Seasonal Ice Zone Reconnaissance Surveys Coordination
2013-09-30
of SIZRS are covered in separate reports. Our long-term goal is to track and understand the interplay among the ice, atmosphere, and ocean...OMB control number. 1. REPORT DATE 30 SEP 2013 2. REPORT TYPE 3. DATES COVERED 00-00-2013 to 00-00-2013 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Seasonal Ice Zone...sensing resources include MODIS visible and IR imagery, NSIDC ice extent charts based on a composite of passive microwave products (http://nsidc.org
Contrasts in Sea Ice Deformation and Production in the Arctic Seasonal and Perennial Ice Zones
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Kwok, K.
2006-01-01
Four years (1997-2000) of RADARSAT Geophysical Processor System (RGPS) data are used to contrast the sea ice deformation and production regionally, and in the seasonal (SIZ) and perennial (PIZ) ice zones. Ice production is of seasonal ice in openings during the winter. Three-day estimates of these quantities are provided within Lagrangian elements initially 10 km on a side. A distinct seasonal cycle is seen in both zones with these estimates highest in the late fall and with seasonal minimums in the midwinter. Regional divergence over the winter could be up to 30%. Spatially, the highest deformation is seen in the SIZ north of coastal Alaska. Both ice deformation and production are higher in the SIZ: deformation-related ice production in the SIZ (approx.0.5 m) is 1.5-2.3 times that of the PIZ (approx.0.3 m): this is connected to ice strength and thickness. Atmospheric forcing and boundary layer structure contribute to only the seasonal and interannual variability. Seasonal ice growth in ice fractures accounts for approx.25-40% of the total ice production of the Arctic Ocean. Uncertainties in these estimates are discussed. By itself, this deformation-ice production relationship could be considered a negative feedback when thickness is perturbed. However, the overall effect on ice production in the face of increasing seasonal and thinner/weaker ice coverage could be modified by local destabilization of the water column promoting overturning of warmer water due to increased brine rejection; and the upwelling of the pynocline associated with increased occurrence of large shear motion in sea ice. Divergence is shown to be negligibly correlated to cyclonic motion in summer and winter in both ice zones.
Contrasts in Sea Ice Formation and Production in the Arctic Seasonal and Perennial Ice Zones
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Kwok, R.
2006-01-01
Four years (1997-2000) of RADARSAT Geophysical Processor System (RGPS) data are used to contrast the sea ice deformation and production regionally, and in the seasonal (SIZ) and perennial (PIZ) ice zones. Ice production is of seasonal ice in openings during the winter. 3-day estimates of these quantities are provided within Lagrangian elements initially 10 km on a side. A distinct seasonal cycle is seen in both zones with these estimates highest in the late fall and with seasonal minimums in the mid-winter. Regional divergence over the winter could be up to 30%. Spatially, the highest deformation is in the SIZ north of coastal Alaska. Both ice deformation and production are higher in the SIZ: deformation-related ice production in the SIZ (approx.0.5 m) is 1.5-2.3 times that of the PIZ (approx.0.3 m) - this is connected to ice strength and thickness. Atmospheric forcing and boundary layer structure contribute to only the seasonal and interannual variability. Seasonal ice growth in ice fractures accounts for approx.25-40% of the total ice production of the Arctic Ocean. By itself, this deformation-ice production relationship could be considered a negative feedback when thickness is perturbed. However, the overall effect on ice production in the face of increasing seasonal and thinner/weaker ice coverage could be modified by: local destabilization of the water column promoting overturning of warmer water due to increased brine rejection; and, the upwelling of the pynocline associated with increased occurrence of large shear motion in sea ice.
Aircraft Surveys of the Beaufort Sea Seasonal Ice Zone
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Morison, J.
2016-02-01
The Seasonal Ice Zone Reconnaissance Surveys (SIZRS) is a program of repeated ocean, ice, and atmospheric measurements across the Beaufort-Chukchi sea seasonal sea ice zone (SIZ) utilizing US Coast Guard Arctic Domain Awareness (ADA) flights of opportunity. The SIZ is the region between maximum winter sea ice extent and minimum summer sea ice extent. As such, it contains the full range of positions of the marginal ice zone (MIZ) where sea ice interacts with open water. The increasing size and changing air-ice-ocean properties of the SIZ are central to recent reductions in Arctic sea ice extent. The changes in the interplay among the atmosphere, ice, and ocean require a systematic SIZ observational effort of coordinated atmosphere, ice, and ocean observations covering up to interannual time-scales, Therefore, every year beginning in late Spring and continuing to early Fall, SIZRS makes monthly flights across the Beaufort Sea SIZ aboard Coast Guard C-130H aircraft from USCG Air Station Kodiak dropping Aircraft eXpendable CTDs (AXCTD) and Aircraft eXpendable Current Profilers (AXCP) for profiles of ocean temperature, salinity and shear, dropsondes for atmospheric temperature, humidity, and velocity profiles, and buoys for atmosphere and upper ocean time series. Enroute measurements include IR imaging, radiometer and lidar measurements of the sea surface and cloud tops. SIZRS also cooperates with the International Arctic Buoy Program for buoy deployments and with the NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory atmospheric chemistry sampling program on board the aircraft. Since 2012, SIZRS has found that even as SIZ extent, ice character, and atmospheric forcing varies year-to-year, the pattern of ocean freshening and radiative warming south of the ice edge is consistent. The experimental approach, observations and extensions to other projects will be discussed.
Ocean Profile Measurements During the Seasonal Ice Zone Reconnaissance Surveys Ocean Profiles
2017-01-01
repeated ocean, ice, and atmospheric measurements across the Beaufort-Chukchi sea seasonal sea ice zone (SIZ) utilizing US Coast Guard Arctic Domain...contributing to the rapid decline in summer ice extent that has occurred in recent years. The SIZ is the region between maximum winter sea ice extent and...minimum summer sea ice extent. As such, it contains the full range of positions of the marginal ice zone (MIZ) where sea ice interacts with open water
Aerial Surveys of the Beaufort Sea Seasonal Ice Zone in 2012-2014
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Dewey, S.; Morison, J.; Andersen, R.; Zhang, J.
2014-12-01
Seasonal Ice Zone Reconnaissance Surveys (SIZRS) of the Beaufort Sea aboard U.S. Coast Guard Arctic Domain Awareness flights were made monthly from May 2012 to October 2012, June 2013 to August 2013, and June 2014 to October 2014. In 2012 sea ice extent reached a record minimum and the SIZRS sampling ranged from complete ice cover to open water; in addition to its large spatial coverage, the SIZRS program extends temporal coverage of the seasonal ice zone (SIZ) beyond the traditional season for ship-based observations, and is a good set of measurements for model validation and climatological comparison. The SIZ, where ice melts and reforms annually, encompasses the marginal ice zone (MIZ). Thus SIZRS tracks interannual MIZ conditions, providing a regional context for smaller-scale MIZ processes. Observations with Air eXpendable CTDs (AXCTDs) reveal two near-surface warm layers: a locally-formed surface seasonal mixed layer and a layer of Pacific origin at 50-60m. Temperatures in the latter differ from the freezing point by up to 2°C more than climatologies. To distinguish vertical processes of mixed layer formation from Pacific advection, vertical heat and salt fluxes are quantified using a 1-D Price-Weller-Pinkel (PWP) model adapted for ice-covered seas. This PWP simulates mixing processes in the top 100m of the ocean. Surface forcing fluxes are taken from the Marginal Ice Zone Modeling and Assimilation System MIZMAS. Comparison of SIZRS observations with PWP output shows that the ocean behaves one-dimensionally above the Pacific layer of the Beaufort Gyre. Despite agreement with the MIZMAS-forced PWP, SIZRS observations remain fresher to 100m than do outputs from MIZMAS and ECCO.2. The shapes of seasonal cycles in SIZRS salinity and temperature agree with MIZMAS and ECCO.2 model outputs despite differences in the values of each. However, the seasonal change of surface albedo is not high enough resolution to accurately drive the PWP. Use of ice albedo
A Microwave Technique for Mapping Ice Temperature in the Arctic Seasonal Sea Ice Zone
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
St.Germain, Karen M.; Cavalieri, Donald J.
1997-01-01
A technique for deriving ice temperature in the Arctic seasonal sea ice zone from passive microwave radiances has been developed. The algorithm operates on brightness temperatures derived from the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) and uses ice concentration and type from a previously developed thin ice algorithm to estimate the surface emissivity. Comparisons of the microwave derived temperatures with estimates derived from infrared imagery of the Bering Strait yield a correlation coefficient of 0.93 and an RMS difference of 2.1 K when coastal and cloud contaminated pixels are removed. SSM/I temperatures were also compared with a time series of air temperature observations from Gambell on St. Lawrence Island and from Point Barrow, AK weather stations. These comparisons indicate that the relationship between the air temperature and the ice temperature depends on ice type.
2017-06-04
Cover in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas: Atmospheric Observations and Modeling as Part of the Seasonal Ice Zone Reconnaissance Surveys Axel...of the atmospheric component of the Seasonal Ice Zone Reconnaissance Survey project (SIZRS). Combined with oceanographic and sea ice components of...indicate cumulative probabilities. Vertical lines show median errors for forecast and climatology, respectively Figure 7 Correlation coefficient
22-year surface salinity changes in the Seasonal Ice Zone near 140°E off Antarctica
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Morrow, Rosemary; Kestenare, Elodie
2017-11-01
Seasonal and interannual variations in sea surface salinity (SSS) are analyzed in the Sea Ice Zone south of 60°S, from a 22-year time series of observations near 140°E. In the northern sea-ice zone during the warming, melting cycle from October to March, waters warm by an average of 3.5 °C and become fresher by 0.1 to 0.25. In the southern sea-ice zone, the surface temperatures vary from - 1 to 1 °C over summer, and the maximal SSS range occurs in December, with a minimum SSS of 33.65 near the Southern Boundary of the ACC, reaching 34.4 in the shelf waters close to the coast. The main fronts, normally defined at subsurface, are shown to have more distinct seasonal characteristics in SSS than in SST. The interannual variations in SSS are more closely linked to variations in upstream sea-ice cover than surface forcing. SSS and sea-ice variations show distinct phases, with large biannual variations in the early 1990s, weaker variations in the 2000s and larger variations again from 2009 onwards. The calving of the Mertz Glacier Tongue in February 2010 leads to increased sea-ice cover and widespread freshening of the surface layers from 2011 onwards. Summer freshening in the northern sea-ice zone is 0.05-0.07 per decade, increasing to 0.08 per decade in the southern sea-ice zone, largely influenced by the Mertz Glacier calving event at the end of our time series. The summer time series of SSS on the shelf at 140°E is in phase but less variable than the SSS observed upstream in the Adélie Depression, and thus represents a spatially integrated index of the wider SSS variations.
2014-09-30
OBJECTIVES • What is the volume of sea ice in the Beaufort Sea Seasonal Ice Zone (SIZ) and how does this evolve during summer as the ice edge...retreats? Recent observations suggest that the remaining ice in the Beaufort Sea is younger and thinner in recent years in part because even the oldest...surrounding ice . Recent analyses have indicated that ponds on thinner ice are often darker, accelerating the ice - albedo feedback over thin ice in summer
2012-09-30
Ice Cover in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas Atmospheric Observations and Modeling as Part of the Seasonal Ice Zone Reconnaissance Surveys Axel...temperatures. These changes in turn will affect the evolution of the SIZ. An appropriate representation of this feedback loop in models is critical if we... modeling experiments as part of the atmospheric component of the Seasonal Ice Zone Reconnaissance Survey project (SIZRS). We will • Determine the role
Seasonal evolution of the Arctic marginal ice zone and its power-law obeying floe size distribution
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Zhang, J.; Stern, H. L., III; Schweiger, A. J. B.; Steele, M.; Hwang, P. B.
2017-12-01
A thickness, floe size, and enthalpy distribution (TFED) sea ice model, implemented numerically into the Pan-arctic Ice-Ocean Modeling and Assimilation System (PIOMAS), is used to investigate the seasonal evolution of the Arctic marginal ice zone (MIZ) and its floe size distribution. The TFED sea ice model, by coupling the Zhang et al. [2015] sea ice floe size distribution (FSD) theory with the Thorndike et al. [1975] ice thickness distribution (ITD) theory, simulates 12-category FSD and ITD explicitly and jointly. A range of ice thickness and floe size observations were used for model calibration and validation. The model creates FSDs that generally obey a power law or upper truncated power law, as observed by satellites and aerial surveys. In this study, we will examine the role of ice fragmentation and lateral melting in altering FSDs in the Arctic MIZ. We will also investigate how changes in FSD impact the seasonal evolution of the MIZ by modifying the thermodynamic processes.
Evidence for ice-ocean albedo feedback in the Arctic Ocean shifting to a seasonal ice zone.
Kashiwase, Haruhiko; Ohshima, Kay I; Nihashi, Sohey; Eicken, Hajo
2017-08-15
Ice-albedo feedback due to the albedo contrast between water and ice is a major factor in seasonal sea ice retreat, and has received increasing attention with the Arctic Ocean shifting to a seasonal ice cover. However, quantitative evaluation of such feedbacks is still insufficient. Here we provide quantitative evidence that heat input through the open water fraction is the primary driver of seasonal and interannual variations in Arctic sea ice retreat. Analyses of satellite data (1979-2014) and a simplified ice-upper ocean coupled model reveal that divergent ice motion in the early melt season triggers large-scale feedback which subsequently amplifies summer sea ice anomalies. The magnitude of divergence controlling the feedback has doubled since 2000 due to a more mobile ice cover, which can partly explain the recent drastic ice reduction in the Arctic Ocean.
