don; Solomon, Amy

2017-08-01

Observations from the Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean (SHEBA) project are used to describe a sequence of events linking midwinter long-range advection of atmospheric heat and moisture into the Arctic Basin, formation of supercooled liquid water clouds, enhancement of net surface energy fluxes through increased downwelling longwave radiation, and reduction in near-surface conductive heat flux loss due to a warming of the surface, thereby leading to a reduction in sea-ice bottom growth. The analyses provide details of two events during Jan. 1-12, 1998, one entering the Arctic through Fram Strait and the other from northeast Siberia; winter statistics extend the results. Both deep, precipitating frontal clouds and post-frontal stratocumulus clouds impact the surface radiation and energy budget. Cloud liquid water, occurring preferentially in stratocumulus clouds extending into the base of the inversion, provides the strongest impact on surface radiation and hence modulates the surface forcing, as found previously. The observations suggest a minimum water vapor threshold, likely case dependent, for producing liquid water clouds. Through responses to the radiative forcing and surface warming, this cloud liquid water also modulates the turbulent and conductive heat fluxes, and produces a thermal wave penetrating into the sea ice. About 20-33 % of the observed variations of bottom ice growth can be directly linked to variations in surface conductive heat flux, with retarded ice growth occurring several days after these moisture plumes reduce the surface conductive heat flux. This sequence of events modulate pack-ice wintertime environmental conditions and total ice growth, and has implications for the annual sea-ice evolution, especially for the current conditions of extensive thinner ice.

Retardation of ice crystallization by short peptides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Jun Soo; Yethiraj, Arun

2009-03-01

The effect of short peptides on the growth of ice crystals is studied using molecular dynamics simulations. The simulations focus on two sequences (Gly-Pro-Ala-Gly and Gly-Gly-Ala-Gly) that are found in collagen hydrolysate, a substance that is known to retard crystal growth. In the absence of peptides, the growth of ice crystal in the solution with the ice/water interface is observed in at a rate comparable to the experimental data. When peptides are present in the liquid phase, the crystal growth is retarded to a significant extent compared to the pure water. It is found that Gly-Pro-Ala-Gly is more effective (crystallization is up to 5 times slower than in its absence) than Gly-Gly-Ala-Gly (up to 3 times slower) implying that the role of the proline residue is important. The mechanism can be understood in the nature of binding of the peptides to the growing crystal.

Ice-cover effects on competitive interactions between two fish species.

PubMed

Helland, Ingeborg P; Finstad, Anders G; Forseth, Torbjørn; Hesthagen, Trygve; Ugedal, Ola

2011-05-01

1. Variations in the strength of ecological interactions between seasons have received little attention, despite an increased focus on climate alterations on ecosystems. Particularly, the winter situation is often neglected when studying competitive interactions. In northern temperate freshwaters, winter implies low temperatures and reduced food availability, but also strong reduction in ambient light because of ice and snow cover. Here, we study how brown trout [Salmo trutta (L.)] respond to variations in ice-cover duration and competition with Arctic charr [Salvelinus alpinus (L.)], by linking laboratory-derived physiological performance and field data on variation in abundance among and within natural brown trout populations. 2. Both Arctic charr and brown trout reduced resting metabolic rate under simulated ice-cover (darkness) in the laboratory, compared to no ice (6-h daylight). However, in contrast to brown trout, Arctic charr was able to obtain positive growth rate in darkness and had higher food intake in tank experiments than brown trout. Arctic charr also performed better (lower energy loss) under simulated ice-cover in a semi-natural environment with natural food supply. 3. When comparing brown trout biomass across 190 Norwegian lakes along a climate gradient, longer ice-covered duration decreased the biomass only in lakes where brown trout lived together with Arctic charr. We were not able to detect any effect of ice-cover on brown trout biomass in lakes where brown trout was the only fish species. 4. Similarly, a 25-year time series from a lake with both brown trout and Arctic charr showed that brown trout population growth rate depended on the interaction between ice breakup date and Arctic charr abundance. High charr abundance was correlated with low trout population growth rate only in combination with long winters. 5. In conclusion, the two species differed in performance under ice, and the observed outcome of competition in natural populations

Artificial Bone and Teeth through Controlled Ice Growth in Colloidal Suspensions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tomsia, Antoni P.; Saiz, Eduardo; Deville, Sylvain

2007-06-14

The formation of regular patterns is a common feature of many solidification processes involving cast materials. We describe here how regular patterns can be obtained in porous alumina and hydroxyapatite (HAP) by controlling the freezing of ceramic slurries followed by subsequent ice sublimation and sintering, leading to multilayered porous ceramic structures with homogeneous and well-defined architecture. These porous materials can be infiltrated with a second phase of choice to yield biomimetic nacre-like composites with improved mechanical properties, which could be used for artificial bone and teeth applications. Proper control of the solidification patterns provides powerful means of control over themore » final functional properties. We discuss the relationships between the experimental results, ice growth fundamentals, the physics of ice and the interaction between inert particles and the solidification front during directional freezing.« less

Modelling present-day basal melt rates for Antarctic ice shelves using a parametrization of buoyant meltwater plumes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lazeroms, Werner M. J.; Jenkins, Adrian; Hilmar Gudmundsson, G.; van de Wal, Roderik S. W.

2018-01-01

Basal melting below ice shelves is a major factor in mass loss from the Antarctic Ice Sheet, which can contribute significantly to possible future sea-level rise. Therefore, it is important to have an adequate description of the basal melt rates for use in ice-dynamical models. Most current ice models use rather simple parametrizations based on the local balance of heat between ice and ocean. In this work, however, we use a recently derived parametrization of the melt rates based on a buoyant meltwater plume travelling upward beneath an ice shelf. This plume parametrization combines a non-linear ocean temperature sensitivity with an inherent geometry dependence, which is mainly described by the grounding-line depth and the local slope of the ice-shelf base. For the first time, this type of parametrization is evaluated on a two-dimensional grid covering the entire Antarctic continent. In order to apply the essentially one-dimensional parametrization to realistic ice-shelf geometries, we present an algorithm that determines effective values for the grounding-line depth and basal slope in any point beneath an ice shelf. Furthermore, since detailed knowledge of temperatures and circulation patterns in the ice-shelf cavities is sparse or absent, we construct an effective ocean temperature field from observational data with the purpose of matching (area-averaged) melt rates from the model with observed present-day melt rates. Our results qualitatively replicate large-scale observed features in basal melt rates around Antarctica, not only in terms of average values, but also in terms of the spatial pattern, with high melt rates typically occurring near the grounding line. The plume parametrization and the effective temperature field presented here are therefore promising tools for future simulations of the Antarctic Ice Sheet requiring a more realistic oceanic forcing.

The influence of basal-ice debris on patterns and rates of glacial erosion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ugelvig, Sofie V.; Egholm, David L.

2018-05-01

Glaciers have played a key role for shaping much of Earth's high topography during the cold periods of the Late Cenozoic. However, despite of their distinct influence on landscapes, the mechanisms of glacial erosion, and the properties that determine their rate of operation, are still poorly understood. Theoretical models of subglacial erosion generally highlight the influence of basal sliding in setting the pace of erosion, but they also point to a strong influence of other subglacial properties, such as effective bed pressure and basal-ice debris concentration. The latter properties are, however, not easily measured in existing glaciers, and hence their influence cannot readily be confirmed by observations. In order to better connect theoretical models for erosion to measurable properties in glaciers, we used computational landscape evolution experiments to study the expected influence of basal-ice debris concentration for subglacial abrasion at the scale of glaciers. The computational experiments couple the two erosion processes of quarrying and abrasion, and furthermore integrate the flow of ice and transport of debris within the ice, thus allowing for the study of dynamic feedbacks between subglacial erosion and systematic glacier-scale variations in basal-ice debris concentration. The experiments explored several physics-based models for glacial erosion, in combination with different models for basal sliding to elucidate the relationship between sliding speed, erosion rate and basal-ice debris concentration. The results demonstrate how differences in debris concentration can explain large variations in measured rates. The experiments also provide a simple explanation for the observed dependence of glacier-averaged rate of erosion on glacier size: that large glacier uplands feed more debris into their lower-elevation parts, thereby strengthening their erosive power.

Calving fluxes and basal melt rates of Antarctic ice shelves.

PubMed

Depoorter, M A; Bamber, J L; Griggs, J A; Lenaerts, J T M; Ligtenberg, S R M; van den Broeke, M R; Moholdt, G

2013-10-03

Iceberg calving has been assumed to be the dominant cause of mass loss for the Antarctic ice sheet, with previous estimates of the calving flux exceeding 2,000 gigatonnes per year. More recently, the importance of melting by the ocean has been demonstrated close to the grounding line and near the calving front. So far, however, no study has reliably quantified the calving flux and the basal mass balance (the balance between accretion and ablation at the ice-shelf base) for the whole of Antarctica. The distribution of fresh water in the Southern Ocean and its partitioning between the liquid and solid phases is therefore poorly constrained. Here we estimate the mass balance components for all ice shelves in Antarctica, using satellite measurements of calving flux and grounding-line flux, modelled ice-shelf snow accumulation rates and a regional scaling that accounts for unsurveyed areas. We obtain a total calving flux of 1,321 ± 144 gigatonnes per year and a total basal mass balance of -1,454 ± 174 gigatonnes per year. This means that about half of the ice-sheet surface mass gain is lost through oceanic erosion before reaching the ice front, and the calving flux is about 34 per cent less than previous estimates derived from iceberg tracking. In addition, the fraction of mass loss due to basal processes varies from about 10 to 90 per cent between ice shelves. We find a significant positive correlation between basal mass loss and surface elevation change for ice shelves experiencing surface lowering and enhanced discharge. We suggest that basal mass loss is a valuable metric for predicting future ice-shelf vulnerability to oceanic forcing.

Concentration gradients and growth/decay characteristics of the seasonal sea ice cover

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

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

1984-01-01

The characteristics of sea ice cover in both hemispheres are analyzed and compared. The areal sea ice cover in the entire polar regions and in various geographical sectors is quantified for various concentration intervals and is analyzed in a consistent manner. Radial profiles of brightness temperatures from the poles across the marginal zone are also evaluated at different transects along regular longitudinal intervals during different times of the year. These radial profiles provide statistical information about the ice concentration gradients and the rates at which the ice edge advances or retreats during a complete annual cycle.

Ice Growth Inhibition in Antifreeze Polypeptide Solution by Short-Time Solution Preheating.

PubMed

Nishi, Naoto; Miyamoto, Takuya; Waku, Tomonori; Tanaka, Naoki; Hagiwara, Yoshimichi

2016-01-01

The objective of this study is to enhance the inhibition of ice growth in the aqueous solution of a polypeptide, which is inspired by winter flounder antifreeze protein. We carried out measurements on unidirectional freezing of the polypeptide solution. The thickness of the solution was 0.02 mm, and the concentration of polypeptide was varied from 0 to 2 mg/mL. We captured successive microscopic images of ice/solution interfaces, and measured the interface velocity from the locations of tips of the pectinate interface in the images. We also simultaneously measured the temperature by using a small thermocouple. The ice/solution interface temperature was defined by the temperature at the tips. It was found that the interface temperature was decreased with an increasing concentration of polypeptide. To try varying the activity of the polypeptide, we preheated the polypeptide solution and cooled it before carrying out the measurements. Preheating for 1-5 hours was found to cause a further decrease in the interface temperature. Furthermore, wider regions of solution and ice with inclined interfaces in the pectinate interface structure were observed, compared with the case where the solution was not preheated. Thus, the ice growth inhibition was enhanced by this preheating. To investigate the reason for this enhancement, we measured the conformation and aggregates of polypeptide in the solution. We also measured the local concentration of polypeptide. It was found that the polypeptide aggregates became larger as a result of preheating, although the polypeptide conformation was unchanged. These large aggregates caused both adsorption to the interface and the wide regions of supercooled solution in the pectinate interface structure.

The Impact of Moisture Intrusions from Lower Latitudes on Arctic Net Surface Radiative Fluxes and Sea Ice Growth in Fall and Winter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hegyi, B. M.; Taylor, P. C.

2017-12-01

The fall and winter seasons mark an important period in the evolution of Arctic sea ice, where energy is transferred away from the surface to facilitate the cooling of the surface and the growth of Arctic sea ice extent and thickness. Climatologically, these seasons are characterized by distinct periods of increased and reduced surface cooling and sea ice growth. Periods of reduced sea ice growth and surface cooling are associated with cloudy conditions and the transport of warm and moist air from lower latitudes, termed moisture intrusions. In the research presented, we explore the regional and Arctic-wide impact of moisture intrusions on the surface net radiative fluxes and sea ice growth for each fall and winter season from 2000/01-2015/16, utilizing MERRA2 reanalysis data, PIOMAS sea ice thickness data, and daily CERES radiative flux data. Consistent with previous studies, we find that positive anomalies in downwelling longwave surface flux are associated with increased temperature and water vapor content in the atmospheric column contained within the moisture intrusions. Interestingly, there are periods of increased downwelling LW flux anomalies that persist for one week or longer (i.e. longer than synoptic timescales) that are associated with persistent poleward flux of warm, moist air from lower latitudes. These persistent anomalies significantly reduce the regional growth of Arctic sea ice, and may in part explain the interannual variability of fall and winter Arctic sea ice growth.

Radial growth of hardwoods following the 1998 ice storm in New Hampshire and Maine

Treesearch

Kevin T. Smith; Walter C. Shortle

2003-01-01

Ice storms and resulting injury to tree crowns occur frequently in North America. Reaction of land managers to injury caused by the regional ice storm of January 1998 had the potential to accelerate the harvesting of northern hardwoods due to concern about the future loss of wood production by injured trees. To assess the effect of this storm on radial stem growth,...

Intercellular ice propagation: experimental evidence for ice growth through membrane pores.

PubMed Central

Acker, J P; Elliott, J A; McGann, L E

2001-01-01

Propagation of intracellular ice between cells significantly increases the prevalence of intracellular ice in confluent monolayers and tissues. It has been proposed that gap junctions facilitate ice propagation between cells. This study develops an equation for capillary freezing-point depression to determine the effect of temperature on the equilibrium radius of an ice crystal sufficiently small to grow through gap junctions. Convection cryomicroscopy and video image analysis were used to examine the incidence and pattern of intracellular ice formation (IIF) in the confluent monolayers of cell lines that do (MDCK) and do not (V-79W) form gap junctions. The effect of gap junctions on intracellular ice propagation was strongly temperature-dependent. For cells with gap junctions, IIF occurred in a directed wave-like pattern in 100% of the cells below -3 degrees C. At temperatures above -3 degrees C, there was a marked drop in the incidence of IIF, with isolated individual cells initially freezing randomly throughout the sample. This random pattern of IIF was also observed in the V-79W monolayers and in MDCK monolayers treated to prevent gap junction formation. The significant change in the low temperature behavior of confluent MDCK monolayers at -3 degrees C is likely the result of the inhibition of gap junction-facilitated ice propagation, and supports the theory that gap junctions facilitate ice nucleation between cells. PMID:11509353

Growth of Greenland ice sheet - Interpretation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zwally, H. Jay

1989-01-01

An observed 0.23 m/year thickening of the Greenland ice sheet indicates a 25 percent to 45 percent excess ice accumulation over the amount required to balance the outward ice flow. The implied global sea-level depletion is 0.2 to 0.4 mm/year, depending on whether the thickening is only recent (5 to 10 years) or longer term (less than 100 years). If there is a similar imbalance in the northern 60 percent of the ice-sheet area, the depletion is 0.35 to 0.7 mm/year. Increasing ice thickness suggests that the precipitation is higher than the long-term average; higher precipitation may be a characteristic of warmer climates in polar regions.

Isothermal Ice Crystallization Kinetics in the Gas-Diffusion Layer of a Proton-Exchange-Membrane Fuel Cell

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dursch, Thomas J.; Ciontea, Monica A.; Radke, Clayton J.

2011-12-01

Nucleation and growth of ice in the fibrous gas-diffusion layer (GDL) of a proton-exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) are studied using isothermal differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Isothermal crystallization rates and pseudo-steady-state nucleation rates are obtained as a function of subcooling from heat-flow and induction-time measurements. Kinetics of ice nucleation and growth are studied at two polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) loadings (0 and 10 wt %) in a commercial GDL for temperatures between 240 and 273 K. A nonlinear ice-crystallization rate expression is developed using Johnson–Mehl–Avrami–Kolmogorov (JMAK) theory, in which the heat-transfer-limited growth rate is determined from the moving-boundary Stefan problem. Induction timesmore » follow a Poisson distribution and increase upon addition of PTFE, indicating that nucleation occurs more slowly on a hydrophobic fiber than on a hydrophilic fiber. The determined nucleation rates and induction times follow expected trends from classical nucleation theory. Finally, a validated rate expression is now available for predicting ice-crystallization kinetics in GDLs.« less

Satellite-derived submarine melt rates and mass balance (2011-2015) for Greenland's largest remaining ice tongues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilson, Nat; Straneo, Fiammetta; Heimbach, Patrick

2017-12-01

Ice-shelf-like floating extensions at the termini of Greenland glaciers are undergoing rapid changes with potential implications for the stability of upstream glaciers and the ice sheet as a whole. While submarine melting is recognized as a major contributor to mass loss, the spatial distribution of submarine melting and its contribution to the total mass balance of these floating extensions is incompletely known and understood. Here, we use high-resolution WorldView satellite imagery collected between 2011 and 2015 to infer the magnitude and spatial variability of melt rates under Greenland's largest remaining ice tongues - Nioghalvfjerdsbræ (79 North Glacier, 79N), Ryder Glacier (RG), and Petermann Glacier (PG). Submarine melt rates under the ice tongues vary considerably, exceeding 50 m a-1 near the grounding zone and decaying rapidly downstream. Channels, likely originating from upstream subglacial channels, give rise to large melt variations across the ice tongues. We compare the total melt rates to the influx of ice to the ice tongue to assess their contribution to the current mass balance. At Petermann Glacier and Ryder Glacier, we find that the combined submarine and aerial melt approximately balances the ice flux from the grounded ice sheet. At Nioghalvfjerdsbræ the total melt flux (14.2 ± 0.96 km3 a-1 w.e., water equivalent) exceeds the inflow of ice (10.2 ± 0.59 km3 a-1 w.e.), indicating present thinning of the ice tongue.

Interaction of ice binding proteins with ice, water and ions.

PubMed

Oude Vrielink, Anneloes S; Aloi, Antonio; Olijve, Luuk L C; Voets, Ilja K

2016-03-19

Ice binding proteins (IBPs) are produced by various cold-adapted organisms to protect their body tissues against freeze damage. First discovered in Antarctic fish living in shallow waters, IBPs were later found in insects, microorganisms, and plants. Despite great structural diversity, all IBPs adhere to growing ice crystals, which is essential for their extensive repertoire of biological functions. Some IBPs maintain liquid inclusions within ice or inhibit recrystallization of ice, while other types suppress freezing by blocking further ice growth. In contrast, ice nucleating proteins stimulate ice nucleation just below 0 °C. Despite huge commercial interest and major scientific breakthroughs, the precise working mechanism of IBPs has not yet been unraveled. In this review, the authors outline the state-of-the-art in experimental and theoretical IBP research and discuss future scientific challenges. The interaction of IBPs with ice, water and ions is examined, focusing in particular on ice growth inhibition mechanisms.

BRITICE-CHRONO: Constraining rates and style of marine-influenced ice sheet decay to provide a data-rich playground for ice sheet modellers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clark, Chris

2014-05-01

Uncertainty exists regarding the fate of the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets and how they will respond to forcings from sea level and atmospheric and ocean temperatures. If we want to know more about the mechanisms and rate of change of shrinking ice sheets, then why not examine an ice sheet that has fully disappeared and track its retreat through time? If achieved in enough detail such information could become a data-rich playground for improving the next breed of numerical ice sheet models to be used in ice and sea level forecasting. We regard that the last British-Irish Ice Sheet is a good target for this work, on account of its small size, density of information and with its numerous researchers already investigating it. BRITICE-CHRONO is a large (>45 researchers) NERC-funded consortium project comprising Quaternary scientists and glaciologists who will search the seafloor around Britain and Ireland and parts of the landmass in order to find and extract samples of sand, rock and organic matter that can be dated (OSL; Cosmogenic; 14C) to reveal the timing and rate of change of the collapsing British-Irish Ice Sheet. The purpose is to produce a high resolution dataset on the demise on an ice sheet - from the continental shelf edge and across the marine to terrestrial transition. Some 800 new date assessments will be added to those that already exist. This poster reports on the hypotheses that underpin the work. Data on retreat will be collected by focusing on 8 transects running from the continental shelf edge to a short distance (10s km) onshore and acquiring marine and terrestrial samples for geochronometric dating. The project includes funding for 587 radiocarbon, 140 OSL and 158 TCN samples for surface exposure dating; with sampling accomplished by two research cruises and 16 fieldwork campaigns. Results will reveal the timing and rate of change of ice margin recession for each transect, and combined with existing landform and dating databases, will be

Effect of bacterial growth rate on bacteriophage population growth rate.

PubMed

Nabergoj, Dominik; Modic, Petra; Podgornik, Aleš

2018-04-01

It is important to understand how physiological state of the host influence propagation of bacteriophages (phages), due to the potential higher phage production needs in the future. In our study, we tried to elucidate the effect of bacterial growth rate on adsorption constant (δ), latent period (L), burst size (b), and bacteriophage population growth rate (λ). As a model system, a well-studied phage T4 and Escherichia coli K-12 as a host was used. Bacteria were grown in a continuous culture operating at dilution rates in the range between 0.06 and 0.98 hr -1 . It was found that the burst size increases linearly from 8 PFU·cell -1 to 89 PFU·cell -1 with increase in bacteria growth rate. On the other hand, adsorption constant and latent period were both decreasing from 2.6∙10 -9  ml·min -1 and 80 min to reach limiting values of 0.5 × 10 -9  ml·min -1 and 27 min at higher growth rates, respectively. Both trends were mathematically described with Michaelis-Menten based type of equation and reasons for such form are discussed. By applying selected equations, a mathematical equation for prediction of bacteriophage population growth rate as a function of dilution rate was derived, reaching values around 8 hr -1 at highest dilution rate. Interestingly, almost identical description can be obtained using much simpler Monod type equation and possible reasons for this finding are discussed. © 2017 The Authors. MicrobiologyOpen published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

An Antarctic stratigraphic record of step-wise ice-sheet growth through the Eocene-Oligocene transition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Passchier, S.; Ciarletta, D. J.; Miriagos, T.; Bijl, P.; Bohaty, S. M.

2016-12-01

The Antarctic cryosphere plays a critical role in the ocean-atmosphere system, but its early evolution is still poorly known. With a near-field record from Prydz Bay, Antarctica, we conclude that Antarctic continental ice-sheet growth commenced with the EOT-1 "precursor" glaciation, during a time of Subantarctic surface ocean cooling and a decline in atmospheric pCO2. Prydz Bay lies downstream of a major East Antarctic ice-sheet drainage system and the Gamburtsev Mountains, a likely nucleation point for the first ice sheets. Its sedimentary records uniquely constrain the timing of ice-sheet advance onto the continental shelf. We investigate a detrital record extracted from three Ocean Drilling Program drill holes in Prydz Bay within a new depositional and chronological framework spanning the late Eocene to early Oligocene ( 36-33 Ma). The chemical index of alteration (CIA) and the S-index, calculated from the major element geochemistry of bulk samples, yield estimates of chemical weathering intensities and mean annual temperature (MAT) on the East Antarctic continent. We document evidence for late Eocene mountain glaciation along with transient warm events at 35.8-34.8 Ma. These data and our sedimentological analyses confirm the presence of ephemeral mountain glaciers on East Antarctica during the late Eocene between 35.9 and 34.4 Ma. Furthermore, we document the stepwise climate cooling of the Antarctic hinterland from 34.4 Ma as the ice sheet advanced towards the edges of the continent during EOT-1. The youngest part of our data set correlates to the time interval of the Oi-1 glaciation, when the ice-sheet in Prydz Bay extended to the outer shelf. Cooling and ice growth on Antarctica was spatially variable and ice sheets formed under declining pCO2. These results point to complex ice sheet - atmosphere - ocean - solid-earth feedbacks.

CICE, The Los Alamos Sea Ice Model

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hunke, Elizabeth; Lipscomb, William; Jones, Philip

The Los Alamos sea ice model (CICE) is the result of an effort to develop a computationally efficient sea ice component for a fully coupled atmosphere–land–ocean–ice global climate model. It was originally designed to be compatible with the Parallel Ocean Program (POP), an ocean circulation model developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory for use on massively parallel computers. CICE has several interacting components: a vertical thermodynamic model that computes local growth rates of snow and ice due to vertical conductive, radiative and turbulent fluxes, along with snowfall; an elastic-viscous-plastic model of ice dynamics, which predicts the velocity field of themore » ice pack based on a model of the material strength of the ice; an incremental remapping transport model that describes horizontal advection of the areal concentration, ice and snow volume and other state variables; and a ridging parameterization that transfers ice among thickness categories based on energetic balances and rates of strain. It also includes a biogeochemical model that describes evolution of the ice ecosystem. The CICE sea ice model is used for climate research as one component of complex global earth system models that include atmosphere, land, ocean and biogeochemistry components. It is also used for operational sea ice forecasting in the polar regions and in numerical weather prediction models.« less

Do pelagic grazers benefit from sea ice? Insights from the Antarctic sea ice proxy IPSO25

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmidt, Katrin; Brown, Thomas A.; Belt, Simon T.; Ireland, Louise C.; Taylor, Kyle W. R.; Thorpe, Sally E.; Ward, Peter; Atkinson, Angus

2018-04-01

Sea ice affects primary production in polar regions in multiple ways. It can dampen water column productivity by reducing light or nutrient supply, provide a habitat for ice algae and condition the marginal ice zone (MIZ) for phytoplankton blooms on its seasonal retreat. The relative importance of three different carbon sources (sea ice derived, sea ice conditioned, non-sea-ice associated) for the polar food web is not well understood, partly due to the lack of methods that enable their unambiguous distinction. Here we analysed two highly branched isoprenoid (HBI) biomarkers to trace sea-ice-derived and sea-ice-conditioned carbon in Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) and relate their concentrations to the grazers' body reserves, growth and recruitment. During our sampling in January-February 2003, the proxy for sea ice diatoms (a di-unsaturated HBI termed IPSO25, δ13C = -12.5 ± 3.3 ‰) occurred in open waters of the western Scotia Sea, where seasonal ice retreat was slow. In suspended matter from surface waters, IPSO25 was present at a few stations close to the ice edge, but in krill the marker was widespread. Even at stations that had been ice-free for several weeks, IPSO25 was found in krill stomachs, suggesting that they gathered the ice-derived algae from below the upper mixed layer. Peak abundances of the proxy for MIZ diatoms (a tri-unsaturated HBI termed HBI III, δ13C = -42.2 ± 2.4 ‰) occurred in regions of fast sea ice retreat and persistent salinity-driven stratification in the eastern Scotia Sea. Krill sampled in the area defined by the ice edge bloom likewise contained high amounts of HBI III. As indicators for the grazer's performance we used the mass-length ratio, size of digestive gland and growth rate for krill, and recruitment for the biomass-dominant calanoid copepods Calanoides acutus and Calanus propinquus. These indices consistently point to blooms in the MIZ as an important feeding ground for pelagic grazers. Even though ice

Ice nucleation rates near ˜225 K

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amaya, Andrew J.; Wyslouzil, Barbara E.

2018-02-01

We have measured the ice nucleation rates, Jice, in supercooled nano-droplets with radii ranging from 6.6 nm to 10 nm and droplet temperatures, Td, ranging from 225 K to 204 K. The initial temperature of the 10 nm water droplets is ˜250 K, i.e., well above the homogeneous nucleation temperature for micron sized water droplets, TH ˜235 K. The nucleation rates increase systematically from ˜1021 cm-3 s-1 to ˜1022 cm-3 s-1 in this temperature range, overlap with the nucleation rates of Manka et al. [Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 14, 4505 (2012)], and suggest that experiments with larger droplets would extrapolate smoothly the rates of Hagen et al. [J. Atmos. Sci. 38, 1236 (1981)]. The sharp corner in the rate data as temperature drops is, however, difficult to match with available theory even if we correct classical nucleation theory and the physical properties of water for the high internal pressure of the nanodroplets.

Towards a Universal Calving Law: Modeling Ice Shelves Using Damage Mechanics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whitcomb, M.; Bassis, J. N.; Price, S. F.; Lipscomb, W. H.

2017-12-01

Modeling iceberg calving from ice shelves and ice tongues is a particularly difficult problem in glaciology because of the wide range of observed calving rates. Ice shelves naturally calve large tabular icebergs at infrequent intervals, but may instead calve smaller bergs regularly or disintegrate due to hydrofracturing in warmer conditions. Any complete theory of iceberg calving in ice shelves must be able to generate realistic calving rate values depending on the magnitudes of the external forcings. Here we show that a simple damage evolution law, which represents crevasse distributions as a continuum field, produces reasonable estimates of ice shelf calving rates when added to the Community Ice Sheet Model (CISM). Our damage formulation is based on a linear stability analysis and depends upon the bulk stress and strain rate in the ice shelf, as well as the surface and basal melt rates. The basal melt parameter in our model enhances crevasse growth near the ice shelf terminus, leading to an increased iceberg production rate. This implies that increasing ocean temperatures underneath ice shelves will drive ice shelf retreat, as has been observed in the Amundsen and Bellingshausen Seas. We show that our model predicts broadly correct calving rates for ice tongues ranging in length from 10 km (Erebus) to over 100 km (Drygalski), by matching the computed steady state lengths to observations. In addition, we apply the model to idealized Antarctic ice shelves and show that we can also predict realistic ice shelf extents. Our damage mechanics model provides a promising, computationally efficient way to compute calving fluxes and links ice shelf stability to climate forcing.