2017-06-04
Ice Zone Reconnai ssance Survey project (SIZRS). Combined with oceanographic and sea ice components of the SIZRS project. The projects i dentified...with clear , warm advection events . 1S. SUBJECT TERMS Sea i ce, atmosphere , sea ice retreat , Seasonal Ice Zone Reconnaissance Survey , SIZRS , model...Reconnaissance Surveys Axel Schweiger Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington, 1013 NE 40th St., Seattle, Wa. 98105 phone: (206) 543
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Toyota, Takenobu; Kimura, Noriaki
2018-02-01
The validity of the sea ice rheological model formulated by Hibler (1979), which is widely used in present numerical sea ice models, is examined for the Sea of Okhotsk as an example of the seasonal ice zone (SIZ), based on satellite-derived sea ice velocity, concentration and thickness. Our focus was the formulation of the yield curve, the shape of which can be estimated from ice drift pattern based on the energy equation of deformation, while the strength of the ice cover that determines its magnitude was evaluated using ice concentration and thickness data. Ice drift was obtained with a grid spacing of 37.5 km from the AMSR-E 89 GHz brightness temperature using a maximum cross-correlation method. The ice thickness was obtained with a spatial resolution of 100 m from a regression of the PALSAR backscatter coefficients with ice thickness. To assess scale dependence, the ice drift data derived from a coastal radar covering a 70 km range in the southernmost Sea of Okhotsk were similarly analyzed. The results obtained were mostly consistent with Hibler's formulation that was based on the Arctic Ocean on both scales with no dependence on a time scale, and justify the treatment of sea ice as a plastic material, with an elliptical shaped yield curve to some extent. However, it also highlights the difficulty in parameterizing sub-grid scale ridging in the model because grid scale ice velocities reduce the deformation magnitude by half due to the large variation of the deformation field in the SIZ.
Thin Ice Area Extraction in the Seasonal Sea Ice Zones of the Northern Hemisphere Using Modis Data
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Hayashi, K.; Naoki, K.; Cho, K.
2018-04-01
Sea ice has an important role of reflecting the solar radiation back into space. However, once the sea ice area melts, the area starts to absorb the solar radiation which accelerates the global warming. This means that the trend of global warming is likely to be enhanced in sea ice areas. In this study, the authors have developed a method to extract thin ice area using reflectance data of MODIS onboard Terra and Aqua satellites of NASA. The reflectance of thin sea ice in the visible region is rather low. Moreover, since the surface of thin sea ice is likely to be wet, the reflectance of thin sea ice in the near infrared region is much lower than that of visible region. Considering these characteristics, the authors have developed a method to extract thin sea ice areas by using the reflectance data of MODIS (NASA MYD09 product, 2017) derived from MODIS L1B. By using the scatter plots of the reflectance of Band 1 (620 nm-670 nm) and Band 2 (841 nm-876 nm)) of MODIS, equations for extracting thin ice area were derived. By using those equations, most of the thin ice areas which could be recognized from MODIS images were well extracted in the seasonal sea ice zones in the Northern Hemisphere, namely the Sea of Okhotsk, the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. For some limited areas, Landsat-8 OLI images were also used for validation.
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
St.Germain, Karen; Cavalieri, Donald J.; Markus, Thorsten
1997-01-01
Global climate studies have shown that sea ice is a critical component in the global climate system through its effect on the ocean and atmosphere, and on the earth's radiation balance. Polar energy studies have further shown that the distribution of thin ice and open water largely controls the distribution of surface heat exchange between the ocean and atmosphere within the winter Arctic ice pack. The thickness of the ice, the depth of snow on the ice, and the temperature profile of the snow/ice composite are all important parameters in calculating surface heat fluxes. In recent years, researchers have used various combinations of DMSP SSMI channels to independently estimate the thin ice type (which is related to ice thickness), the thin ice temperature, and the depth of snow on the ice. In each case validation efforts provided encouraging results, but taken individually each algorithm gives only one piece of the information necessary to compute the energy fluxes through the ice and snow. In this paper we present a comparison of the results from each of these algorithms to provide a more comprehensive picture of the seasonal ice zone using passive microwave observations.
The seasonal sea-ice zone in the glacial Southern Ocean as a carbon sink.
Abelmann, Andrea; Gersonde, Rainer; Knorr, Gregor; Zhang, Xu; Chapligin, Bernhard; Maier, Edith; Esper, Oliver; Friedrichsen, Hans; Lohmann, Gerrit; Meyer, Hanno; Tiedemann, Ralf
2015-09-18
Reduced surface-deep ocean exchange and enhanced nutrient consumption by phytoplankton in the Southern Ocean have been linked to lower glacial atmospheric CO2. However, identification of the biological and physical conditions involved and the related processes remains incomplete. Here we specify Southern Ocean surface-subsurface contrasts using a new tool, the combined oxygen and silicon isotope measurement of diatom and radiolarian opal, in combination with numerical simulations. Our data do not indicate a permanent glacial halocline related to melt water from icebergs. Corroborated by numerical simulations, we find that glacial surface stratification was variable and linked to seasonal sea-ice changes. During glacial spring-summer, the mixed layer was relatively shallow, while deeper mixing occurred during fall-winter, allowing for surface-ocean refueling with nutrients from the deep reservoir, which was potentially richer in nutrients than today. This generated specific carbon and opal export regimes turning the glacial seasonal sea-ice zone into a carbon sink.
The seasonal sea-ice zone in the glacial Southern Ocean as a carbon sink
Abelmann, Andrea; Gersonde, Rainer; Knorr, Gregor; Zhang, Xu; Chapligin, Bernhard; Maier, Edith; Esper, Oliver; Friedrichsen, Hans; Lohmann, Gerrit; Meyer, Hanno; Tiedemann, Ralf
2015-01-01
Reduced surface–deep ocean exchange and enhanced nutrient consumption by phytoplankton in the Southern Ocean have been linked to lower glacial atmospheric CO2. However, identification of the biological and physical conditions involved and the related processes remains incomplete. Here we specify Southern Ocean surface–subsurface contrasts using a new tool, the combined oxygen and silicon isotope measurement of diatom and radiolarian opal, in combination with numerical simulations. Our data do not indicate a permanent glacial halocline related to melt water from icebergs. Corroborated by numerical simulations, we find that glacial surface stratification was variable and linked to seasonal sea-ice changes. During glacial spring–summer, the mixed layer was relatively shallow, while deeper mixing occurred during fall–winter, allowing for surface-ocean refueling with nutrients from the deep reservoir, which was potentially richer in nutrients than today. This generated specific carbon and opal export regimes turning the glacial seasonal sea-ice zone into a carbon sink. PMID:26382319
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Pilskaln, C. H.; Manganini, S. J.; Trull, T. W.; Armand, L.; Howard, W.; Asper, V. L.; Massom, R.
2004-02-01
Time-series sediment traps were deployed between December 1998 and January 2000 and from March 2000 to February 2001 at two offshore Prydz Bay sites within the seasonal ice zone (SIZ) of the Southern Indian Ocean located between 62-63°S and 73-76°E to quantify seasonal biogeochemical particle fluxes. Samples were obtained from traps placed at 1400, 2400, and 3400 m during the first deployment year (PZB-1) and from 3300 m in the second deployment year (PZB-2). All geochemical export fluxes were highly seasonal with primary peaks occurring during the austral summer and relatively low fluxes prevailing through the winter months. Secondary flux peaks in mid-winter and in early spring were suggestive of small-scale, sea-ice break-up events and the spring retreat of seasonal ice, respectively. Biogenic silica represented over 70% (by weight) of the collected trap material and provided an annual opal export of 18 g m -2 to 1 km and 3-10 g m -2 to 3 km. POC fluxes supplied an annual export of approximately 1 g m -2, equal to the estimated ocean-wide average. Elevated particulate C org/C inorg and Si bio/C inorg molar ratios indicate a productive, diatom-dominated system, although consistently small fluxes of planktonic foraminifera and pteropod shells document a heterotrophic source of carbonate to deeper waters in the SIZ. The observation of high Si bio/C org ratios and the δ15N time-series data suggest enhanced rates of diatom-POC remineralization in the upper 1000 m relative to bioSiO 2. The occurrence in this region of a pronounced temperature minimum, associated with a strong pycnocline and subsurface particle maximum at 50-100 m, may represent a zone where sinking, diatom-rich particulates temporarily accumulate and POC is remineralized.
Spatially Mapped Reductions in the Length of the Arctic Sea Ice Season
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Parkinson, Claire L.
2014-01-01
Satellite data are used to determine the number of days having sea ice coverage in each year 1979-2013 and to map the trends in these ice-season lengths. Over the majority of the Arctic seasonal sea ice zone, the ice season shortened at an average rate of at least 5 days/decade between 1979 and 2013, and in a small area in the northeastern Barents Sea the rate of shortening reached over 65 days/decade. The only substantial non-coastal area with lengthening sea ice seasons is the Bering Sea, where the ice season lengthened by 5-15 days/decade. Over the Arctic as a whole, the area with ice seasons shortened by at least 5 days/decade is 12.4 × 10(exp 6) square kilimeters, while the area with ice seasons lengthened by at least 5 days/decade is only 1.1 × 10(exp 6) square kilometers. The contrast is even greater, percentage-wise, for higher rates.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Toyota, T.; Kimura, N.
2017-12-01
Sea ice rheology which relates sea ice stress to the large-scale deformation of the ice cover has been a big issue to numerical sea ice modelling. At present the treatment of internal stress within sea ice area is based mostly on the rheology formulated by Hibler (1979), where the whole sea ice area behaves like an isotropic and plastic matter under the ordinary stress with the yield curve given by an ellipse with an aspect ratio (e) of 2, irrespective of sea ice area and horizontal resolution of the model. However, this formulation was initially developed to reproduce the seasonal variation of the perennial ice in the Arctic Ocean. As for its applicability to the seasonal ice zones (SIZ), where various types of sea ice are present, it still needs validation from observational data. In this study, the validity of this rheology was examined for the Sea of Okhotsk ice, typical of the SIZ, based on the AMSR-derived ice drift pattern in comparison with the result obtained for the Beaufort Sea. To examine the dependence on a horizontal scale, the coastal radar data operated near the Hokkaido coast, Japan, were also used. Ice drift pattern was obtained by a maximum cross-correlation method with grid spacings of 37.5 km from the 89 GHz brightness temperature of AMSR-E for the entire Sea of Okhotsk and the Beaufort Sea and 1.3 km from the coastal radar for the near-shore Sea of Okhotsk. The validity of this rheology was investigated from a standpoint of work rate done by deformation field, following the theory of Rothrock (1975). In analysis, the relative rates of convergence were compared between theory and observation to check the shape of yield curve, and the strain ellipse at each grid cell was estimated to see the horizontal variation of deformation field. The result shows that the ellipse of e=1.7-2.0 as the yield curve represents the observed relative conversion rates well for all the ice areas. Since this result corresponds with the yield criterion by Tresca and
2013-09-30
Cover in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas Atmospheric Observations and Modeling as Part of the Seasonal Ice Zone Reconnaissance Surveys Axel...how changes in sea ice and sea surface conditions in the SIZ affect changes in cloud properties and cover . • Determine the role additional atmospheric...REPORT TYPE 3. DATES COVERED 00-00-2013 to 00-00-2013 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Atmospheric Profiles, Clouds, and the Evolution of Sea Ice Cover in the
Change and variability in East antarctic sea ice seasonality, 1979/80-2009/10.
Massom, Robert; Reid, Philip; Stammerjohn, Sharon; Raymond, Ben; Fraser, Alexander; Ushio, Shuki
2013-01-01
Recent analyses have shown that significant changes have occurred in patterns of sea ice seasonality in West Antarctica since 1979, with wide-ranging climatic, biological and biogeochemical consequences. Here, we provide the first detailed report on long-term change and variability in annual timings of sea ice advance, retreat and resultant ice season duration in East Antarctica. These were calculated from satellite-derived ice concentration data for the period 1979/80 to 2009/10. The pattern of change in sea ice seasonality off East Antarctica comprises mixed signals on regional to local scales, with pockets of strongly positive and negative trends occurring in near juxtaposition in certain regions e.g., Prydz Bay. This pattern strongly reflects change and variability in different elements of the marine "icescape", including fast ice, polynyas and the marginal ice zone. A trend towards shorter sea-ice duration (of 1 to 3 days per annum) occurs in fairly isolated pockets in the outer pack from∼95-110°E, and in various near-coastal areas that include an area of particularly strong and persistent change near Australia's Davis Station and between the Amery and West Ice Shelves. These areas are largely associated with coastal polynyas that are important as sites of enhanced sea ice production/melt. Areas of positive trend in ice season duration are more extensive, and include an extensive zone from 160-170°E (i.e., the western Ross Sea sector) and the near-coastal zone between 40-100°E. The East Antarctic pattern is considerably more complex than the well-documented trends in West Antarctica e.g., in the Antarctic Peninsula-Bellingshausen Sea and western Ross Sea sectors.
Change and Variability in East Antarctic Sea Ice Seasonality, 1979/80–2009/10
Massom, Robert; Reid, Philip; Stammerjohn, Sharon; Raymond, Ben; Fraser, Alexander; Ushio, Shuki
2013-01-01
Recent analyses have shown that significant changes have occurred in patterns of sea ice seasonality in West Antarctica since 1979, with wide-ranging climatic, biological and biogeochemical consequences. Here, we provide the first detailed report on long-term change and variability in annual timings of sea ice advance, retreat and resultant ice season duration in East Antarctica. These were calculated from satellite-derived ice concentration data for the period 1979/80 to 2009/10. The pattern of change in sea ice seasonality off East Antarctica comprises mixed signals on regional to local scales, with pockets of strongly positive and negative trends occurring in near juxtaposition in certain regions e.g., Prydz Bay. This pattern strongly reflects change and variability in different elements of the marine “icescape”, including fast ice, polynyas and the marginal ice zone. A trend towards shorter sea-ice duration (of 1 to 3 days per annum) occurs in fairly isolated pockets in the outer pack from∼95–110°E, and in various near-coastal areas that include an area of particularly strong and persistent change near Australia's Davis Station and between the Amery and West Ice Shelves. These areas are largely associated with coastal polynyas that are important as sites of enhanced sea ice production/melt. Areas of positive trend in ice season duration are more extensive, and include an extensive zone from 160–170°E (i.e., the western Ross Sea sector) and the near-coastal zone between 40–100°E. The East Antarctic pattern is considerably more complex than the well-documented trends in West Antarctica e.g., in the Antarctic Peninsula-Bellingshausen Sea and western Ross Sea sectors. PMID:23705008
Biologically-Oriented Processes in the Coastal Sea Ice Zone of the White Sea
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Melnikov, I. A.
2002-12-01
The annual advance and retreat of sea ice is a major physical determinant of spatial and temporal changes in the structure and function of marine coastal biological communities. Sea ice biological data obtained in the tidal zone of Kandalaksha Gulf (White Sea) during 1996-2001 period will be presented. Previous observations in this area were mainly conducted during the ice-free summer season. However, there is little information on the ice-covered winter season (6-7 months duration), and, especially, on the sea-ice biology in the coastal zone within tidal regimes. During the January-May period time-series observations were conducted on transects along shorelines with coastal and fast ice. Trends in the annual extent of sea ice showed significant impacts on ice-associated biological communities. Three types of sea ice impact on kelps, balanoides, littorinas and amphipods are distinguished: (i) positive, when sea ice protects these populations from grinding (ii) negative, when ice grinds both fauna and flora, and (iii) a combined effect, when fast ice protects, but anchored ice grinds plant and animals. To understand the full spectrum of ecological problems caused by pollution on the coastal zone, as well as the problems of sea ice melting caused by global warming, an integrated, long-term study of the physical, chemical, and biological processes is needed.
Fragmentation and melting of the seasonal sea ice cover
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Feltham, D. L.; Bateson, A.; Schroeder, D.; Ridley, J. K.; Aksenov, Y.
2017-12-01
Recent years have seen a rapid reduction in the summer extent of Arctic sea ice. This trend has implications for navigation, oil exploration, wildlife, and local communities. Furthermore the Arctic sea ice cover impacts the exchange of heat and momentum between the ocean and atmosphere with significant teleconnections across the climate system, particularly mid to low latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere. The treatment of melting and break-up processes of the seasonal sea ice cover within climate models is currently limited. In particular floes are assumed to have a uniform size which does not evolve with time. Observations suggest however that floe sizes can be modelled as truncated power law distributions, with different exponents for smaller and larger floes. This study aims to examine factors controlling the floe size distribution in the seasonal and marginal ice zone. This includes lateral melting, wave induced break-up of floes, and the feedback between floe size and the mixed ocean layer. These results are then used to quantify the proximate mechanisms of seasonal sea ice reduction in a sea ice—ocean mixed layer model. Observations are used to assess and calibrate the model. The impacts of introducing these processes to the model will be discussed and the preliminary results of sensitivity and feedback studies will also be presented.
Submesoscale Sea Ice-Ocean Interactions in Marginal Ice Zones
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Manucharyan, Georgy E.; Thompson, Andrew F.
2017-12-01
Signatures of ocean eddies, fronts, and filaments are commonly observed within marginal ice zones (MIZs) from satellite images of sea ice concentration, and in situ observations via ice-tethered profilers or underice gliders. However, localized and intermittent sea ice heating and advection by ocean eddies are currently not accounted for in climate models and may contribute to their biases and errors in sea ice forecasts. Here, we explore mechanical sea ice interactions with underlying submesoscale ocean turbulence. We demonstrate that the release of potential energy stored in meltwater fronts can lead to energetic submesoscale motions along MIZs with spatial scales O(10 km) and Rossby numbers O(1). In low-wind conditions, cyclonic eddies and filaments efficiently trap the sea ice and advect it over warmer surface ocean waters where it can effectively melt. The horizontal eddy diffusivity of sea ice mass and heat across the MIZ can reach O(200 m2 s-1). Submesoscale ocean variability also induces large vertical velocities (order 10 m d-1) that can bring relatively warm subsurface waters into the mixed layer. The ocean-sea ice heat fluxes are localized over cyclonic eddies and filaments reaching about 100 W m-2. We speculate that these submesoscale-driven intermittent fluxes of heat and sea ice can contribute to the seasonal evolution of MIZs. With the continuing global warming and sea ice thickness reduction in the Arctic Ocean, submesoscale sea ice-ocean processes are expected to become increasingly prominent.
Bimodal albedo distributions in the ablation zone of the southwestern Greenland Ice Sheet
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Moustafa, S. E.; Rennermalm, A. K.; Smith, L. C.; Miller, M. A.; Mioduszewski, J. R.
2014-09-01
Surface albedo is a key variable controlling solar radiation absorbed at the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) surface, and thus, meltwater production. Recent decline in surface albedo over the GrIS has been linked to enhanced snow grain metamorphic rates and amplified ice-albedo feedback from atmospheric warming. However, the importance of distinct surface types on ablation zone albedo and meltwater production is still relatively unknown, and excluded in surface mass balance models. In this study, we analyze albedo and ablation rates using in situ and remotely-sensed data. Observations include: (1) a new high-quality in situ spectral albedo dataset collected with an Analytical Spectral Devices (ASD) spectroradiometer measuring at 325-1075 nm, along a 1.25 km transect during three days in June 2013; (2) broadband albedo at two automatic weather stations; and (3) daily MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) albedo (MOD10A1) between 31 May and 30 August. We find that seasonal ablation zone albedos have a bimodal distribution, with two alternate states. This suggests that an abrupt switch from high to low albedo can be triggered by a modest melt event, resulting in amplified surface ablation rates. Our results show that such a shift corresponds to an observed melt rate percent difference increase of 51.6% during peak melt season (between 10-14 and 20-24 July 2013). Furthermore, our findings demonstrate that seasonal changes in GrIS ablation zone albedo are not exclusively a function of a darkening surface from ice crystal growth, but rather are controlled by changes in the fractional coverage of snow, bare ice, and impurity-rich surface types. As the climate continues to warm, regional climate models should consider the seasonal evolution of ice surface types in Greenland's ablation zone to improve projections of mass loss contributions to sea level rise.
Bimodal Albedo Distributions in the Ablation Zone of the Southwestern Greenland Ice Sheet
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Moustafa, S.; Rennermalm, A. K.; Smith, L. C.; Miller, M. A.; Mioduszewski, J.; Koenig, L.
2014-12-01
Surface albedo is a key variable controlling solar radiation absorbed at the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) surface, and thus meltwater production. Recent decline in surface albedo over the GrIS has been linked to enhanced snow grain metamorphic rates and amplified ice-albedo feedback from atmospheric warming. However, the importance of distinct surface types on ablation zone albedo and meltwater production is still relatively unknown, and excluded in surface mass balance models. In this study, we analyze albedo and ablation rates (m d-1) using in situ and remotely-sensed data. Observations include: 1) a new high-quality in situ spectral albedo dataset collected with an Analytical Spectral Devices (ASD) spectroradiometer measuring at 325-1075 nm, along a 1.25 km transect during three days in June 2013; 2) broadband albedo at two automatic weather stations; and 3) daily MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) albedo (MOD10A1) between 31 May and 30 August. We find that seasonal ablation zone albedos have a bimodal distribution, with two alternate states. This suggests that an abrupt switch from high to low albedo can be triggered by a modest melt event, resulting in amplified ablation rates. Our results show that such a shift corresponds to an observed melt rate percent difference increase of 51.6% during peak melt season (between 10-14 July and 20-24 July, 2013). Furthermore, our findings demonstrate that seasonal changes in GrIS ablation zone albedo are not exclusively a function of a darkening surface from ice crystal growth, but rather are controlled by changes in the fractional coverage of snow, bare ice, and impurity-rich surface types. As the climate continues to warm, regional climate models should consider the seasonal evolution of ice surface types in Greenland's ablation zone to improve projections of mass loss contributions to sea level rise.
Submesoscale sea ice-ocean interactions in marginal ice zones
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Thompson, A. F.; Manucharyan, G.
2017-12-01
Signatures of ocean eddies, fronts and filaments are commonly observed within the marginal ice zones (MIZ) from satellite images of sea ice concentration, in situ observations via ice-tethered profilers or under-ice gliders. Localized and intermittent sea ice heating and advection by ocean eddies are currently not accounted for in climate models and may contribute to their biases and errors in sea ice forecasts. Here, we explore mechanical sea ice interactions with underlying submesoscale ocean turbulence via a suite of numerical simulations. We demonstrate that the release of potential energy stored in meltwater fronts can lead to energetic submesoscale motions along MIZs with sizes O(10 km) and Rossby numbers O(1). In low-wind conditions, cyclonic eddies and filaments efficiently trap the sea ice and advect it over warmer surface ocean waters where it can effectively melt. The horizontal eddy diffusivity of sea ice mass and heat across the MIZ can reach O(200 m2 s-1). Submesoscale ocean variability also induces large vertical velocities (order of 10 m day-1) that can bring relatively warm subsurface waters into the mixed layer. The ocean-sea ice heat fluxes are localized over cyclonic eddies and filaments reaching about 100 W m-2. We speculate that these submesoscale-driven intermittent fluxes of heat and sea ice can potentially contribute to the seasonal evolution of MIZs. With continuing global warming and sea ice thickness reduction in the Arctic Ocean, as well as the large expanse of thin sea ice in the Southern Ocean, submesoscale sea ice-ocean processes are expected to play a significant role in the climate system.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Briggs, Ellen M.; Martz, Todd R.; Talley, Lynne D.; Mazloff, Matthew R.; Johnson, Kenneth S.
2018-02-01
Here we present initial findings from nine profiling floats equipped with pH, O2, NO3-, and other biogeochemical sensors that were deployed in the seasonal ice zone (SIZ) of the Southern Ocean in 2014 and 2015 through the Southern Ocean Carbon and Climate Observations and Modelling (SOCCOM) project. A large springtime phytoplankton bloom was observed that coincided with sea ice melt for all nine floats. We argue this bloom results from a shoaling of the mixed layer depth, increased vertical stability, and enhanced nutrient and light availability as the sea ice melts. This interpretation is supported by the absence of a springtime bloom when one of the floats left the SIZ in the second year of observations. During the sea ice covered period, net heterotrophic conditions were observed. The rate of uptake of O2 and release of dissolved inorganic carbon (derived from pH and estimated total alkalinity) and NO3- is reminiscent of biological respiration and is nearly Redfieldian for the nine floats. A simple model of mixed layer physics was developed to separate the physical and biological components of the signal in pH and O2 over one annual cycle for a float in the Ross Sea SIZ. The resulting annual net community production suggests that seasonal respiration during the ice covered period of the year nearly balances the production in the euphotic layer of up to 5 mol C m-2 during the ice free period leading to a net of near zero carbon exported to depth for this one float.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Briggs, E.; Martz, T. R.; Talley, L. D.; Mazloff, M. R.
2015-12-01
Ice cover has strong influence over gas exchange, vertical stability, and biological production which are critical to understanding the Southern Ocean's central role in oceanic biogeochemical cycling and heat and carbon uptake under a changing climate. However the relative influence of physical versus biological processes in this hard-to-study region is poorly understood due to limited observations. Here we present new findings from a profiling float equipped with biogeochemical sensors in the seasonal ice zone of the Ross Sea capturing, for the first time, under-ice pH profile data over a two year timespan from 2014 to the present. The relative influence of physical (e.g. vertical mixing and air-sea gas exchange) and biological (e.g. production and respiration) drivers of pH and O2 within the mixed layer are explored during the phases of ice formation, ice cover, and ice melt over the two seasonal cycles. During the austral fall just prior to and during ice formation, O2 increases as expected due to surface-layer undersaturation and enhanced gas exchange. A small increase in pH is also observed during this phase, but without a biological signal in accompanying profiling float chlorophyll data, which goes against common reasoning from both a biological and physical standpoint. During the phase of ice cover, gas exchange is inhibited and a clear respiration signal is observed in pH and O2 data from which respiration rates are calculated. In the austral spring, ice melt gives rise to substantial ice edge phytoplankton blooms indicated by O2 supersaturation and corresponding increase in pH and large chlorophyll signal. The influence of the duration of ice cover and mixed layer depth on the magnitude of the ice edge blooms is explored between the two seasonal cycles.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Fahnestock, M. A.; Shuman, C. A.; Alley, K. E.