Distinct ice patterns on solid surfaces with various wettabilities

PubMed Central

Liu, Jie; Zhu, Chongqin; Liu, Kai; Jiang, Ying; Song, Yanlin; Francisco, Joseph S.; Zeng, Xiao Cheng; Wang, Jianjun

2017-01-01

No relationship has been established between surface wettability and ice growth patterns, although ice often forms on top of solid surfaces. Here, we report experimental observations obtained using a process specially designed to avoid the influence of nucleation and describe the wettability-dependent ice morphology on solid surfaces under atmospheric conditions and the discovery of two growth modes of ice crystals: along-surface and off-surface growth modes. Using atomistic molecular dynamics simulation analysis, we show that these distinct ice growth phenomena are attributable to the presence (or absence) of bilayer ice on solid surfaces with different wettability; that is, the formation of bilayer ice on hydrophilic surface can dictate the along-surface growth mode due to the structural match between the bilayer hexagonal ice and the basal face of hexagonal ice (ice Ih), thereby promoting rapid growth of nonbasal faces along the hydrophilic surface. The dramatically different growth patterns of ice on solid surfaces are of crucial relevance to ice repellency surfaces. PMID:29073045

FAST TRACK COMMUNICATION: Growth melt asymmetry in ice crystals under the influence of spruce budworm antifreeze protein

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pertaya, Natalya; Celik, Yeliz; Di Prinzio, Carlos L.; Wettlaufer, J. S.; Davies, Peter L.; Braslavsky, Ido

2007-10-01

Here we describe studies of the crystallization behavior of ice in an aqueous solution of spruce budworm antifreeze protein (sbwAFP) at atmospheric pressure. SbwAFP is an ice binding protein with high thermal hysteresis activity, which helps protect Choristoneura fumiferana (spruce budworm) larvae from freezing as they overwinter in the spruce and fir forests of the north eastern United States and Canada. Different types of ice binding proteins have been found in many other species. They have a wide range of applications in cryomedicine and cryopreservation, as well as the potential to protect plants and vegetables from frost damage through genetic engineering. However, there is much to learn regarding the mechanism of action of ice binding proteins. In our experiments, a solution containing sbwAFP was rapidly frozen and then melted back, thereby allowing us to produce small single crystals. These maintained their hexagonal shapes during cooling within the thermal hysteresis gap. Melt-growth-melt sequences in low concentrations of sbwAFP reveal the same shape transitions as are found in pure ice crystals at low temperature (-22 °C) and high pressure (2000 bar) (Cahoon et al 2006 Phys. Rev. Lett. 96 255502) while both growth and melt shapes display faceted hexagonal morphology, they are rotated 30° relative to one another. Moreover, the initial melt shape and orientation is recovered in the sequence. To visualize the binding of sbwAFP to ice, we labeled the antifreeze protein with enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) and observed the sbwAFP-GFP molecules directly on ice crystals using confocal microscopy. When cooling the ice crystals, facets form on the six primary prism planes (slowest growing planes) that are evenly decorated with sbwAFP-GFP. During melting, apparent facets form on secondary prism planes (fastest melting planes), leaving residual sbwAFP at the six corners of the hexagon. Thus, the same general growth-melt behavior of an apparently rotated

Ice core evidence for extensive melting of the greenland ice sheet in the last interglacial.

PubMed

Koerner, R M

1989-05-26

Evidence from ice at the bottom of ice cores from the Canadian Arctic Islands and Camp Century and Dye-3 in Greenland suggests that the Greenland ice sheet melted extensively or completely during the last interglacial period more than 100 ka (thousand years ago), in contrast to earlier interpretations. The presence of dirt particles in the basal ice has previously been thought to indicate that the base of the ice sheets had melted and that the evidence for the time of original growth of these ice masses had been destroyed. However, the particles most likely blew onto the ice when the dimensions of the ice caps and ice sheets were much smaller. Ice texture, gas content, and other evidence also suggest that the basal ice at each drill site is superimposed ice, a type of ice typical of the early growth stages of an ice cap or ice sheet. If the present-day ice masses began their growth during the last interglacial, the ice sheet from the earlier (Illinoian) glacial period must have competely or largely melted during the early part of the same interglacial period. If such melting did occur, the 6-meter higher-than-present sea level during the Sangamon cannot be attributed to disintegration of the West Antarctic ice sheet, as has been suggested.

Sea Ice Formation Rate and Temporal Variation of Temperature and Salinity at the Vicinity of Wilkins Ice Shelf from Data Collected by Southern Elephant Seals in 2008

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santini, M. F.; Souza, R.; Wainer, I.; Muelbert, M.; Hindell, M.

2013-05-01

The use of marine mammals as autonomous platforms for collecting oceanographic data has revolutionized the understanding of physical properties of low or non-sampled regions of the polar oceans. The use of these animals became possible due to advancements in the development of electronic devices, sensors and batteries carried by them. Oceanographic data collected by two southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) during the Fall of 2008 were used to infer the sea-ice formation rate in the region adjacent to the Wilkins Ice Shelf, west of the Antarctic Peninsula at that period. The sea-ice formation rate was estimated from the salt balance equation for the upper (100 m) ocean at a daily frequency for the period between 13 February and 20 June 2008. The oceanographic data collected by the animals were also used to present the temporal variation of the water temperature and salinity from surface to 300 m depth in the study area. Sea ice formation rate ranged between 0,087 m/day in early April and 0,008 m/day in late June. Temperature and salinity ranged from -1.84°C to 1.60°C and 32.85 to 34.85, respectively, for the upper 300 m of the water column in the analyzed period. The sea-ice formation rate estimations do not consider water advection, only temporal changes of the vertical profile of salinity. This may cause underestimates of the real sea-ice formation rate. The intense reduction of sea ice rate formation from April to June 2008 may be related to the intrusion of the Circumpolar Depth Water (CDW) into the study region. As a consequence of that we believe that this process can be partly responsible for the disintegration of the Wilkins Ice Shelf during the winter of 2008. The data presented here are considered a new frontier in physical and biological oceanography, providing a new approach for monitoring sea ice changes and oceanographic conditions in polar oceans. This is especially valid for regions covered by sea ice where traditional instruments deployed by

[Growth inhibition of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in seafood by tabletop dry ice cooler].

PubMed

Maruyama, Yumi; Kimura, Bon; Fujii, Tateo; Tokunaga, Yoshinori; Matsubayashi, Megumi; Aikawa, Yasushi

2005-10-01

Tabletop dry ice coolers (three types; dome model, cap model and tripod model), which are used in kitchens and hotel banquet halls to refrigerate fresh seafood, were investigated to determine whether growth of Vibrio parahaemolyticus was inhibited by their use. On TSA plates containing 1.8% NaCl and fresh seafood (fillets of squid, pink shrimp and yellowtail), V. parahaemolyticus (O3:K6, TDH+) inoculated at 4 to 5 log CFU/sample and left at ambient temperature (25 degrees C) grew by 1.0 to 2.8 orders in 4 hours. In contrast, with tabletop coolers no significant increase in viable count occurred in 3 to 4 hours, confirming that tabletop coolers inhibited the growth of V. parahaemolyticus. The temperature in each tabletop cooler was kept below 10 degrees C for 80 to 135 min, though the CO2 gas concentration in them remained high for only a short time (0 to 75 min). It was presumed that the refrigeration function mainly contributed to growth inhibition. Our results indicate that tabletop dry ice coolers are helpful for prevention of food-borne disease due to V. parahaemolyticus in food-service locations, such as kitchens and banquet halls.

Microwave ice accretion meter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Magenheim, Bertram (Inventor); Rocks, James K. (Inventor)

1984-01-01

A system for indicating ice thickness and rate of ice thickness growth on surfaces is disclosed. The region to be monitored for ice accretion is provided with a resonant surface waveguide which is mounted flush, below the surface being monitored. A controlled oscillator provides microwave energy via a feed point at a controllable frequency. A detector is coupled to the surface waveguide and is responsive to electrical energy. A measuring device indicates the frequency deviation of the controlled oscillator from a quiescent frequency. A control means is provided to control the frequency of oscillation of the controlled oscillator. In a first, open-loop embodiment, the control means is a shaft operated by an operator. In a second, closed-loop embodiment, the control means is a processor which effects automatic control.

Effects of ocean acidification on the physiological performance and carbon production of the Antarctic sea ice diatom Nitzschia sp. ICE-H.

PubMed

Qu, Chang-Feng; Liu, Fang-Ming; Zheng, Zhou; Wang, Yi-Bin; Li, Xue-Gang; Yuan, Hua-Mao; Li, Ning; An, Mei-Ling; Wang, Xi-Xi; He, Ying-Ying; Li, Lu-Lu; Miao, Jin-Lai

2017-07-15

Ocean acidification (OA) resulting from increasing atmospheric CO 2 strongly influences marine ecosystems, particularly in the polar ocean due to greater CO 2 solubility. Here, we grew the Antarctic sea ice diatom Nitzschia sp. ICE-H in a semicontinuous culture under low (~400ppm) and high (1000ppm) CO 2 levels. Elevated CO 2 resulted in a stimulated physiological response including increased growth rates, chlorophyll a contents, and nitrogen and phosphorus uptake rates. Furthermore, high CO 2 enhanced cellular particulate organic carbon production rates, indicating a greater shift from inorganic to organic carbon. However, the cultures grown in high CO 2 conditions exhibited a decrease in both extracellular and intracellular carbonic anhydrase activity, suggesting that the carbon concentrating mechanisms of Nitzschia sp. ICE-H may be suppressed by elevated CO 2 . Our results revealed that OA would be beneficial to the survival of this sea ice diatom strain, with broad implications for global carbon cycles in the future ocean. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Ice Shelf-Ocean Interactions Near Ice Rises and Ice Rumples

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lange, M. A.; Rückamp, M.; Kleiner, T.

2013-12-01

The stability of ice shelves depends on the existence of embayments and is largely influenced by ice rises and ice rumples, which act as 'pinning-points' for ice shelf movement. Of additional critical importance are interactions between ice shelves and the water masses underlying them in ice shelf cavities, particularly melting and refreezing processes. The present study aims to elucidate the role of ice rises and ice rumples in the context of climate change impacts on Antarctic ice shelves. However, due to their smaller spatial extent, ice rumples react more sensitively to climate change than ice rises. Different forcings are at work and need to be considered separately as well as synergistically. In order to address these issues, we have decided to deal with the following three issues explicitly: oceanographic-, cryospheric and general topics. In so doing, we paid particular attention to possible interrelationships and feedbacks in a coupled ice-shelf-ocean system. With regard to oceanographic issues, we have applied the ocean circulation model ROMBAX to ocean water masses adjacent to and underneath a number of idealized ice shelf configurations: wide and narrow as well as laterally restrained and unrestrained ice shelves. Simulations were performed with and without small ice rises located close to the calving front. For larger configurations, the impact of the ice rises on melt rates at the ice shelf base is negligible, while for smaller configurations net melting rates at the ice-shelf base differ by a factor of up to eight depending on whether ice rises are considered or not. We employed the thermo-coupled ice flow model TIM-FD3 to simulate the effects of several ice rises and one ice rumple on the dynamics of ice shelf flow. We considered the complete un-grounding of the ice shelf in order to investigate the effect of pinning points of different characteristics (interior or near calving front, small and medium sized) on the resulting flow and stress fields

Impacts of winter icing events on the growth, phenology and physiology of sub-arctic dwarf shrubs.

PubMed

Preece, Catherine; Callaghan, Terry V; Phoenix, Gareth K

2012-12-01

The Arctic is experiencing the greatest climate change in winter, including increases in freeze-thaw cycles that can result in ice encasement of vegetation. Ice encasement can expose plants to hypoxia and greater temperature extremes, but currently the impacts of icing on plants in the field remain little understood. With this in mind, a unique field manipulation experiment was established in heathland in northern Sweden with ice encasement simulated in early March 2008, 2009 and 2010 until natural thaw each spring. In the following summers we assessed the impacts on flowering, bud phenology, shoot growth and mortality and leaf damage (measured by chlorophyll fluorescence and electrolyte leakage) of the three dominant dwarf shrub species Empetrum nigrum, Vaccinium vitis-idaea (both evergreen) and Vaccinium myrtillus (deciduous). Two consecutive winters of icing decreased V. vitis-idaea flowering by 57%, while flowering of V. myrtillus and E. nigrum remained unaffected. Vaccinium myrtillus showed earlier budburst but shoot growth for all species was unchanged. Shoot mortality of V. myrtillus and V. vitis-idaea increased after the first year (by 70 and 165%, respectively) and again for V. myrtillus following the third year (by 67%), while E. nigrum shoot mortality remained unaffected, as were chlorophyll fluorescence and electrolyte leakage in all species. Overall, the sub-arctic heathland was relatively tolerant to icing, but the considerable shoot mortality of V. myrtillus contrasting with the general tolerance of E. nigrum suggests plant community structure in the longer term could change if winters continue to see a greater frequency of icing events. Copyright © Physiologia Plantarum 2012.

Distinct ice patterns on solid surfaces with various wettabilities.

PubMed

Liu, Jie; Zhu, Chongqin; Liu, Kai; Jiang, Ying; Song, Yanlin; Francisco, Joseph S; Zeng, Xiao Cheng; Wang, Jianjun

2017-10-24

No relationship has been established between surface wettability and ice growth patterns, although ice often forms on top of solid surfaces. Here, we report experimental observations obtained using a process specially designed to avoid the influence of nucleation and describe the wettability-dependent ice morphology on solid surfaces under atmospheric conditions and the discovery of two growth modes of ice crystals: along-surface and off-surface growth modes. Using atomistic molecular dynamics simulation analysis, we show that these distinct ice growth phenomena are attributable to the presence (or absence) of bilayer ice on solid surfaces with different wettability; that is, the formation of bilayer ice on hydrophilic surface can dictate the along-surface growth mode due to the structural match between the bilayer hexagonal ice and the basal face of hexagonal ice (ice I h ), thereby promoting rapid growth of nonbasal faces along the hydrophilic surface. The dramatically different growth patterns of ice on solid surfaces are of crucial relevance to ice repellency surfaces. Published under the PNAS license.

Analytical Incorporation of Velocity Parameters into Ice Sheet Elevation Change Rate Computations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagarajan, S.; Ahn, Y.; Teegavarapu, R. S. V.

2014-12-01

NASA, ESA and various other agencies have been collecting laser, optical and RADAR altimetry data through various missions to study the elevation changes of the Cryosphere. The laser altimetry collected by various airborne and spaceborne missions provides multi-temporal coverage of Greenland and Antarctica since 1993 to now. Though these missions have increased the data coverage, considering the dynamic nature of the ice surface, it is still sparse both spatially and temporally for accurate elevation change detection studies. The temporal and spatial gaps are usually filled by interpolation techniques. This presentation will demonstrate a method to improve the temporal interpolation. Considering the accuracy, repeat coverage and spatial distribution, the laser scanning data has been widely used to compute elevation change rate of Greenland and Antarctica ice sheets. A major problem with these approaches is non-consideration of ice sheet velocity dynamics into change rate computations. Though the correlation between velocity and elevation change rate have been noticed by Hurkmans et al., 2012, the corrections for velocity changes were applied after computing elevation change rates by assuming linear or higher polynomial relationship. This research will discuss the possibilities of parameterizing ice sheet dynamics as unknowns (dX and dY) in the adjustment mathematical model that computes elevation change (dZ) rates. It is a simultaneous computation of changes in all three directions of the ice surface. Also, the laser points between two time epochs in a crossover area have different distribution and count. Therefore, a registration method that does not require point-to-point correspondence is required to recover the unknown elevation and velocity parameters. This research will experiment the possibilities of registering multi-temporal datasets using volume minimization algorithm, which determines the unknown dX, dY and dZ that minimizes the volume between two or

Preliminary Evaluation of Altitude Scaling for Turbofan Engine Ice Crystal Icing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tsao, Jen-Ching

2017-01-01

Preliminary evaluation of altitude scaling for turbofan engine ice crystal icing simulation was conducted during the 2015 LF11 engine icing test campaign in PSL.The results showed that a simplified approach for altitude scaling to simulate the key reference engine ice growth feature and associated icing effects to the engine is possible. But special considerations are needed to address the facility operation limitation for lower altitude engine icing simulation.

Late Holocene ice wedges near Fairbanks, Alaska, USA: Environmental setting and history of growth

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hamilton, T.D.; Ager, T.A.; Robinson, S.W.

1983-01-01

Test trenches excavated into muskeg near Fairbanks in 1969 exposed a polygonal network of active ice wedges. The wedges occur in peat that has accumulated since about 3500 yr BP and have grown episodically as the permafrost table fluctuated in response to fires, other local site conditions and perhaps regional climatic changes. Radiocarbon dates suggest one or two episodes of ice-wedge growth between about 3500 and 2000 yr BP as woody peat accumulated at the site. Subsequent wedge truncation evidently followed a fire that charred the peat. Younger peat exhibits facies changes between sedge-rich components that filled troughs over the ice wedges and woody bryophytic deposits that formed beyond the troughs. A final episode of wedge development took place within the past few hundred years. Pollen data from the site indicate that boreal forest was present throughout the past 6000 yr, but that it underwent a gradual transition from a predominantly deciduous to a spruce-dominated assemblage. This change may reflect either local site conditions or a more general climatic shift to cooler, moister summers in late Holocene time. The history of ice-wedge growth shows that wedges can form and grow to more than 1 m apparent width under mean annual temperatures that probably are close to those of the Fairbanks area today (-3.5°C) and under vegetation cover similar to that of the interior Alaskan boreal forest. The commonly held belief that ice wedges develop only below mean annual air temperatures of -6 to -8°C in the zone of continuous permafrost is invalid.

Growth ring response in shortleaf pine following glaze icing conditions in western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma

Treesearch

Douglas J. Stevenson; Thomas B. Lynch; James M. Guldin

2013-01-01

Width reduction in growth rings in shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata Mill.) following glaze ice conditions produces a characteristic pattern dependent on live-crown ratio and extent of crown loss. Ring widths of 133 trees for 3 years preceding and 7 years following the December 2000 ice storm (Bragg and others 2002) in western Arkansas and eastern...

Long-term experiment on physiological responses to synergetic effects of ocean acidification and photoperiod in the Antarctic sea ice algae Chlamydomonas sp. ICE-L.

PubMed

Xu, Dong; Wang, Yitao; Fan, Xiao; Wang, Dongsheng; Ye, Naihao; Zhang, Xiaowen; Mou, Shanli; Guan, Zheng; Zhuang, Zhimeng

2014-07-15

Studies on ocean acidification have mostly been based on short-term experiments of low latitude with few investigations of the long-term influence on sea ice communities. Here, the combined effects of ocean acidification and photoperiod on the physiological response of the Antarctic sea ice microalgae Chlamydomonas sp. ICE-L were examined. There was a general increase in growth, PSII photosynthetic parameters, and N and P uptake in continuous light, compared to those exposed to regular dark and light cycles. Elevated pCO2 showed no consistent effect on growth rate (p=0.8) and N uptake (p=0.38) during exponential phrase, depending on the photoperiod but had a positive effect on PSII photosynthetic capacity and P uptake. Continuous dark reduced growth, photosynthesis, and nutrient uptake. Moreover, intracellular lipid, mainly in the form of PUFA, was consumed at 80% and 63% in low and high pCO2 in darkness. However, long-term culture under high pCO2 gave a more significant inhibition of growth and Fv/Fm to high light stress. In summary, ocean acidification may have significant effects on Chlamydomonas sp. ICE-L survival in polar winter. The current study contributes to an understanding of how a sea ice algae-based community may respond to global climate change at high latitudes.

Is snow-ice now a major contributor to sea ice mass balance in the western Transpolar Drift region?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Graham, R. M.; Merkouriadi, I.; Cheng, B.; Rösel, A.; Granskog, M. A.

2017-12-01

During the Norwegian young sea ICE (N-ICE2015) campaign, which took place in the first half of 2015 north of Svalbard, a deep winter snow pack (50 cm) on sea ice was observed, that was 50% thicker than earlier climatological studies suggested for this region. Moreover, a significant fraction of snow contributed to the total ice mass in second-year ice (SYI) (9% on average). Interestingly, very little snow (3% snow by mass) was present in first-year ice (FYI). The combination of sea ice thinning and increased precipitation north of Svalbard is expected to promote the formation of snow-ice. Here we use the 1-D snow/ice thermodynamic model HIGHTSI forced with reanalysis data, to show that for the case study of N-ICE2015, snow-ice would even form over SYI with an initial thickness of 2 m. In current conditions north of Svalbard, snow-ice is ubiquitous and contributes to the thickness growth up to 30%. This contribution is important, especially in the absence of any bottom thermodynamic growth due to the thick insulating snow cover. Growth of FYI north of Svalbard is mainly controlled by the timing of growth onset relative to snow precipitation events and cold spells. These usually short-lived conditions are largely determined by the frequency of storms entering the Arctic from the Atlantic Ocean. In our case, a later freeze onset was favorable for FYI growth due to less snow accumulation in early autumn. This limited snow-ice formation but promoted bottom thermodynamic growth. We surmise these findings are related to a regional phenomenon in the Atlantic sector of the Arctic, with frequent storm events which bring increasing amounts of precipitation in autumn and winter, and also affect the duration of cold temperatures required for ice growth in winter. We discuss the implications for the importance of snow-ice in the future Arctic, formerly believed to be non-existent in the central Arctic due to thick perennial ice.

Spatial Patterns of Long-Term Erosion Rates Beneath the Marine West Antarctic Ice Sheet: Insights into the Physics of Continental Scale Glacial Erosion from a Comparison with the Ice-Velocity Field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Howat, I. M.; Tulaczyk, S.; Mac Gregor, K.; Joughin, I.

2001-12-01

As part of the effort to build quantitative models of glacial erosion and sedimentation, it is particularly important to construct scaled relations between erosion, transport, and sedimentation rates and appropriate glaciological variables (e.g., ice velocity). Recent acquisition of bed topography and ice velocity data for the marine West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS)[Joughin et al., 1999; Lythe et al., in press] provides an unprecedented opportunity to investigate continental-scale patterns of glacial erosion and their relationship to the ice velocity field. Utilizing this data, we construct a map of estimated long-term erosion rates beneath the WAIS. In order to calculate long-term erosion rates from the available data, we assume that: (1) the ice sheet has been present for ~5 mill. years, (2) the initial topography beneath the WAIS was that of a typical ( ~200 m.b.s.l.) continental shelf, and (3) the present topography is near local isostatic equilibrium (Airy type). The map of long-term erosion rates constructed in this fashion shows an intriguing pattern of relatively high rates (of the order of 0.1 mm/yr) concentrated beneath modern ice stream tributaries (ice velocity ~100 m/yr), but much lower erosion rates (of the order of 0.01 mm/yr) beneath both the modern fast-moving ice streams ( ~400 m/yr.) and the slow-moving parts of the ice sheet ( ~10 m/yr). This lack of clear correlation between the estimated erosion rates and ice velocity is somewhat unexpected given that both observational and theoretical studies have shown that bedrock erosion rates beneath mountain glaciers can often be calculated by multiplying the basal sliding velocity by a constant (typically of the order of ~10^-4)(Humphrey and Raymond, 1993 and Mac Gregor et al., 2000). We obtain an improved match between estimated erosion rates and bed topography by calculating erosion rates using horizontal gradients within the ice velocity field rather than the magnitude of ice velocity, as consistent

The mass balance of the ice plain of Ice Stream B and Crary Ice Rise

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bindschadler, Robert

1993-01-01

The region in the mouth of Ice Stream B (the ice plain) and that in the vicinity of Crary Ice Rise are experiencing large and rapid changes. Based on velocity, ice thickness, and accumulation rate data, the patterns of net mass balance in these regions were calculated. Net mass balance, or the rate of ice thickness change, was calculated as the residual of all mass fluxes into and out of subregions (or boxes). Net mass balance provides a measure of the state of health of the ice sheet and clues to the current dynamics.

Minimalist model of ice microphysics in mixed-phase stratiform clouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, F.; Ovchinnikov, M.; Shaw, R. A.

2013-12-01

The question of whether persistent ice crystal precipitation from supercooled layer clouds can be explained by time-dependent, stochastic ice nucleation is explored using an approximate, analytical model and a large-eddy simulation (LES) cloud model. The updraft velocity in the cloud defines an accumulation zone, where small ice particles cannot fall out until they are large enough, which will increase the residence time of ice particles in the cloud. Ice particles reach a quasi-steady state between growth by vapor deposition and fall speed at cloud base. The analytical model predicts that ice water content (wi) has a 2.5 power-law relationship with ice number concentration (ni). wi and ni from a LES cloud model with stochastic ice nucleation confirm the 2.5 power-law relationship, and initial indications of the scaling law are observed in data from the Indirect and Semi-Direct Aerosol Campaign. The prefactor of the power law is proportional to the ice nucleation rate and therefore provides a quantitative link to observations of ice microphysical properties. Ice water content (wi) and ice number concentration (ni) relationship from LES. a and c: Accumulation zone region; b and d: Selective accumulation zone region. Black lines in c and d are best fitted 2.5 slope lines. Colors in Figures a and b represent updraft velocity, while colors in c and d represent altitude. The cloud base and top are at about 600 m and 800 m, respectively. Ice water content (wi) and ice number concentration (ni) relationship for two ice nucleation rates. Blue points are from LES with low ice nucleation rate and red points with high ice nucleation rate. Solid and dashed lines are best fitted 2.5 slope lines.

Onset and localisation of convection during transient growth of mushy sea ice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wells, Andrew; Hitchen, Joe

2017-11-01

More than 20 million square kilometres of the polar oceans freeze over each year to form sea ice. Sea ice is a mushy layer: a reactive, porous, multiphase material consisting of ice crystals bathed in liquid brine. Atmospheric cooling generates a density gradient in the interstitial brine, which can drive convection and rejection of brine from the sea ice to force ocean circulation and mixing. We use linear stability analysis and nonlinear numerical simulations to consider the convection in a transiently growing mushy layer. An initial salt water layer is cooled from above via a linearised thermal exchange with the atmosphere, and generates a growing mushy layer with the porosity varying in space and time. We determine how the critical porous-medium Rayleigh number for the onset of convection varies with the surface cooling rate, and the initial temperature and salinity of the solidifying salt water. Differences in the cooling conditions modify the structure of the ice and the resulting convection cells. Weak cooling leads to full-depth convection through ice with slowly varying porosity, whilst stronger cooling leads to localised convection confined to a highly permeable basal layer. These results provide insight into the onset of convective brine drainage from growing sea ice.

The fast-ice growth and freezing of the bottom in the Braganzavagen Gulf (Van Mijenfjorden, Svalbard)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bogorodsky, Petr; Marchenko, Aleksey; Pnyushkov, Andrey; Filchuk, Kirill; Morozov, Yevgenii; Ryzhov, Ivan

2017-04-01

The results of oceanographic and sea ice studies in the shallow Braganzavågen Gulf (Van Mijenfjorden, Svalbard) in March 2016 are presented. These studies are a continuation of observational efforts initiated by UNIS (Svalbard, Norway) in 2014. 2016 field campaign includes instrumental measurements of snow and ice properties in the fjord (e.g., ice thicknesses, temperatures, and salinities), as well as high-resolution CTD measurements within the under-ice water column. Collected observations were accompanied by freezing simulations of adjacent water and bottom ground layers performed with a one-dimensional thermodynamic model (Bogorodskii and Pnyushkov, 2015). The model uses two methods to reproduce phase transition areas - a "classic" (frontal) method for the fast ice, and transition in the continuous media (mushy zone) for the bottom sediments. Meteorological observations during the winter 2015-16 at Sveagruva (northwest coast) were used in these simulations as the atmospheric forcing. Numerical experiments were carried out for the initial salinity of 35 psu and 2 m water depth. The simulations start with the beginning of water freezing determined by a steady air temperature transition through the freezing point. The start of freezing was also verified by comparison with sea ice charts available for the Van Mijenfjorden for the period of simulations. Model simulations showed that the growth of sea ice in shallow (<1 m) areas of the basin significantly increases water salinity in the under-ice layer. For instance, at a 0.5 m depth the salinity in the under ice water layer exceeds 160 psu, which corresponds to the freezing temperature below -9C. In fact, the water salinity does not reach high values because of the horizontal mixing. However, available hydrological observations showed relatively small (0.2-0.5 m) amplitudes of tides - the major contributor to the horizontal exchange in this area. These small amplitudes likely suggest small advective salt fluxes

Statistical Mechanics and the Climatology of the Arctic Sea Ice Thickness Distribution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wettlaufer, John; Toppaladoddi, Srikanth

We study the seasonal changes in the thickness distribution of Arctic sea ice, g (h) , under climate forcing. Our analytical and numerical approach is based on a Fokker-Planck equation for g (h) , in which the thermodynamic growth growth rates are determined using observed climatology. In particular, the Fokker-Planck equation is coupled to an observationally consistent thermodynamic model. We find that due to the combined effects of thermodynamics and mechanics, g (h) spreads during winter and contracts during summer. This behavior is in agreement with recent satellite observations from CryoSat-2. Because g (h) is a probability density function, we quantify all of the key moments (e.g., mean thickness, fraction of thin/thick ice, mean albedo, relaxation time scales) as greenhouse-gas radiative forcing, ΔF0 , increases. The mean ice thickness decays exponentially with ΔF0 , but much slower than do solely thermodynamic models. This exhibits the crucial role that ice mechanics plays in maintaining the ice cover, by redistributing thin ice to thick ice-far more rapidly than can thermal growth alone. NASA Grant NNH13ZDA001N-CRYO and Swedish Research Council Grant No. 638-2013-9243.

Homogeneous ice nucleation from aqueous inorganic/organic particles representative of biomass burning: water activity, freezing temperatures, nucleation rates.

PubMed

Knopf, Daniel A; Rigg, Yannick J

2011-02-10

Homogeneous ice nucleation plays an important role in the formation of cirrus clouds with subsequent effects on the global radiative budget. Here we report on homogeneous ice nucleation temperatures and corresponding nucleation rate coefficients of aqueous droplets serving as surrogates of biomass burning aerosol. Micrometer-sized (NH(4))(2)SO(4)/levoglucosan droplets with mass ratios of 10:1, 1:1, 1:5, and 1:10 and aqueous multicomponent organic droplets with and without (NH(4))(2)SO(4) under typical tropospheric temperatures and relative humidities are investigated experimentally using a droplet conditioning and ice nucleation apparatus coupled to an optical microscope with image analysis. Homogeneous freezing was determined as a function of temperature and water activity, a(w), which was set at droplet preparation conditions. The ice nucleation data indicate that minor addition of (NH(4))(2)SO(4) to the aqueous organic droplets renders the temperature dependency of water activity negligible in contrast to the case of aqueous organic solution droplets. The mean homogeneous ice nucleation rate coefficient derived from 8 different aqueous droplet compositions with average diameters of ∼60 μm for temperatures as low as 195 K and a(w) of 0.82-1 is 2.18 × 10(6) cm(-3) s(-1). The experimentally derived freezing temperatures and homogeneous ice nucleation rate coefficients are in agreement with predictions of the water activity-based homogeneous ice nucleation theory when taking predictive uncertainties into account. However, the presented ice nucleation data indicate that the water activity-based homogeneous ice nucleation theory overpredicts the freezing temperatures by up to 3 K and corresponding ice nucleation rate coefficients by up to ∼2 orders of magnitude. A shift of 0.01 in a(w), which is well within the uncertainty of typical field and laboratory relative humidity measurements, brings experimental and predicted freezing temperatures and homogeneous ice

Calorimetric determination of inhibition of ice crystal growth by antifreeze protein in hydroxyethyl starch solutions.