2017-12-01
Snow pit observations on a glaciologically-focussed surface traverse in Greenland allowed Benson [1962, SIPRE (now CRREL) Research Report 70] to define a series of snow zones based on the extent of post-depositional diagenesis of the snowpack. At high elevations, Benson found fine-grained "dry snow" where melt (at that time) was absent year-round, followed down-elevation by a "percolation zone" where surface melt penetrated the snowpack, then a "wet snow zone" where firn became saturated during the peak of the melt season, and finally "superimposed ice" and "bare ice" zones where refrozen surface melt and glacier ice were exposed in the melt season. These snow zones can be discriminated in winter synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery of the ice sheet (e.g. Fahnestock et al. 2001), but summer melt reduces radar backscatter and makes it difficult to follow the progression of diagenesis beyond the initial indications of surface melting. While some of the impacts of surface melt (especially bands of blue water-saturated firn) are observed from time to time in optical satellite imagery, it has only become possible to map effects of melt over the course of a summer season with the advent of large-data analysis tools such as Google Earth Engine and the inclusion of Landsat and Sentinel-2 data streams in these tools. A map of the maximum extent of this blue saturated zone through the 2016 melt season is shown in the figure. This image is a true color (RGB) composite, but each pixel in the image shows the color of the surface when the "blueness" of the pixel was at a maximum. This means each pixel can be from a different satellite image acquisition than adjacent pixels - but it also means that the maximum extent of the saturated firn (Benson's wet snow zone) is visible. Also visible are percolation, superimposed and bare ice zones. This analysis, using Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager data, was performed using Google Earth Engine to access and analyze the entire melt
Remote sensing of the marginal ice zone during Marginal Ice Zone Experiment (MIZEX) 83
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Shuchman, R. A.; Campbell, W. J.; Burns, B. A.; Ellingsen, E.; Farrelly, B. A.; Gloersen, P.; Grenfell, T. C.; Hollinger, J.; Horn, D.; Johannessen, J. A.
1984-01-01
The remote sensing techniques utilized in the Marginal Ice Zone Experiment (MIZEX) to study the physical characteristics and geophysical processes of the Fram Strait Region of the Greenland Sea are described. The studies, which utilized satellites, aircraft, helicopters, and ship and ground-based remote sensors, focused on the use of microwave remote sensors. Results indicate that remote sensors can provide marginal ice zone characteristics which include ice edge and ice boundary locations, ice types and concentration, ice deformation, ice kinematics, gravity waves and swell (in the water and the ice), location of internal wave fields, location of eddies and current boundaries, surface currents and sea surface winds.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Loose, B.; Kelly, R. P.; Bigdeli, A.; Moran, S. B.
2014-12-01
The polar sea ice zones are regions of high primary productivity and interior water mass formation. Consequently, the seasonal sea ice cycle appears important to both the solubility and biological carbon pumps. To estimate net CO2 transfer in the sea ice zone, we require accurate estimates of the air-sea gas transfer velocity. In the open ocean, the gas transfer velocity is driven by wind, waves and bubbles - all of which are strongly altered by the presence of sea ice, making it difficult to translate open ocean estimates of gas transfer to the ice zone. In this study, we present profiles of 222Rn and 226Ra throughout the mixed-layer and euphotic zone. Profiles were collected spanning a range of sea ice cover conditions from 40 to 100%. The profiles of Rn/Ra can be used to estimate the gas transfer velocity, but the 3.8 day half-life of 222Rn implies that mixed layer radon will have a memory of the past ~20 days of gas exchange forcing, which may include a range of sea ice cover conditions. Here, we compare individual estimates of the gas transfer velocity to the turbulent forcing conditions constrained from shipboard and regional reanalysis data to more appropriately capture the time history upper ocean Rn/Ra.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Rjazin, Jevgeni; Pärn, Ove
2016-04-01
Sea ice is a key climate factor and it restricts considerably the winter navigation in sever seasons on the Baltic Sea. So determining ice conditions severity and describing ice cover behaviour at severe seasons interests scientists, engineers and navigation managers. The present study is carried out to determine the ice seasons severity degree basing on the ice seasons 1982 to 2015. A new integrative characteristic is introduced to describe the ice season severity. It is the sum of ice extents of the ice season id est the daily ice extents of the season are summed. The commonly used procedure to determine the ice season severity degree by the maximal ice extent is in this research compared to the new characteristic values. The remote sensing data on the ice concentrations on the Baltic Sea published in the European Copernicus Programme are used to obtain the severity characteristic values. The ice extents are calculated on these ice concentration data. Both the maximal ice extent of the season and a newly introduced characteristic - the ice extents sum are used to classify the winters with respect of severity. The most severe winter of the reviewed period is 1986/87. Also the ice seasons 1981/82, 1984/85, 1985/86, 1995/96 and 2002/03 are classified as severe. Only three seasons of this list are severe by both the criteria. They are 1984/85, 1985/86 and 1986/87. We interpret this coincidence as the evidence of enough-during extensive ice cover in these three seasons. In several winters, for example 2010/11 ice cover extended enough for some time, but did not endure. At few other ice seasons as 2002/03 the Baltic Sea was ice-covered in moderate extent, but the ice cover stayed long time. At 11 winters the ice extents sum differed considerably (> 10%) from the maximal ice extent. These winters yield one third of the studied ice seasons. The maximal ice extent of the season is simple to use and enables to reconstruct the ice cover history and to predict maximal ice
Autonomous Ice Mass Balance Buoys for Seasonal Sea Ice
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Whitlock, J. D.; Planck, C.; Perovich, D. K.; Parno, J. T.; Elder, B. C.; Richter-Menge, J.; Polashenski, C. M.
2017-12-01
The ice mass-balance represents the integration of all surface and ocean heat fluxes and attributing the impact of these forcing fluxes on the ice cover can be accomplished by increasing temporal and spatial measurements. Mass balance information can be used to understand the ongoing changes in the Arctic sea ice cover and to improve predictions of future ice conditions. Thinner seasonal ice in the Arctic necessitates the deployment of Autonomous Ice Mass Balance buoys (IMB's) capable of long-term, in situ data collection in both ice and open ocean. Seasonal IMB's (SIMB's) are free floating IMB's that allow data collection in thick ice, thin ice, during times of transition, and even open water. The newest generation of SIMB aims to increase the number of reliable IMB's in the Arctic by leveraging inexpensive commercial-grade instrumentation when combined with specially developed monitoring hardware. Monitoring tasks are handled by a custom, expandable data logger that provides low-cost flexibility for integrating a large range of instrumentation. The SIMB features ultrasonic sensors for direct measurement of both snow depth and ice thickness and a digital temperature chain (DTC) for temperature measurements every 2cm through both snow and ice. Air temperature and pressure, along with GPS data complete the Arctic picture. Additionally, the new SIMB is more compact to maximize deployment opportunities from multiple types of platforms.
Meltwater storage in low-density near-surface bare ice in the Greenland ice sheet ablation zone
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Cooper, Matthew G.; Smith, Laurence C.; Rennermalm, Asa K.; Miège, Clément; Pitcher, Lincoln H.; Ryan, Jonathan C.; Yang, Kang; Cooley, Sarah W.
2018-03-01
We document the density and hydrologic properties of bare, ablating ice in a mid-elevation (1215 m a.s.l.) supraglacial internally drained catchment in the Kangerlussuaq sector of the western Greenland ice sheet. We find low-density (0.43-0.91 g cm-3, μ = 0.69 g cm-3) ice to at least 1.1 m depth below the ice sheet surface. This near-surface, low-density ice consists of alternating layers of water-saturated, porous ice and clear solid ice lenses, overlain by a thin (< 0.5 m), even lower density (0.33-0.56 g cm-3, μ = 0.45 g cm-3) unsaturated weathering crust. Ice density data from 10 shallow (0.9-1.1 m) ice cores along an 800 m transect suggest an average 14-18 cm of specific meltwater storage within this low-density ice. Water saturation of this ice is confirmed through measurable water levels (1-29 cm above hole bottoms, μ = 10 cm) in 84 % of cryoconite holes and rapid refilling of 83 % of 1 m drilled holes sampled along the transect. These findings are consistent with descriptions of shallow, depth-limited aquifers on the weathered surface of glaciers worldwide and confirm the potential for substantial transient meltwater storage within porous low-density ice on the Greenland ice sheet ablation zone surface. A conservative estimate for the ˜ 63 km2 supraglacial catchment yields 0.009-0.012 km3 of liquid meltwater storage in near-surface, porous ice. Further work is required to determine if these findings are representative of broader areas of the Greenland ice sheet ablation zone, and to assess the implications for sub-seasonal mass balance processes, surface lowering observations from airborne and satellite altimetry, and supraglacial runoff processes.
Divoky, G.J.; Douglas, David C.; Stenhouse, I. J.
2016-01-01
Mandt's black guillemot (Cepphus grylle mandtii) is one of the few seabirds associated in all seasons with Arctic sea ice, a habitat that is changing rapidly. Recent decreases in summer ice have reduced breeding success and colony size of this species in Arctic Alaska. Little is known about the species' movements and distribution during the nine month non-breeding period (September–May), when changes in sea ice extent and composition are also occurring and predicted to continue. To examine bird movements and the seasonal role of sea ice to non-breeding Mandt's black guillemots, we deployed and recovered (n = 45) geolocators on individuals at a breeding colony in Arctic Alaska during 2011–2015. Black guillemots moved north to the marginal ice zone (MIZ) in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas immediately after breeding, moved south to the Bering Sea during freeze-up in December, and wintered in the Bering Sea January–April. Most birds occupied the MIZ in regions averaging 30–60% sea ice concentration, with little seasonal variation. Birds regularly roosted on ice in all seasons averaging 5 h d−1, primarily at night. By using the MIZ, with its roosting opportunities and associated prey, black guillemots can remain in the Arctic during winter when littoral waters are completely covered by ice.
36 CFR 13.1304 - Ice fall hazard zones.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR
2014-07-01
... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Ice fall hazard zones. 13.1304 Section 13.1304 Parks, Forests, and Public Property NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE... Provisions § 13.1304 Ice fall hazard zones. Entering an ice fall hazard zone is prohibited. These zones will...
36 CFR 13.1304 - Ice fall hazard zones.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR
2010-07-01
... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Ice fall hazard zones. 13.1304 Section 13.1304 Parks, Forests, and Public Property NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE... Provisions § 13.1304 Ice fall hazard zones. Entering an ice fall hazard zone is prohibited. These zones will...
36 CFR 13.1304 - Ice fall hazard zones.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR
2011-07-01
... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Ice fall hazard zones. 13.1304 Section 13.1304 Parks, Forests, and Public Property NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE... Provisions § 13.1304 Ice fall hazard zones. Entering an ice fall hazard zone is prohibited. These zones will...
36 CFR 13.1304 - Ice fall hazard zones.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR
2013-07-01
... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Ice fall hazard zones. 13.1304 Section 13.1304 Parks, Forests, and Public Property NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE... Provisions § 13.1304 Ice fall hazard zones. Entering an ice fall hazard zone is prohibited. These zones will...
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.
Ocean-ice interaction in the marginal ice zone
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Liu, Antony K.; Peng, Chich Y.
1994-01-01
Ocean ice interaction processes in the Marginal Ice Zone (MIZ) by wind, waves, and mesoscale features, such as upwelling and eddies, are studied using ERS-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images and ocean ice interaction model. A sequence of SAR images of the Chukchi Sea MIZ with three days interval are studied for ice edge advance/retreat. Simultaneous current measurements from the northeast Chukchi Sea as well as the Barrow wind record are used to interpret the MIZ dynamics.
Beaufort Sea ice zones as delineated by microwave imagery
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Campbell, W. J.; Gloersen, P.; Webster, W. J.; Wilheit, T. T.; Ramseier, R. O.
1976-01-01
Microwave and infrared data were obtained from a research aircraft over the Beaufort Sea ice from the shoreline of Harrison Bay northward to a latitude of almost 81 deg N. The data acquired were compared with microwave data obtained on the surface at an approximate position of 75 deg N, 150 deg W. Over this north-south transect of the polar ice canopy it was discovered that the sea ice could be divided into five distinct zones. The shorefast sea ice was found to consist uniformly of first-year sea ice. The second zone was found to be a mixture of first-year sea ice, medium size multiyear floes, and many recently refrozen leads, polynyas, and open water; considerable shearing activity was evident in this zone. The third zone was a mixture of first-year and multiyear sea ice which had a uniform microwave signature. The fourth zone was found to be a mixture of first-year sea ice and medium-to-large size multiyear floes which was similar in composition to the second zone. The fifth zone was almost exclusively multiyear ice extending to the North Pole.
Changes in the seasonality of Arctic sea ice and temperature
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Bintanja, R.
2012-04-01
Observations show that the Arctic sea ice cover is currently declining as a result of climate warming. According to climate models, this retreat will continue and possibly accelerate in the near-future. However, the magnitude of this decline is not the same throughout the year. With temperatures near or above the freezing point, summertime Arctic sea ice will quickly diminish. However, at temperatures well below freezing, the sea ice cover during winter will exhibit a much weaker decline. In the future, the sea ice seasonal cycle will be no ice in summer, and thin one-year ice in winter. Hence, the seasonal cycle in sea ice cover will increase with ongoing climate warming. This in itself leads to an increased summer-winter contrast in surface air temperature, because changes in sea ice have a dominant influence on Arctic temperature and its seasonality. Currently, the annual amplitude in air temperature is decreasing, however, because winters warm faster than summer. With ongoing summer sea ice reductions there will come a time when the annual temperature amplitude will increase again because of the large seasonal changes in sea ice. This suggests that changes in the seasonal cycle in Arctic sea ice and temperature are closely, and intricately, connected. Future changes in Arctic seasonality (will) have an profound effect on flora, fauna, humans and economic activities.
Air-Sea Interactions in the Marginal Ice Zone
2016-03-31
Arctic Ocean has increased with the significant retreat of the seasonal sea-ice extent. Here, we use wind, wave, turbulence, and ice measurements to...which has experienced a significant retreat of the seasonal ice extent (Comiso and Nishio, 2008; Comiso et al., 2008). Thomson and Rogers (2014) showed
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Barber, David G.; Hop, Haakon; Mundy, Christopher J.; Else, Brent; Dmitrenko, Igor A.; Tremblay, Jean-Eric; Ehn, Jens K.; Assmy, Philipp; Daase, Malin; Candlish, Lauren M.; Rysgaard, Søren
2015-12-01
The Marginal Ice Zone (MIZ) of the Arctic Ocean is changing rapidly due to a warming Arctic climate with commensurate reductions in sea ice extent and thickness. This Pan-Arctic review summarizes the main changes in the Arctic ocean-sea ice-atmosphere (OSA) interface, with implications for primary- and secondary producers in the ice and the underlying water column. Changes in the Arctic MIZ were interpreted for the period 1979-2010, based on best-fit regressions for each month. Trends of increasingly open water were statistically significant for each month, with quadratic fit for August-November, illustrating particularly strong seasonal feedbacks in sea-ice formation and decay. Geographic interpretations of physical and biological changes were based on comparison of regions with significant changes in sea ice: (1) The Pacific Sector of the Arctic Ocean including the Canada Basin and the Beaufort, Chukchi and East Siberian seas; (2) The Canadian Arctic Archipelago; (3) Baffin Bay and Hudson Bay; and (4) the Barents and Kara seas. Changes in ice conditions in the Barents sea/Kara sea region appear to be primarily forced by ocean heat fluxes during winter, whereas changes in the other sectors appear to be more summer-autumn related and primarily atmospherically forced. Effects of seasonal and regional changes in OSA-system with regard to increased open water were summarized for photosynthetically available radiation, nutrient delivery to the euphotic zone, primary production of ice algae and phytoplankton, ice-associated fauna and zooplankton, and gas exchange of CO2. Changes in the physical factors varied amongst regions, and showed direct effects on organisms linked to sea ice. Zooplankton species appear to be more flexible and likely able to adapt to variability in the onset of primary production. The major changes identified for the ice-associated ecosystem are with regard to production timing and abundance or biomass of ice flora and fauna, which are related to
Wave effects on ocean-ice interaction in the marginal ice zone
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Liu, Antony K.; Hakkinen, Sirpa; Peng, Chih Y.
1993-01-01
The effects of wave train on ice-ocean interaction in the marginal ice zone are studied through numerical modeling. A coupled two-dimensional ice-ocean model has been developed to include wave effects and wind stress for the predictions of ice edge dynamics. The sea ice model is coupled to the reduced-gravity ocean model through interfacial stresses. The main dynamic balance in the ice momentum is between water-ice stress, wind stress, and wave radiation stresses. By considering the exchange of momentum between waves and ice pack through radiation stress for decaying waves, a parametric study of the effects of wave stress and wind stress on ice edge dynamics has been performed. The numerical results show significant effects from wave action. The ice edge is sharper, and ice edge meanders form in the marginal ice zone owing to forcing by wave action and refraction of swell system after a couple of days. Upwelling at the ice edge and eddy formation can be enhanced by the nonlinear effects of wave action; wave action sharpens the ice edge and can produce ice meandering, which enhances local Ekman pumping and pycnocline anomalies. The resulting ice concentration, pycnocline changes, and flow velocity field are shown to be consistent with previous observations.
Antarctic Sea ice variations and seasonal air temperature relationships
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Weatherly, John W.; Walsh, John E.; Zwally, H. J.
1991-01-01
Data through 1987 are used to determine the regional and seasonal dependencies of recent trends of Antarctic temperature and sea ice. Lead-lag relationships involving regional sea ice and air temperature are systematically evaluated, with an eye toward the ice-temperature feedbacks that may influence climatic change. Over the 1958-1087 period the temperature trends are positive in all seasons. For the 15 years (l973-l987) for which ice data are available, the trends are predominantly positive only in winter and summer, and are most strongly positive over the Antarctic Peninsula. The spatially aggregated trend of temperature for this latter period is small but positive, while the corresponding trend of ice coverage is small but negative. Lag correlations between seasonal anomalies of the two variables are generally stronger with ice lagging the summer temperatures and with ice leading the winter temperatures. The implication is that summer temperatures predispose the near-surface waters to above-or below-normal ice coverage in the following fall and winter.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Stroeve, Julienne; Jenouvrier, Stephanie
2016-04-01
Sea ice variability within the marginal ice zone (MIZ) and polynyas plays an important role for phytoplankton productivity and krill abundance. Therefore mapping their spatial extent, seasonal and interannual variability is essential for understanding how current and future changes in these biological active regions may impact the Antarctic marine ecosystem. Knowledge of the distribution of different ice types to the total Antarctic sea ice cover may also help to shed light on the factors contributing towards recent expansion of the Antarctic ice cover in some regions and contraction in others. The long-term passive microwave satellite data record provides the longest and most consistent data record for assessing different ice types. However, estimates of the amount of MIZ, consolidated pack ice and polynyas depends strongly on what sea ice algorithm is used. This study uses two popular passive microwave sea ice algorithms, the NASA Team and Bootstrap to evaluate the distribution and variability in the MIZ, the consolidated pack ice and coastal polynyas. Results reveal the NASA Team algorithm has on average twice the MIZ and half the consolidated pack ice area as the Bootstrap algorithm. Polynya area is also larger in the NASA Team algorithm, and the timing of maximum polynya area may differ by as much as 5 months between algorithms. These differences lead to different relationships between sea ice characteristics and biological processes, as illustrated here with the breeding success of an Antarctic seabird.
Upper Ocean Evolution Across the Beaufort Sea Marginal Ice Zone
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Lee, C.; Rainville, L.; Gobat, J. I.; Perry, M. J.; Freitag, L. E.; Webster, S.
2016-12-01
The observed reduction of Arctic summertime sea ice extent and expansion of the marginal ice zone (MIZ) have profound impacts on the balance of processes controlling sea ice evolution, including the introduction of several positive feedback mechanisms that may act to accelerate melting. Examples of such feedbacks include increased upper ocean warming though absorption of solar radiation, elevated internal wave energy and mixing that may entrain heat stored in subsurface watermasses (e.g., the relatively warm Pacific Summer and Atlantic waters), and elevated surface wave energy that acts to deform and fracture sea ice. Spatial and temporal variability in ice properties and open water fraction impact these processes. To investigate how upper ocean structure varies with changing ice cover, how the balance of processes shift as a function of ice fraction and distance from open water, and how these processes impact sea ice evolution, a network of autonomous platforms sampled the atmosphere-ice-ocean system in the Beaufort, beginning in spring, well before the start of melt, and ending with the autumn freeze-up. Four long-endurance autonomous Seagliders occupied sections that extended from open water, through the marginal ice zone, deep into the pack during summer 2014 in the Beaufort Sea. Gliders penetrated up to 200 km into the ice pack, under complete ice cover for up to 10 consecutive days. Sections reveal strong fronts where cold, ice-covered waters meet waters that have been exposed to solar warming, and O(10 km) scale eddies near the ice edge. In the pack, Pacific Summer Water and a deep chlorophyll maximum form distinct layers at roughly 60 m and 80 m, respectively, which become increasingly diffuse late in the season as they progress through the MIZ and into open water. Stratification just above the Pacific Summer Water rapidly weakens near the ice edge and temperature variance increases, likely due to mixing or energetic vertical exchange associated with strong
Circulation and water properties in the landfast ice zone of the Alaskan Beaufort Sea
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Weingartner, Thomas J.; Danielson, Seth L.; Potter, Rachel A.; Trefry, John H.; Mahoney, Andy; Savoie, Mark; Irvine, Cayman; Sousa, Leandra
2017-09-01
Moorings, hydrography, satellite-tracked drifters, and high-frequency radar data describe the annual cycle in circulation and water properties in the landfast ice zone (LIZ) of the Alaskan Beaufort Sea. Three seasons, whose duration and characteristics are controlled by landfast ice formation and ablation, define the LIZ: ;winter;, ;break-up;, and ;open-water;. Winter begins in October with ice formation and ends in June when rivers commence discharging. Winter LIZ ice velocities are zero, under-ice currents are weak ( 5 cm s-1), and poorly correlated with winds and local sea level. The along-shore momentum balance is between along-shore pressure gradients and bottom and ice-ocean friction. Currents at the landfast ice-edge are swift ( 35 cm s-1), wind-driven, with large horizontal shears, and potentially unstable. Weak cross-shore velocities ( 1 cm s-1) imply limited exchanges between the LIZ and the outer shelf in winter. The month-long break-up season (June) begins with the spring freshet and concludes when landfast ice detaches from the bottom. Cross-shore currents increase, and the LIZ hosts shallow ( 2 m), strongly-stratified, buoyant and sediment-laden, under-ice river plumes that overlie a sharp, 1 m thick, pycnocline across which salinity increases by 30. The plume salt balance is between entrainment and cross-shore advection. Break-up is followed by the 3-month long open-water season when currents are swift (≥20 cm s-1) and predominantly wind-driven. Winter water properties are initialized by fall advection and evolve slowly due to salt rejection from ice. Fall waters and ice within the LIZ derive from local rivers, the Mackenzie and/or Chukchi shelves, and the Arctic basin.
Seasonal Changes of Arctic Sea Ice Physical Properties Observed During N-ICE2015: An Overview
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Gerland, S.; Spreen, G.; Granskog, M. A.; Divine, D.; Ehn, J. K.; Eltoft, T.; Gallet, J. C.; Haapala, J. J.; Hudson, S. R.; Hughes, N. E.; Itkin, P.; King, J.; Krumpen, T.; Kustov, V. Y.; Liston, G. E.; Mundy, C. J.; Nicolaus, M.; Pavlov, A.; Polashenski, C.; Provost, C.; Richter-Menge, J.; Rösel, A.; Sennechael, N.; Shestov, A.; Taskjelle, T.; Wilkinson, J.; Steen, H.
2015-12-01
Arctic sea ice is changing, and for improving the understanding of the cryosphere, data is needed to describe the status and processes controlling current seasonal sea ice growth, change and decay. We present preliminary results from in-situ observations on sea ice in the Arctic Basin north of Svalbard from January to June 2015. Over that time, the Norwegian research vessel «Lance» was moored to in total four ice floes, drifting with the sea ice and allowing an international group of scientists to conduct detailed research. Each drift lasted until the ship reached the marginal ice zone and ice started to break up, before moving further north and starting the next drift. The ship stayed within the area approximately 80°-83° N and 5°-25° E. While the expedition covered measurements in the atmosphere, the snow and sea ice system, and in the ocean, as well as biological studies, in this presentation we focus on physics of snow and sea ice. Different ice types could be investigated: young ice in refrozen leads, first year ice, and old ice. Snow surveys included regular snow pits with standardized measurements of physical properties and sampling. Snow and ice thickness were measured at stake fields, along transects with electromagnetics, and in drillholes. For quantifying ice physical properties and texture, ice cores were obtained regularly and analyzed. Optical properties of snow and ice were measured both with fixed installed radiometers, and from mobile systems, a sledge and an ROV. For six weeks, the surface topography was scanned with a ground LIDAR system. Spatial scales of surveys ranged from spot measurements to regional surveys from helicopter (ice thickness, photography) during two months of the expedition, and by means of an array of autonomous buoys in the region. Other regional information was obtained from SAR satellite imagery and from satellite based radar altimetry. The analysis of the data collected has started, and first results will be
76 FR 1362 - Safety Zone; Ice Conditions for the Baltimore Captain of Port Zone
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
2011-01-10
...-AA00 Safety Zone; Ice Conditions for the Baltimore Captain of Port Zone AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS... protect mariners from the hazards associated with ice in the navigable waterways. DATES: This rule is... necessary to protect persons and vessels against the hazards associated with ice on navigable waters. Such...
78 FR 12595 - Safety Zone for Ice Conditions; Baltimore Captain of the Port Zone
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
2013-02-25
... 1625-AA00 Safety Zone for Ice Conditions; Baltimore Captain of the Port Zone AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS... protect mariners from the hazards associated with ice in the navigable waterways. DATES: This rule has... vessels against the hazards associated with ice on navigable waters. Such hazards include vessels becoming...