PubMed Central

Hansen, T N; Carpenter, J F

1993-01-01

Differential scanning calorimetry and cryomicroscopy were used to investigate the effects of type I antifreeze protein (AFP) from winter flounder on 58% solutions of hydroxyethyl starch. The glass, devitrification, and melt transitions noted during rewarming were unaffected by 100 micrograms/ml AFP. Isothermal annealing experiments were undertaken to detect the effects of AFP-induced inhibition of ice crystal growth using calorimetry. A premelt endothermic peak was detected during warming after the annealing procedure. Increasing the duration or the temperature of the annealing for the temperature range from -28 and -18 degrees C resulted in a gradual increase in the enthalpy of the premelt endotherm. This transition was unaffected by 100 micrograms/ml AFP. Annealing between -18 and -10 degrees C resulted in a gradual decrease in the premelt peak enthalpy. This process was inhibited by 100 micrograms/ml AFP. Cryomicroscopic examination of the samples revealed that AFP inhibited ice recrystallization during isothermal annealing at -10 degrees C. Annealing at lower temperatures resulted in minimal ice recrystallization and no visible effect of AFP. Thus, the 100 micrograms/ml AFP to have a detectable influence on thermal events in the calorimeter, conditions must be used that result in significant ice growth without AFP and visible inhibition of this process by AFP. Images FIGURE 8 PMID:7690257

Climate, icing, and wild arctic reindeer: past relationships and future prospects.

PubMed

Hansen, Brage Bremset; Aanes, Ronny; Herfindal, Ivar; Kohler, Jack; Saether, Bernt-Erik

2011-10-01

Across the Arctic, heavy rain-on-snow (ROS) is an "extreme" climatic event that is expected to become increasingly frequent with global warming. This has potentially large ecosystem implications through changes in snowpack properties and ground-icing, which can block the access to herbivores' winter food and thereby suppress their population growth rates. However, the supporting empirical evidence for this is still limited. We monitored late winter snowpack properties to examine the causes and consequences of ground-icing in a Svalbard reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus) metapopulation. In this high-arctic area, heavy ROS occurred annually, and ground-ice covered from 25% to 96% of low-altitude habitat in the sampling period (2000-2010). The extent of ground-icing increased with the annual number of days with heavy ROS (> or = 10 mm) and had a strong negative effect on reindeer population growth rates. Our results have important implications as a downscaled climate projection (2021-2050) suggests a substantial future increase in ROS and icing. The present study is the first to demonstrate empirically that warmer and wetter winter climate influences large herbivore population dynamics by generating ice-locked pastures. This may serve as an early warning of the importance of changes in winter climate and extreme weather events in arctic ecosystems.

Modelling the influence of tides on ice-shelf melt rates in the Amundsen Sea, Antarctica.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jourdain, Nicolas C.; Molines, Jean-Marc; Le Sommer, Julien; Mathiot, Pierre; Chanut, Jérome; Madec, Gurvan

2017-04-01

Variations in melt beneath ice- shelves may trigger ice-sheet instabilities, in particular in West Antarctica. Therefore, improving the understanding and modelling of ice-shelf basal melt rates has been a major focus over the last decades. In this presentation, we provide further insight into the role of tides on basal melt rates, and we assess several methods to account for tides in models that do not include an explicit representation of tides. First, we use an explicit representation of tides in a regional configuration of the NEMO-3.6 model deployed over the Amundsen Sea. We show that most of the tidal influence on ice-shelf melt is explained by four tidal constituents. Tides enhance melt by more than 30% in some cavities like Abbot, Cosgrove and Dotson, but by less than 10% in others like Thwaites and Pine Island. Over the entire Amundsen Sea sector, tides enhance melt by 92 Gt/yr, which is mostly induced by tidal velocities along ice drafts (+148 Gt/yr), partly compensated by tide-induced change in thermal forcing (-31 Gt/yr) and co-variations between tidal velocities and thermal forcing (-26 Gt/yr). In the second part of this presentation, we show that using uniform tidal velocities to account for tides effects in ocean models with no explicit tides produces large biases in melt rates. By contrast, prescribing non-uniform tidal velocities allows an accurate representation of the dynamical effects of tides on melt rates.

Dark ice dynamics of the south-west Greenland Ice Sheet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tedstone, Andrew J.; Bamber, Jonathan L.; Cook, Joseph M.; Williamson, Christopher J.; Fettweis, Xavier; Hodson, Andrew J.; Tranter, Martyn

2017-11-01

ablating ice, these particulates alone do not drive dark ice dynamics. Instead, they may enable the growth of pigmented ice algal assemblages which cause visible surface darkening, but only when the climatological prerequisites of liquid meltwater presence and sufficient photosynthetically active radiation fluxes are met. Further field studies are required to fully constrain the processes by which ice algae growth proceeds and the apparent dependency of algae growth on melt-out particulates.

Organic matter controls of iron incorporation in growing sea ice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Janssens, Julie; Meiners, Klaus M.; Townsend, Ashley T.; Lannuzel, Delphine

2018-03-01

This study presents the first laboratory-controlled sea-ice growth experiment conducted under trace metal clean conditions. The role played by organic matter, in the incorporation of iron (Fe) into sea ice was investigated by means of laboratory ice-growth experiments using a titanium cold-finger apparatus. Experiments were also conducted to understand the role of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in the enrichment of ammonium in sea ice. Sea ice was grown from several seawater solutions containing different quantities and qualities of particulate Fe (PFe), dissolved Fe (DFe) and organic matter. Sea ice and seawater were analyzed for particulate organic carbon and nitrogen, macro-nutrients, extracellular EPS, PFe and DFe, and particulate aluminium. The experiments showed that biogenic PFe is preferentially incorporated into sea ice compared to lithogenic PFe. Furthermore, sea ice grown from ultra-violet (UV) and non-UV treated seawaters exhibits contrasting incorporation rates of organic matter and Fe. Whereas the effects of UV-treatments were not always significant, we do find indications that the type or organic matter controls the enrichment of Fe in forming sea ice.. Specifically, we come to the conclusion that the incorporation of DFe is favored by the presence of organic ligands in the source solution.

Microphysical Consequences of the Spatial Distribution of Ice Nucleation in Mixed-Phase Stratiform Clouds

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yang, Fan; Ovchinnikov, Mikhail; Shaw, Raymond A.

Mixed-phase stratiform clouds can persist even with steady ice precipitation fluxes, and the origin and microphysical properties of the ice crystals are of interest. Vapor deposition growth and sedimentation of ice particles along with a uniform volume source of ice nucleation, leads to a power law relation between ice water content wi and ice number concentration ni with exponent 2.5. The result is independent of assumptions about the vertical velocity structure of the cloud and is therefore more general than the related expression of Yang et al. [2013]. The sensitivity of the wi-ni relationship to the spatial distribution of icemore » nucleation is confirmed by Lagrangian tracking and ice growth with cloud-volume, cloud-top, and cloud-base sources of ice particles through a time-dependent cloud field. Based on observed wi and ni from ISDAC, a lower bound of 0.006 m^3/s is obtained for the ice crystal formation rate.« less

Estimation of net accumulation rate at a Patagonian glacier by ice core analyses using snow algae

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kohshima, Shiro; Takeuchi, Nozomu; Uetake, Jun; Shiraiwa, Takayuki; Uemura, Ryu; Yoshida, Naohiro; Matoba, Sumito; Godoi, Maria Angelica

2007-10-01

Snow algae in a 45.97-m-long ice core from the Tyndall Glacier (50°59'05″S, 73°31'12″W, 1756 m a.s.l.) in the Southern Patagonian Icefield were examined for potential use in ice core dating and estimation of the net accumulation rate. The core was subjected to visual stratigraphic observation and bulk density measurements in the field, and later to analyses of snow algal biomass, water isotopes ( 18O, D), and major dissolved ions. The ice core contained many algal cells that belonged to two species of snow algae growing in the snow near the surface: Chloromonas sp. and an unknown green algal species. Algal biomass and major dissolved ions (Na +, K +, Mg 2+, Ca 2+, Cl -, SO 42-) exhibited rapid decreases in the upper 3 m, probably owing to melt water elution and/or decomposition of algal cells. However, seasonal cycles were still found for the snow algal biomass, 18O, D-excess, and major ions, although the amplitudes of the cycles decreased with depth. Supposing that the layers with almost no snow algae were the winter layers without the melt water essential to algal growth, we estimated that the net accumulation rate at this location was 12.9 m a - 1 from winter 1998 to winter 1999, and 5.1 m from the beginning of winter to December 1999. These estimates are similar to the values estimated from the peaks of 18O (17.8 m a - 1 from summer 1998 to summer 1999 and 11.0 m from summer to December 1999) and those of D-excess (14.7 m a - 1 from fall 1998 to fall 1999 and 8.6 m a - 1 from fall to December 1999). These values are much higher than those obtained by past ice core studies in Patagonia, but are of the same order of magnitude as those predicted from various observations at ablation areas of Patagonian glaciers.

Simulated Hail Ice Mechanical Properties and Failure Mechanism at Quasi-Static Strain Rates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Swift, Jonathan M.

Hail is a significant threat to aircraft both on the ground and in the air. Aeronautical engineers are interested in better understanding the properties of hail to improve the safety of new aircraft. However, the failure mechanism and mechanical properties of hail, as opposed to clear ice, are not well understood. A literature review identifies basic mechanical properties of ice and a failure mechanism based upon the state of stress within an ice sphere is proposed. To better understand the properties of Simulated Hail Ice (SHI), several tests were conducted using both clear and cotton fiber reinforced ice. Pictures were taken to show the internal crystal structure of SHI. SHI crush tests were conducted to identify the overall force-displacement trends at various quasi-static strain rates. High speed photography was also used to visually track the failure mechanism of spherical SHI. Compression tests were done to measure the compression strength of SHI and results were compared to literature data. Fracture toughness tests were conducted to identify the crack resistance of SHI. Results from testing clear ice samples were successfully compared to previously published literature data to instill confidence in the testing methods. The methods were subsequently used to test and characterize the cotton fiber reinforced ice.

Continent-Wide Estimates of Antarctic Strain Rates from Landsat 8-Derived Velocity Grids and Their Application to Ice Shelf Studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alley, K. E.; Scambos, T.; Anderson, R. S.; Rajaram, H.; Pope, A.; Haran, T.

2017-12-01

Strain rates are fundamental measures of ice flow used in a wide variety of glaciological applications including investigations of bed properties, calculations of basal mass balance on ice shelves, application to Glen's flow law, and many other studies. However, despite their extensive application, strain rates are calculated using widely varying methods and length scales, and the calculation details are often not specified. In this study, we compare the results of nominal and logarithmic strain-rate calculations based on a satellite-derived velocity field of the Antarctic ice sheet generated from Landsat 8 satellite data. Our comparison highlights the differences between the two commonly used approaches in the glaciological literature. We evaluate the errors introduced by each code and their impacts on the results. We also demonstrate the importance of choosing and specifying a length scale over which strain-rate calculations are made, which can have large local impacts on other derived quantities such as basal mass balance on ice shelves. We present strain-rate data products calculated using an approximate viscous length-scale with satellite observations of ice velocity for the Antarctic continent. Finally, we explore the applications of comprehensive strain-rate maps to future ice shelf studies, including investigations of ice fracture, calving patterns, and stability analyses.

Surface water mass composition changes captured by cores of Arctic land-fast sea ice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, I. J.; Eicken, H.; Mahoney, A. R.; Van Hale, R.; Gough, A. J.; Fukamachi, Y.; Jones, J.

2016-04-01

In the Arctic, land-fast sea ice growth can be influenced by fresher water from rivers and residual summer melt. This paper examines a method to reconstruct changes in water masses using oxygen isotope measurements of sea ice cores. To determine changes in sea water isotope composition over the course of the ice growth period, the output of a sea ice thermodynamic model (driven with reanalysis data, observations of snow depth, and freeze-up dates) is used along with sea ice oxygen isotope measurements and an isotopic fractionation model. Direct measurements of sea ice growth rates are used to validate the output of the sea ice growth model. It is shown that for sea ice formed during the 2011/2012 ice growth season at Barrow, Alaska, large changes in isotopic composition of the ocean waters were captured by the sea ice isotopic composition. Salinity anomalies in the ocean were also tracked by moored instruments. These data indicate episodic advection of meteoric water, having both lower salinity and lower oxygen isotopic composition, during the winter sea ice growth season. Such advection of meteoric water during winter is surprising, as no surface meltwater and no local river discharge should be occurring at this time of year in that area. How accurately changes in water masses as indicated by oxygen isotope composition can be reconstructed using oxygen isotope analysis of sea ice cores is addressed, along with methods/strategies that could be used to further optimize the results. The method described will be useful for winter detection of meteoric water presence in Arctic fast ice regions, which is important for climate studies in a rapidly changing Arctic. Land-fast sea ice effective fractionation coefficients were derived, with a range of +1.82‰ to +2.52‰. Those derived effective fractionation coefficients will be useful for future water mass component proportion calculations. In particular, the equations given can be used to inform choices made when

The Growth, Structure, and Properties of Sea Ice,

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-11-01

First, the natural range of temperatures at which sea ice exists is just a few degrees off its melting point. In fact, sea ice normally is only...surface of lakes and seas. If ice sank into its melt, as do most solids, there would be a tendency for natural water bodies to freeze completely to...I I I -c 1 I II I I 02 b . Figure 1. Structure of ice I. The fact that ordinary ice is such an open, low density solid also suggests that

Influence of hydrophobicity on ice accumulation process under sleet and wind conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Ke; Hu, Jianlin; Shu, Lichun; Jiang, Xingliang; Huang, Zhengyong

2018-03-01

Glaze, the most dangerous ice type in natural environment, forms during sleet weather, which is usually accompanied with wind. The icing performance of hydrophobic coatings under the impact of wind needs further research. This paper studies the influence of hydrophobicity on ice accumulation process under sleet and wind conditions by computer simulations and icing tests. The results indicate that the heat dissipation process of droplets on samples with various hydrophobicity will be accelerated by wind significantly and that a higher hydrophobicity cannot reduce the cooling rate effectively. However, on different hydrophobic surfaces, the ice accumulation process has different characteristics. On a hydrophilic surface, the falling droplets form continuously water film, which will be cooled fast. On superhydrophobic surface, the frozen droplets form ice bulges, which can shield from wind and slow down the heat dissipation process. These ice accumulation characteristics lead to the difference in ice morphology and make a higher hydrophobic surface to have a lower ice mass growth rate in long period icing tests. As a conclusion, superhydrophobic coating remain icephobic under wind and sleet conditions.

Recent Changes in Arctic Glaciers, Ice Caps, and the Greenland Ice Sheet: Cold Facts About Warm Ice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdalati, W.

2005-12-01

One of the major manifestations of Arctic change can be observed in the state of balance of Arctic glaciers and ice caps and the Greenland ice sheet. These ice masses are estimated to contain nearly 3 million cubic kilometers of ice, which is more than six times greater than all the water stored in the Earth's lakes, rivers, and snow combined and is the equivalent of over 7 meters of sea level. Most of these ice masses have been shrinking in recent in years, but their mass balance is highly variable on a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. On the Greenland ice sheet most of the coastal regions have thinned substantially as melt has increased and some of its outlet glaciers have accelerated. Near the equilibrium line in West Greenland, we have seen evidence of summer acceleration that is linked to surface meltwater production, suggesting a relatively rapid response mechanism of the ice sheet change to a warming climate. At the same time, however, the vast interior regions of the Greenland ice sheet have shown little change or slight growth, as accumulation in these areas may have increased. Throughout much of the rest of the Arctic, many glaciers and ice caps have been shrinking in the past few decades, and in Canada and Alaska, the rate of ice loss seems to have accelerated during the late 1990s. These recent observations offer only a snapshot in time of the long-term behavior, but they are providing crucial information about the current state of ice mass balance and the mechanisms that control it in one of the most climatically sensitive regions on Earth. As we continue to learn more through a combination of remote sensing observations, in situ measurements and improved modeling capabilities, it is important that we coordinate and integrate these approaches effectively in order to predict future changes and their impact on sea level, freshwater discharge, and ocean circulation.

The Unprecedented 2016-2017 Arctic Sea Ice Growth Season: The Crucial Role of Atmospheric Rivers and Longwave Fluxes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hegyi, Bradley M.; Taylor, Patrick C.

2018-05-01

The 2016-2017 Arctic sea ice growth season (October-March) exhibited one of the lowest values for end-of-season sea ice volume and extent of any year since 1979. An analysis of Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 atmospheric reanalysis data and Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System radiative flux data reveals that a record warm and moist Arctic atmosphere supported the reduced sea ice growth. Numerous regional episodes of increased atmospheric temperature and moisture, transported from lower latitudes, increased the cumulative energy input from downwelling longwave surface fluxes. In those same episodes, the efficiency of the atmosphere cooling radiatively to space was reduced, increasing the amount of energy retained in the Arctic atmosphere and reradiated back toward the surface. Overall, the Arctic radiative cooling efficiency shows a decreasing trend since 2000. The results presented highlight the increasing importance of atmospheric forcing on sea ice variability demonstrating that episodic Arctic atmospheric rivers, regions of elevated poleward water vapor transport, and the subsequent surface energy budget response is a critical mechanism actively contributing to the evolution of Arctic sea ice.

A unified theory for ice vapor growth suitable for cloud models: Testing and implications for cold cloud evolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Chengzhu

A new microphysical model for the vapor growth and aspect ratio evolution of atmospheric ice crystals is presented. The method is based on the adaptive habit model of Chen and Lamb (1994), but is modified to include surface kinetic processes for crystal growth. Inclusion of surface kinetic effects is accomplished with a new theory that accounts for axis dependent growth. Deposition coefficients (growth efficiencies) are predicted for two axis directions based on laboratory-determined parameters for growth initiation (critical supersaturations) on each face. In essence, the new theory extends the adaptive habit approach of Chen and Lamb (1994) to ice saturation states below that of liquid saturation, where Chen and Lamb (1994) is likely most valid. The new model is used to simulate changes in crystal primary habit as a function of temperature and ice supersaturation. Predictions are compared with a detailed hexagonal growth model both in a single particle framework and in a Lagrangian parcel model to indicate the accuracy of the new method. Moreover, predictions of the ratio of the axis deposition coefficients match laboratory-generated data. A parameterization for predicting deposition coefficients is developed for the bulk microphysics frame work in Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS). Initial eddy-resolving model simulation is conducted to study the effect of surface kinetics on microphysical and dynamical processes in cold cloud development.

Users Manual for the NASA Lewis Ice Accretion Prediction Code (LEWICE)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ruff, Gary A.; Berkowitz, Brian M.

1990-01-01

LEWICE is an ice accretion prediction code that applies a time-stepping procedure to calculate the shape of an ice accretion. The potential flow field is calculated in LEWICE using the Douglas Hess-Smith 2-D panel code (S24Y). This potential flow field is then used to calculate the trajectories of particles and the impingement points on the body. These calculations are performed to determine the distribution of liquid water impinging on the body, which then serves as input to the icing thermodynamic code. The icing thermodynamic model is based on the work of Messinger, but contains several major modifications and improvements. This model is used to calculate the ice growth rate at each point on the surface of the geometry. By specifying an icing time increment, the ice growth rate can be interpreted as an ice thickness which is added to the body, resulting in the generation of new coordinates. This procedure is repeated, beginning with the potential flow calculations, until the desired icing time is reached. The operation of LEWICE is illustrated through the use of five examples. These examples are representative of the types of applications expected for LEWICE. All input and output is discussed, along with many of the diagnostic messages contained in the code. Several error conditions that may occur in the code for certain icing conditions are identified, and a course of action is recommended. LEWICE has been used to calculate a variety of ice shapes, but should still be considered a research code. The code should be exercised further to identify any shortcomings and inadequacies. Any modifications identified as a result of these cases, or of additional experimental results, should be incorporated into the model. Using it as a test bed for improvements to the ice accretion model is one important application of LEWICE.

Ice-binding proteins: a remarkable diversity of structures for stopping and starting ice growth.

PubMed

Davies, Peter L

2014-11-01

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) were discovered in marine fishes that need protection from freezing. These ice-binding proteins (IBPs) are widespread across biological kingdoms, and their functions include freeze tolerance and ice adhesion. Consistent with recent independent evolution, AFPs have remarkably diverse folds that rely heavily on hydrogen- and disulfide-bonding. AFP ice-binding sites are typically flat, extensive, relatively hydrophobic, and are thought to organize water into an ice-like arrangement that merges and freezes with the quasi-liquid layer next to the ice lattice. In this article, the roles, properties, and structure-function interactions of IBPs are reviewed, and their relationship to ice nucleation proteins, which promote freezing at high subzero temperatures, is explored. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Can xenon in water inhibit ice growth? Molecular dynamics of phase transitions in water-Xe system.

PubMed

Artyukhov, Vasilii I; Pulver, Alexander Yu; Peregudov, Alex; Artyuhov, Igor

2014-07-21

Motivated by recent experiments showing the promise of noble gases as cryoprotectants, we perform molecular dynamics modeling of phase transitions in water with xenon under cooling. We follow the structure and dynamics of xenon water solution as a function of temperature. Homogeneous nucleation of clathrate hydrate phase is observed and characterized. As the temperature is further reduced we observe hints of dissociation of clathrate due to stronger hydrophobic hydration, pointing towards a possible instability of clathrate at cryogenic temperatures and conversion to an amorphous phase comprised of "xenon + hydration shell" Xe·(H2O)21.5 clusters. Simulations of ice-xenon solution interface in equilibrium and during ice growth reveal the effects of xenon on the ice-liquid interface, where adsorbed xenon causes roughening of ice surface but does not preferentially form clathrate. These results provide evidence against the ice-blocker mechanism of xenon cryoprotection.

Long-term growth of Ginkgo with CO(2) enrichment increases leaf ice nucleation temperatures and limits recovery of the photosynthetic system from freezing.

PubMed

Terry, A C; Quick, W P; Beerling, D J

2000-09-01

The importance of subzero temperature interactions with elevated CO(2) on plant carbon metabolism has received rather little attention, despite their likely role in influencing future vegetation productivity and dynamics. Here we focused on the critical issues of CO(2)-enrichment effects on leaf-freezing temperatures, subsequent membrane damage, and recovery of the photosynthetic system. We show that growth in elevated CO(2) (70 Pa) results in a substantial and significant (P<0.01) increase (up to 4 degrees C) in the ice nucleation temperature of leaves of Maidenhair tree (Ginkgo biloba), which was observed consistently throughout the 1999 growing season relative to their ambient CO(2) (35 Pa) counterparts. We suggest that increased sensitivity of leaves to ice damage after growth in elevated CO(2) provides an explanation for increased photoinhibition observed in the field early and late in the growing season when low nighttime temperatures are experienced. This new mechanism is proposed in addition to the earlier postulated explanation for this phenomenon involving a reduction in the rate of triose-P utilization owing to a decrease in the rate of carbohydrate export from the leaf.

Tracing Water Vapor and Ice During Dust Growth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krijt, Sebastiaan; Ciesla, Fred J.; Bergin, Edwin A.

2016-12-01

The processes that govern the evolution of dust and water (in the form of vapor or ice) in protoplanetary disks are intimately connected. We have developed a model that simulates dust coagulation, dust dynamics (settling, turbulent mixing), vapor diffusion, and condensation/sublimation of volatiles onto grains in a vertical column of a protoplanetary disk. We employ the model to study how dust growth and dynamics influence the vertical distribution of water vapor and water ice in the region just outside the radial snowline. Our main finding is that coagulation (boosted by the enhanced stickiness of icy grains) and the ensuing vertical settling of solids results in water vapor being depleted, but not totally removed, from the region above the snowline on a timescale commensurate with the vertical turbulent mixing timescale. Depending on the strength of the turbulence and the temperature, the depletion can reach factors of up to ˜50 in the disk atmosphere. In our isothermal column, this vapor depletion results in the vertical snowline moving closer to the midplane (by up to 2 gas scale heights) and the gas-phase {{C}}/{{O}} ratio above the vertical snowline increasing. Our findings illustrate the importance of dynamical effects and the need for understanding coevolutionary dynamics of gas and solids in planet-forming environments.

Laboratory studies of the growth, sublimation, and light- scattering properties of single levitated ice particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bacon, Neil Julian

2001-12-01

I describe experiments to investigate the properties of microscopic ice particles. The goal of the work was to measure parameters that are important in cloud processes and radiative transfer, using a novel technique that avoids the use of substrates. The experiments were conducted in two separate electrodynamic balance chambers. Single, charged ice particles were formed from frost particles or from droplets frozen either homogeneously or heteroge neously with a bionucleant. The particles were trapped at temperatures between -38°C and -4°C and grown or sublimated according to the temperature gradient in the cham ber. I describe observations of breakup of sublimating frost particles, measurements of light scattering by hexagonal crystals, and observations of the morphology of ice particles grown from frozen water droplets and frost particles. The breaking strength of frost particles was an order of magnitude less than that of bulk ice. Light scattering features not previously observed were analyzed and related to crystal dimension. Initial results from a computer model failed to reproduce these features. The widths of scattering peaks suggest that surface roughness may play a role in determining the angular distribution of scattered light. Ice particle mass evolution was found to be consistent with diffusion- limited growth. Crystals grown slowly from frozen droplets adopted isometric habits, while faster growth resulted in thin side-planes, although there was not an exact correspondence between growth conditions and particle morphology. From the morphological transition, I infer lower limits for the critical supersaturation for layer nucleation on the prism face of 2.4% at -15°C, 4.4% at -20°C, and 3.1% at -25°C. Analytic expressions for the size dependence of facet stability are developed, indicating a strong dependence of stability on both crystal size and surface kinetics, and compared with data. I discuss the role of complex particle morphologies in

Bacterial activity in sea ice and open water of the Weddell Sea, Antarctica: A microautoradiographic study.

PubMed

Grossmann, S

1994-07-01

Metabolic activity of bacteria was investigated in open water, newly forming sea ice, and successive stages of pack ice in the Weddell Sea. Microautoradiography, using [(3)H]leucine as substrate, was compared with incorporation rates of [(3)H]leucine into proteins. Relation of [(3)H]leucine incorporation to the biomass of active bacteria provides information about changes of specific metabolic activity of cells. During a phytoplankton bloom in an ice-free, stratified water column, total numbers of bacteria in the euphotic zone averaged 2.3 × 10(5) ml(-1), but only about 13% showed activity via leucine uptake. Growth rate of the active bacteria was estimated as 0.3-0.4 days(-1). Total cell concentration of bacteria in 400 m depth was 6.6 × 10(4) ml(-1). Nearly 50% of these cells were active, although biomass production and specific growth rate were only about one-tenth that of the surface populations. When sea ice was forming in high concentrations of phytoplankton, bacterial biomass in the newly formed ice was 49.1 ng C ml(-1), exceeding that in open water by about one order of magnitude. Attachment of large bacteria to algal cells seems to cause their enrichment in the new ice, since specific bacterial activity was reduced during ice formation, and enrichment of bacteria was not observed when ice formed at low algal concentration. During growth of pack ice, biomass of bacteria increased within the brine channel system. Specific activity was still reduced at these later stages of ice development, and percentages of active cells were as low as 3-5%. In old, thick pack ice, bacterial activity was high and about 30% of cells were active. However, biomass-specific activity of bacteria remained significantly lower than that in open water. It is concluded that bacterial assemblages different to those of open water developed within the ice and were dominated by bacteria with lower average metabolic activity than those of ice-free water.

Polarimetric Signatures of Sea Ice. Part 1; Theoretical Model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nghiem, S. V.; Kwok, R.; Yueh, S. H.; Drinkwater, M. R.

1995-01-01

Physical, structural, and electromagnetic properties and interrelating processes in sea ice are used to develop a composite model for polarimetric backscattering signatures of sea ice. Physical properties of sea ice constituents such as ice, brine, air, and salt are presented in terms of their effects on electromagnetic wave interactions. Sea ice structure and geometry of scatterers are related to wave propagation, attenuation, and scattering. Temperature and salinity, which are determining factors for the thermodynamic phase distribution in sea ice, are consistently used to derive both effective permittivities and polarimetric scattering coefficients. Polarimetric signatures of sea ice depend on crystal sizes and brine volumes, which are affected by ice growth rates. Desalination by brine expulsion, drainage, or other mechanisms modifies wave penetration and scattering. Sea ice signatures are further complicated by surface conditions such as rough interfaces, hummocks, snow cover, brine skim, or slush layer. Based on the same set of geophysical parameters characterizing sea ice, a composite model is developed to calculate effective permittivities and backscattering covariance matrices at microwave frequencies for interpretation of sea ice polarimetric signatures.

Modeling the cell-type dependence of diffusion-limited intracellular ice nucleation and growth during both vitrification and slow freezing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Geer; Zhang, Aili; Xu, Lisa X.; He, Xiaoming

2009-06-01

In this study, a set of models for predicting the diffusion-limited ice nucleation and growth inside biological cells were established. Both the heterogeneous and homogeneous nucleation mechanisms were considered in the models. Molecular mobility including viscosity and mutual diffusion coefficient of aqueous cryoprotectant (i.e., glycerol here) solutions was estimated using models derived from the free volume theory for glass transition, which makes it possible to predict the two most important physical properties (i.e., viscosity and mutual diffusion coefficient) over wide ranges of temperature and concentration as encountered in cryopreservation. After being verified using experimental data, the models were used to predict the critical cooling rate (defined as the cooling rate required so that the crystallized volume is less than 0.1% of the cell volume) as a function of the initial glycerol concentration in a number of cell types with different sizes. For slowing freezing, it was found that the required critical cooling rate is cell-type dependent with influences from cell size and the ice nucleation and water transport parameters. In general, the critical cooling rate does not change significantly with the initial glycerol concentration used and tends to be higher for smaller cells. For vitrification, the required critical cooling rate does change significantly with the initial glycerol concentration used and tends to decrease with the decrease in cell size. However, the required critical cooling rate can be similar for cells with very different sizes. It was further found that the thermodynamic and kinetic parameters for intracellular ice formation associated with different cells rather than the cell size per se significantly affect the critical cooling rates required for vitrification. For all cell types, it was found that homogeneous nucleation dominates at ultrafast cooling rates and/or high glycerol concentrations, whereas heterogeneous nucleation becomes

connecting the dots between Greenland ice sheet surface melting and ice flow dynamics (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Box, J. E.; Colgan, W. T.; Fettweis, X.; Phillips, T. P.; Stober, M.

2013-12-01

This presentation is of a 'unified theory' in glaciology that first identifies surface albedo as a key factor explaining total ice sheet mass balance and then surveys a mechanistic self-reinforcing interaction between melt water and ice flow dynamics. The theory is applied in a near-real time total Greenland mass balance retrieval based on surface albedo, a powerful integrator of the competing effects of accumulation and ablation. New snowfall reduces sunlight absorption and increases meltwater retention. Melting amplifies absorbed sunlight through thermal metamorphism and bare ice expansion in space and time. By ';following the melt'; we reveal mechanisms linking existing science into a unified theory. Increasing meltwater softens the ice sheet in three ways: 1.) sensible heating given the water temperature exceeds that of the ice sheet interior; 2.) Some infiltrating water refreezes, transferring latent heat to the ice; 3.) Friction from water turbulence heats the ice. It has been shown that for a point on the ice sheet, basal lubrication increases ice flow speed to a time when an efficient sub-glacial drainage network develops that reduces this effect. Yet, with an increasing melt duration the point where the ice sheet glides on a wet bed increases inland to a larger area. This effect draws down the ice surface elevation, contributing to the ';elevation feedback'. In a perpetual warming scenario, the elevation feedback ultimately leads to ice sheet loss reversible only through much slower ice sheet growth in an ice age environment. As the inland ice sheet accelerates, the horizontal extension pulls cracks and crevasses open, trapping more sunlight, amplifying the effect of melt accelerated ice. As the bare ice area increases, the direct sun-exposed crevassed and infiltration area increases further allowing the ice warming process to occur more broadly. Considering hydrofracture [a.k.a. hydrofracking]; surface meltwater fills cracks, attacking the ice integrity

Holocene Accumulation and Ice Flow near the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide Ice Core Site

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koutnik, Michelle R.; Fudge, T.J.; Conway, Howard; Waddington, Edwin D.; Neumann, Thomas A.; Cuffey, Kurt M.; Buizert, Christo; Taylor, Kendrick C.

2016-01-01

The West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide Core (WDC) provided a high-resolution climate record from near the Ross-Amundsen Divide in Central West Antarctica. In addition, radar-detected internal layers in the vicinity of the WDC site have been dated directly from the ice core to provide spatial variations in the age structure of the region. Using these two data sets together, we first infer a high-resolution Holocene accumulation-rate history from 9.2 thousand years of the ice-core timescale and then confirm that this climate history is consistent with internal layers upstream of the core site. Even though the WDC was drilled only 24 kilometers from the modern ice divide, advection of ice from upstream must be taken into account. We evaluate histories of accumulation rate by using a flowband model to generate internal layers that we compare to observed layers. Results show that the centennially averaged accumulation rate was over 20 percent lower than modern at 9.2 thousand years before present (B.P.), increased by 40 percent from 9.2 to 2.3 thousand years B.P., and decreased by at least 10 percent over the past 2 thousand years B.P. to the modern values; these Holocene accumulation-rate changes in Central West Antarctica are larger than changes inferred from East Antarctic ice-core records. Despite significant changes in accumulation rate, throughout the Holocene the regional accumulation pattern has likely remained similar to today, and the ice-divide position has likely remained on average within 5 kilometers of its modern position. Continent-scale ice-sheet models used for reconstructions of West Antarctic ice volume should incorporate this accumulation history.

Minimalist Model of Ice Microphysics in Mixed-phase Stratiform Clouds

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yang, F.; Ovchinnikov, Mikhail; Shaw, Raymond A.

The question of whether persistent ice crystal precipitation from super cooled layer clouds can be explained by time-dependent, stochastic ice nucleation is explored using an approximate, analytical model, and a large-eddy simulation (LES) cloud model. The updraft velocity in the cloud defines an accumulation zone, where small ice particles cannot fall out until they are large enough, which will increase the residence time of ice particles in the cloud. Ice particles reach a quasi-steady state between growth by vapor deposition and fall speed at cloud base. The analytical model predicts that ice water content (wi) has a 2.5 power lawmore » relationship with ice number concentration ni. wi and ni from a LES cloud model with stochastic ice nucleation also confirm the 2.5 power law relationship. The prefactor of the power law is proportional to the ice nucleation rate, and therefore provides a quantitative link to observations of ice microphysical properties.« less

Evaluation of Arctic Sea Ice Thickness Simulated by Arctic Ocean Model Intercomparison Project Models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, Mark; Proshuntinsky, Andrew; Aksenov, Yevgeny; Nguyen, An T.; Lindsay, Ron; Haas, Christian; Zhang, Jinlun; Diansky, Nikolay; Kwok, Ron; Maslowski, Wieslaw;

Warm winter, thin ice?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stroeve, Julienne C.; Schroder, David; Tsamados, Michel; Feltham, Daniel

2018-05-01

Winter 2016/2017 saw record warmth over the Arctic Ocean, leading to the least amount of freezing degree days north of 70° N since at least 1979. The impact of this warmth was evaluated using model simulations from the Los Alamos sea ice model (CICE) and CryoSat-2 thickness estimates from three different data providers. While CICE simulations show a broad region of anomalously thin ice in April 2017 relative to the 2011-2017 mean, analysis of three CryoSat-2 products show more limited regions with thin ice and do not always agree with each other, both in magnitude and direction of thickness anomalies. CICE is further used to diagnose feedback processes driving the observed anomalies, showing 11-13 cm reduced thermodynamic ice growth over the Arctic domain used in this study compared to the 2011-2017 mean, and dynamical contributions of +1 to +4 cm. Finally, CICE model simulations from 1985 to 2017 indicate the negative feedback relationship between ice growth and winter air temperatures may be starting to weaken, showing decreased winter ice growth since 2012, as winter air temperatures have increased and the freeze-up has been further delayed.

Evaluation of Ice Slurries as a Control for Postharvest Growth of Vibrio spp. in Oysters and Potential for Filth Contamination.

PubMed

Lydon, Keri Ann; Farrell-Evans, Melissa; Jones, Jessica L

2015-07-01

Raw oyster consumption is the most common route of exposure for Vibrio spp. infections in humans. Vibriosis has been increasing steadily in the United States despite efforts to reduce the incidence of the disease. Research has demonstrated that ice is effective in reducing postharvest Vibrio spp. growth in oysters but has raised concerns of possible contamination of oyster meat by filth (as indicated by the presence of fecal coliform bacteria or Clostridium perfringens). This study examined the use of ice slurries (<4.5°C) to reduce Vibrio growth. Ice slurries showed rapid internal cooling of oysters, from 23.9°C (75°F) to 10°C (50°F) within 12 min. The initial bacterial loads in the ice slurry waters were near the limits of detection. Following repeated dipping of oysters into ice slurries, water samples exhibited significant (P < 0.05) increases in median levels of fecal coliforms (9.5 most probable number [MPN]/100 ml), C. perfringens (280 MPN/100 ml), Vibrio vulnificus (11,250 MPN/ml), and total Vibrio parahaemolyticus (3,900 MPN/ml). The microbial load in oyster meat, however, was unchanged after 15 min of submergence, with no significant differences (P < 0.05) in levels of filth indicator (range, 250 to 720 MPN/100 g) or Vibrio spp. (range, 9,000 to 20,000 MPN/g) bacteria. These results support the use of ice slurries as a postharvest application for rapid cooling of oysters to minimize Vibrio growth.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

Parameterizing Aggregation Rates: Results of cold temperature ice-ash hydrometeor experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Courtland, L. M.; Dufek, J.; Mendez, J. S.; McAdams, J.

2014-12-01

Recent advances in the study of tephra aggregation have indicated that (i) far-field effects of tephra sedimentation are not adequately resolved without accounting for aggregation processes that preferentially remove the fine ash fraction of volcanic ejecta from the atmosphere as constituent pieces of larger particles, and (ii) the environmental conditions (e.g. humidity, temperature) prevalent in volcanic plumes may significantly alter the types of aggregation processes at work in different regions of the volcanic plume. The current research extends these findings to explore the role of ice-ash hydrometeor aggregation in various plume environments. Laboratory experiments utilizing an ice nucleation chamber allow us to parameterize tephra aggregation rates under the cold (0 to -50 C) conditions prevalent in the upper regions of volcanic plumes. We consider the interaction of ice-coated tephra of variable thickness grown in a controlled environment. The ice-ash hydrometers interact collisionally and the interaction is recorded by a number of instruments, including high speed video to determine if aggregation occurs. The electric charge on individual particles is examined before and after collision to examine the role of electrostatics in the aggregation process and to examine the charge exchange process. We are able to examine how sticking efficiency is related to both the relative abundance of ice on a particle as well as to the magnitude of the charge carried by the hydrometeor. We here present preliminary results of these experiments, the first to constrain aggregation efficiency of ice-ash hydrometeors, a parameter that will allow tephra dispersion models to use near-real-time meteorological data to better forecast particle residence time in the atmosphere.

Antarctic Sea Ice Thickness and Snow-to-Ice Conversion from Atmospheric Reanalysis and Passive Microwave Snow Depth

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Markus, Thorsten; Maksym, Ted

2007-01-01

Passive microwave snow depth, ice concentration, and ice motion estimates are combined with snowfall from the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF) reanalysis (ERA-40) from 1979-200 1 to estimate the prevalence of snow-to-ice conversion (snow-ice formation) on level sea ice in the Antarctic for April-October. Snow ice is ubiquitous in all regions throughout the growth season. Calculated snow- ice thicknesses fall within the range of estimates from ice core analysis for most regions. However, uncertainties in both this analysis and in situ data limit the usefulness of snow depth and snow-ice production to evaluate the accuracy of ERA-40 snowfall. The East Antarctic is an exception, where calculated snow-ice production exceeds observed ice thickness over wide areas, suggesting that ERA-40 precipitation is too high there. Snow-ice thickness variability is strongly controlled not just by snow accumulation rates, but also by ice divergence. Surprisingly, snow-ice production is largely independent of snow depth, indicating that the latter may be a poor indicator of total snow accumulation. Using the presence of snow-ice formation as a proxy indicator for near-zero freeboard, we examine the possibility of estimating level ice thickness from satellite snow depths. A best estimate for the mean level ice thickness in September is 53 cm, comparing well with 51 cm from ship-based observations. The error is estimated to be 10-20 cm, which is similar to the observed interannual and regional variability. Nevertheless, this is comparable to expected errors for ice thickness determined by satellite altimeters. Improvement in satellite snow depth retrievals would benefit both of these methods.

Role of ground ice dynamics and ecological feedbacks in recent ice wedge degradation and stabilization

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mark Torre Jorgenson,; Mikhail Kanevskiy,; Yuri Shur,; Natalia Moskalenko,; Dana Brown,; Wickland, Kimberly P.; Striegl, Robert G.; Koch, Joshua C.

2015-01-01

Ground ice is abundant in the upper permafrost throughout the Arctic and fundamentally affects terrain responses to climate warming. Ice wedges, which form near the surface and are the dominant type of massive ice in the Arctic, are particularly vulnerable to warming. Yet processes controlling ice wedge degradation and stabilization are poorly understood. Here we quantified ice wedge volume and degradation rates, compared ground ice characteristics and thermal regimes across a sequence of five degradation and stabilization stages and evaluated biophysical feedbacks controlling permafrost stability near Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. Mean ice wedge volume in the top 3 m of permafrost was 21%. Imagery from 1949 to 2012 showed thermokarst extent (area of water-filled troughs) was relatively small from 1949 (0.9%) to 1988 (1.5%), abruptly increased by 2004 (6.3%) and increased slightly by 2012 (7.5%). Mean annual surface temperatures varied by 4.9°C among degradation and stabilization stages and by 9.9°C from polygon center to deep lake bottom. Mean thicknesses of the active layer, ice-poor transient layer, ice-rich intermediate layer, thermokarst cave ice, and wedge ice varied substantially among stages. In early stages, thaw settlement caused water to impound in thermokarst troughs, creating positive feedbacks that increased net radiation, soil heat flux, and soil temperatures. Plant growth and organic matter accumulation in the degraded troughs provided negative feedbacks that allowed ground ice to aggrade and heave the surface, thus reducing surface water depth and soil temperatures in later stages. The ground ice dynamics and ecological feedbacks greatly complicate efforts to assess permafrost responses to climate change.

Role of ground ice dynamics and ecological feedbacks in recent ice wedge degradation and stabilization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jorgenson, M. T.; Kanevskiy, M.; Shur, Y.; Moskalenko, N.; Brown, D. R. N.; Wickland, K.; Striegl, R.; Koch, J.

2015-11-01

Ground ice is abundant in the upper permafrost throughout the Arctic and fundamentally affects terrain responses to climate warming. Ice wedges, which form near the surface and are the dominant type of massive ice in the Arctic, are particularly vulnerable to warming. Yet processes controlling ice wedge degradation and stabilization are poorly understood. Here we quantified ice wedge volume and degradation rates, compared ground ice characteristics and thermal regimes across a sequence of five degradation and stabilization stages and evaluated biophysical feedbacks controlling permafrost stability near Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. Mean ice wedge volume in the top 3 m of permafrost was 21%. Imagery from 1949 to 2012 showed thermokarst extent (area of water-filled troughs) was relatively small from 1949 (0.9%) to 1988 (1.5%), abruptly increased by 2004 (6.3%) and increased slightly by 2012 (7.5%). Mean annual surface temperatures varied by 4.9°C among degradation and stabilization stages and by 9.9°C from polygon center to deep lake bottom. Mean thicknesses of the active layer, ice-poor transient layer, ice-rich intermediate layer, thermokarst cave ice, and wedge ice varied substantially among stages. In early stages, thaw settlement caused water to impound in thermokarst troughs, creating positive feedbacks that increased net radiation, soil heat flux, and soil temperatures. Plant growth and organic matter accumulation in the degraded troughs provided negative feedbacks that allowed ground ice to aggrade and heave the surface, thus reducing surface water depth and soil temperatures in later stages. The ground ice dynamics and ecological feedbacks greatly complicate efforts to assess permafrost responses to climate change.

Laboratory experiments to investigate sublimation rates of water ice in nighttime lunar regolith

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Piquette, Marcus; Horányi, Mihály; Stern, S. Alan

2017-09-01

The existence of water ice on the lunar surface has been a long-standing topic with implications for both lunar science and in-situ resource utilization (ISRU). Cold traps on the lunar surface may have conditions necessary to retain water ice, but no laboratory experiments have been conducted to verify modeling results. We present an experiment testing the ability to thermally control bulk samples of lunar regolith simulant mixed with water ice under vacuum in an effort to constrain sublimation rates. The simulant used was JSC-1A lunar regolith simulant developed by NASA's Johnson Space Center. Samples with varying ratios of water ice and JSC-1A regolith simulant, totally about 1 kg, were placed under vacuum and cooled to 100 K to simulate conditions in lunar cold traps. The resulting sublimation of water ice over an approximately five-day period was measured by comparing the mass of the samples before and after the experimental run. Our results indicate that water ice in lunar cold traps is stable on timescales comparable to the lunar night, and should continue to be studied as possible resources for future utilization. This experiment also gauges the efficacy of the synthetic lunar atmosphere mission (SLAM) as a low-cost water resupply mission to lunar outposts.

Long-Term Growth of Ginkgo with CO2 Enrichment Increases Leaf Ice Nucleation Temperatures and Limits Recovery of the Photosynthetic System from Freezing1

PubMed Central

Terry, Andrew C.; Quick, W. Paul; Beerling, David J.

2000-01-01

The importance of subzero temperature interactions with elevated CO2 on plant carbon metabolism has received rather little attention, despite their likely role in influencing future vegetation productivity and dynamics. Here we focused on the critical issues of CO2-enrichment effects on leaf-freezing temperatures, subsequent membrane damage, and recovery of the photosynthetic system. We show that growth in elevated CO2 (70 Pa) results in a substantial and significant (P < 0.01) increase (up to 4°C) in the ice nucleation temperature of leaves of Maidenhair tree (Ginkgo biloba), which was observed consistently throughout the 1999 growing season relative to their ambient CO2 (35 Pa) counterparts. We suggest that increased sensitivity of leaves to ice damage after growth in elevated CO2 provides an explanation for increased photoinhibition observed in the field early and late in the growing season when low nighttime temperatures are experienced. This new mechanism is proposed in addition to the earlier postulated explanation for this phenomenon involving a reduction in the rate of triose-P utilization owing to a decrease in the rate of carbohydrate export from the leaf. PMID:10982433

Firn thickness variations across the Northeast Greenland Ice Stream margins indicating nonlinear densification rates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riverman, K. L.; Anandakrishnan, S.; Alley, R. B.; Peters, L. E.; Christianson, K. A.; Muto, A.

2013-12-01

Northeast Greenland Ice Stream (NEGIS) is the largest ice stream in Greenland, draining approximately 8.4% of the ice sheet's area. The flow pattern and stability mechanism of this ice stream are unique to others in Greenland and Antarctica, and merit further study to ascertain the sensitivity of this ice stream to future climate change. Geophysical methods are valuable tools for this application, but their results are sensitive to the structure of the firn and any spatial variations in firn properties across a given study region. Here we present firn data from a 40-km-long seismic profile across the upper reaches of NEGIS, collected in the summer of 2012 as part of an integrated ground-based geophysical survey. We find considerable variations in firn thickness that are coincident with the ice stream shear margins, where a thinner firn layer is present within the margins, and a thicker, more uniform firn layer is present elsewhere in our study region. Higher accumulation rates in the marginal surface troughs due to drift-snow trapping can account for some of this increased densification; however, our seismic results also highlight enhanced anisotropy within the firn and upper ice column that is confined to narrow bands within the shear margins. We thus interpret these large firn thickness variations and abrupt changes in anisotropy as indicators of firn densification dependent on the effective stress state as well as the overburden pressure, suggesting that the strain rate increases nonlinearly with stress across the shear margins. A GPS strain grid maintained for three weeks across both margins observed strong side shearing, with rapid stretching and then compression along particle paths, indicating large deviatoric stresses in the margins. This work demonstrates the importance of developing a high-resolution firn densification model when conducting geophysical field work in regions possessing a complex ice flow history; it also motivates the need for a more

Greenland ice sheet retreat since the Little Ice Age

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beitch, Marci J.

Late 20th century and 21st century satellite imagery of the perimeter of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) provide high resolution observations of the ice sheet margins. Examining changes in ice margin positions over time yield measurements of GrIS area change and rates of margin retreat. However, longer records of ice sheet margin change are needed to establish more accurate predictions of the ice sheet's future response to global conditions. In this study, the trimzone, the area of deglaciated terrain along the ice sheet edge that lacks mature vegetation cover, is used as a marker of the maximum extent of the ice from its most recent major advance during the Little Ice Age. We compile recently acquired Landsat ETM+ scenes covering the perimeter of the GrIS on which we map area loss on land-, lake-, and marine-terminating margins. We measure an area loss of 13,327 +/- 830 km2, which corresponds to 0.8% shrinkage of the ice sheet. This equates to an averaged horizontal retreat of 363 +/- 69 m across the entire GrIS margin. Mapping the areas exposed since the Little Ice Age maximum, circa 1900 C.E., yields a century-scale rate of change. On average the ice sheet lost an area of 120 +/- 16 km 2/yr, or retreated at a rate of 3.3 +/- 0.7 m/yr since the LIA maximum.

Simulation of lake ice and its effect on the late-Pleistocene evaporation rate of Lake Lahontan

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hostetler, S.W.

1991-01-01

A model of lake ice was coupled with a model of lake temperature and evaporation to assess the possible effect of ice cover on the late-Pleistocene evaporation rate of Lake Lahontan. The simulations were done using a data set based on proxy temperature indicators and features of the simulated late-Pleistocene atmospheric circulation over western North America. When a data set based on a mean-annual air temperature of 3?? C (7?? C colder than present) and reduced solar radiation from jet-stream induced cloud cover was used as input to the model, ice cover lasting ??? 4 months was simulated. Simulated evaporation rates (490-527 mm a-1) were ??? 60% lower than the present-day evaporation rate (1300 mm a-1) of Pyramid Lake. With this reduced rate of evaporation, water inputs similar to the 1983 historical maxima that occurred in the Lahontan basin would have been sufficient to maintain the 13.5 ka BP high stand of Lake Lahontan. ?? 1991 Springer-Verlag.

In-situ GPS records of surface mass balance, firn compaction rates, and ice-shelf basal melt rates for Pine Island Glacier, Antarctica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shean, D. E.; Christianson, K.; Larson, K. M.; Ligtenberg, S.; Joughin, I. R.; Smith, B.; Stevens, C.

2016-12-01

In recent decades, Pine Island Glacier (PIG) has experienced marked retreat, speedup and thinning due to ice-shelf basal melt, internal ice-stream instability and feedbacks between these processes. In an effort to constrain recent ice-stream dynamics and evaluate potential causes of retreat, we analyzed 2008-2010 and 2012-2014 GPS records for PIG. We computed time series of horizontal velocity, strain rate, multipath-based antenna height, surface elevation, and Lagrangian elevation change (Dh/Dt). These data provide validation for complementary high-resolution WorldView stereo digital elevation model (DEM) records, with sampled DEM vertical error of 0.7 m. The GPS antenna height time series document a relative surface elevation increase of 0.7-1.0 m/yr, which is consistent with estimated surface mass balance (SMB) of 0.7-0.9 m.w.e./yr from RACMO2.3 and firn compaction rates from the IMAU-FDM dynamic firn model. An abrupt 0.2-0.3 m surface elevation decrease due to surface melt and/or greater near-surface firn compaction is observed during a period of warm atmospheric temperatures from December 2012 to January 2013. Observed surface Dh/Dt for all PIG shelf sites is highly linear with trends of -1 to -4 m/yr and <0.4 m residuals. Similar Dh/Dt estimates with reduced variability are obtained after removing expected downward GPS pole base velocity from observed GPS antenna Dh/Dt. Estimated Dh/Dt basal melt rates are 10 to 40 m/yr for the outer PIG shelf and 4 m/yr for the South shelf. These melt rates are similar to those derived from ice-bottom acoustic ranging, phase-sensitive ice-penetrating radar, and high-resolution stereo DEM records. The GPS/DEM records document higher melt rates within and near transverse surface depressions and rifts associated with longitudinal extension. Basal melt rates for the 2012-2014 period show limited temporal variability, despite significant change in ocean heat content. This suggests that sub-shelf melt rates are less sensitive to

Effects of locust bean gum and mono- and diglyceride concentrations on particle size and melting rates of ice cream.

PubMed

Cropper, S L; Kocaoglu-Vurma, N A; Tharp, B W; Harper, W J

2013-06-01

The objective of this study was to determine how varying concentrations of the stabilizer, locust bean gum (LBG), and different levels of the emulsifier, mono- and diglycerides (MDGs), influenced fat aggregation and melting characteristics of ice cream. Ice creams were made containing MDGs and LBG singly and in combination at concentrations ranging between 0.0% to 0.14% and 0.0% to 0.23%, respectively. Particle size analysis, conducted on both the mixes and ice cream, and melting rate testing on the ice cream were used to determine fat aggregation. No significant differences (P < 0.05) were found between particle size values for experimental ice cream mixes. However, higher concentrations of both LBG and MDG in the ice creams resulted in values that were larger than the control. This study also found an increase in the particle size values when MDG levels were held constant and LBG amounts were increased in the ice cream. Ice creams with higher concentrations of MDG and LBG together had the greatest difference in the rate of melting than the control. The melting rate decreased with increasing LBG concentrations at constant MDG levels. These results illustrated that fat aggregation may not only be affected by emulsifiers, but that stabilizers may play a role in contributing to the destabilization of fat globules. © 2013 Institute of Food Technologists®

Growth of plants on the Late Weichselian ice-sheet during Greenland interstadial-1?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zale, R.; Huang, Y.-T.; Bigler, C.; Wood, J. R.; Dalén, L.; Wang, X.-R.; Segerström, U.; Klaminder, J.

2018-04-01

Unglaciated forelands and summits protruding from ice-sheets are commonly portrayed as areas where plants first establish at the end of glacial cycles. But is this prevailing view of ice-free refugia too simplistic? Here, we present findings suggesting that surface debris supported plant communities far beyond the rim of the Late Weichselian Ice-sheet during Greenland interstadial 1 (GI-1 or Bølling-Allerød interstadial). We base our interpretations upon findings from terrigenous sediments largely resembling 'plant-trash' deposits in North America (known to form as vegetation established on stagnant ice became buried along with glacial debris during the deglaciation). In our studied deposit, we found macrofossils (N = 10) overlapping with the deglaciation period of the area (9.5-10 cal kyr BP) as well as samples (N = 2) with ages ranging between 12.9 and 13.3 cal kyr BP. The latter ages indicate growth of at least graminoids during the GI-1 interstadial when the site was near the geographic center of the degrading ice-sheet. We suggest that exposure of englacial material during GI-1 created patches of supraglacial debris capable of supporting vascular plants three millennia before deglaciation. The composition and resilience of this early plant community remain uncertain. Yet, the younger group of macrofossils, in combination with pollen and ancient DNA analyses of inclusions, imply that shrubs (Salix sp., Betula sp. and Ericaceae sp) and even tree species (Larix) were present in the debris during the final deglaciation stage.

Laser vaporization of cirrus-like ice particles with secondary ice multiplication

PubMed Central

Matthews, Mary; Pomel, François; Wender, Christiane; Kiselev, Alexei; Duft, Denis; Kasparian, Jérôme; Wolf, Jean-Pierre; Leisner, Thomas

2016-01-01

We investigate the interaction of ultrashort laser filaments with individual 90-μm ice particles, representative of cirrus particles. The ice particles fragment under laser illumination. By monitoring the evolution of the corresponding ice/vapor system at up to 140,000 frames per second over 30 ms, we conclude that a shockwave vaporization supersaturates the neighboring region relative to ice, allowing the nucleation and growth of new ice particles, supported by laser-induced plasma photochemistry. This process constitutes the first direct observation of filament-induced secondary ice multiplication, a process that strongly modifies the particle size distribution and, thus, the albedo of typical cirrus clouds. PMID:27386537

Laser vaporization of cirrus-like ice particles with secondary ice multiplication.

PubMed

Matthews, Mary; Pomel, François; Wender, Christiane; Kiselev, Alexei; Duft, Denis; Kasparian, Jérôme; Wolf, Jean-Pierre; Leisner, Thomas

2016-05-01

We investigate the interaction of ultrashort laser filaments with individual 90-μm ice particles, representative of cirrus particles. The ice particles fragment under laser illumination. By monitoring the evolution of the corresponding ice/vapor system at up to 140,000 frames per second over 30 ms, we conclude that a shockwave vaporization supersaturates the neighboring region relative to ice, allowing the nucleation and growth of new ice particles, supported by laser-induced plasma photochemistry. This process constitutes the first direct observation of filament-induced secondary ice multiplication, a process that strongly modifies the particle size distribution and, thus, the albedo of typical cirrus clouds.

Rates of Deglaciation during the Last Glaciation and Holocene in the Cordillera Vilcanota-Quelccaya Ice Cap Region, Southeastern Perú

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mark, Bryan G.; Seltzer, Geoffrey O.; Rodbell, Donald T.; Goodman, Adam Y.

2002-05-01

Moraine chronology is combined with digital topography to model deglacial rates of paleoglacier volumes in both the Huancané Valley on the west side of the Quelccaya Ice Cap and the Upismayo Valley on the northwest side of the Cordillera Vilcanota. The fastest rates of deglaciation (39×10 -5 to 114×10 -5 km 3 yr -1 and 112×10 -5 to 247×10 -5 km 3 yr -1 for each valley, respectively) were calculated for the most recent paleoglaciers, corresponding to the last few centuries. These results are consistent with observations in the Venezuelan Andes showing high rates of deglaciation since the Little Ice Age. These rates also fall within the range of 20th century rates of deglaciation measured on the Quelccaya Ice Cap (29×10 -5 to 220×10 -5 km 3 yr -1, Brecher and Thompson, 1993; Thompson, 2000). These results imply that rates of deglaciation may fluctuate significantly over time and that high rates of deglaciation may not be exclusive to the late 20th century. Equilibrium line altitude (ELA) depressions for the ice volumes of the last glaciation modeled here were computed as 230 m for the Quelccaya Ice Cap and 170 m for the Cordillera Vilcanota. Maximum ELA depressions are lower than previously published: <500 m for the Cordillera Vilcanota and <400 m for the Quelccaya Ice Cap. These lower values could imply a topographic control over paleoglacier extent.

Homogeneous ice nucleation and supercooled liquid water in orographic wave clouds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heymsfield, Andrew J.; Miloshevich, Larry M.

1993-01-01

This study investigates ice nucleation mechanisms in cold lenticular wave clouds, a cloud type characterized by quasi-steady-state air motions and microphysical properties. It is concluded that homogeneous ice nucleation is responsible for the ice production in these clouds at temperatures below about -33 C. The lack of ice nucleation observed above -33 C indicates a dearth of ice-forming nuclei, and hence heterogeneous ice nucleation, in these clouds. Aircraft measurements in the temperature range -31 to -41 C show the following complement of simultaneous and abrupt changes in cloud properties that indicate a transition from the liquid phase to ice: disappearance of liquid water; decrease in relative humidity from near water saturation to ice saturation; increase in mean particle size; change in particle concentration; and change in temperature due to the release of latent heat. A numerical model of cloud particle growth and homogeneous ice nucleation is used to aid in interpretation of our in situ measurements. The abrupt changes in observed cloud properties compare favorably, both qualitatively and quantitatively, with results from the homogeneous ice nucleation model. It is shown that the homogeneous ice nucleation rates from the measurements are consistent with the temperature-dependent rates employed by the model (within a factor of 100, corresponding to about 1 C in temperature) in the temperature range -35 deg to -38 C. Given the theoretical basis of the modeled rates, it may be reasonable to apply them throughout the -30 to -50 C temperature range considered by the theory.

Evaporation of ice in planetary atmospheres - Ice-covered rivers on Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wallace, D.; Sagan, C.