SIPEX--Exploring the Antarctic Sea Ice Zone
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Zicus, Sandra; Dobson, Jane; Worby, Anthony
2008-01-01
Sea ice in the polar regions plays a key role in both regulating global climate and maintaining marine ecosystems. The international Sea Ice Physics and Ecosystem eXperiment (SIPEX) explored the sea ice zone around Antarctica in September and October 2007, investigating relationships between the physical sea ice environment and the structure of…
Marginal Ice Zone Bibliography.
1985-06-01
A Voyage of Discovery. George Deacon 70th An-niversary Volume, (M. Angel, ed.), Pergamon Press, Oxford, p.15-41. Coachman, L.K., C.A. Barnes, 1961...some polar contrasts. In: S "" RUsium on Antarctic Ice and Water Masses, ( George Deacon, ed.), Sci- 72 Lebedev, A.A., 1968: Zone of possible icing of...Atlantic and Western Europe. British Meteorological Office. Geophysical Memoirs, 4(41). Brost , R.A., J.C. Wyngaard, 1978: A model study of the stably
The 2013 Arctic Field Season of the NRL Sea-Ice Measurement Program
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Gardner, J. M.; Brozena, J. M.; Ball, D.; Hagen, R. A.; Liang, R.; Stoudt, C.
2013-12-01
The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is conducting a five year study of the changing Arctic with a particular focus on ice thickness and distribution variability with the intent of optimizing state-of-the-art computer models which are currently used to predict sea ice changes. An important part of our study is to calibrate/validate CryoSat2 ice thickness data prior to its incorporation into new ice forecast models. NRL Code 7420 collected coincident data with the CryoSat2 satellite in 2011 and 2012 using a LiDAR (Riegl Q560) to measure combined snow and ice thickness and a 10 GHz pulse-limited precision radar altimeter to measure sea-ice freeboard. This field season, LiDAR data was collected using the Riegl Q680 which permitted higher density operation and data collection. Concident radar data was collected using an improved version of the NRL 10 GHz pulse limited radar that was used for the 2012 fieldwork. 8 coincident tracks of CryoSat2 satellite data were collected. Additionally a series of grids (7 total) of adjacent tracks were flown coincident with Cryosat2 satellite overpass. These grids cover the approximate satellite footprint of the satellite on the ice as it passes overhead. Data from these grids are shown here and will be used to examine the relationship of the tracked satellite waveform data to the actual surface across the footprint. We also coordinated with the Seasonal Ice Zone Observing Network (SIZONet) group who conducted surface based ice thickness surveys using a Geonics EM-31 along hunter trails on the landfast ice near Barrow as well as on drifting ice offshore during helicopter landings. On two sorties, a twin otter carrying the NRL LiDAR and radar altimeter flew in tandem with the helicopter carrying the EM-31 to achieve synchronous data acquisition. Data from these flights are shown here along with a digital elevation map.
Trends in the Length of the Southern Ocean Sea Ice Season: 1979-1999
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Parkinson, Claire L.; Zukor, Dorothy J. (Technical Monitor)
2001-01-01
Satellite data can be used to observe the sea ice distribution around the continent of Antarctica on a daily basis and hence to determine how many days a year have sea ice at each location. This has been done for each of the 21 years 1979-1999. Mapping the trends in these data over the 21-year period reveals a detailed pattern of changes in the length of the sea ice season around Antarctica. Most of the Ross Sea ice cover has undergone a lengthening of the sea ice season, whereas most of the Amundsen Sea ice cover and almost the entire Bellingshausen Sea ice cover have undergone a shortening of the sea ice season. Results around the rest of the continent, including in the Weddell Sea, are more mixed, but overall, more of the Southern Ocean experienced a lengthening of the sea ice season than a shortening. For instance, the area experiencing a lengthening of the sea ice season by at least 1 day per year is 5.8 x 10(exp 6) sq km, whereas the area experiencing a shortening of the sea ice season by at least 1 day per year is less than half that, at 2.8 x 10(exp 6) sq km. This contrasts sharply with what is happened over the same period in the Arctic, where, overall, there has been some depletion of the ice cover, including shortened sea ice seasons and decreased ice extents.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Collins, J. A.; Oldenburg, J.; Liu, M.; Pulsifer, P. L.; Kaufman, M.; Eicken, H.; Parsons, M. A.
2012-12-01
Knowledge of sea ice is critical to the hunting, whaling, and cultural activities of many Indigenous communities in Northern and Western Alaska. Experienced hunters have monitored seasonal changes of the sea ice over many years, giving them a unique expertise in assessing the current state of the sea ice as well as any anomalies in seasonal sea ice conditions. The Seasonal Ice Zone Observing Network (SIZONet), in collaboration with the Exchange for Local Observations and Knowledge of the Arctic (ELOKA), has developed an online application for collecting, storing, and analyzing sea ice observations contributed by local experts from coastal Alaskan communities. Here we present the current iteration of the application, outline future plans and discuss how the development process and resulting system have improved our collective understanding of sea ice processes and changes. The SIZONet application design is based on the needs of the research scientists responsible for entering observation data into the database, the needs of local sea ice experts contributing their observations and knowledge, and the information needs of Alaska coastal communities. Entry forms provide a variety of input methods, including menus, check boxes, and free text input. Input options strive to balance flexibility in capturing concepts and details with the need for analytical consistency. Currently, research staff at the University of Alaska Fairbanks use the application to enter observations received via written or electronic communications from local sea ice experts. Observation data include current weather conditions, snow and ice quantity and quality, and wildlife sighted or taken. Future plans call for direct use of the SIZONet interface by local sea ice experts as well as students, both as contributors to the data collection and as users seeking meaning in the data. This functionality is currently available to a limited number of community members as we extend the application to support
Remote sensing of the Fram Strait marginal ice zone
Shuchman, R.A.; Burns, B.A.; Johannessen, O.M.; Josberger, E.G.; Campbell, W.J.; Manley, T.O.; Lannelongue, N.
1987-01-01
Sequential remote sensing images of the Fram Strait marginal ice zone played a key role in elucidating the complex interactions of the atmosphere, ocean, and sea ice. Analysis of a subset of these images covering a 1-week period provided quantitative data on the mesoscale ice morphology, including ice edge positions, ice concentrations, floe size distribution, and ice kinematics. The analysis showed that, under light to moderate wind conditions, the morphology of the marginal ice zone reflects the underlying ocean circulation. High-resolution radar observations showed the location and size of ocean eddies near the ice edge. Ice kinematics from sequential radar images revealed an ocean eddy beneath the interior pack ice that was verified by in situ oceanographic measurements.
Seasonal Ice Zone Reconnaissance Surveys Coordination
2014-09-30
profiler (AXCP) ocean velocity shear (Morison), UpTempO buoy measurements of sea surface temperature (SST), sea level atmospheric pressure ( SLP ), and...and prediction…. Steele UpTempO buoy drops for SLP , SST, SSS, & surface velocity Visible and Thermal Images of the SIZ from the Coast Guard...Expendable CTD, AXCP= Air Expendable Current Profiler, SLP = Sea Level atmospheric Pressure, SST= Seas Surface Temperature, A/C= aircraft, SIC=Sea Ice
Recent Trends in the Arctic Navigable Ice Season and Links to Atmospheric Circulation
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Maslanik, J.; Drobot, S.
2002-12-01
One of the potential effects of Arctic climate warming is an increase in the navigable ice season, perhaps resulting in development of the Arctic as a major shipping route. The distance from western North American ports to Europe through the Northwest Passage (NWP) or the Northern Sea Route (NSR) is typically 20 to 60 percent shorter than travel through the Panama Canal, while travel between Europe and the Far East may be reduced by as much as three weeks compared to transport through the Suez Canal. An increase in the navigable ice season would also improve commercial opportunities within the Arctic region, such as mineral and oil exploration and tourism, which could potentially expand the economic base of Arctic residents and companies, but which would also have negative environmental impacts. Utilizing daily passive-microwave derived sea ice concentrations, trends and variability in the Arctic navigable ice season are examined from 1979 through 2001. Trend analyses suggest large increases in the length of the navigable ice season in the Kara and Barents seas, the Sea of Okhotsk, and the Beaufort Sea, with decreases in the length of the navigable ice season in the Bering Sea. Interannual variations in the navigable ice season largely are governed by fluctuations in low-frequency atmospheric circulation, although the specific annular modes affecting the length of the navigable ice season vary by region. In the Beaufort and East Siberian seas, variations in the North Atlantic Oscillation/Arctic Oscillation control the navigable ice season, while variations in the East Pacific anomaly play an important role in controlling the navigable ice season in the Kara and Barents seas. In Hudson Bay, the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, and Baffin Bay, interannual variations in the navigable ice season are strongly related to the Pacific Decadal Oscillation.
Wave-Ice interaction in the Marginal Ice Zone: Toward a Wave-Ocean-Ice Coupled Modeling System
2015-09-30
MIZ using WW3 (3 frequency bins, ice retreat in August and ice advance in October); Blue (solid): Based on observations near Antarctica by Meylan...1 DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A. Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. Wave- Ice interaction in the Marginal Ice Zone: Toward a...Wave-Ocean- Ice Coupled Modeling System W. E. Rogers Naval Research Laboratory, Code 7322 Stennis Space Center, MS 39529 phone: (228) 688-4727
Arctic sea ice trends, variability and implications for seasonal ice forecasting
Serreze, Mark C.; Stroeve, Julienne
2015-01-01
September Arctic sea ice extent over the period of satellite observations has a strong downward trend, accompanied by pronounced interannual variability with a detrended 1 year lag autocorrelation of essentially zero. We argue that through a combination of thinning and associated processes related to a warming climate (a stronger albedo feedback, a longer melt season, the lack of especially cold winters) the downward trend itself is steepening. The lack of autocorrelation manifests both the inherent large variability in summer atmospheric circulation patterns and that oceanic heat loss in winter acts as a negative (stabilizing) feedback, albeit insufficient to counter the steepening trend. These findings have implications for seasonal ice forecasting. In particular, while advances in observing sea ice thickness and assimilating thickness into coupled forecast systems have improved forecast skill, there remains an inherent limit to predictability owing to the largely chaotic nature of atmospheric variability. PMID:26032315
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Solomon, A.; Cox, C. J.; Hughes, M.; Intrieri, J. M.; Persson, O. P. G.
2015-12-01
The dramatic decrease of Arctic sea-ice has led to a new Arctic sea-ice paradigm and to increased commercial activity in the Arctic Ocean. NOAA's mission to provide accurate and timely sea-ice forecasts, as explicitly outlined in the National Ocean Policy and the U.S. National Strategy for the Arctic Region, needs significant improvement across a range of time scales to improve safety for human activity. Unfortunately, the sea-ice evolution in the new Arctic involves the interaction of numerous physical processes in the atmosphere, ice, and ocean, some of which are not yet understood. These include atmospheric forcing of sea-ice movement through stress and stress deformation; atmospheric forcing of sea-ice melt and formation through energy fluxes; and ocean forcing of the atmosphere through new regions of seasonal heat release. Many of these interactions involve emerging complex processes that first need to be understood and then incorporated into forecast models in order to realize the goal of useful sea-ice forecasting. The underlying hypothesis for this study is that errors in simulations of "fast" atmospheric processes significantly impact the forecast of seasonal sea-ice retreat in summer and its advance in autumn in the marginal ice zone (MIZ). We therefore focus on short-term (0-20 day) ice-floe movement, the freeze-up and melt-back processes in the MIZ, and the role of storms in modulating stress and heat fluxes. This study uses a coupled ocean-atmosphere-seaice forecast model as a testbed to investigate; whether ocean-sea ice-atmosphere coupling improves forecasts on subseasonal time scales, where systematic biases develop due to inadequate parameterizations (focusing on mixed-phase clouds and surface fluxes), how increased atmospheric resolution of synoptic features improves the forecasts, and how initialization of sea ice area and thickness and snow depth impacts the skill of the forecasts. Simulations are validated with measurements at pan-Arctic land
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Toyota, Takenobu; Kohout, Alison; Fraser, Alexander D.
2016-09-01
To understand the behavior of the Seasonal Ice Zone (SIZ), which is composed of sea-ice floes of various sizes, knowledge of the floe size distribution (FSD) is important. In particular, FSD in the Marginal Ice Zone (MIZ), controlled by wave-ice interaction, plays an important role in determining the retreating rates of sea-ice extent on a global scale because the cumulative perimeter of floes enhances melting. To improve the understanding of wave-ice interaction and subsequent effects on FSD in the MIZ, FSD measurements were conducted off East Antarctica during the second Sea Ice Physics and Ecosystems eXperiment (SIPEX-2) in late winter 2012. Since logistical reasons limited helicopter operations to two interior ice regions, FSD in the interior ice region was determined using a combination of heli-photos and MODIS satellite visible images. The possible effect of wave-ice interaction in the MIZ was examined by comparison with past results obtained in the same MIZ, with our analysis showing: (1) FSD in the interior ice region is basically scale invariant for both small- (<100 m) and large- (>1 km) scale regimes; (2) although fractal dimensions are quite different between these two regimes, they are both rather close to that in the MIZ; and (3) for floes <100 m in diameter, a regime shift which appeared at 20-40 m in the MIZ is absent. These results indicate that one role of wave-ice interaction is to modulate the FSD that already exists in the interior ice region, rather than directly determine it. The possibilities of floe-floe collisions and storm-induced lead formation are considered as possible formation processes of FSD in the interior pack.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Stroeve, Julienne C.; Jenouvrier, Stephanie; Campbell, G. Garrett; Barbraud, Christophe; Delord, Karine
2016-08-01
Sea ice variability within the marginal ice zone (MIZ) and polynyas plays an important role for phytoplankton productivity and krill abundance. Therefore, mapping their spatial extent as well as seasonal and interannual variability is essential for understanding how current and future changes in these biologically active regions may impact the Antarctic marine ecosystem. Knowledge of the distribution of MIZ, consolidated pack ice and coastal polynyas in the total Antarctic sea ice cover may also help to shed light on the factors contributing towards recent expansion of the Antarctic ice cover in some regions and contraction in others. The long-term passive microwave satellite data record provides the longest and most consistent record for assessing the proportion of the sea ice cover that is covered by each of these ice categories. However, estimates of the amount of MIZ, consolidated pack ice and polynyas depend strongly on which sea ice algorithm is used. This study uses two popular passive microwave sea ice algorithms, the NASA Team and Bootstrap, and applies the same thresholds to the sea ice concentrations to evaluate the distribution and variability in the MIZ, the consolidated pack ice and coastal polynyas. Results reveal that the seasonal cycle in the MIZ and pack ice is generally similar between both algorithms, yet the NASA Team algorithm has on average twice the MIZ and half the consolidated pack ice area as the Bootstrap algorithm. Trends also differ, with the Bootstrap algorithm suggesting statistically significant trends towards increased pack ice area and no statistically significant trends in the MIZ. The NASA Team algorithm on the other hand indicates statistically significant positive trends in the MIZ during spring. Potential coastal polynya area and amount of broken ice within the consolidated ice pack are also larger in the NASA Team algorithm. The timing of maximum polynya area may differ by as much as 5 months between algorithms. These
Arctic sea ice trends, variability and implications for seasonal ice forecasting.
Serreze, Mark C; Stroeve, Julienne
2015-07-13
September Arctic sea ice extent over the period of satellite observations has a strong downward trend, accompanied by pronounced interannual variability with a detrended 1 year lag autocorrelation of essentially zero. We argue that through a combination of thinning and associated processes related to a warming climate (a stronger albedo feedback, a longer melt season, the lack of especially cold winters) the downward trend itself is steepening. The lack of autocorrelation manifests both the inherent large variability in summer atmospheric circulation patterns and that oceanic heat loss in winter acts as a negative (stabilizing) feedback, albeit insufficient to counter the steepening trend. These findings have implications for seasonal ice forecasting. In particular, while advances in observing sea ice thickness and assimilating thickness into coupled forecast systems have improved forecast skill, there remains an inherent limit to predictability owing to the largely chaotic nature of atmospheric variability. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.
Skillful regional prediction of Arctic sea ice on seasonal timescales
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Bushuk, Mitchell; Msadek, Rym; Winton, Michael; Vecchi, Gabriel A.; Gudgel, Rich; Rosati, Anthony; Yang, Xiaosong
2017-05-01
Recent Arctic sea ice seasonal prediction efforts and forecast skill assessments have primarily focused on pan-Arctic sea ice extent (SIE). In this work, we move toward stakeholder-relevant spatial scales, investigating the regional forecast skill of Arctic sea ice in a Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) seasonal prediction system. Using a suite of retrospective initialized forecasts spanning 1981-2015 made with a coupled atmosphere-ocean-sea ice-land model, we show that predictions of detrended regional SIE are skillful at lead times up to 11 months. Regional prediction skill is highly region and target month dependent and generically exceeds the skill of an anomaly persistence forecast. We show for the first time that initializing the ocean subsurface in a seasonal prediction system can yield significant regional skill for winter SIE. Similarly, as suggested by previous work, we find that sea ice thickness initial conditions provide a crucial source of skill for regional summer SIE.
Seasonal Variability in Vadose zone biodegradation at a crude oil pipeline rupture site
Sihota, Natasha J.; Trost, Jared J.; Bekins, Barbara; Berg, Andrew M.; Delin, Geoffrey N.; Mason, Brent E.; Warren, Ean; Mayer, K. Ulrich
2016-01-01
Understanding seasonal changes in natural attenuation processes is critical for evaluating source-zone longevity and informing management decisions. The seasonal variations of natural attenuation were investigated through measurements of surficial CO2 effluxes, shallow soil CO2 radiocarbon contents, subsurface gas concentrations, soil temperature, and volumetric water contents during a 2-yr period. Surficial CO2 effluxes varied seasonally, with peak values of total soil respiration (TSR) occurring in the late spring and summer. Efflux and radiocarbon data indicated that the fractional contributions of natural soil respiration (NSR) and contaminant soil respiration (CSR) to TSR varied seasonally. The NSR dominated in the spring and summer, and CSR dominated in the fall and winter. Subsurface gas concentrations also varied seasonally, with peak values of CO2 and CH4 occurring in the fall and winter. Vadose zone temperatures and subsurface CO2 concentrations revealed a correlation between contaminant respiration and temperature. A time lag of 5 to 7 mo between peak subsurface CO2 concentrations and peak surface efflux is consistent with travel-time estimates for subsurface gas migration. Periods of frozen soils coincided with depressed surface CO2 effluxes and elevated CO2 concentrations, pointing to the temporary presence of an ice layer that inhibited gas transport. Quantitative reactive transport simulations demonstrated aspects of the conceptual model developed from field measurements. Overall, results indicated that source-zone natural attenuation (SZNA) rates and gas transport processes varied seasonally and that the average annual SZNA rate estimated from periodic surface efflux measurements is 60% lower than rates determined from measurements during the summer.
A coupled ice-ocean model of ice breakup and banding in the marginal ice zone
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Smedstad, O. M.; Roed, L. P.
1985-01-01
A coupled ice-ocean numerical model for the marginal ice zone is considered. The model consists of a nonlinear sea ice model and a two-layer (reduced gravity) ocean model. The dependence of the upwelling response on wind stress direction is discussed. The results confirm earlier analytical work. It is shown that there exist directions for which there is no upwelling, while other directions give maximum upwelling in terms of the volume of uplifted water. The ice and ocean is coupled directly through the stress at the ice-ocean interface. An interesting consequence of the coupling is found in cases when the ice edge is almost stationary. In these cases the ice tends to break up a few tenths of kilometers inside of the ice edge.
Observing Radiative Properties of a Thinner, Seasonal Arctic Ice Pack
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Hudson, S. R.; Nicolaus, M.; Granskog, M.; Gerland, S.; Wang, C.
2011-12-01
The Arctic is coming to be dominated by young ice, much of it seasonal. Many of our observations of the radiative properties of sea ice come from drifting stations on thick, multi-year ice. To better understand the Arctic climate system in a warmer world, we need more data about the radiative properties and their seasonal and spatial variability on thinner, younger ice. Since this younger ice is not always thick enough to support lengthy drifting stations, there is a need for new technologies to help us get optical measurements on seasonal ice. One challenge is obtaining seasonal data on ice that is too weak to support even a ship-based camp, and especially to have these observations extend well into the melt season. For these situations, we have developed a spectral radiation monitoring buoy that can be deployed during a one-day ice station, and that can then autonomously observe the spectral albedo and transmittance of the sea ice, transmitting all data in near real time by satellite, until the buoy melts out. Similar installations at manned or regularly visited sites have provided good data, with surprisingly few data-quality problems due to frost, precipitation, or tilting. The buoys consist of 3 spectral radiometers, covering wavelengths 350 to 800 nm, and a datalogger with an Irridium modem. The datalogger and necessary batteries are inside a sealed housing which is frozen into a hole drilled in the ice. Arms extend from both the top and bottom of the housing, holding sensors that measure incident, reflected, and transmitted spectra. The under-ice radiometer is equipped with a bioshutter to avoid algal growth on the sensor. They will be deployed alongside ice mass balance buoys, providing data about the physical development of the ice and snow, as well as position. While the buoys provide an excellent record of diurnal, synoptic, and seasonal variability, they are fixed to one location in the ice, so other methods are still needed for measuring the spatial
Modeling Wave-Ice Interactions in the Marginal Ice Zone
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Orzech, Mark; Shi, Fengyan; Bateman, Sam; Veeramony, Jay; Calantoni, Joe
2015-04-01
The small-scale (O(m)) interactions between waves and ice floes in the marginal ice zone (MIZ) are investigated with a coupled model system. Waves are simulated with the non-hydrostatic finite-volume model NHWAVE (Ma et al., 2012) and ice floes are represented as bonded collections of smaller particles with the discrete element system LIGGGHTS (Kloss et al., 2012). The physics of fluid and ice are recreated as authentically as possible, to allow the coupled system to supplement and/or substitute for more costly and demanding field experiments. The presentation will first describe the development and validation of the coupled system, then discuss the results of a series of virtual experiments in which ice floe and wave characteristics are varied to examine their effects on energy dissipation, MIZ floe size distribution, and ice pack retreat rates. Although Wadhams et al. (1986) suggest that only a small portion (roughly 10%) of wave energy entering the MIZ is reflected, dissipation mechanisms for the remaining energy have yet to be delineated or measured. The virtual experiments are designed to focus on specific properties and processes - such as floe size and shape, collision and fracturing events, and variations in wave climate - and measure their relative roles the transfer of energy and momentum from waves to ice. Questions to be examined include: How is energy dissipated by ice floe collisions, fracturing, and drag, and how significant is the wave attenuation associated with each process? Do specific wave/floe length scale ratios cause greater wave attenuation? How does ice material strength affect the rate of wave energy loss? The coupled system will ultimately be used to test and improve upon wave-ice parameterizations for large-scale climate models. References: >Kloss, C., C. Goniva, A. Hager, S. Amberger, and S. Pirker (2012). Models, algorithms and validation for opensource DEM and CFD-DEM. Progress in Computational Fluid Dynamics 12(2/3), 140-152. >Ma, G
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Koziol, Conrad P.; Arnold, Neil
2018-03-01
Surface runoff at the margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) drains to the ice-sheet bed, leading to enhanced summer ice flow. Ice velocities show a pattern of early summer acceleration followed by mid-summer deceleration due to evolution of the subglacial hydrology system in response to meltwater forcing. Modelling the integrated hydrological-ice dynamics system to reproduce measured velocities at the ice margin remains a key challenge for validating the present understanding of the system and constraining the impact of increasing surface runoff rates on dynamic ice mass loss from the GrIS. Here we show that a multi-component model incorporating supraglacial, subglacial, and ice dynamic components applied to a land-terminating catchment in western Greenland produces modelled velocities which are in reasonable agreement with those observed in GPS records for three melt seasons of varying melt intensities. This provides numerical support for the hypothesis that the subglacial system develops analogously to alpine glaciers and supports recent model formulations capturing the transition between distributed and channelized states. The model shows the growth of efficient conduit-based drainage up-glacier from the ice sheet margin, which develops more extensively, and further inland, as melt intensity increases. This suggests current trends of decadal-timescale slowdown of ice velocities in the ablation zone may continue in the near future. The model results also show a strong scaling between average summer velocities and melt season intensity, particularly in the upper ablation area. Assuming winter velocities are not impacted by channelization, our model suggests an upper bound of a 25 % increase in annual surface velocities as surface melt increases to 4 × present levels.
Spatial patterns in the length of the sea ice season in the Southern Ocean, 1979-1986
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Parkinson, Claire L.
1994-01-01
The length of the sea ice season summarizes in one number the ice coverage conditions for an individual location for an entire year. It becomes a particularly valuable variable when mapped spatially over a large area and examined for regional and interannual differences, as is done here for the Southern Ocean over the years 1979-1986, using the satellite passive microwave data of the Nimbus 7 scanning multichannel microwave radiometer. Three prominent geographic anomalies in ice season lengths occur consistently in each year of the data set, countering the general tendency toward shorter ice seasons from south to north: (1) in the Weddell Sea the tendency is toward shorter ice seasons from southwest to northeast, reflective of the cyclonic ice/atmosphere/ocean circulations in the Weddell Sea region. (2) Directly north of the Ross Ice Shelf anomalously short ice seasons occur, lasting only 245-270 days, in contrast to the perennial ice coverage at comparable latitudes in the southern Bellingshausen and Amundsen Seas and in the western Weddell Sea. The short ice season off the Ross Ice Shelf reflects the consistently early opening of the ice cover each spring, under the influence of upwelling along the continental slope and shelf and atmospheric forcing from winds blowing off the Antarctic continent. (3) In the southern Amundsen Sea, anomalously short ice seasons occur adjacent to the coast, owing to the frequent existence of coastal polynyas off the many small ice shelves bordering the sea. Least squares trends in the ice season lengths over the 1979-1986 period are highly coherent spatially, with overall trends toward shorter ice seasons in the northern Weddell and Bellingshausen seas and toward longer ice seasons in the Ross Sea, around much of East Antarctica, and in a portion of the south central Weddell Sea.
Spatial patterns in the length of the sea ice season in the Southern Ocean, 1979-1986
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Parkinson, Claire L.