1979-01-01

The existence of ice covered rivers on Mars is considered. It is noted that the evaporation rate of water ice on the surface of a planet with an atmosphere involves an equilibrium between solar heating and radiative and evaporative cooling of the ice layer. It is determined that even with a mean Martian insolation rate above the ice of approximately 10 to the -8th g per sq cm/sec, a flowing channel of liquid water will be covered by ice which evaporates sufficiently slowly that the water below can flow for hundreds of kilometers even with modest discharges. Evaporation rates are calculated for a range of frictional velocities, atmospheric pressures, and insolations and it is suggested that some subset of observed Martian channels may have formed as ice-choked rivers. Finally, the exobiological implications of ice covered channels or lakes on Mars are discussed.

Allometries of maximum growth rate versus body mass at maximum growth indicate that non-avian dinosaurs had growth rates typical of fast growing ectothermic sauropsids.

PubMed

Werner, Jan; Griebeler, Eva Maria

2014-01-01

We tested if growth rates of recent taxa are unequivocally separated between endotherms and ectotherms, and compared these to dinosaurian growth rates. We therefore performed linear regression analyses on the log-transformed maximum growth rate against log-transformed body mass at maximum growth for extant altricial birds, precocial birds, eutherians, marsupials, reptiles, fishes and dinosaurs. Regression models of precocial birds (and fishes) strongly differed from Case's study (1978), which is often used to compare dinosaurian growth rates to those of extant vertebrates. For all taxonomic groups, the slope of 0.75 expected from the Metabolic Theory of Ecology was statistically supported. To compare growth rates between taxonomic groups we therefore used regressions with this fixed slope and group-specific intercepts. On average, maximum growth rates of ectotherms were about 10 (reptiles) to 20 (fishes) times (in comparison to mammals) or even 45 (reptiles) to 100 (fishes) times (in comparison to birds) lower than in endotherms. While on average all taxa were clearly separated from each other, individual growth rates overlapped between several taxa and even between endotherms and ectotherms. Dinosaurs had growth rates intermediate between similar sized/scaled-up reptiles and mammals, but a much lower rate than scaled-up birds. All dinosaurian growth rates were within the range of extant reptiles and mammals, and were lower than those of birds. Under the assumption that growth rate and metabolic rate are indeed linked, our results suggest two alternative interpretations. Compared to other sauropsids, the growth rates of studied dinosaurs clearly indicate that they had an ectothermic rather than an endothermic metabolic rate. Compared to other vertebrate growth rates, the overall high variability in growth rates of extant groups and the high overlap between individual growth rates of endothermic and ectothermic extant species make it impossible to rule out either of

Allometries of Maximum Growth Rate versus Body Mass at Maximum Growth Indicate That Non-Avian Dinosaurs Had Growth Rates Typical of Fast Growing Ectothermic Sauropsids

PubMed Central

Werner, Jan; Griebeler, Eva Maria

2014-01-01

We tested if growth rates of recent taxa are unequivocally separated between endotherms and ectotherms, and compared these to dinosaurian growth rates. We therefore performed linear regression analyses on the log-transformed maximum growth rate against log-transformed body mass at maximum growth for extant altricial birds, precocial birds, eutherians, marsupials, reptiles, fishes and dinosaurs. Regression models of precocial birds (and fishes) strongly differed from Case’s study (1978), which is often used to compare dinosaurian growth rates to those of extant vertebrates. For all taxonomic groups, the slope of 0.75 expected from the Metabolic Theory of Ecology was statistically supported. To compare growth rates between taxonomic groups we therefore used regressions with this fixed slope and group-specific intercepts. On average, maximum growth rates of ectotherms were about 10 (reptiles) to 20 (fishes) times (in comparison to mammals) or even 45 (reptiles) to 100 (fishes) times (in comparison to birds) lower than in endotherms. While on average all taxa were clearly separated from each other, individual growth rates overlapped between several taxa and even between endotherms and ectotherms. Dinosaurs had growth rates intermediate between similar sized/scaled-up reptiles and mammals, but a much lower rate than scaled-up birds. All dinosaurian growth rates were within the range of extant reptiles and mammals, and were lower than those of birds. Under the assumption that growth rate and metabolic rate are indeed linked, our results suggest two alternative interpretations. Compared to other sauropsids, the growth rates of studied dinosaurs clearly indicate that they had an ectothermic rather than an endothermic metabolic rate. Compared to other vertebrate growth rates, the overall high variability in growth rates of extant groups and the high overlap between individual growth rates of endothermic and ectothermic extant species make it impossible to rule out either

Minimalist model of ice microphysics in mixed-phase stratiform clouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Fan; Ovchinnikov, Mikhail; Shaw, Raymond A.

2013-07-01

The question of whether persistent ice crystal precipitation from supercooled layer clouds can be explained by time-dependent, stochastic ice nucleation is explored using an approximate, analytical model and a large-eddy simulation (LES) cloud model. The updraft velocity in the cloud defines an accumulation zone, where small ice particles cannot fall out until they are large enough, which will increase the residence time of ice particles in the cloud. Ice particles reach a quasi-steady state between growth by vapor deposition and fall speed at cloud base. The analytical model predicts that ice water content (wi) has a 2.5 power-law relationship with ice number concentration (ni). wi and ni from a LES cloud model with stochastic ice nucleation confirm the 2.5 power-law relationship, and initial indications of the scaling law are observed in data from the Indirect and Semi-Direct Aerosol Campaign. The prefactor of the power law is proportional to the ice nucleation rate and therefore provides a quantitative link to observations of ice microphysical properties.

The response of grounded ice to ocean temperature forcing in a coupled ice sheet-ice shelf-ocean cavity model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goldberg, D. N.; Little, C. M.; Sergienko, O. V.; Gnanadesikan, A.

2010-12-01

Ice shelves provide a pathway for the heat content of the ocean to influence continental ice sheets. Changes in the rate or location of basal melting can alter their geometry and effect changes in stress conditions at the grounding line, leading to a grounded ice response. Recent observations of ice streams and ice shelves in the Amundsen Sea sector of West Antarctica have been consistent with this story. On the other hand, ice dynamics in the grounding zone control flux into the shelf and thus ice shelf geometry, which has a strong influence on the circulation in the cavity beneath the shelf. Thus the coupling between the two systems, ocean and ice sheet-ice shelf, can be quite strong. We examine the response of the ice sheet-ice shelf-ocean cavity system to changes in ocean temperature using a recently developed coupled model. The coupled model consists a 3-D ocean model (GFDL's Generalized Ocean Layered Dynamics model, or GOLD) to a two-dimensional ice sheet-ice shelf model (Goldberg et al, 2009), and allows for changing cavity geometry and a migrating grounding line. Steady states of the coupled system are found even under considerable forcing. The ice shelf morphology and basal melt rate patterns of the steady states exhibit detailed structure, and furthermore seem to be unique and robust. The relationship between temperature forcing and area-averaged melt rate is influenced by the response of ice shelf morphology to thermal forcing, and is found to be sublinear in the range of forcing considered. However, results suggest that area-averaged melt rate is not the best predictor of overall system response, as grounding line stability depends on local aspects of the basal melt field. Goldberg, D N, D M Holland and C G Schoof, 2009. Grounding line movement and ice shelf buttressing in marine ice sheets, Journal of Geophysical Research-Earth Surfaces, 114, F04026.

Determining the ice-binding planes of antifreeze proteins by fluorescence-based ice plane affinity.

PubMed

Basu, Koli; Garnham, Christopher P; Nishimiya, Yoshiyuki; Tsuda, Sakae; Braslavsky, Ido; Davies, Peter

2014-01-15

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) are expressed in a variety of cold-hardy organisms to prevent or slow internal ice growth. AFPs bind to specific planes of ice through their ice-binding surfaces. Fluorescence-based ice plane affinity (FIPA) analysis is a modified technique used to determine the ice planes to which the AFPs bind. FIPA is based on the original ice-etching method for determining AFP-bound ice-planes. It produces clearer images in a shortened experimental time. In FIPA analysis, AFPs are fluorescently labeled with a chimeric tag or a covalent dye then slowly incorporated into a macroscopic single ice crystal, which has been preformed into a hemisphere and oriented to determine the a- and c-axes. The AFP-bound ice hemisphere is imaged under UV light to visualize AFP-bound planes using filters to block out nonspecific light. Fluorescent labeling of the AFPs allows real-time monitoring of AFP adsorption into ice. The labels have been found not to influence the planes to which AFPs bind. FIPA analysis also introduces the option to bind more than one differently tagged AFP on the same single ice crystal to help differentiate their binding planes. These applications of FIPA are helping to advance our understanding of how AFPs bind to ice to halt its growth and why many AFP-producing organisms express multiple AFP isoforms.

Determining the Ice-binding Planes of Antifreeze Proteins by Fluorescence-based Ice Plane Affinity

PubMed Central

Basu, Koli; Garnham, Christopher P.; Nishimiya, Yoshiyuki; Tsuda, Sakae; Braslavsky, Ido; Davies, Peter

2014-01-01

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) are expressed in a variety of cold-hardy organisms to prevent or slow internal ice growth. AFPs bind to specific planes of ice through their ice-binding surfaces. Fluorescence-based ice plane affinity (FIPA) analysis is a modified technique used to determine the ice planes to which the AFPs bind. FIPA is based on the original ice-etching method for determining AFP-bound ice-planes. It produces clearer images in a shortened experimental time. In FIPA analysis, AFPs are fluorescently labeled with a chimeric tag or a covalent dye then slowly incorporated into a macroscopic single ice crystal, which has been preformed into a hemisphere and oriented to determine the a- and c-axes. The AFP-bound ice hemisphere is imaged under UV light to visualize AFP-bound planes using filters to block out nonspecific light. Fluorescent labeling of the AFPs allows real-time monitoring of AFP adsorption into ice. The labels have been found not to influence the planes to which AFPs bind. FIPA analysis also introduces the option to bind more than one differently tagged AFP on the same single ice crystal to help differentiate their binding planes. These applications of FIPA are helping to advance our understanding of how AFPs bind to ice to halt its growth and why many AFP-producing organisms express multiple AFP isoforms. PMID:24457629

Formation and interpretation of eskers beneath retreating ice sheets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Creyts, T. T.; Hewitt, I.

2017-12-01

The retreat of the ice sheets during the Pleistocene left large and spectacular subglacial features exposed. Understanding these features gives us insight into how the ice sheets retreated, how meltwater influenced retreat, and can help inform our understanding of potential future rates of ice sheet retreat. Among these features, eskers, long sinuous ridges primarily composed of clastic sediments, lack a detailed explanation of how surface melt rates and ice sheet retreat rates influence their growth and spatial distribution. Here, we develop a theory for esker formation based on the initial work of Rothlisberger modified for sediment transport and inclusion of surface meltwater forcing. The primary subglacial ingredients include water flow through subglacial tunnels with the addition of mass balances for sediment transport. We show how eskers when water flow slows below a critical stress for sediment motion. This implies that eskers are deposited in a localized region near the snout of the ice sheet. Our findings suggest that very long eskers form sequentially as the ice front retreats. The position of the esker follows the path of the channel mouth through time, which does not necessarily coincide with the instantaneous route of the feeding channel. However, in most cases, we expect those locations to be similar. The role of surface meltwater and the climatology associated with the forcing is crucial to the lateral spacing of the eskers. We predict that high surface melt rates lead to narrower catchments but that the greater extent of the ablation area means that channels are likely larger. At the same time, for a given channel size (and hence sediment flux), the size of a deposited esker depends on a margin retreat rate. Hence, the size of the eskers is related delicately to the balance between surface melt rates and margin retreat rates. We discuss how our theory can be combined with observed esker distributions to infer the relationship between these two rates

Experimental study and numerical simulation of the salinity effect on water-freezing point and ice-melting rate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qin, N.; Wu, Y.; Wang, H. W.; Wang, Y. Y.

2017-12-01

In this paper, based on the background of snowmelt de-icing tools, we studied the effect of salt on freezing point and melting rate of ice through laboratory test and FLUENT numerical simulation analysis. It was confirmed that the freezing point is inversely proportional to the salt solid content, and with the salt solid content increasing, the freezing process of salt water gradually accepts the curing rule of non-crystal solids. At the same temperature, an increase in the salt solid content, the ice melting rate increase by the empirical formula linking the melting time with temperature and salt content. The theoretical aspects of solid/fluid transformation are discussed in detail.

Timing and Rate of Deglaciation of the MIS 2 Cordilleran Ice Sheet in Yukon Territory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ward, B. C.; Bond, J. D.; Gosse, J. C.; Turner, D. G.

2015-12-01

The northern Cordilleran ice sheet (CIS) consisted of a series of quasi-independent ice lobes that coalesced during the last glacial maximum (LGM) to form a continuous carapace of precipitation limited ice over southern Yukon. Variations in effective precipitation to different source areas of these ice lobes have been used to explain disparities in glacier extents in marine oxygen isotope stages (MIS) 4 and 6. Deglaciation of the northern margin of the CIS and its rate of recession from the LGM are poorly understood. We use cosmogenic nuclide exposure dating (10Be and 36Cl) on groups of 3-4 glacial erratics to reconstruct the timing and rate of deglaciation. Our sampling concentrated on the St. Elias, Cassiar and Selwyn lobes, as well an independent glacier from the Ogilvie Mountains. Boulders sampled up-ice from terminal moraines show that the initiation of deglaciation varied regionally. 36Cl ages from the Ogilvie Mountains indicate that deglaciation initiated by 24.8 ka. Further south in the Selwyn Lobe, two sites separated by ~150 km returned ages of 15.2 and 16.1 ka. To the south-west, three boulders from the Cassiar Lobe are 13.6 ka. Rates of deglaciation are best constrained for the Cassiar Lobe with two transects along different flow lines. Multiple valley bottom samples in the mid-deglaciation setting at Whitehorse yielded ages of 12.0 ka, while one boulder from the adjacent ridge top 600 m above is 13.5 ka. In the accumulation zone, ice-free conditions occurred by 10.8 ka. The other transect has higher elevation samples in a mid-deglaciation setting in the Pelly Mountains that indicate deglaciation occurred by 13.0 ka. Samples taken from high elevation and valley bottom sites close to accumulation zones of the Cassiar Lobe yielded ages of 13.6 and 11.0 ka, respectively. These results provide a chronology for the style of deglaciation interpreted from regional mapping throughout Yukon: gradual initial retreat and thinning marked by moraines, followed by

The ice nucleation temperature determines the primary drying rate of lyophilization for samples frozen on a temperature-controlled shelf.

PubMed

Searles, J A; Carpenter, J F; Randolph, T W

2001-07-01

The objective of this study was to determine the influence of ice nucleation temperature on the primary drying rate during lyophilization for samples in vials that were frozen on a lyophilizer shelf. Aqueous solutions of 10% (w/v) hydroxyethyl starch were frozen in vials with externally mounted thermocouples and then partially lyophilized to determine the primary drying rate. Low- and high-particulate-containing samples, ice-nucleating additives silver iodide and Pseudomonas syringae, and other methods were used to obtain a wide range of nucleation temperatures. In cases where the supercooling exceeded 5 degrees C, freezing took place in the following three steps: (1) primary nucleation, (2) secondary nucleation encompassing the entire liquid volume, and (3) final solidification. The primary drying rate was dependent on the ice nucleation temperature, which is stochastic in nature but is affected by particulate content and the presence of ice nucleators. Sample cooling rates of 0.05 to 1 degrees C/min had no effect on nucleation temperatures and drying rate. We found that the ice nucleation temperature is the primary determinant of the primary drying rate. However, the nucleation temperature is not under direct control, and its stochastic nature and sensitivity to difficult-to-control parameters result in drying rate heterogeneity. Nucleation temperature heterogeneity may also result in variation in other morphology-related parameters such as surface area and secondary drying rate. Overall, these results document that factors such as particulate content and vial condition, which influence ice nucleation temperature, must be carefully controlled to avoid, for example, lot-to-lot variability during cGMP production. In addition, if these factors are not controlled and/or are inadvertently changed during process development and scaleup, a lyophilization cycle that was successful on the research scale may fail during large-scale production.

Grain-size-induced weakening of H2O ices I and II and associated anisotropic recrystallization

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stern, L.A.; Durham, W.B.; Kirby, S.H.

1997-01-01

Grain-size-dependent flow mechanisms tend to be favored over dislocation creep at low differential stresses and can potentially influence the rheology of low-stress, low-strain rate environments such as those of planetary interiors. We experimentally investigated the effect of reduced grain size on the solid-state flow of water ice I, a principal component of the asthenospheres of many icy moons of the outer solar system, using techniques new to studies of this deformation regime. We fabricated fully dense ice samples of approximate grain size 2 ?? 1 ??m by transforming "standard" ice I samples of 250 ?? 50 ??m grain size to the higher-pressure phase ice II, deforming them in the ice II field, and then rapidly releasing the pressure deep into the ice I stability field. At T ??? 200 K, slow growth and rapid nucleation of ice I combine to produce a fine grain size. Constant-strain rate deformation tests conducted on these samples show that deformation rates are less stress sensitive than for standard ice and that the fine-grained material is markedly weaker than standard ice, particularly during the transient approach to steady state deformation. Scanning electron microscope examination of the deformed fine-grained ice samples revealed an unusual microstructure dominated by platelike grains that grew normal to the compression direction, with c axes preferentially oriented parallel to compression. In samples tested at T ??? 220 K the elongation of the grains is so pronounced that the samples appear finely banded, with aspect ratios of grains approaching 50:1. The anisotropic growth of these crystallographically oriented neoblasts likely contributes to progressive work hardening observed during the transient stage of deformation. We have also documented remarkably similar microstructural development and weak mechanical behavior in fine-grained ice samples partially transformed and deformed in the ice II field.

The growth process of first water layer and crystalline ice on the Rh(111) surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beniya, Atsushi; Sakaguchi, Yuji; Narushima, Tetsuya; Mukai, Kozo; Yamashita, Yoshiyuki; Yoshimoto, Shinya; Yoshinobu, Jun

2009-01-01

The adsorption states and growth process of the first layer and multilayer of water (D2O) on Rh(111) above 135K were investigated using infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRAS), temperature programed desorption, spot-profile-analysis low-energy electron diffraction, and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). At the initial stage, water molecules form commensurate (√3×√3)R30° islands, whose size is limited for several hexagonal units; the average diameter is ˜2.5nm. This two-dimensional (2D) island includes D-down species, and free OD species exist at the island edge. With increasing coverage, the D-up species starts to appear in IRAS. At higher coverages, the 2D islands are connected in STM images. By the titration of Xe adsorption we estimated that the D-down domain occupies about 55% on Rh(111) at the saturation coverage. Further adsorption of water molecules forms three-dimensional ice crystallites on the first water layer; thus, the growth mode of crystalline water layers on Rh(111) is a Stranski-Krastanov type. We have found that an ice crystallite starts to grow on D-down domains and the D-down species do not reorient upon the formation of a crystalline ice.

Identification of Plant Ice-binding Proteins Through Assessment of Ice-recrystallization Inhibition and Isolation Using Ice-affinity Purification.

PubMed

Bredow, Melissa; Tomalty, Heather E; Walker, Virginia K

2017-05-05

Ice-binding proteins (IBPs) belong to a family of stress-induced proteins that are synthesized by certain organisms exposed to subzero temperatures. In plants, freeze damage occurs when extracellular ice crystals grow, resulting in the rupture of plasma membranes and possible cell death. Adsorption of IBPs to ice crystals restricts further growth by a process known as ice-recrystallization inhibition (IRI), thereby reducing cellular damage. IBPs also demonstrate the ability to depress the freezing point of a solution below the equilibrium melting point, a property known as thermal hysteresis (TH) activity. These protective properties have raised interest in the identification of novel IBPs due to their potential use in industrial, medical and agricultural applications. This paper describes the identification of plant IBPs through 1) the induction and extraction of IBPs in plant tissue, 2) the screening of extracts for IRI activity, and 3) the isolation and purification of IBPs. Following the induction of IBPs by low temperature exposure, extracts are tested for IRI activity using a 'splat assay', which allows the observation of ice crystal growth using a standard light microscope. This assay requires a low protein concentration and generates results that are quickly obtained and easily interpreted, providing an initial screen for ice binding activity. IBPs can then be isolated from contaminating proteins by utilizing the property of IBPs to adsorb to ice, through a technique called 'ice-affinity purification'. Using cell lysates collected from plant extracts, an ice hemisphere can be slowly grown on a brass probe. This incorporates IBPs into the crystalline structure of the polycrystalline ice. Requiring no a priori biochemical or structural knowledge of the IBP, this method allows for recovery of active protein. Ice-purified protein fractions can be used for downstream applications including the identification of peptide sequences by mass spectrometry and the

Estimates of ikaite export from sea ice to the underlying seawater in a sea ice-seawater mesocosm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geilfus, Nicolas-Xavier; Galley, Ryan J.; Else, Brent G. T.; Campbell, Karley; Papakyriakou, Tim; Crabeck, Odile; Lemes, Marcos; Delille, Bruno; Rysgaard, Søren

2016-09-01

The precipitation of ikaite and its fate within sea ice is still poorly understood. We quantify temporal inorganic carbon dynamics in sea ice from initial formation to its melt in a sea ice-seawater mesocosm pool from 11 to 29 January 2013. Based on measurements of total alkalinity (TA) and total dissolved inorganic carbon (TCO2), the main processes affecting inorganic carbon dynamics within sea ice were ikaite precipitation and CO2 exchange with the atmosphere. In the underlying seawater, the dissolution of ikaite was the main process affecting inorganic carbon dynamics. Sea ice acted as an active layer, releasing CO2 to the atmosphere during the growth phase, taking up CO2 as it melted and exporting both ikaite and TCO2 into the underlying seawater during the whole experiment. Ikaite precipitation of up to 167 µmol kg-1 within sea ice was estimated, while its export and dissolution into the underlying seawater was responsible for a TA increase of 64-66 µmol kg-1 in the water column. The export of TCO2 from sea ice to the water column increased the underlying seawater TCO2 by 43.5 µmol kg-1, suggesting that almost all of the TCO2 that left the sea ice was exported to the underlying seawater. The export of ikaite from the ice to the underlying seawater was associated with brine rejection during sea ice growth, increased vertical connectivity in sea ice due to the upward percolation of seawater and meltwater flushing during sea ice melt. Based on the change in TA in the water column around the onset of sea ice melt, more than half of the total ikaite precipitated in the ice during sea ice growth was still contained in the ice when the sea ice began to melt. Ikaite crystal dissolution in the water column kept the seawater pCO2 undersaturated with respect to the atmosphere in spite of increased salinity, TA and TCO2 associated with sea ice growth. Results indicate that ikaite export from sea ice and its dissolution in the underlying seawater can potentially hamper

CO2 (dry ice) cleaning system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barnett, Donald M.

1995-01-01

components include: a dry ice pellet supply, a non-reactive propellant gas source, a pellet and propellant metering device, and a media transport and acceleration hose and nozzle arrangement. Dry ice cleaning system operating parameters include: choice of propellant gas, its pressure and temperature, dry ice mass flow rate, dry ice pellet size and shape, and acceleration nozzle configuration. These parameters may be modified to fit different applications. The growth of the dry ice cleaning industry will depend upon timely data acquisition of the effects that independent changes in these parameters have on cleaning rates, with respect to different surface coating and substrate combinations. With this data, optimization of cleaning rates for particular applications will be possible. The analysis of the applicable range of modulation of these parameters, within system component mechanical constraints, has just begun.

Local growth of dust- and ice-mixed aggregates as cometary building blocks in the solar nebula

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lorek, S.; Lacerda, P.; Blum, J.

2018-03-01

Context. Comet formation by gravitational instability requires aggregates that trigger the streaming instability and cluster in pebble-clouds. These aggregates form as mixtures of dust and ice from (sub-)micrometre-sized dust and ice grains via coagulation in the solar nebula. Aim. We investigate the growth of aggregates from (sub-)micrometre-sized dust and ice monomer grains. We are interested in the properties of these aggregates: whether they might trigger the streaming instability, how they compare to pebbles found on comets, and what the implications are for comet formation in collapsing pebble-clouds. Methods: We used Monte Carlo simulations to study the growth of aggregates through coagulation locally in the comet-forming region at 30 au. We used a collision model that can accommodate sticking, bouncing, fragmentation, and porosity of dust- and ice-mixed aggregates. We compared our results to measurements of pebbles on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Results: We find that aggregate growth becomes limited by radial drift towards the Sun for 1 μm sized monomers and by bouncing collisions for 0.1 μm sized monomers before the aggregates reach a Stokes number that would trigger the streaming instability (Stmin). We argue that in a bouncing-dominated system, aggregates can reach Stmin through compression in bouncing collisions if compression is faster than radial drift. In the comet-forming region ( 30 au), aggregates with Stmin have volume-filling factors of 10-2 and radii of a few millimetres. These sizes are comparable to the sizes of pebbles found on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The porosity of the aggregates formed in the solar nebula would imply that comets formed in pebble-clouds with masses equivalent to planetesimals of the order of 100 km in diameter.

Tree Survival and Growth Following Ice Storm Injury

Treesearch

Walter C. Shortle; Kevin T. Smith; Kenneth R. Dudzik

2003-01-01

Nearly 25 million acres of forest from northwestern New York and southern Quebec to the south-central Maine coast were coated with ice from a 3-day storm in early January 1998. This storm was unusual in its size and the duration of icing. Trees throughout the region were injured as branches and stems broke and forks split under the weight of the ice. These injuries...

Seasonal and Interannual Variations of Sea Ice Mass Balance From the Central Arctic to the Greenland Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lei, Ruibo; Cheng, Bin; Heil, Petra; Vihma, Timo; Wang, Jia; Ji, Qing; Zhang, Zhanhai

2018-04-01

The seasonal evolution of sea ice mass balance between the Central Arctic and Fram Strait, as well as the underlying driving forces, remain largely unknown because of a lack of observations. In this study, two and three buoys were deployed in the Central Arctic during the summers of 2010 and 2012, respectively. It was established that basal ice growth commenced between mid-October and early December. Annual basal ice growth, ranging from 0.21 to 1.14 m, was determined mainly by initial ice thickness, air temperature, and oceanic heat flux during winter. An analytic thermodynamic model indicated that climate warming reduces the winter growth rate of thin ice more than for thick ice because of the weak thermal inertia of the former. Oceanic heat flux during the freezing season was 2-4 W m-2, which accounted for 18-31% of the basal ice energy balance. We identified two mechanisms that modified the oceanic heat flux, i.e., solar energy absorbed by the upper ocean during summer, and interaction with warm waters south of Fram Strait; the latter resulted in basal ice melt, even in winter. In summer 2010, ice loss in the Central Arctic was considerable, which led to increased oceanic heat flux into winter and delayed ice growth. The Transpolar Drift Stream was relatively weak in summer 2013. This reduced sea ice advection out of the Arctic Ocean, and it restrained ice melt because of the cool atmospheric conditions, weakened albedo feedback, and relatively small oceanic heat flux in the north.

Quantifying model uncertainty in seasonal Arctic sea-ice forecasts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blanchard-Wrigglesworth, Edward; Barthélemy, Antoine; Chevallier, Matthieu; Cullather, Richard; Fučkar, Neven; Massonnet, François; Posey, Pamela; Wang, Wanqiu; Zhang, Jinlun; Ardilouze, Constantin; Bitz, Cecilia; Vernieres, Guillaume; Wallcraft, Alan; Wang, Muyin

2017-04-01

Dynamical model forecasts in the Sea Ice Outlook (SIO) of September Arctic sea-ice extent over the last decade have shown lower skill than that found in both idealized model experiments and hindcasts of previous decades. Additionally, it is unclear how different model physics, initial conditions or post-processing techniques contribute to SIO forecast uncertainty. In this work, we have produced a seasonal forecast of 2015 Arctic summer sea ice using SIO dynamical models initialized with identical sea-ice thickness in the central Arctic. Our goals are to calculate the relative contribution of model uncertainty and irreducible error growth to forecast uncertainty and assess the importance of post-processing, and to contrast pan-Arctic forecast uncertainty with regional forecast uncertainty. We find that prior to forecast post-processing, model uncertainty is the main contributor to forecast uncertainty, whereas after forecast post-processing forecast uncertainty is reduced overall, model uncertainty is reduced by an order of magnitude, and irreducible error growth becomes the main contributor to forecast uncertainty. While all models generally agree in their post-processed forecasts of September sea-ice volume and extent, this is not the case for sea-ice concentration. Additionally, forecast uncertainty of sea-ice thickness grows at a much higher rate along Arctic coastlines relative to the central Arctic ocean. Potential ways of offering spatial forecast information based on the timescale over which the forecast signal beats the noise are also explored.

Low post-glacial rebound rates in the Weddell Sea due to Late Holocene ice-sheet readvance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bradley, Sarah L.; Hindmarsh, Richard C. A.; Whitehouse, Pippa; Bentley, Michael J.; King, Matt

2014-05-01

The Holocene deglaciation of West Antarctica resulted in widespread ice surface lowering. While many ice-sheet reconstructions generally assume a monotone Holocene retreat for the West Antarctica Ice sheet (WAIS) [Ivins et al., 2013; Peltier, 2004; Whitehouse et al., 2012], an increasing number of glaciological observations infer it is readvancing, following retreat behind the present-day margin[Siegert et al., 2013]. We will show that a readvance in the Weddell Sea region can reconcile two outstanding problems: (i) the present-day widespread occurrence of seemingly stable ice-streams grounded on beds that deepen inland in apparent contradiction to theory [Schoof, 2007]; and (ii) the inability of models of Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA) to match present-day uplift rates [Whitehouse et al., 2012]. Combining a suite of ice loading histories that include a readvance with a model of GIA provides significant improvements to predictions of present-day uplift rates, and we are able to reproduce previously unexplained observations of subsidence in the southern sector of the Weddell Sea. We hypothesize that retreat behind present grounding lines occurred when the bed was lower, and isostatic recovery led to shallowing, ice sheet re-grounding and readvance. We will conclude that some sections of the current WAIS grounding line that are theoretically unstable, may be advancing and that the volume change of the WAIS may have been more complex in the Late Holocene than previously posited. This revised Holocene ice-loading history would have important implications for the GIA correction applied to Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) data, likely resulting in a reduction in the GIA correction and a smaller estimate of present-day ice mass loss within the Weddell Sea region of the WAIS. Ivins, E. R., T. S. James, J. Wahr, E. J. O. Schrama, F. W. Landerer, and K. M. Simon (2013), Antarctic contribution to sea level rise observed by GRACE with improved GIA correction

Ice Processes and Growth History on Arctic and Sub-Arctic Lakes Using ERS-1 SAR Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morris, K.; Jeffries, M. O.; Weeks, W. F.

1995-01-01

A survey of ice growth and decay processes on a selection of shallow and deep sub-Arctic and Arctic lakes was conducted using radiometrically calibrated ERS-1 SAR images. Time series of radar backscatter data were compiled for selected sites on the lakes during the period ot ice cover (September to June) for the years 1991-1992 and 1992-1993. A variety of lake-ice processes could be observed, and significant changes in backscatter occurred from the time of initial ice formation in autumn until the onset of the spring thaw. Backscatter also varied according to the location and depth of the lakes. The spatial and temporal changes in backscatter were most constant and predictable at the shallow lakes on the North Slope of Alaska. As a consequence, they represent the most promising sites for long-term monitoring and the detection of changes related to global warming and its effects on the polar regions.

Landforms, sediments and dates to constrain rates and style of marine-influenced ice sheet decay; the BRITICE-CHRONO project.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clark, Chris

2014-05-01

Uncertainty exists regarding the future mass of the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets and how they will respond to forcings from sea level, and atmospheric and ocean temperatures. If we want to know more about the mechanisms and rate of change of shrinking ice sheets, then why not examine an ice sheet that has fully disappeared and track its retreat through time? If achieved in enough detail such information on ice retreat could be a data-rich playground for improving the next breed of numerical ice sheet models to be used in ice and sea level forecasting. We regard that the last British-Irish Ice Sheet is a good target for this work, on account of its small size, density of information and with its numerous researchers already investigating it. Geomorphological mapping across the British Isles and the surrounding continental shelf has revealed the nature and distribution of glacial landforms. Here we demonstrate how such data have been used to build a pattern of ice margin retreat. The BRITICE-CHRONO consortium of Quaternary scientists and glaciologists, are now working on a project running from 2012 - 2017 to produce an ice sheet wide database of geochronometric dates to constrain and then understand ice margin retreat. This is being achieved by focusing on 8 transects running from the continental shelf edge to a short distance (10s km) onshore and acquiring marine and terrestrial samples for geochronometric dating. The project includes funding for 587 radiocarbon, 140 OSL and 158 TCN samples for surface exposure dating; with sampling accomplished by two research cruises and 16 fieldwork campaigns. Results will reveal the timing and rate of change of ice margin recession for each transect, and combined with existing landform and dating databases, will be used to build an ice sheet-wide empirical reconstruction of retreat. Simulations using two numerical ice sheet models, fitted against the margin data, will help us understand the nature and significance of sea

The Unexpected Re-Growth of Ice-Entombed Bryophytes in the Canadian High Arctic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

La Farge, C.

2014-12-01

The rapid retreat of glaciers and ice caps throughout the Canadian Arctic is exposing pristine vegetation preserved beneath cold-based ice. For the past half century this vegetation has been consistently reported as dead. This interpretation has been overturned by the successful re-growth of Little Ice Age (1550-1850 AD) bryophytes emerging from the Teardrop Glacier, Sverdrup Pass, Ellesmere Island (79° N) collected in 2009. Some populations showed regeneration in the field and lab experiments confirmed their capacity to regrow. The species richness of these subglacial populations is exceptional, comprising >62 species that represent 44% of the extant bryophyte flora of Sverdrup Pass. Cold-based glaciers are known to provide critical habitats for a variety of microbiota (i.e., fungi, algae, cyanobacteria, bacteria and viruses) in high latitude ecosystems. The regeneration of Little Ice Age bryophytes fundamentally expands the concept of biological refugia to land plants that was previously restricted to survival above and beyond glacial margins. Given this novel understanding of subglacial ecosystems, fieldwork is now being extended southward to plateau ice caps on Baffin Island, Nunavut, where ice retreat is exposing subglacial populations of greater antiquity (thousands to tens of thousands of radiocarbon years before present). Bryophytes by nature are totipotent (stem cell equivalency) and poikilohydric (desiccation tolerance), which facilitate their unique adaptation to extreme environments. Continuity of the Arctic bryophyte flora extends back through the Holocene to the late Tertiary [Beaufort Fm, 2-5 Ma], when the majority of taxa were the same, based on records spanning the archipelago from Ellesmere to Banks Island. This record contrasts with that of vascular plants, which have had a number of extinctions, necessitating recolonization of arctic populations from outside the region. The biological significance of a stable bryophyte element highlights their

The response of Antarctic sea ice algae to changes in pH and CO2.

PubMed

McMinn, Andrew; Müller, Marius N; Martin, Andrew; Ryan, Ken G

2014-01-01

Ocean acidification substantially alters ocean carbon chemistry and hence pH but the effects on sea ice formation and the CO2 concentration in the enclosed brine channels are unknown. Microbial communities inhabiting sea ice ecosystems currently contribute 10-50% of the annual primary production of polar seas, supporting overwintering zooplankton species, especially Antarctic krill, and seeding spring phytoplankton blooms. Ocean acidification is occurring in all surface waters but the strongest effects will be experienced in polar ecosystems with significant effects on all trophic levels. Brine algae collected from McMurdo Sound (Antarctica) sea ice was incubated in situ under various carbonate chemistry conditions. The carbon chemistry was manipulated with acid, bicarbonate and bases to produce a pCO2 and pH range from 238 to 6066 µatm and 7.19 to 8.66, respectively. Elevated pCO2 positively affected the growth rate of the brine algal community, dominated by the unique ice dinoflagellate, Polarella glacialis. Growth rates were significantly reduced when pH dropped below 7.6. However, when the pH was held constant and the pCO2 increased, growth rates of the brine algae increased by more than 20% and showed no decline at pCO2 values more than five times current ambient levels. We suggest that projected increases in seawater pCO2, associated with OA, will not adversely impact brine algal communities.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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.

Developing a bubble number-density paleoclimatic indicator for glacier ice

USGS Publications Warehouse

Spencer, M.K.; Alley, R.B.; Fitzpatrick, J.J.

2006-01-01

Past accumulation rate can be estimated from the measured number-density of bubbles in an ice core and the reconstructed paleotemperature, using a new technique. Density increase and grain growth in polar firn are both controlled by temperature and accumulation rate, and the integrated effects are recorded in the number-density of bubbles as the firn changes to ice. An empirical model of these processes, optimized to fit published data on recently formed bubbles, reconstructs accumulation rates using recent temperatures with an uncertainty of 41% (P < 0.05). For modern sites considered here, no statistically significant trend exists between mean annual temperature and the ratio of bubble number-density to grain number-density at the time of pore close-off; optimum modeled accumulation-rate estimates require an eventual ???2.02 ?? 0.08 (P < 0.05) bubbles per close-off grain. Bubble number-density in the GRIP (Greenland) ice core is qualitatively consistent with independent estimates for a combined temperature decrease and accumulation-rate increase there during the last 5 kyr.

Rheology of ice I at low stress and elevated confining pressure

USGS Publications Warehouse

Durham, W.B.; Stern, L.A.; Kirby, S.H.

2001-01-01

Triaxial compression testing of pure, polycrystalline water ice I at conditions relevant to planetary interiors and near-surface environments (differential stresses 0.45 to 10 MPa, temperatures 200 to 250 K, confining pressure 50 MPa) reveals that a complex variety of rheologies and grain structures may exist for ice and that rheology of ice appears to depend strongly on the grain structures. The creep of polycrystalline ice I with average grain size of 0.25 mm and larger is consistent with previously published dislocation creep laws, which are now extended to strain rates as low as 2 ?? 10-8s-1. When ice I is reduced to very fine and uniform grain size by rapid pressure release from the ice II stability field, the rheology changes dramatically. At 200 and 220 K the rheology matches the grain-size-sensitive rheology measured by Goldsby and Kohlstedt [1997, this issue] at 1 atm. This finding dispels concerns that the Goldsby and Kohlstedt results were influenced by mechanisms such as microfracturing and cavitation, processes not expected to operate at elevated pressures in planetary interiors. At 233 K and above, grain growth causes the fine-grained ice to become more creep resistant. Scanning electron microscopy investigation of some of these deformed samples shows that grains have markedly coarsened and the strain hardening can be modeled by normal grain growth and the Goldsby and Kohlstedt rheology. Several samples also displayed very heterogeneous grain sizes and high aspect ratio grain shapes. Grain-size-sensitive creep and dislocation creep coincidentally contribute roughly equal amounts of strain rate at conditions of stress, temperature, and grain size that are typical of terrestrial and planetary settings, so modeling ice dynamics in these settings must include both mechanisms. Copyright 2001 by the American Geophysical Union.

Arctic ice cover, ice thickness and tipping points.

PubMed

Wadhams, Peter

2012-02-01

We summarize the latest results on the rapid changes that are occurring to Arctic sea ice thickness and extent, the reasons for them, and the methods being used to monitor the changing ice thickness. Arctic sea ice extent had been shrinking at a relatively modest rate of 3-4% per decade (annually averaged) but after 1996 this speeded up to 10% per decade and in summer 2007 there was a massive collapse of ice extent to a new record minimum of only 4.1 million km(2). Thickness has been falling at a more rapid rate (43% in the 25 years from the early 1970s to late 1990s) with a specially rapid loss of mass from pressure ridges. The summer 2007 event may have arisen from an interaction between the long-term retreat and more rapid thinning rates. We review thickness monitoring techniques that show the greatest promise on different spatial and temporal scales, and for different purposes. We show results from some recent work from submarines, and speculate that the trends towards retreat and thinning will inevitably lead to an eventual loss of all ice in summer, which can be described as a 'tipping point' in that the former situation, of an Arctic covered with mainly multi-year ice, cannot be retrieved.

Growth rate and size effect on carbon isotopic fractionation in diatom-bound organic matter in recent Southern Ocean sediments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stoll, Heather M.; Mendez-Vicente, Ana; Abrevaya, Lorena; Anderson, Robert F.; Rigual-Hernández, Andrés S.; Gonzalez-Lemos, Saul

2017-01-01

equilibrium with the Holocene ice core atmospheric CO2 concentrations, we quantify this growth rate effect and document that it is strongly correlated with indicators of trace metal supply, such as frustule Zn content, as well as indicators of diatom productivity such as opal % and opal accumulation rates in sediments and sediment traps. These relationships may be applied to constrain the effect of growth rate variations on εp and more accurately derive CO2 variations from εp during periods prior to ice core CO2 proxy records.

The De-Icing Comparison Experiment (D-ICE): A campaign for improving data retention rates of radiometric measurements under icing conditions in cold regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cox, C. J.; Morris, S. M.

2017-12-01

Longwave and shortwave radiative fluxes are fundamental quantities regularly observed globally using broadband radiometers. In cold climates, frost, rime, snow and ice (collectively, "icing") frequently builds up on sensor windows, contaminating measurements. Since icing occurs under particular meteorological conditions, associated data losses constitutes a climatological bias. Furthermore, the signal caused by ice is difficult to distinguish from that of clouds, hampering efforts to identify contaminated from real data in post-processing. Because of the sensitivity of radiometers to internal temperature instabilities, there are limitations to using heat as a de-icing method. The magnitude of this problem is indicated by the large number of research institutions and commercial vendors that have developed various de-icing strategies. The D-ICE campaign has been designed to bring together a large number of currently available systems to quantitatively evaluate and compare ice-migration strategies and also to characterize the potentially adverse effects of the techniques themselves. For D-ICE, a variety of automated approaches making use of ventilation, heating, modified housings and alcohol spray are being evaluated alongside standard units operating with only the regularly scheduled manual cleaning by human operators at the NOAA Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) station in Utqiaġvik (formerly Barrow), Alaska. Previous experience within the BSRN community suggests that aspiration of ambient air alone may be sufficient to maintain ice-free radiometers without increasing measurement uncertainty during icing conditions, forming the main guiding hypothesis of the experiment. Icing on the sensors is monitored visually using cameras recording images every 15 minutes and quantitatively using an icing probe and met station. The effects of applied heat on infrared loss in pyranometers will be analyzed and the integrated effect of icing on monthly averages will be

Ice and anti-nucleating activities of an ice-binding protein from the annual grass, Brachypodium distachyon.

PubMed

Bredow, Melissa; Tomalty, Heather E; Smith, Lindsay; Walker, Virginia K

2018-05-01

Plants exposed to sub-zero temperatures face unique challenges that threaten their survival. The growth of ice crystals in the extracellular space can cause cellular dehydration, plasma membrane rupture and eventual cell death. Additionally, some pathogenic bacteria cause tissue damage by initiating ice crystal growth at high sub-zero temperatures through the use of ice-nucleating proteins (INPs), presumably to access nutrients from lysed cells. An annual species of brome grass, Brachypodium distachyon (Bd), produces an ice-binding protein (IBP) that shapes ice with a modest depression of the freezing point (~0.1 °C at 1 mg/mL), but high ice-recrystallization inhibition (IRI) activity, allowing ice crystals to remain small at near melting temperatures. This IBP, known as BdIRI, is unlike other characterized IBPs with a single ice-binding face, as mutational analysis indicates that BdIRI adsorbs to ice on two faces. BdIRI also dramatically attenuates the nucleation of ice by bacterial INPs (up to -2.26 °C). This 'anti-nucleating' activity is significantly higher than previously documented for any IBP. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Ice shelf melt rates in Greenland and Antarctica using time-tagged digital imagery from World View and TanDEM-X

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Charolais, A.; Rignot, E. J.; Milillo, P.; Scheuchl, B.; Mouginot, J.

2017-12-01

The floating extensions of glaciers, or ice shelves, melt vigorously in contact with ocean waters. Melt is non uniform, with the highest melt taking place in the deepest part of the cavity, where thermal forcing is the greatest because of 1) the pressure dependence of the freezing point of the seawater/ice mixture and 2) subglacial water injects fresh, buoyant, cold melt water to fuel stronger ice-ocean interactions. Melt also forms along preferential channels, which are not stationary, and create lines of weakness in the shelf. Ice shelf melt rates have been successfully measured from space over the entire Antarctic continent and on the ice shelves in Greenland using an Eulerian approach that combines ice thickness, ice velocity vectors, surface mass balance data, and measurements of ice thinning rates. The Eulerian approach is limited by the precision of the thickness gradients, typically of a few km, and requires significant spatial averaging to remove advection effects. A Lagrangian approach has been shown to be robust to advection effects and provides higher resolution details. We implemented a Lagrangian methodology for time-tagged World View DEMs by the Polar Geoscience Center (PGS) at the University of Minnesota and time-tagged TanDEM-X DEMs separated by one year. We derive melt rates on a 300-m grid with a precision of a few m/yr. Melt is strongest along grounding lines and along preferred channels. Channels are non-stationary because melt is not the same on opposite sides of the channels. Examining time series of data and comparing with the time-dependent grounding line positions inferred from satellite radar interferometry, we evaluate the magnitude of melt near the grounding line and even within the grounding zone. A non-zero melt rate in the grounding zone has vast implications for ice sheet modeling. This work is funded by a grant from NASA Cryosphere Program.

Evaporation of ice in planetary atmospheres: Ice-covered rivers on Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wallace, D.; Sagan, C.

1978-01-01

The evaporation rate of water ice on the surface of a planet with an atmosphere involves an equilibrium between solar heating and radiative and evaporative cooling of the ice layer. The thickness of the ice is governed principally by the solar flux which penetrates the ice layer and then is conducted back to the surface. Evaporation from the surface is governed by wind and free convection. In the absence of wind, eddy diffusion is caused by the lower density of water vapor in comparison to the density of the Martian atmosphere. For mean martian insolations, the evaporation rate above the ice is approximately 10 to the minus 8th power gm/sq cm/s. Evaporation rates are calculated for a wide range of frictional velocities, atmospheric pressures, and insolations and it seems clear that at least some subset of observed Martian channels may have formed as ice-chocked rivers. Typical equilibrium thicknesses of such ice covers are approximately 10m to 30 m; typical surface temperatures are 210 to 235 K.

Under-ice melt ponds in the Arctic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Naomi; Flocco, Daniela; Feltham, Daniel

2017-04-01

In the summer months, melt water from the surface of the Arctic sea ice can percolate down through the ice and flow out of its base. This water is relatively warm and fresh compared to the ocean water beneath it, and so it floats between the ice and the oceanic mixed layer, forming pools of melt water called under-ice melt ponds. Double diffusion can lead to the formation of a sheet of ice, which is called a false bottom, at the interface between the fresh water and the ocean. These false bottoms isolate under-ice melt ponds from the ocean below, trapping the fresh water against the sea ice. These ponds and false bottoms have been estimated to cover between 5 and 40% of the base of the sea ice. [Notz et al. Journal of Geophysical Research 2003] We have developed a one-dimensional thermodynamic model of sea ice underlain by an under-ice melt pond and false bottom. Not only has this allowed us to simulate the evolution of under-ice melt ponds over time, identifying an alternative outcome than previously observed in the field, but sensitivity studies have helped us to estimate the impact that these pools of fresh water have on the mass-balance sea ice. We have also found evidence of a possible positive feedback cycle whereby increasingly less ice growth is seen due to the presence of under-ice melt ponds as the Arctic warms. Since the rate of basal ablation is affected by these phenomena, their presence alters the salt and freshwater fluxes from the sea ice into the ocean. We have coupled our under-ice melt pond model to a simple model of the oceanic mixed layer to determine how this affects mixed layer properties such as temperature, salinity, and depth. In turn, this changes the oceanic forcing reaching the sea ice.

A molecular model for ice nucleation and growth, attachment 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Plummer, P. L. M.

1981-01-01

The quantum mechanical technique is used to study ionic, configurational, and impurity defects in the ice surface. In addition to static calculations of the energetics of the water monomer-ice surface interactions, molecular dynamics studies were initiated. The calculations of the monomer-ice surface interaction, molecular dynamics studies were initiated. The calculations of monomer-ice surface interactions indicate that many adsorption sites exist on the ice surfaces and that the barriers between bonding sites are relatively low. Bonding on the prism face of ice is preferentially above lattice sites.

Climatology of the Arctic Sea Ice Thickness Distribution as a Stochastic Process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Toppaladoddi, S.; Wettlaufer, J. S.

2016-12-01

We study the seasonal changes in the thickness distribution of Arctic sea ice, g(h), under climate forcing. Our analytical and numerical approach is based on a Fokker-Planck equation for g(h) (Toppaladoddi & Wettlaufer Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 148501, 2015), in which the thermodynamic growth rates are determined using observed climatology. In particular, the Fokker-Planck equation is coupled to the observationally consistent thermodynamic model of Eisenman & Wettlaufer (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 106, pp. 28-32, 2009). We find that due to the combined effects of thermodynamics and mechanics, g(h) spreads during winter and contracts during summer. This behavior is in agreement with recent satellite observations from CryoSat-2 (Kwok & Cunningham, Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 373, 20140157, 2015). Because g(h) is a probability density function, we quantify all of the key moments (e.g., mean thickness, fraction of thin/thick ice, mean albedo, relaxation time scales) as greenhouse-gas radiative forcing, ΔF0, increases. The mean ice thickness decays exponentially with ΔF0, but much slower than do solely thermodynamic models. This exhibits the crucial role that ice mechanics plays in maintaining the ice cover, by redistributing thin ice to thick ice-far more rapidly than can thermal growth alone.

Statistical Mechanics and the Climatology of the Arctic Sea Ice Thickness Distribution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Toppaladoddi, Srikanth; Wettlaufer, J. S.

2017-05-01

We study the seasonal changes in the thickness distribution of Arctic sea ice, g( h), under climate forcing. Our analytical and numerical approach is based on a Fokker-Planck equation for g( h) (Toppaladoddi and Wettlaufer in Phys Rev Lett 115(14):148501, 2015), in which the thermodynamic growth rates are determined using observed climatology. In particular, the Fokker-Planck equation is coupled to the observationally consistent thermodynamic model of Eisenman and Wettlaufer (Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 106:28-32, 2009). We find that due to the combined effects of thermodynamics and mechanics, g( h) spreads during winter and contracts during summer. This behavior is in agreement with recent satellite observations from CryoSat-2 (Kwok and Cunningham in Philos Trans R Soc A 373(2045):20140157, 2015). Because g( h) is a probability density function, we quantify all of the key moments (e.g., mean thickness, fraction of thin/thick ice, mean albedo, relaxation time scales) as greenhouse-gas radiative forcing, Δ F_0, increases. The mean ice thickness decays exponentially with Δ F_0, but much slower than do solely thermodynamic models. This exhibits the crucial role that ice mechanics plays in maintaining the ice cover, by redistributing thin ice to thick ice-far more rapidly than can thermal growth alone.

Explicit simulation of ice particle habits in a Numerical Weather Prediction Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hashino, Tempei

2007-05-01

This study developed a scheme for explicit simulation of ice particle habits in Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) Models. The scheme is called Spectral Ice Habit Prediction System (SHIPS), and the goal is to retain growth history of ice particles in the Eulerian dynamics framework. It diagnoses characteristics of ice particles based on a series of particle property variables (PPVs) that reflect history of microphysieal processes and the transport between mass bins and air parcels in space. Therefore, categorization of ice particles typically used in bulk microphysical parameterization and traditional bin models is not necessary, so that errors that stem from the categorization can be avoided. SHIPS predicts polycrystals as well as hexagonal monocrystals based on empirically derived habit frequency and growth rate, and simulates the habit-dependent aggregation and riming processes by use of the stochastic collection equation with predicted PPVs. Idealized two dimensional simulations were performed with SHIPS in a NWP model. The predicted spatial distribution of ice particle habits and types, and evolution of particle size distributions showed good quantitative agreement with observation This comprehensive model of ice particle properties, distributions, and evolution in clouds can be used to better understand problems facing wide range of research disciplines, including microphysics processes, radiative transfer in a cloudy atmosphere, data assimilation, and weather modification.

Reviews and syntheses: Ice acidification, the effects of ocean acidification on sea ice microbial communities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McMinn, Andrew

2017-09-01

Sea ice algae, like some coastal and estuarine phytoplankton, are naturally exposed to a wider range of pH and CO2 concentrations than those in open marine seas. While climate change and ocean acidification (OA) will impact pelagic communities, their effects on sea ice microbial communities remain unclear. Sea ice contains several distinct microbial communities, which are exposed to differing environmental conditions depending on their depth within the ice. Bottom communities mostly experience relatively benign bulk ocean properties, while interior brine and surface (infiltration) communities experience much greater extremes. Most OA studies have examined the impacts on single sea ice algae species in culture. Although some studies examined the effects of OA alone, most examined the effects of OA and either light, nutrients or temperature. With few exceptions, increased CO2 concentration caused either no change or an increase in growth and/or photosynthesis. In situ studies on brine and surface algae also demonstrated a wide tolerance to increased and decreased pH and showed increased growth at higher CO2 concentrations. The short time period of most experiments (< 10 days), together with limited genetic diversity (i.e. use of only a single strain), however, has been identified as a limitation to a broader interpretation of the results. While there have been few studies on the effects of OA on the growth of marine bacterial communities in general, impacts appear to be minimal. In sea ice also, the few reports available suggest no negative impacts on bacterial growth or community richness. Sea ice ecosystems are ephemeral, melting and re-forming each year. Thus, for some part of each year organisms inhabiting the ice must also survive outside of the ice, either as part of the phytoplankton or as resting spores on the bottom. During these times, they will be exposed to the full range of co-stressors that pelagic organisms experience. Their ability to continue to make

Ice Surfaces.

PubMed

Shultz, Mary Jane

2017-05-05

Ice is a fundamental solid with important environmental, biological, geological, and extraterrestrial impact. The stable form of ice at atmospheric pressure is hexagonal ice, I h . Despite its prevalence, I h remains an enigmatic solid, in part due to challenges in preparing samples for fundamental studies. Surfaces of ice present even greater challenges. Recently developed methods for preparation of large single-crystal samples make it possible to reproducibly prepare any chosen face to address numerous fundamental questions. This review describes preparation methods along with results that firmly establish the connection between the macroscopic structure (observed in snowflakes, microcrystallites, or etch pits) and the molecular-level configuration (detected with X-ray or electron scattering techniques). Selected results of probing interactions at the ice surface, including growth from the melt, surface vibrations, and characterization of the quasi-liquid layer, are discussed.

Application of a Snow Growth Model to Radar Remote Sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Erfani, E.; Mitchell, D. L.

2014-12-01

Microphysical growth processes of diffusion, aggregation and riming are incorporated analytically in a steady-state snow growth model (SGM) to solve the zeroth- and second- moment conservation equations with respect to mass. The SGM is initiated by radar reflectivity (Zw), supersaturation, temperature, and a vertical profile of the liquid water content (LWC), and it uses a gamma size distribution (SD) to predict the vertical evolution of size spectra. Aggregation seems to play an important role in the evolution of snowfall rates and the snowfall rates produced by aggregation, diffusion and riming are considerably greater than those produced by diffusion and riming alone, demonstrating the strong interaction between aggregation and riming. The impact of ice particle shape on particle growth rates and fall speeds is represented in the SGM in terms of ice particle mass-dimension (m-D) power laws (m = αDβ). These growth rates are qualitatively consistent with empirical growth rates, with slower (faster) growth rates predicted for higher (lower) β values. In most models, β is treated constant for a given ice particle habit, but it is well known that β is larger for the smaller crystals. Our recent work quantitatively calculates β and α for cirrus clouds as a function of D where the m-D expression is a second-order polynomial in log-log space. By adapting this method to the SGM, the ice particle growth rates and fall speeds are predicted more accurately. Moreover, the size spectra predicted by the SGM are in good agreement with those from aircraft measurements during Lagrangian spiral descents through frontal clouds, indicating the successful modeling of microphysical processes. Since the lowest Zw over complex topography is often significantly above cloud base, the precipitation is often underestimated by radar quantitative precipitation estimates (QPE). Our SGM is capable of being initialized with Zw at the lowest reliable radar echo and consequently improves

Estimating the rates of mass change, ice volume change and snow volume change in Greenland from ICESat and GRACE data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Slobbe, D. C.; Ditmar, P.; Lindenbergh, R. C.

2009-01-01

The focus of this paper is on the quantification of ongoing mass and volume changes over the Greenland ice sheet. For that purpose, we used elevation changes derived from the Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) laser altimetry mission and monthly variations of the Earth's gravity field as observed by the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission. Based on a stand alone processing scheme of ICESat data, the most probable estimate of the mass change rate from 2003 February to 2007 April equals -139 +/- 68 Gtonyr-1. Here, we used a density of 600+/-300 kgm-3 to convert the estimated elevation change rate in the region above 2000m into a mass change rate. For the region below 2000m, we used a density of 900+/-300 kgm-3. Based on GRACE gravity models from half 2002 to half 2007 as processed by CNES, CSR, DEOS and GFZ, the estimated mass change rate for the whole of Greenland ranges between -128 and -218Gtonyr-1. Most GRACE solutions show much stronger mass losses as obtained with ICESat, which might be related to a local undersampling of the mass loss by ICESat and uncertainties in the used snow/ice densities. To solve the problem of uncertainties in the snow and ice densities, two independent joint inversion concepts are proposed to profit from both GRACE and ICESat observations simultaneously. The first concept, developed to reduce the uncertainty of the mass change rate, estimates this rate in combination with an effective snow/ice density. However, it turns out that the uncertainties are not reduced, which is probably caused by the unrealistic assumption that the effective density is constant in space and time. The second concept is designed to convert GRACE and ICESat data into two totally new products: variations of ice volume and variations of snow volume separately. Such an approach is expected to lead to new insights in ongoing mass change processes over the Greenland ice sheet. Our results show for different GRACE solutions a snow

Bacterial ice crystal controlling proteins.

PubMed

Lorv, Janet S H; Rose, David R; Glick, Bernard R

2014-01-01

Across the world, many ice active bacteria utilize ice crystal controlling proteins for aid in freezing tolerance at subzero temperatures. Ice crystal controlling proteins include both antifreeze and ice nucleation proteins. Antifreeze proteins minimize freezing damage by inhibiting growth of large ice crystals, while ice nucleation proteins induce formation of embryonic ice crystals. Although both protein classes have differing functions, these proteins use the same ice binding mechanisms. Rather than direct binding, it is probable that these protein classes create an ice surface prior to ice crystal surface adsorption. Function is differentiated by molecular size of the protein. This paper reviews the similar and different aspects of bacterial antifreeze and ice nucleation proteins, the role of these proteins in freezing tolerance, prevalence of these proteins in psychrophiles, and current mechanisms of protein-ice interactions.

A Bayesian hierarchical model of Antarctic fur seal foraging and pup growth related to sea ice and prey abundance.

PubMed

Hiruki-Raring, Lisa M; Ver Hoef, Jay M; Boveng, Peter L; Bengtson, John L

2012-03-01

We created a Bayesian hierarchical model (BHM) to investigate ecosystem relationships between the physical ecosystem (sea ice extent), a prey measure (krill density), predator behaviors (diving and foraging effort of female Antarctic fur seals, Arctocephalus gazella, with pups) and predator characteristics (mass of maternal fur seals and pups). We collected data on Antarctic fur seals from 1987/1988 to 1994/1995 at Seal Island, Antarctica. The BHM allowed us to link together predators and prey into a model that uses all the data efficiently and accounts for major sources of uncertainty. Based on the literature, we made hypotheses about the relationships in the model, which we compared with the model outcome after fitting the BHM. For each BHM parameter, we calculated the mean of the posterior density and the 95% credible interval. Our model confirmed others' findings that increased sea ice was related to increased krill density. Higher krill density led to reduced dive intensity of maternal fur seals, as measured by dive depth and duration, and to less time spent foraging by maternal fur seals. Heavier maternal fur seals and lower maternal foraging effort resulted in heavier pups at 22 d. No relationship was found between krill density and maternal mass, or between maternal mass and foraging effort on pup growth rates between 22 and 85 days of age. Maternal mass may have reflected environmental conditions prior to the pup provisioning season, rather than summer prey densities. Maternal mass and foraging effort were not related to pup growth rates between 22 and 85 d, possibly indicating that food was not limiting, food sources other than krill were being used, or differences occurred before pups reached age 22 d.

Local order parameters for use in driving homogeneous ice nucleation with all-atom models of water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reinhardt, Aleks; Doye, Jonathan P. K.; Noya, Eva G.; Vega, Carlos

2012-11-01

We present a local order parameter based on the standard Steinhardt-Ten Wolde approach that is capable both of tracking and of driving homogeneous ice nucleation in simulations of all-atom models of water. We demonstrate that it is capable of forcing the growth of ice nuclei in supercooled liquid water simulated using the TIP4P/2005 model using over-biassed umbrella sampling Monte Carlo simulations. However, even with such an order parameter, the dynamics of ice growth in deeply supercooled liquid water in all-atom models of water are shown to be very slow, and so the computation of free energy landscapes and nucleation rates remains extremely challenging.

Control of Growth Rate by Initial Substrate Concentration at Values Below Maximum Rate

PubMed Central

Gaudy, Anthony F.; Obayashi, Alan; Gaudy, Elizabeth T.

1971-01-01

The hyperbolic relationship between specific growth rate, μ, and substrate concentration, proposed by Monod and used since as the basis for the theory of steady-state growth in continuous-flow systems, was tested experimentally in batch cultures. Use of a Flavobacterium sp. exhibiting a high saturation constant for growth in glucose minimal medium allowed direct measurement of growth rate and substrate concentration throughout the growth cycle in medium containing a rate-limiting initial concentration of glucose. Specific growth rates were also measured for a wide range of initial glucose concentrations. A plot of specific growth rate versus initial substrate concentration was found to fit the hyperbolic equation. However, the instantaneous relationship between specific growth rate and substrate concentration during growth, which is stated by the equation, was not observed. Well defined exponential growth phases were developed at initial substrate concentrations below that required for support of the maximum exponential growth rate and a constant doubling time was maintained until 50% of the substrate had been used. It is suggested that the external substrate concentration initially present “sets” the specific growth rate by establishing a steady-state internal concentration of substrate, possibly through control of the number of permeation sites. PMID:5137579

Mechanical sea-ice strength parameterized as a function of ice temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hata, Yukie; Tremblay, Bruno

2016-04-01

Mechanical sea-ice strength is key for a better simulation of the timing of landlock ice onset and break-up in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA). We estimate the mechanical strength of sea ice in the CAA by analyzing the position record measured by the several buoys deployed in the CAA between 2008 and 2013, and wind data from the Canadian Meteorological Centre's Global Deterministic Prediction System (CMC_GDPS) REforecasts (CGRF). First, we calculate the total force acting on the ice using the wind data. Next, we estimate upper (lower) bounds on the sea-ice strength by identifying cases when the sea ice deforms (does not deform) under the action of a given total force. Results from this analysis show that the ice strength of landlock sea ice in the CAA is approximately 40 kN/m on the landfast ice onset (in ice growth season). Additionally, it becomes approximately 10 kN/m on the landfast ice break-up (in melting season). The ice strength decreases with ice temperature increase, which is in accord with results from Johnston [2006]. We also include this new parametrization of sea-ice strength as a function of ice temperature in a coupled slab ocean sea ice model. The results from the model with and without the new parametrization are compared with the buoy data from the International Arctic Buoy Program (IABP).

Optical-cell evidence for superheated ice under gas-hydrate-forming conditions

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stern, L.A.; Hogenboom, D.L.; Durham, W.B.; Kirby, S.H.; Chou, I.-Ming

1998-01-01

We previously reported indirect but compelling evidence that fine-grained H2O ice under elevated CH4 gas pressure can persist to temperatures well above its ordinary melting point while slowly reacting to form methane clathrate hydrate. This phenomenon has now been visually verified by duplicating these experiments in an optical cell while observing the very slow hydrate-forming process as the reactants were warmed from 250 to 290 K at methane pressures of 23 to 30 MPa. Limited hydrate growth occurred rapidly after initial exposure of the methane gas to the ice grains at temperatures well within the ice subsolidus region. No evidence for continued growth of the hydrate phase was observed until samples were warmed above the equilibrium H2O melting curve. With continued heating, no bulk melting of the ice grains or free liquid water was detected anywhere within the optical cell until hydrate dissociation conditions were reached (292 K at 30 MPa), even though full conversion of the ice grains to hydrate requires 6-8 h at temperatures approaching 290 K. In a separate experimental sequence, unreacted portions of H2O ice grains that had persisted to temperatures above their ordinary melting point were successfully induced to melt, without dissociating the coexisting hydrate in the sample tube, by reducing the pressure overstep of the equilibrium phase boundary and thereby reducing the rate of hydrate growth at the ice-hydrate interface. Results from similar tests using CO2 as the hydrate-forming species demonstrated that this superheating effect is not unique to the CH4-H2O system.

Identification of Clathrate Hydrates, Hexagonal Ice, Cubic Ice, and Liquid Water in Simulations: the CHILL+ Algorithm.

PubMed

Nguyen, Andrew H; Molinero, Valeria

2015-07-23

Clathrate hydrates and ice I are the most abundant crystals of water. The study of their nucleation, growth, and decomposition using molecular simulations requires an accurate and efficient algorithm that distinguishes water molecules that belong to each of these crystals and the liquid phase. Existing algorithms identify ice or clathrates, but not both. This poses a challenge for cases in which ice and hydrate coexist, such as in the synthesis of clathrates from ice and the formation of ice from clathrates during self-preservation of methane hydrates. Here we present an efficient algorithm for the identification of clathrate hydrates, hexagonal ice, cubic ice, and liquid water in molecular simulations. CHILL+ uses the number of staggered and eclipsed water-water bonds to identify water molecules in cubic ice, hexagonal ice, and clathrate hydrate. CHILL+ is an extension of CHILL (Moore et al. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 2010, 12, 4124-4134), which identifies hexagonal and cubic ice but not clathrates. In addition to the identification of hydrates, CHILL+ significantly improves the detection of hexagonal ice up to its melting point. We validate the use of CHILL+ for the identification of stacking faults in ice and the nucleation and growth of clathrate hydrates. To our knowledge, this is the first algorithm that allows for the simultaneous identification of ice and clathrate hydrates, and it does so in a way that is competitive with respect to existing methods used to identify any of these crystals.

Bacterial Ice Crystal Controlling Proteins

PubMed Central

Lorv, Janet S. H.; Rose, David R.; Glick, Bernard R.

2014-01-01

Across the world, many ice active bacteria utilize ice crystal controlling proteins for aid in freezing tolerance at subzero temperatures. Ice crystal controlling proteins include both antifreeze and ice nucleation proteins. Antifreeze proteins minimize freezing damage by inhibiting growth of large ice crystals, while ice nucleation proteins induce formation of embryonic ice crystals. Although both protein classes have differing functions, these proteins use the same ice binding mechanisms. Rather than direct binding, it is probable that these protein classes create an ice surface prior to ice crystal surface adsorption. Function is differentiated by molecular size of the protein. This paper reviews the similar and different aspects of bacterial antifreeze and ice nucleation proteins, the role of these proteins in freezing tolerance, prevalence of these proteins in psychrophiles, and current mechanisms of protein-ice interactions. PMID:24579057

Fracture propagation and stability of ice shelves governed by ice shelf heterogeneity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borstad, Chris; McGrath, Daniel; Pope, Allen

2017-05-01

Tabular iceberg calving and ice shelf retreat occurs after full-thickness fractures, known as rifts, propagate across an ice shelf. A quickly evolving rift signals a threat to the stability of Larsen C, the Antarctic Peninsula's largest ice shelf. Here we reveal the influence of ice shelf heterogeneity on the growth of this rift, with implications that challenge existing notions of ice shelf stability. Most of the rift extension has occurred in bursts after overcoming the resistance of suture zones that bind together neighboring glacier inflows. We model the stresses in the ice shelf to determine potential rift trajectories. Calving perturbations to ice flow will likely reach the grounding line. The stability of Larsen C may hinge on a single suture zone that stabilizes numerous upstream rifts. Elevated fracture toughness of suture zones may be the most important property that allows ice shelves to modulate Antarctica's contribution to sea level rise.

Net community production in the bottom of first-year sea ice over the Arctic spring bloom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Campbell, K.; Mundy, C. J.; Gosselin, M.; Landy, J. C.; Delaforge, A.; Rysgaard, S.

2017-09-01

The balance of photosynthesis and respiration by organisms like algae and bacteria determines whether sea ice is net heterotrophic or autotrophic. In turn this clarifies the influence of microbes on atmosphere-ice-ocean gas fluxes and their contribution to the trophic system. In this study we define two phases of the spring bloom based on bottom ice net community production and algal growth. Phase I was characterized by limited algal accumulation and low productivity, which at times resulted in net heterotrophy. Greater productivity in Phase II drove rapid algal accumulation that consistently produced net autotrophic conditions. The different phases were associated with seasonal shifts in light availability and species dominance. Results from this study demonstrate the importance of community respiration on spring productivity, as respiration rates can maintain a heterotrophic state independent of algal growth. This challenges previous assumptions of a fully autotrophic sea ice community during the ice-covered spring.

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

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

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.

Cirrus cloud model parameterizations: Incorporating realistic ice particle generation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sassen, Kenneth; Dodd, G. C.; Starr, David OC.

1990-01-01

Recent cirrus cloud modeling studies have involved the application of a time-dependent, two dimensional Eulerian model, with generalized cloud microphysical parameterizations drawn from experimental findings. For computing the ice versus vapor phase changes, the ice mass content is linked to the maintenance of a relative humidity with respect to ice (RHI) of 105 percent; ice growth occurs both with regard to the introduction of new particles and the growth of existing particles. In a simplified cloud model designed to investigate the basic role of various physical processes in the growth and maintenance of cirrus clouds, these parametric relations are justifiable. In comparison, the one dimensional cloud microphysical model recently applied to evaluating the nucleation and growth of ice crystals in cirrus clouds explicitly treated populations of haze and cloud droplets, and ice crystals. Although these two modeling approaches are clearly incompatible, the goal of the present numerical study is to develop a parametric treatment of new ice particle generation, on the basis of detailed microphysical model findings, for incorporation into improved cirrus growth models. For example, the relation between temperature and the relative humidity required to generate ice crystals from ammonium sulfate haze droplets, whose probability of freezing through the homogeneous nucleation mode are a combined function of time and droplet molality, volume, and temperature. As an example of this approach, the results of cloud microphysical simulations are presented showing the rather narrow domain in the temperature/humidity field where new ice crystals can be generated. The microphysical simulations point out the need for detailed CCN studies at cirrus altitudes and haze droplet measurements within cirrus clouds, but also suggest that a relatively simple treatment of ice particle generation, which includes cloud chemistry, can be incorporated into cirrus cloud growth.

Growth Kinetics and Morphology of Barite Crystals Derived from Face-Specific Growth Rates

DOE PAGES

Godinho, Jose R. A.; Stack, Andrew G.

2015-03-30

Here we investigate the growth kinetics and morphology of barite (BaSO 4) crystals by measuring the growth rates of the (001), (210), (010), and (100) surfaces using vertical scanning interferometry. Solutions with saturation indices 1.1, 2.1, and 3.0 without additional electrolyte, in 0.7 M NaCl, or in 1.3 mM SrCl2 are investigated. Face-specific growth rates are inhibited in the SrCl 2 solution relative to a solution without electrolyte, except for (100). Contrarily, growth of all faces is promoted in the NaCl solution. The variation of face-specific rates is solution-specific, which leads to a. change of the crystal morphology and overallmore » growth rate of crystals. The measured face-specific growth rates are used to model the growth of single crystals. Modeled crystals have a morphology and size similar to those grown from solution. Based on the model the time dependence of surface area and growth rates is analyzed. Growth rates change with time due to surface area normalization for small crystals and large growth intervals. By extrapolating rates to crystals with large surfaces areas, time-independent growth rates are 0.783, 2.96, and 0.513 mmol∙m -2∙h -1, for saturation index 2.1 solutions without additional electrolyte, NaCl, and SrCl 2, respectively.« less

Growth Kinetics and Morphology of Barite Crystals Derived from Face-Specific Growth Rates

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Godinho, Jose R. A.; Stack, Andrew G.

Here we investigate the growth kinetics and morphology of barite (BaSO 4) crystals by measuring the growth rates of the (001), (210), (010), and (100) surfaces using vertical scanning interferometry. Solutions with saturation indices 1.1, 2.1, and 3.0 without additional electrolyte, in 0.7 M NaCl, or in 1.3 mM SrCl2 are investigated. Face-specific growth rates are inhibited in the SrCl 2 solution relative to a solution without electrolyte, except for (100). Contrarily, growth of all faces is promoted in the NaCl solution. The variation of face-specific rates is solution-specific, which leads to a. change of the crystal morphology and overallmore » growth rate of crystals. The measured face-specific growth rates are used to model the growth of single crystals. Modeled crystals have a morphology and size similar to those grown from solution. Based on the model the time dependence of surface area and growth rates is analyzed. Growth rates change with time due to surface area normalization for small crystals and large growth intervals. By extrapolating rates to crystals with large surfaces areas, time-independent growth rates are 0.783, 2.96, and 0.513 mmol∙m -2∙h -1, for saturation index 2.1 solutions without additional electrolyte, NaCl, and SrCl 2, respectively.« less

A Model-Based Investigation of Charge-Generation According to the Relative Diffusional Growth Rate Theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Glassmeier, F.; Arnold, L.; Lohmann, U.; Dietlicher, R.; Paukert, M.

2016-12-01

Our current understanding of charge generation in thunderclouds is based on collisional charge transfer between graupel and ice crystals in the presence of liquid water droplets as dominant mechanism. The physical process of charge transfer and the sign of net charge generated on graupel and ice crystals under different cloud conditions is not yet understood. The Relative-Diffusional-Growth-Rate (RDGR) theory (Baker et al. 1987) suggests that the particle with the faster diffusional radius growth is charged positively. In this contribution, we use simulations of idealized thunderclouds with two-moment warm and cold cloud microphysics to generate realistic combinations of RDGR-parameters. We find that these realistic parameter combinations result in a relationship between sign of charge, cloud temperature and effective water content that deviates from previous theoretical and laboratory studies. This deviation indicates that the RDGR theory is sensitive to correlations between parameters that occur in clouds but are not captured in studies that vary temperature and water content while keeping other parameters at fixed values. In addition, our results suggest that diffusional growth from the riming-related local water vapor field, a key component of the RDGR theory, is negligible for realistic parameter combinations. Nevertheless, we confirm that the RDGR theory results in positive or negative charging of particles under different cloud conditions. Under specific conditions, charge generation via the RDGR theory alone might thus be sufficient to explain tripolar charge structures in thunderclouds. In general, however, additional charge generation mechanisms and adaptations to the RDGR theory that consider riming other than via local vapor deposition seem necessary.

Rate acceleration of the heterogeneous reaction of ozone with a model alkene at the air-ice interface at low temperatures.

PubMed

Ray, Debajyoti; Malongwe, Joseph K'Ekuboni; Klán, Petr

2013-07-02

The kinetics of the ozonation reaction of 1,1-diphenylethylene (DPE) on the surface of ice grains (also called "artificial snow"), produced by shock-freezing of DPE aqueous solutions or DPE vapor-deposition on pure ice grains, was studied in the temperature range of 268 to 188 K. A remarkable and unexpected increase in the apparent ozonation rates with decreasing temperature was evaluated using the Langmuir-Hinshelwood and Eley-Rideal kinetic models, and by estimating the apparent specific surface area of the ice grains. We suggest that an increase of the number of surface reactive sites, and possibly higher ozone uptake coefficients are responsible for the apparent rate acceleration of DPE ozonation at the air-ice interface at lower temperatures. The increasing number of reactive sites is probably related to the fact that organic molecules are displaced more to the top of a disordered interface (or quasi-liquid) layer on the ice surface, which makes them more accessible to the gas-phase reactants. The effect of NaCl as a cocontaminant on ozonation rates was also investigated. The environmental implications of this phenomenon for natural ice/snow are discussed. DPE was selected as an example of environmentally relevant species which can react with ozone. For typical atmospheric ozone concentrations in polar areas (20 ppbv), we estimated that its half-life on the ice surface would decrease from ∼5 days at 258 K to ∼13 h at 188 K at submonolayer DPE loadings.

Advances in Ice Penetrating Radar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paden, J. D.

2016-12-01

Radars have been employed for ice remote sensing since the mid-twentieth century. The original application in radioglaciology was to obtain ice thickness: an essential parameter in ice flux calculations and boundary condition in ice flow models. Later, radars were used to estimate basal conditions and track laterally persistent features in the ice. The Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheet's recent hardware advances include multichannel systems and radar suites covering the usable frequency spectrum. These advances coupled with increased interest in the polar regions result in a concomitant exponential growth in data. We focus on a few results that have come from these changes. Multichannel radar systems improved clutter rejection and enabled 3D imaging. Using computer vision algorithms, we have automated the process of extracting the ice bottom surface in 3D imagery for complex topographies including narrow glacier channels where the ice surface and ice bottom merge together within the 3D images. We present results of wide swath imaging which have enabled narrow, 2-3 km wide, glacier channels to be fully imaged in a single pass. When radar data are available across the frequency spectrum, we have the ability to enhance target detection and measure frequency dependent properties. For example, we can couple HF sounder measurements in warmer ice where scattering attenuates and hides the signal of interest with VHF sounder measurements in cooler ice which have much improved resolution from a single flight line. We present examples of improved bed detection with coupled HF and VHF imagery in a temperate to cold ice transition that show the strong frequency dependence of englacial scattering. To handle the increased data rate, we developed a standard processing chain and data product for CReSIS radar systems, including legacy systems. Application specific GIS tools are an essential part and enable us to merge other data products during data analysis. By using imagery

Boreal pollen contain ice-nucleating as well as ice-binding ‘antifreeze’ polysaccharides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dreischmeier, Katharina; Budke, Carsten; Wiehemeier, Lars; Kottke, Tilman; Koop, Thomas

2017-02-01

Ice nucleation and growth is an important and widespread environmental process. Accordingly, nature has developed means to either promote or inhibit ice crystal formation, for example ice-nucleating proteins in bacteria or ice-binding antifreeze proteins in polar fish. Recently, it was found that birch pollen release ice-nucleating macromolecules when suspended in water. Here we show that birch pollen washing water exhibits also ice-binding properties such as ice shaping and ice recrystallization inhibition, similar to antifreeze proteins. We present spectroscopic evidence that both the ice-nucleating as well as the ice-binding molecules are polysaccharides bearing carboxylate groups. The spectra suggest that both polysaccharides consist of very similar chemical moieties, but centrifugal filtration indicates differences in molecular size: ice nucleation occurs only in the supernatant of a 100 kDa filter, while ice shaping is strongly enhanced in the filtrate. This finding may suggest that the larger ice-nucleating polysaccharides consist of clusters of the smaller ice-binding polysaccharides, or that the latter are fragments of the ice-nucleating polysaccharides. Finally, similar polysaccharides released from pine and alder pollen also display both ice-nucleating as well as ice-binding ability, suggesting a common mechanism of interaction with ice among several boreal pollen with implications for atmospheric processes and antifreeze protection.

Boreal pollen contain ice-nucleating as well as ice-binding ‘antifreeze’ polysaccharides

PubMed Central

Dreischmeier, Katharina; Budke, Carsten; Wiehemeier, Lars; Kottke, Tilman; Koop, Thomas

2017-01-01

Ice nucleation and growth is an important and widespread environmental process. Accordingly, nature has developed means to either promote or inhibit ice crystal formation, for example ice-nucleating proteins in bacteria or ice-binding antifreeze proteins in polar fish. Recently, it was found that birch pollen release ice-nucleating macromolecules when suspended in water. Here we show that birch pollen washing water exhibits also ice-binding properties such as ice shaping and ice recrystallization inhibition, similar to antifreeze proteins. We present spectroscopic evidence that both the ice-nucleating as well as the ice-binding molecules are polysaccharides bearing carboxylate groups. The spectra suggest that both polysaccharides consist of very similar chemical moieties, but centrifugal filtration indicates differences in molecular size: ice nucleation occurs only in the supernatant of a 100 kDa filter, while ice shaping is strongly enhanced in the filtrate. This finding may suggest that the larger ice-nucleating polysaccharides consist of clusters of the smaller ice-binding polysaccharides, or that the latter are fragments of the ice-nucleating polysaccharides. Finally, similar polysaccharides released from pine and alder pollen also display both ice-nucleating as well as ice-binding ability, suggesting a common mechanism of interaction with ice among several boreal pollen with implications for atmospheric processes and antifreeze protection. PMID:28157236

A Model to Assess the Risk of Ice Accretion Due to Ice Crystal Ingestion in a Turbofan Engine and its Effects on Performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jorgenson, Philip C. E.; Veres, Joseph P.; Wright, William B.; Struk, Peter M.

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 were attributed to ice crystal ingestion, partially melting, and ice accretion on the compression system components. The result was one or more of the following anomalies: degraded engine performance, engine roll back, compressor surge and stall, and flameout of the combustor. The main focus of this research is the development of a computational tool that can estimate whether there is a risk of ice accretion by tracking key parameters through the compression system blade rows at all engine operating points within the flight trajectory. The tool has an engine system thermodynamic cycle code, coupled with 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 blade rows. Assumptions are made to predict the complex physics involved in engine icing. Specifically, the code does not directly estimate ice accretion and does not have models for particle breakup or erosion. Two key parameters have been suggested as conditions that must be met at the same location for ice accretion to occur: the local wet-bulb temperature to be near freezing or below and the local melt ratio must be above 10%. These parameters were deduced from analyzing laboratory icing test data and are the criteria used to predict the possibility of ice accretion within an engine including the specific blade row where it could occur. Once the possibility of accretion is determined from these parameters, the degree of blockage due to ice accretion on the local stator vane can be estimated from an empirical model of ice growth rate and time spent at that operating point in the flight trajectory. The computational tool can be used to assess specific turbine engines to their susceptibility to

Implications of Grain Size Evolution for the Effective Stress Exponent in Ice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Behn, M. D.; Goldsby, D. L.; Hirth, G.

2016-12-01

Viscous flow in ice has typically been described by the Glen law—a non-Newtonian, power-law relationship between stress and strain-rate with a stress exponent n 3. The Glen law is attributed to grain-size-insensitive dislocation creep; however, laboratory and field studies demonstrate that deformation in ice is strongly dependent on grain size. This has led to the hypothesis that at sufficiently low stresses, ice flow is controlled by grain boundary sliding [1], which explicitly incorporates the grain-size dependence of ice rheology. Yet, neither dislocation creep (n 4), nor grain boundary sliding (n 1.8), have stress exponents that match the value of n 3 for the Glen law. Thus, although the Glen law provides an approximate description of ice flow in glaciers and ice sheets, its functional form cannot be explained by a single deformation mechanism. Here we seek to understand the origin of the n 3 dependence of the Glen law through a new model for grain-size evolution in ice. In our model, grain size evolves in response to the balance between dynamic recrystallization and grain growth. To simulate these processes we adapt the "wattmeter" [2], originally developed within the solid-Earth community to quantify grain size in crustal and mantle rocks. The wattmeter posits that grain size is controlled by a balance between the mechanical work required for grain growth and dynamic grain size reduction. The evolution of grain size in turn controls the relative contributions of dislocation creep and grain boundary sliding, and thus the effective stress exponent for ice flow. Using this approach, we first benchmark our grain size evolution model on experimental data and then calculate grain size in two end-member scenarios: (1) as a function of depth within an ice-sheet, and (2) across an ice-stream margin. We show that the calculated grain sizes match ice core observations for the interior of ice sheets. Furthermore, owing to the influence of grain size on strain rate, the

Analysis of isothermal and cooling-rate-dependent immersion freezing by a unifying stochastic ice nucleation model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alpert, Peter A.; Knopf, Daniel A.

2016-02-01

Immersion freezing is an important ice nucleation pathway involved in the formation of cirrus and mixed-phase clouds. Laboratory immersion freezing experiments are necessary to determine the range in temperature, T, and relative humidity, RH, at which ice nucleation occurs and to quantify the associated nucleation kinetics. Typically, isothermal (applying a constant temperature) and cooling-rate-dependent immersion freezing experiments are conducted. In these experiments it is usually assumed that the droplets containing ice nucleating particles (INPs) all have the same INP surface area (ISA); however, the validity of this assumption or the impact it may have on analysis and interpretation of the experimental data is rarely questioned. Descriptions of ice active sites and variability of contact angles have been successfully formulated to describe ice nucleation experimental data in previous research; however, we consider the ability of a stochastic freezing model founded on classical nucleation theory to reproduce previous results and to explain experimental uncertainties and data scatter. A stochastic immersion freezing model based on first principles of statistics is presented, which accounts for variable ISA per droplet and uses parameters including the total number of droplets, Ntot, and the heterogeneous ice nucleation rate coefficient, Jhet(T). This model is applied to address if (i) a time and ISA-dependent stochastic immersion freezing process can explain laboratory immersion freezing data for different experimental methods and (ii) the assumption that all droplets contain identical ISA is a valid conjecture with subsequent consequences for analysis and interpretation of immersion freezing. The simple stochastic model can reproduce the observed time and surface area dependence in immersion freezing experiments for a variety of methods such as: droplets on a cold-stage exposed to air or surrounded by an oil matrix, wind and acoustically levitated droplets

A tale of two polar bear populations: Ice habitat, harvest, and body condition

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rode, Karyn D.; Peacock, Elizabeth; Taylor, Mitchell K.; Stirling, Ian; Born, Erik W.; Laidre, Kristin L.; Wiig, Øystein

2012-01-01

One of the primary mechanisms by which sea ice loss is expected to affect polar bears is via reduced body condition and growth resulting from reduced access to prey. To date, negative effects of sea ice loss have been documented for two of 19 recognized populations. Effects of sea ice loss on other polar bear populations that differ in harvest rate, population density, and/or feeding ecology have been assumed, but empirical support, especially quantitative data on population size, demography, and/or body condition spanning two or more decades, have been lacking. We examined trends in body condition metrics of captured bears and relationships with summertime ice concentration between 1977 and 2010 for the Baffin Bay (BB) and Davis Strait (DS) polar bear populations. Polar bears in these regions occupy areas with annual sea ice that has decreased markedly starting in the 1990s. Despite differences in harvest rate, population density, sea ice concentration, and prey base, polar bears in both populations exhibited positive relationships between body condition and summertime sea ice cover during the recent period of sea ice decline. Furthermore, females and cubs exhibited relationships with sea ice that were not apparent during the earlier period (1977–1990s) when sea ice loss did not occur. We suggest that declining body condition in BB may be a result of recent declines in sea ice habitat. In DS, high population density and/or sea ice loss, may be responsible for the declines in body condition.

Ice stream activity scaled to ice sheet volume during Laurentide Ice Sheet deglaciation.

PubMed

Stokes, C R; Margold, M; Clark, C D; Tarasov, L

2016-02-18

The contribution of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets to sea level has increased in recent decades, largely owing to the thinning and retreat of outlet glaciers and ice streams. This dynamic loss is a serious concern, with some modelling studies suggesting that the collapse of a major ice sheet could be imminent or potentially underway in West Antarctica, but others predicting a more limited response. A major problem is that observations used to initialize and calibrate models typically span only a few decades, and, at the ice-sheet scale, it is unclear how the entire drainage network of ice streams evolves over longer timescales. This represents one of the largest sources of uncertainty when predicting the contributions of ice sheets to sea-level rise. A key question is whether ice streams might increase and sustain rates of mass loss over centuries or millennia, beyond those expected for a given ocean-climate forcing. Here we reconstruct the activity of 117 ice streams that operated at various times during deglaciation of the Laurentide Ice Sheet (from about 22,000 to 7,000 years ago) and show that as they activated and deactivated in different locations, their overall number decreased, they occupied a progressively smaller percentage of the ice sheet perimeter and their total discharge decreased. The underlying geology and topography clearly influenced ice stream activity, but--at the ice-sheet scale--their drainage network adjusted and was linked to changes in ice sheet volume. It is unclear whether these findings can be directly translated to modern ice sheets. However, contrary to the view that sees ice streams as unstable entities that can accelerate ice-sheet deglaciation, we conclude that ice streams exerted progressively less influence on ice sheet mass balance during the retreat of the Laurentide Ice Sheet.

Calcite crystal growth rate inhibition by polycarboxylic acids

USGS Publications Warehouse

Reddy, M.M.; Hoch, A.R.

2001-01-01

Calcite crystal growth rates measured in the presence of several polycarboxyclic acids show that tetrahydrofurantetracarboxylic acid (THFTCA) and cyclopentanetetracarboxylic acid (CPTCA) are effective growth rate inhibitors at low solution concentrations (0.01 to 1 mg/L). In contrast, linear polycarbocylic acids (citric acid and tricarballylic acid) had no inhibiting effect on calcite growth rates at concentrations up to 10 mg/L. Calcite crystal growth rate inhibition by cyclic polycarboxyclic acids appears to involve blockage of crystal growth sites on the mineral surface by several carboxylate groups. Growth morphology varied for growth in the absence and in the presence of both THFTCA and CPTCA. More effective growth rate reduction by CPTCA relative to THFTCA suggests that inhibitor carboxylate stereochemical orientation controls calcite surface interaction with carboxylate inhibitors. ?? 20O1 Academic Press.

Characterization of Arctic ice cloud properties observed during ISDAC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jouan, Caroline; Girard, Eric; Pelon, Jacques; Gultepe, Ismail; Delanoë, Julien; Blanchet, Jean-Pierre

2012-12-01

Extensive measurements from ground-based sites and satellite remote sensing (CloudSat and CALIPSO) reveal the existence of two types of ice clouds (TICs) in the Arctic during the polar night and early spring. The first type (TIC-2A), being topped by a cover of nonprecipitating very small (radar unseen) ice crystals (TIC-1), is found more frequently in pristine environment, whereas the second type (TIC-2B), detected by both sensors, is associated preferentially with a high concentration of aerosols. To further investigate the microphysical properties of TIC-1/2A and TIC-2B, airborne in situ and satellite measurements of specific cases observed during Indirect and Semi-Direct Aerosol Campaign (ISDAC) have been analyzed. For the first time, Arctic TIC-1/2A and TIC-2B microstructures are compared using in situ cloud observations. Results show that the differences between them are confined in the upper part of the clouds where ice nucleation occurs. TIC-2B clouds are characterized by fewer (by more than 1 order of magnitude) and larger (by a factor of 2 to 3) ice crystals and a larger ice supersaturation (of 15-20%) compared to TIC-1/2A. Ice crystal growth in TIC-2B clouds seems explosive, whereas it seems more gradual in TIC-1/2A. It is hypothesized that these differences are linked to the number concentration and the chemical composition of aerosols. The ice crystal growth rate in very cold conditions impinges on the precipitation efficiency, dehydration and radiation balance. These results represent an essential and important first step to relate previous modeling, remote sensing and laboratory studies with TICs cloud in situ observations.

Connection between the growth rate distribution and the size dependent crystal growth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mitrović, M. M.; Žekić, A. A.; IIić, Z. Z.

2002-07-01

The results of investigations of the connection between the growth rate dispersions and the size dependent crystal growth of potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP), Rochelle salt (RS) and sodium chlorate (SC) are presented. A possible way out of the existing confusion in the size dependent crystal growth investigations is suggested. It is shown that the size independent growth exists if the crystals belonging to one growth rate distribution maximum are considered separately. The investigations suggest possible reason for the observed distribution maxima widths, and the high data scattering on the growth rate versus the crystal size dependence.

What Determines the Ice Polymorph in Clouds?

PubMed

Hudait, Arpa; Molinero, Valeria

2016-07-20

Ice crystals in the atmosphere nucleate from supercooled liquid water and grow by vapor uptake. The structure of the ice polymorph grown has strong impact on the morphology and light scattering of the ice crystals, modulates the amount of water vapor in ice clouds, and can impact the molecular uptake and reactivity of atmospheric aerosols. Experiments and molecular simulations indicate that ice nucleated and grown from deeply supercooled liquid water is metastable stacking disordered ice. The ice polymorph grown from vapor has not yet been determined. Here we use large-scale molecular simulations to determine the structure of ice that grows as a result of uptake of water vapor in the temperature range relevant to cirrus and mixed-phase clouds, elucidate the molecular mechanism of the formation of ice at the vapor interface, and compute the free energy difference between cubic and hexagonal ice interfaces with vapor. We find that vapor deposition results in growth of stacking disordered ice only under conditions of extreme supersaturation, for which a nonequilibrium liquid layer completely wets the surface of ice. Such extreme conditions have been used to produce stacking disordered frost ice in experiments and may be plausible in the summer polar mesosphere. Growth of ice from vapor at moderate supersaturations in the temperature range relevant to cirrus and mixed-phase clouds, from 200 to 260 K, produces exclusively the stable hexagonal ice polymorph. Cubic ice is disfavored with respect to hexagonal ice not only by a small penalty in the bulk free energy (3.6 ± 1.5 J mol(-1) at 260 K) but also by a large free energy penalty at the ice-vapor interface (89.7 ± 12.8 J mol(-1) at 260 K). The latter originates in higher vibrational entropy of the hexagonal-terminated ice-vapor interface. We predict that the free energy penalty against the cubic ice interface should decrease strongly with temperature, resulting in some degree of stacking disorder in ice grown from

Algae Drive Enhanced Darkening of Bare Ice on the Greenland Ice Sheet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stibal, Marek; Box, Jason E.; Cameron, Karen A.; Langen, Peter L.; Yallop, Marian L.; Mottram, Ruth H.; Khan, Alia L.; Molotch, Noah P.; Chrismas, Nathan A. M.; Calı Quaglia, Filippo; Remias, Daniel; Smeets, C. J. P. Paul; van den Broeke, Michiel R.; Ryan, Jonathan C.; Hubbard, Alun; Tranter, Martyn; van As, Dirk; Ahlstrøm, Andreas P.

2017-11-01

Surface ablation of the Greenland ice sheet is amplified by surface darkening caused by light-absorbing impurities such as mineral dust, black carbon, and pigmented microbial cells. We present the first quantitative assessment of the microbial contribution to the ice sheet surface darkening, based on field measurements of surface reflectance and concentrations of light-absorbing impurities, including pigmented algae, during the 2014 melt season in the southwestern part of the ice sheet. The impact of algae on bare ice darkening in the study area was greater than that of nonalgal impurities and yielded a net albedo reduction of 0.038 ± 0.0035 for each algal population doubling. We argue that algal growth is a crucial control of bare ice darkening, and incorporating the algal darkening effect will improve mass balance and sea level projections of the Greenland ice sheet and ice masses elsewhere.

Seasonal to interannual Arctic sea ice predictability in current global climate models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tietsche, S.; Day, J. J.; Guemas, V.; Hurlin, W. J.; Keeley, S. P. E.; Matei, D.; Msadek, R.; Collins, M.; Hawkins, E.

2014-02-01

We establish the first intermodel comparison of seasonal to interannual predictability of present-day Arctic climate by performing coordinated sets of idealized ensemble predictions with four state-of-the-art global climate models. For Arctic sea ice extent and volume, there is potential predictive skill for lead times of up to 3 years, and potential prediction errors have similar growth rates and magnitudes across the models. Spatial patterns of potential prediction errors differ substantially between the models, but some features are robust. Sea ice concentration errors are largest in the marginal ice zone, and in winter they are almost zero away from the ice edge. Sea ice thickness errors are amplified along the coasts of the Arctic Ocean, an effect that is dominated by sea ice advection. These results give an upper bound on the ability of current global climate models to predict important aspects of Arctic climate.

Insights into the effects of patchy ice layers on water balance heterogeneity in peatlands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dixon, Simon; Kettridge, Nicholas; Devito, Kevin; Petrone, Rich; Mendoza, Carl; Waddington, Mike

2017-04-01

Peatlands in boreal and sub-arctic settings are characterised by a high degree of seasonality. During winter soils are frozen and snow covers the surface preventing peat moss growth. Conversely, in summer, soils unfreeze and rain and evapotranspiration drive moss productivity. Although advances have been made in understanding growing season water balance and moss dynamics in northern peatlands, there remains a gap in knowledge of inter-seasonal water balance as layers of ice break up during the spring thaw. Understanding the effects of ice layers on spring water balance is important as this coincides with periods of high wildfire risk, such as the devastating Fort McMurrary wildfire of May, 2016. We hypothesise that shallow layers of ice disconnect the growing surface of moss from a falling water table, and prevent water from being supplied from depth. A disconnect between the evaporating surface and deeper water storage will lead to the drying out of the surface layer of moss and a greater risk of severe spring wildfires. We utilise the unsaturated flow model Hydrus 2D to explore water balance in peat layers with an impermeable layer representing ice. Additionally we create models to represent the heterogeneous break up of ice layers observed in Canadian boreal peatlands; these models explore the ability of breaks in an ice layer to connect the evaporating surface to a deeper water table. Results show that peatlands with slower rates of moss growth respond to dry periods by limiting evapotranspiration and thus maintain moist conditions in the sub-surface and a water table above the ice layer. Peatlands which are more productive continue to grow moss and evaporate during dry periods; this results in the near surface mosses drying out and the water table dropping below the level of the ice. Where there are breaks in the ice layer the evaporating surface is able to maintain contact with a falling water table, but connectivity is limited to above the breaks, with

Close-up analysis of aircraft ice accretion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hansman, R. John; Breuer, Kenneth S.; Hazan, Didier; Reehorst, Andrew; Vargas, Mario

1993-01-01

Various types of ice formation have been studied by analysis of high magnification video observations. All testing was conducted in the NASA Lewis Icing Research Tunnel (IRT). A faired 8.9 cm (3.5 in.) diameter metal-clad cylinder and a 5.1 (2 in.) aluminum cylinder were observed by close-up and overview video cameras for several wind tunnel conditions. These included close-up grazing angle, close-up side view, as well as overhead and side overview cameras. Still photographs were taken at the end of each spray along with tracings of the subsequent ice shape. While in earlier tests only the stagnation region was observed, the entire area from the stagnation line to the horn region of glaze ice shapes was observed in this test. The modes or horn formation have been identified within the range of conditions observed. In the horn region, Horn Type A ice is formed by 'dry' feather growth into the flow direction and Horn Type B is formed by a 'wet' growth normal to the surface. The feather growth occurs when the freezing fraction is near unity and roughness elements exist to provide an initial growth site.

Anti-icing/frosting and self-cleaning performance of superhydrophobic aluminum alloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Libang; Yan, Zhongna; Shi, Xueting; Sultonzoda, Firdavs

2018-02-01

Ice formation and frost deposition on cryogenic equipment and systems can result in serious problems and huge economic loss. Hence, it is quite necessary to develop new materials to prevent icing and frosting on cold surfaces in engineering fields. Here, a superhydrophobic aluminum alloy with enhanced anti-frosting, anti-icing, and self-cleaning performance has been developed by a facile one-step method. The anti-frosting/icing performance of superhydrophobic aluminum alloys is confirmed by frosting/icing time delay, consolidating and freezing temperature reduction, and lower amount of frost/ice adhesion. Meanwhile, the excellent self-cleaning performance is authenticated by the fact that simulated pollution particles can be cleaned out by rolling water droplets completely. Finally, based on the classical nucleation theory, anti-icing and anti-frosting mechanisms of the superhydrophobic aluminum alloys are deduced. Results show that grounded on "air cushion" and "heat insulation" effect, a larger nucleation barrier and a lower crystal growth rate can be observed, which, hence, inhibit ice formation and frost deposition. It can be concluded that preparing superhydrophobic surfaces would be an effective strategy for improving anti-icing, anti-frosting, and self-cleaning performance of aluminum alloys.

The refreezing of melt ponds on Arctic sea ice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flocco, Daniela; Feltham, Daniel L.; Bailey, Eleanor; Schroeder, David

2015-02-01

The presence of melt ponds on the surface of Arctic sea ice significantly reduces its albedo, inducing a positive feedback leading to sea ice thinning. While the role of melt ponds in enhancing the summer melt of sea ice is well known, their impact on suppressing winter freezing of sea ice has, hitherto, received less attention. Melt ponds freeze by forming an ice lid at the upper surface, which insulates them from the atmosphere and traps pond water between the underlying sea ice and the ice lid. The pond water is a store of latent heat, which is released during refreezing. Until a pond freezes completely, there can be minimal ice growth at the base of the underlying sea ice. In this work, we present a model of the refreezing of a melt pond that includes the heat and salt balances in the ice lid, trapped pond, and underlying sea ice. The model uses a two-stream radiation model to account for radiative scattering at phase boundaries. Simulations and related sensitivity studies suggest that trapped pond water may survive for over a month. We focus on the role that pond salinity has on delaying the refreezing process and retarding basal sea ice growth. We estimate that for a typical sea ice pond coverage in autumn, excluding the impact of trapped ponds in models overestimates ice growth by up to 265 million km3, an overestimate of 26%.

UV Photodesorption of Methanol in Pure and CO-rich Ices: Desorption Rates of the Intact Molecule and of the Photofragments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bertin, Mathieu; Romanzin, Claire; Doronin, Mikhail; Philippe, Laurent; Jeseck, Pascal; Ligterink, Niels; Linnartz, Harold; Michaut, Xavier; Fillion, Jean-Hugues

2016-02-01

Wavelength-dependent photodesorption rates have been determined using synchrotron radiation for condensed pure and mixed methanol ice in the 7-14 eV range. The VUV photodesorption of intact methanol molecules from pure methanol ices is found to be of the order of 10-5 molecules/photon, that is two orders of magnitude below what is generally used in astrochemical models. This rate gets even lower (<10-6 molecules/photon) when the methanol is mixed with CO molecules in the ices. This is consistent with a picture in which photodissociation and recombination processes are at the origin of intact methanol desorption from pure CH3OH ices. Such low rates are explained by the fact that the overall photodesorption process is dominated by the desorption of the photofragments CO, CH3, OH, H2CO, and CH3O/CH2OH, whose photodesorption rates are given in this study. Our results suggest that the role of the photodesorption as a mechanism to explain the observed gas phase abundances of methanol in cold media is probably overestimated. Nevertheless, the photodesorption of radicals from methanol-rich ices may stand at the origin of the gas phase presence of radicals such as CH3O, therefore, opening new gas phase chemical routes for the formation of complex molecules.

Analysis of isothermal and cooling rate dependent immersion freezing by a unifying stochastic ice nucleation model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alpert, P. A.; Knopf, D. A.

2015-05-01

Immersion freezing is an important ice nucleation pathway involved in the formation of cirrus and mixed-phase clouds. Laboratory immersion freezing experiments are necessary to determine the range in temperature (T) and relative humidity (RH) at which ice nucleation occurs and to quantify the associated nucleation kinetics. Typically, isothermal (applying a constant temperature) and cooling rate dependent immersion freezing experiments are conducted. In these experiments it is usually assumed that the droplets containing ice nuclei (IN) all have the same IN surface area (ISA), however the validity of this assumption or the impact it may have on analysis and interpretation of the experimental data is rarely questioned. A stochastic immersion freezing model based on first principles of statistics is presented, which accounts for variable ISA per droplet and uses physically observable parameters including the total number of droplets (Ntot) and the heterogeneous ice nucleation rate coefficient, Jhet(T). This model is applied to address if (i) a time and ISA dependent stochastic immersion freezing process can explain laboratory immersion freezing data for different experimental methods and (ii) the assumption that all droplets contain identical ISA is a valid conjecture with subsequent consequences for analysis and interpretation of immersion freezing. The simple stochastic model can reproduce the observed time and surface area dependence in immersion freezing experiments for a variety of methods such as: droplets on a cold-stage exposed to air or surrounded by an oil matrix, wind and acoustically levitated droplets, droplets in a continuous flow diffusion chamber (CFDC), the Leipzig aerosol cloud interaction simulator (LACIS), and the aerosol interaction and dynamics in the atmosphere (AIDA) cloud chamber. Observed time dependent isothermal frozen fractions exhibiting non-exponential behavior with time can be readily explained by this model considering varying ISA. An

Comparison of Concussion Rates Between NCAA Division I and Division III Men's and Women's Ice Hockey Players.

PubMed

Rosene, John M; Raksnis, Bryan; Silva, Brie; Woefel, Tyler; Visich, Paul S; Dompier, Thomas P; Kerr, Zachary Y

2017-09-01

Examinations related to divisional differences in the incidence of sports-related concussions (SRC) in collegiate ice hockey are limited. To compare the epidemiologic patterns of concussion in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) ice hockey by sex and division. Descriptive epidemiology study. A convenience sample of men's and women's ice hockey teams in Divisions I and III provided SRC data via the NCAA Injury Surveillance Program during the 2009-2010 to 2014-2015 academic years. Concussion counts, rates, and distributions were examined by factors including injury activity and position. Injury rate ratios (IRRs) and injury proportion ratios (IPRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to compare concussion rates and distributions, respectively. Overall, 415 concussions were reported for men's and women's ice hockey combined. The highest concussion rate was found in Division I men (0.83 per 1000 athlete-exposures [AEs]), followed by Division III women (0.78/1000 AEs), Division I women (0.65/1000 AEs), and Division III men (0.64/1000 AEs). However, the only significant IRR was that the concussion rate was higher in Division I men than Division III men (IRR = 1.29; 95% CI, 1.02-1.65). The proportion of concussions from checking was higher in men than women (28.5% vs 9.4%; IPR = 3.02; 95% CI, 1.63-5.59); however, this proportion was higher in Division I women than Division III women (18.4% vs 1.8%; IPR = 10.47; 95% CI, 1.37-79.75). The proportion of concussions sustained by goalkeepers was higher in women than men (14.2% vs 2.9%; IPR = 4.86; 95% CI, 2.19-10.77), with findings consistent within each division. Concussion rates did not vary by sex but differed by division among men. Checking-related concussions were less common in women than men overall but more common in Division I women than Division III women. Findings highlight the need to better understand the reasons underlying divisional differences within men's and women's ice hockey and the

Growth Rates of Microbes in the Oceans.

PubMed

Kirchman, David L

2016-01-01

A microbe's growth rate helps to set its ecological success and its contribution to food web dynamics and biogeochemical processes. Growth rates at the community level are constrained by biomass and trophic interactions among bacteria, phytoplankton, and their grazers. Phytoplankton growth rates are approximately 1 d(-1), whereas most heterotrophic bacteria grow slowly, close to 0.1 d(-1); only a few taxa can grow ten times as fast. Data from 16S rRNA and other approaches are used to speculate about the growth rate and the life history strategy of SAR11, the most abundant clade of heterotrophic bacteria in the oceans. These strategies are also explored using genomic data. Although the methods and data are imperfect, the available data can be used to set limits on growth rates and thus on the timescale for changes in the composition and structure of microbial communities.

Simulating Extraterrestrial Ices in the Laboratory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berisford, D. F.; Carey, E. M.; Hand, K. P.; Choukroun, M.

2017-12-01

Several ongoing experiments at JPL attempt to simulate the ice environment for various regimes associated with icy moons. The Europa Penitent Ice Experiment (EPIX) simulates the surface environment of an icy moon, to investigate the physics of ice surface morphology growth. This experiment features half-meter-scale cryogenic ice samples, cryogenic radiative sink environment, vacuum conditions, and diurnal cycling solar simulation. The experiment also includes several smaller fixed-geometry vacuum chambers for ice simulation at Earth-like and intermediate temperature and vacuum conditions for development of surface morphology growth scaling relations. Additionally, an ice cutting facility built on a similar platform provides qualitative data on the mechanical behavior of cryogenic ice with impurities under vacuum, and allows testing of ice cutting/sampling tools relevant for landing spacecraft. A larger cutting facility is under construction at JPL, which will provide more quantitative data and allow full-scale sampling tool tests. Another facility, the JPL Ice Physics Laboratory, features icy analog simulant preparation abilities that range icy solar system objects such as Mars, Ceres and the icy satellites of Saturn and Jupiter. In addition, the Ice Physics Lab has unique facilities for Icy Analog Tidal Simulation and Rheological Studies of Cryogenic Icy Slurries, as well as equipment to perform thermal and mechanical properties testing on icy analog materials and their response to sinusoidal tidal stresses.

Antifreeze Protein Mimetic Metallohelices with Potent Ice Recrystallization Inhibition Activity.

PubMed

Mitchell, Daniel E; Clarkson, Guy; Fox, David J; Vipond, Rebecca A; Scott, Peter; Gibson, Matthew I

2017-07-26

Antifreeze proteins are produced by extremophile species to control ice formation and growth, and they have potential applications in many fields. There are few examples of synthetic materials which can reproduce their potent ice recrystallization inhibition property. We report that self-assembled enantiomerically pure, amphipathic metallohelicies inhibited ice growth at just 20 μM. Structure-property relationships and calculations support the hypothesis that amphipathicity is the key motif for activity. This opens up a new field of metallo-organic antifreeze protein mimetics and provides insight into the origins of ice-growth inhibition.

Antarctic Ice Mass Balance from GRACE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boening, C.; Firing, Y. L.; Wiese, D. N.; Watkins, M. M.; Schlegel, N.; Larour, E. Y.

2014-12-01

The Antarctic ice mass balance and rates of change of ice mass over the past decade are analyzed based on observations from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites, in the form of JPL RL05M mascon solutions. Surface mass balance (SMB) fluxes from ERA-Interim and other atmospheric reanalyses successfully account for the seasonal GRACE-measured mass variability, and explain 70-80% of the continent-wide mass variance at interannual time scales. Trends in the residual (GRACE mass - SMB accumulation) mass time series in different Antarctic drainage basins are consistent with time-mean ice discharge rates based on radar-derived ice velocities and thicknesses. GRACE also resolves accelerations in regional ice mass change rates, including increasing rates of mass gain in East Antarctica and accelerating ice mass loss in West Antarctica. The observed East Antarctic mass gain is only partially explained by anomalously large SMB events in the second half of the record, potentially implying that ice discharge rates are also decreasing in this region. Most of the increasing mass loss rate in West Antarctica, meanwhile, is explained by decreasing SMB (principally precipitation) over this time period, part of the characteristic decadal variability in regional SMB. The residual acceleration of 2+/-1 Gt/yr, which is concentrated in the Amundsen Sea Embayment (ASE) basins, represents the contribution from increasing ice discharge rates. An Ice Sheet System Model (ISSM) run with constant ocean forcing and stationary grounding lines both underpredicts the largest trends in the ASE and produces negligible acceleration or interannual variability in discharge, highlighting the potential importance of ocean forcing for setting ice discharge rates at interannual to decadal time scales.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

Satellite remote sensing over ice

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thomas, R. H.

1984-01-01

Satellite remote sensing provides unique opportunities for observing ice-covered terrain. Passive-microwave data give information on snow extent on land, sea-ice extent and type, and zones of summer melting on the polar ice sheets, with the potential for estimating snow-accumulation rates on these ice sheets. All weather, high-resolution imagery of sea ice is obtained using synthetic aperture radars, and ice-movement vectors can be deduced by comparing sequential images of the same region. Radar-altimetry data provide highly detailed information on ice-sheet topography, with the potential for deducing thickening/thinning rates from repeat surveys. The coastline of Antarctica can be mapped accurately using altimetry data, and the size and spatial distribution of icebergs can be monitored. Altimetry data also distinguish open ocean from pack ice and they give an indication of sea-ice characteristics.

Satellite remote sensing over ice

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thomas, R. H.

1986-01-01

Satellite remote sensing provides unique opportunities for observing ice-covered terrain. Passive-microwave data give information on snow extent on land, sea-ice extent and type, and zones of summer melting on the polar ice sheets, with the potential for estimating snow-accumulation rates on these ice sheets. All weather, high-resolution imagery of sea ice is obtained using synthetic aperture radars, and ice-movement vectors can be deduced by comparing sequential images of the same region. Radar-altimetry data provide highly detailed information on ice-sheet topography, with the potential for deducing thickening/thinning rates from repeat surveys. The coastline of Antarctica can be mapped accurately using altimetry data, and the size and spatial distribution of icebergs can be monitored. Altimetry data also distinguish open ocean from pack ice and they give an indication of sea-ice characteristics.

Dynamics and unsteady morphologies at ice interfaces driven by D2O–H2O exchange

PubMed Central

Holmes-Cerfon, Miranda; Kohn, Robert V.

2017-01-01

The growth dynamics of D2O ice in liquid H2O in a microfluidic device were investigated between the melting points of D2O ice (3.8 °C) and H2O ice (0 °C). As the temperature was decreased at rates between 0.002 °C/s and 0.1 °C/s, the ice front advanced but retreated immediately upon cessation of cooling, regardless of the temperature. This is a consequence of the competition between diffusion of H2O into the D2O ice, which favors melting of the interface, and the driving force for growth supplied by cooling. Raman microscopy tracked H/D exchange across the solid H2O–solid D2O interface, with diffusion coefficients consistent with transport of intact H2O molecules at the D2O ice interface. At fixed temperatures below 3 °C, the D2O ice front melted continuously, but at temperatures near 0 °C a scalloped interface morphology appeared with convex and concave sections that cycled between growth and retreat. This behavior, not observed for D2O ice in contact with D2O liquid or H2O ice in contact with H2O liquid, reflects a complex set of cooperative phenomena, including H/D exchange across the solid–liquid interface, latent heat exchange, local thermal gradients, and the Gibbs–Thomson effect on the melting points of the convex and concave features. PMID:29042511

Release of cell-free ice nuclei from Halomonas elongata expressing the ice nucleation gene inaZ of Pseudomonas syringae.

PubMed

Tegos, G; Vargas, C; Perysinakis, A; Koukkou, A I; Christogianni, A; Nieto, J J; Ventosa, A; Drainas, C

2000-11-01

Release of ice nuclei in the growth medium of recombinant Halomonas elongata cells expressing the inaZ gene of Pseudomonas syringae was studied in an attempt to produce cell-free active ice nuclei for biotechnological applications. Cell-free ice nuclei were not retained by cellulose acetate filters of 0.2 microm pore size. Highest activity of cell-free ice nuclei was obtained when cells were grown in low salinity (0.5-5% NaCl, w/v). Freezing temperature threshold, estimated to be below -7 degrees C indicating class C nuclei, was not affected by medium salinity. Their density, as estimated by Percoll density centrifugation, was 1.018 +/- 0.002 gml(-1) and they were found to be free of lipids. Ice nuclei are released in the growth medium of recombinant H. elongata cells probably because of inefficient anchoring of the ice-nucleation protein aggregates in the outer membrane. The ice+ recombinant H. elongata cells could be useful for future use as a source of active cell-free ice nucleation protein.

The Regional Influence of the Arctic Oscillation and Arctic Dipole on the Wintertime Arctic Surface Radiation Budget and Sea Ice Growth

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hegyi, Bradley M.; Taylor, Patrick C.

2017-01-01

An analysis of 2000-2015 monthly Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System-Energy Balanced and Filled (CERES-EBAF) and Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA2) data reveals statistically significant fall and wintertime relationships between Arctic surface longwave (LW) radiative flux anomalies and the Arctic Oscillation (AO) and Arctic Dipole (AD). Signifying a substantial regional imprint, a negative AD index corresponds with positive downwelling clear-sky LW flux anomalies (greater than10W m(exp -2)) north of western Eurasia (0 deg E-120 deg E) and reduced sea ice growth in the Barents and Kara Seas in November-February. Conversely, a positive AO index coincides with negative clear-sky LW flux anomalies and minimal sea ice growth change in October-November across the Arctic. Increased (decreased) atmospheric temperature and water vapor coincide with the largest positive (negative) clear-sky flux anomalies. Positive surface LW cloud radiative effect anomalies also accompany the negative AD index in December-February. The results highlight a potential pathway by which Arctic atmospheric variability influences the regional surface radiation budget over areas of Arctic sea ice growth.

Space Radar Image of Weddell Sea Ice

NASA Image and Video Library

1999-04-15

This is the first calibrated, multi-frequency, multi-polarization spaceborne radar image of the seasonal sea-ice cover in the Weddell Sea, Antarctica. The multi-channel data provide scientists with details about the ice pack they cannot see any other way and indicates that the large expanse of sea-ice is, in fact, comprised of many smaller rounded ice floes, shown in blue-gray. These data are particularly useful in helping scientists estimate the thickness of the ice cover which is often extremely difficult to measure with other remote sensing systems. The extent, and especially thickness, of the polar ocean's sea-ice cover together have important implications for global climate by regulating the loss of heat from the ocean to the cold polar atmosphere. The image was acquired on October 3, 1994, by the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) onboard the space shuttle Endeavour. This image is produced by overlaying three channels of radar data in the following colors: red (C-band, HH-polarization), green (L-band HV-polarization), and blue (L-band, HH-polarization). The image is oriented almost east-west with a center location of 58.2 degrees South and 21.6 degrees East. Image dimensions are 45 kilometers by 18 kilometers (28 miles by 11 miles). Most of the ice cover is composed of rounded, undeformed blue-gray floes, about 0.7 meters (2 feet) thick, which are surrounded by a jumble of red-tinged deformed ice pieces which are up to 2 meters (7 feet) thick. The winter cycle of ice growth and deformation often causes this ice cover to split apart, exposing open water or "leads." Ice growth within these openings is rapid due to the cold, brisk Antarctic atmosphere. Different stages of new-ice growth can be seen within the linear leads, resulting from continuous opening and closing. The blue lines within the leads are open water areas in new fractures which are roughened by wind. The bright red lines are an intermediate stage of new-ice

Turbulent heat exchange between water and ice at an evolving ice-water interface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramudu, E.; Hirsh, B.; Olson, P.; Gnanadesikan, A.

2016-02-01

Experimental results are presented on the time evolution of ice subject to a turbulent shear flow in a layer of water of uniform depth. Our study is motivated by observations in the ocean cavity beneath Antarctic ice shelves, where shoaling of Circumpolar Deep Water into the cavity has been implicated in the accelerated melting of the ice shelf base. Measurements of inflow and outflow at the ice shelf front have shown that not all of the heat entering the cavity is delivered to the ice shelf, suggesting that turbulent transfer to the ice represents an important bottleneck. Given that a range of turbulent transfer coefficients has been used in models it is important to better constrain this parameter. We measure as a function of time in our experiments the thickness of the ice, temperatures in the ice and water, and fluid velocity in the shear flow, starting from an initial condition in which the water is at rest and the ice has grown by conduction above a cold plate. The strength of the applied turbulent shear flow is represented in terms of a Reynolds number Re, which is varied over the range 3.5 × 103 ≤ Re ≤ 1.9 × 104. Transient partial melting of the ice occurs at the lower end of this range of Re and complete transient melting of the ice occurs at the higher end of the range. Following these melting transients, the ice reforms at a rate that is independent of Re. We fit to our experimental measurements of ice thickness and temperature a one-dimensional model for the evolution of the ice thickness in which the turbulent heat transfer is parameterized in terms of the friction velocity of the shear flow. Comparison with the Pine Island Glacier Ice Shelf yields qualitative agreement between the transient ice melting rates predicted by our model and the shelf melting rate inferred from the field observations.

Mathematical modeling of the growth and coarsening of ice particles in the context of high pressure shift freezing processes.

PubMed

Smith, N A S; Burlakov, V M; Ramos, Á M

2013-07-25

High pressure shift freezing (HPSF) has been proven more beneficial for ice crystal size and shape than traditional (at atmospheric pressure) freezing.1-3 A model for growth and coarsening of ice crystals inside a frozen food sample (either at atmospheric or high pressure) is developed, and some numerical experiments are given, with which the model is validated by using experimental data. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first model suited for freezing crystallization in the context of high pressure.

Ice-Water Immersion and Cold-Water Immersion Provide Similar Cooling Rates in Runners With Exercise-Induced Hyperthermia

PubMed Central

Clements, Julie M.; Casa, Douglas J.; Knight, J. Chad; McClung, Joseph M.; Blake, Alan S.; Meenen, Paula M.; Gilmer, Allison M.; Caldwell, Kellie A.

2002-01-01

Objective: To assess whether ice-water immersion or cold-water immersion is the more effective treatment for rapidly cooling hyperthermic runners. Design and Setting: 17 heat-acclimated highly trained distance runners (age = 28 ± 2 years, height = 180 ± 2 cm, weight = 68.5 ± 2.1 kg, body fat = 11.2 ± 1.3%, training volume = 89 ± 10 km/wk) completed a hilly trail run (approximately 19 km and 86 minutes) in the heat (wet-bulb globe temperature = 27 ± 1°C) at an individually selected “comfortable” pace on 3 occasions 1 week apart. The random, crossover design included (1) distance run, then 12 minutes of ice-water immersion (5.15 ± 0.20°C), (2) distance run, then 12 minutes of cold-water immersion (14.03 ± 0.28°C), or (3) distance run, then 12 minutes of mock immersion (no water, air temperature = 28.88 ± 0.76°C). Measurements: Each subject was immersed from the shoulders to the hip joints for 12 minutes in a tub. Three minutes elapsed between the distance run and the start of immersion. Rectal temperature was recorded at the start of immersion, at each minute of immersion, and 3, 6, 10, and 15 minutes postimmersion. No rehydration occurred during any trial. Results: Length of distance run, time to complete distance run, rectal temperature, and percentage of dehydration after distance run were similar (P > .05) among all trials, as was the wet-bulb globe temperature. No differences (P > .05) for cooling rates were found when comparing ice-water immersion, cold-water immersion, and mock immersion at the start of immersion to 4 minutes, 4 to 8 minutes, and the start of immersion to 8 minutes. Ice-water immersion and cold-water immersion cooling rates were similar (P > .05) to each other and greater (P < .05) than mock immersion at 8 to 12 minutes, the start of immersion to 10 minutes, and the start of immersion to every other time point thereafter. Rectal temperatures were similar (P > .05) between ice-water immersion and cold-water immersion at the

Local response of a glacier to annual filling and drainage of an ice-marginal lake