1994-08-01
The length of the sea ice season summarizes in one number the ice coverage conditions for an individual location for an entire year. It becomes a particularly valuable variable when mapped spatially over a large area and examined for regional and interannual differences, as is done here for the Southern Ocean over the years 1979-1986, using the satellite passive microwave data of the Nimbus 7 scanning multichannel microwave radiometer. Three prominent geographic anomalies in ice season lengths occur consistently in each year of the data set, countering the general tendency toward shorter ice seasons from south to north: (1) In the Weddell Sea the tendency is toward shorter ice seasons from southwest to northeast, reflective of the cyclonic ice/atmosphere/ocean circulations in the Weddell Sea region. (2) Directly north of the Ross Ice Shelf anomalously short ice seasons occur, lasting only 245-270 days, in contrast to the perennial ice coverage at comparable latitudes in the southern Bellingshausen and Amundsen Seas and in the western Weddell Sea. The short ice season off the Ross Ice Shelf reflects the consistently early opening of the ice cover each spring, under the influence of upwelling along the continental slope and shelf and atmospheric forcing from winds blowing off the Antarctic continent. (3) In the southern Amundsen Sea, anomalously short ice seasons occur adjacent to the coast, owing to the frequent existence of coastal polynyas off the many small ice shelves bordering the sea. Least squares trends in the ice season lengths over the 1979-1986 period are highly coherent spatially, with overall trends toward shorter ice seasons in the northern Weddell and Bellingshausen seas and toward longer ice seasons in the Ross Sea, around much of East Antarctica, and in a portion of the south central Weddell Sea.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Zhang, Y.; Chen, C.; Beardsley, R. C.; Gao, G.; Qi, J.; Lin, H.
2016-02-01
A high-resolution (up to 2 km), unstructured-grid, fully ice-sea coupled Arctic Ocean Finite-Volume Community Ocean Model (AO-FVCOM) was used to simulate the Arctic sea ice over the period 1978-2014. Good agreements were found between simulated and observed sea ice extent, concentration, drift velocity and thickness, indicating that the AO-FVCOM captured not only the seasonal and interannual variability but also the spatial distribution of the sea ice in the Arctic in the past 37 years. Compared with other six Arctic Ocean models (ECCO2, GSFC, INMOM, ORCA, NAME and UW), the AO-FVCOM-simulated ice thickness showed a higher correlation coefficient and a smaller difference with observations. An effort was also made to examine the physical processes attributing to the model-produced bias in the sea ice simulation. The error in the direction of the ice drift velocity was sensitive to the wind turning angle; smaller when the wind was stronger, but larger when the wind was weaker. This error could lead to the bias in the near-surface current in the fully or partially ice-covered zone where the ice-sea interfacial stress was a major driving force.
The Greenland Ice Sheet's surface mass balance in a seasonally sea ice-free Arctic
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Day, J. J.; Bamber, J. L.; Valdes, P. J.
2013-09-01
General circulation models predict a rapid decrease in sea ice extent with concurrent increases in near-surface air temperature and precipitation in the Arctic over the 21st century. This has led to suggestions that some Arctic land ice masses may experience an increase in accumulation due to enhanced evaporation from a seasonally sea ice-free Arctic Ocean. To investigate the impact of this phenomenon on Greenland Ice Sheet climate and surface mass balance (SMB), a regional climate model, HadRM3, was used to force an insolation-temperature melt SMB model. A set of experiments designed to investigate the role of sea ice independently from sea surface temperature (SST) forcing are described. In the warmer and wetter SI + SST simulation, Greenland experiences a 23% increase in winter SMB but 65% reduced summer SMB, resulting in a net decrease in the annual value. This study shows that sea ice decline contributes to the increased winter balance, causing 25% of the increase in winter accumulation; this is largest in eastern Greenland as the result of increased evaporation in the Greenland Sea. These results indicate that the seasonal cycle of Greenland's SMB will increase dramatically as global temperatures increase, with the largest changes in temperature and precipitation occurring in winter. This demonstrates that the accurate prediction of changes in sea ice cover is important for predicting Greenland SMB and ice sheet evolution.
Waves and mesoscale features in the marginal ice zone
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Liu, Antony K.; Peng, Chih Y.
1993-01-01
Ocean-ice interaction processes in the Marginal Ice Zone (MIZ) by waves and mesoscale features, such as upwelling and eddies, are studied using ERS-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery and wave-ice interaction models. Satellite observations of mesoscale features can play a crucial role in ocean-ice interaction study.
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
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Haine, T. W. N.; Martin, T.
2017-12-01
The loss of Arctic sea ice is a conspicuous example of climate change. Climate models project ice-free conditions during summer this century under realistic emission scenarios, reflecting the increase in seasonality in ice cover. To quantify the increased seasonality in the Arctic-Subarctic sea ice system, we define a non-dimensional seasonality number for sea ice extent, area, and volume from satellite data and realistic coupled climate models. We show that the Arctic-Subarctic, i.e. the northern hemisphere, sea ice now exhibits similar levels of seasonality to the Antarctic, which is in a seasonal regime without significant change since satellite observations began in 1979. Realistic climate models suggest that this transition to the seasonal regime is being accompanied by a maximum in Arctic amplification, which is the faster warming of Arctic latitudes compared to the global mean, in the 2010s. The strong link points to a peak in sea-ice-related feedbacks that occurs long before the Arctic becomes ice-free in summer.
46 CFR 42.30-10 - Southern Winter Seasonal Zone.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR
2010-10-01
... Island; thence the rhumb line to Black Rock Point on Stewart Island; thence the rhumb line to the point... BY SEA Zones, Areas, and Seasonal Periods § 42.30-10 Southern Winter Seasonal Zone. (a) The northern boundary of the Southern Winter Seasonal Zone is the rhumb line from the east coast of the American...
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Campbell, W. J.; Josberger, E. G.; Gloersen, P.; Johannessen, O. M.; Guest, P. S.
1987-01-01
The data acquired during the summer 1984 Marginal Ice Zone Experiment in the Fram Strait-Greenland Sea marginal ice zone, using airborne active and passive microwave sensors and the Nimbus 7 SMMR, were analyzed to compile a sequential description of the mesoscale and large-scale ice morphology variations during the period of June 6 - July 16, 1984. Throughout the experiment, the long ice edge between northwest Svalbard and central Greenland meandered; eddies were repeatedly formed, moved, and disappeared but the ice edge remained within a 100-km-wide zone. The ice pack behind this alternately diffuse and compact edge underwent rapid and pronounced variations in ice concentration over a 200-km-wide zone. The high-resolution ice concentration distributions obtained in the aircraft images agree well with the low-resolution distributions of SMMR images.
The Seasonal Evolution of Sea Ice Floe Size Distribution
2015-09-30
1 DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A. Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. “The Seasonal Evolution of Sea Ice Floe Size Distribution... seasonally in the southern Beaufort and Chukchi Seas region. OBJECTIVES The objective of this work was to determine the seasonal evolution of the...summer melt season using (4). The technique allows for the direct observation of lateral melt and the 3 calculation of changes in floe perimeter, and
Multisensor comparison of ice concentration estimates in the marginal ice zone
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Burns, B. A.; Cavalieri, D. J.; Gloersen, P.; Keller, M. R.; Campbell, W. J.
1987-01-01
Aircraft remote sensing data collected during the 1984 summer Marginal Ice Zone Experiment in the Fram Strait are used to compare ice concentration estimates derived from synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery, passive microwave imagery at several frequencies, aerial photography, and spectral photometer data. The comparison is carried out not only to evaluate SAR performance against more established techniques but also to investigate how ice surface conditions, imaging geometry, and choice of algorithm parameters affect estimates made by each sensor.Active and passive microwave sensor estimates of ice concentration derived using similar algorithms show an rms difference of 13 percent. Agreement between each microwave sensor and near-simultaneous aerial photography is approximately the same (14 percent). The availability of high-resolution microwave imagery makes it possible to ascribe the discrepancies in the concentration estimates to variations in ice surface signatures in the scene.
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Drinkwater, Mark R.
1991-01-01
Pulse-limited, airborne radar data taken in June and July 1984 with a 13.8-GHz altimeter over the Fram Strait marginal ice zone are analyzed with the aid of large-format aerial photography, airborne synthetic aperture radar data, and surface observations. Variations in the radar return pulse waveforms are quantified and correlated with ice properties recorded during the Marginal Ice Zone Experiment. Results indicate that the wide-beam altimeter is a flexible instrument, capable of identifying the ice edge with a high degree of accuracy, calculating the ice concentration, and discriminating a number of different ice classes. This suggests that microwave radar altimeters have a sensitivity to sea ice which has not yet been fully exploited. When fused with SSM/I, AVHRR and ERS-1 synthetic aperture radar imagery, future ERS-1 altimeter data are expected to provide some missing pieces to the sea ice geophysics puzzle.
A coupled ice-ocean model of upwelling in the marginal ice zone
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Roed, L. P.; Obrien, J. J.
1983-01-01
A dynamical coupled ice-ocean numerical model for the marginal ice zone (MIZ) is suggested and used to study upwelling dynamics in the MIZ. The nonlinear sea ice model has a variable ice concentration and includes internal ice stress. The model is forced by stresses on the air/ocean and air/ice surfaces. The main coupling between the ice and the ocean is in the form of an interfacial stress on the ice/ocean interface. The ocean model is a linear reduced gravity model. The wind stress exerted by the atmosphere on the ocean is proportional to the fraction of open water, while the interfacial stress ice/ocean is proportional to the concentration of ice. A new mechanism for ice edge upwelling is suggested based on a geostrophic equilibrium solution for the sea ice medium. The upwelling reported in previous models invoking a stationary ice cover is shown to be replaced by a weak downwelling due to the ice motion. Most of the upwelling dynamics can be understood by analysis of the divergence of the across ice edge upper ocean transport. On the basis of numerical model, an analytical model is suggested that reproduces most of the upwelling dynamics of the more complex numerical model.
Direct observations of ice seasonality reveal changes in climate over the past 320–570 years
Sharma, Sapna; Magnuson, John J.; Batt, Ryan D.; Winslow, Luke; Korhonen, Johanna; Yasuyuki Aono,
2016-01-01
Lake and river ice seasonality (dates of ice freeze and breakup) responds sensitively to climatic change and variability. We analyzed climate-related changes using direct human observations of ice freeze dates (1443–2014) for Lake Suwa, Japan, and of ice breakup dates (1693–2013) for Torne River, Finland. We found a rich array of changes in ice seasonality of two inland waters from geographically distant regions: namely a shift towards later ice formation for Suwa and earlier spring melt for Torne, increasing frequencies of years with warm extremes, changing inter-annual variability, waning of dominant inter-decadal quasi-periodic dynamics, and stronger correlations of ice seasonality with atmospheric CO2 concentration and air temperature after the start of the Industrial Revolution. Although local factors, including human population growth, land use change, and water management influence Suwa and Torne, the general patterns of ice seasonality are similar for both systems, suggesting that global processes including climate change and variability are driving the long-term changes in ice seasonality.
Direct observations of ice seasonality reveal changes in climate over the past 320–570 years
Sharma, Sapna; Magnuson, John J.; Batt, Ryan D.; Winslow, Luke A.; Korhonen, Johanna; Aono, Yasuyuki
2016-01-01
Lake and river ice seasonality (dates of ice freeze and breakup) responds sensitively to climatic change and variability. We analyzed climate-related changes using direct human observations of ice freeze dates (1443–2014) for Lake Suwa, Japan, and of ice breakup dates (1693–2013) for Torne River, Finland. We found a rich array of changes in ice seasonality of two inland waters from geographically distant regions: namely a shift towards later ice formation for Suwa and earlier spring melt for Torne, increasing frequencies of years with warm extremes, changing inter-annual variability, waning of dominant inter-decadal quasi-periodic dynamics, and stronger correlations of ice seasonality with atmospheric CO2 concentration and air temperature after the start of the Industrial Revolution. Although local factors, including human population growth, land use change, and water management influence Suwa and Torne, the general patterns of ice seasonality are similar for both systems, suggesting that global processes including climate change and variability are driving the long-term changes in ice seasonality. PMID:27113125
Coupling of Waves, Turbulence and Thermodynamics Across the Marginal Ice Zone
2013-09-30
ice . The albedo of sea ice is large compared to open water, and most of the incoming solar radiation...ocean and the ice pack where the seasonal retreat of the main ice pack takes place. It is a highly variable sea ice environment, usually comprised of...many individual floes of variable shape and size and made of mixed ice types, from young forming ice to fragmented multiyear ice . The presence of sea
The Effect of Seasonal Variability of Atlantic Water on the Arctic Sea Ice Cover
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Ivanov, V. V.; Repina, I. A.
2018-01-01
Under the influence of global warming, the sea ice in the Arctic Ocean (AO) is expected to reduce with a transition toward a seasonal ice cover by the end of this century. A comparison of climate-model predictions with measurements shows that the actual rate of ice cover decay in the AO is higher than the predicted one. This paper argues that the rapid shrinking of the Arctic summer ice cover is due to its increased seasonality, while seasonal oscillations of the Atlantic origin water temperature create favorable conditions for the formation of negative anomalies in the ice-cover area in winter. The basis for this hypothesis is the fundamental possibility of the activation of positive feedback provided by a specific feature of the seasonal cycle of the inflowing Atlantic origin water and the peaking of temperature in the Nansen Basin in midwinter. The recently accelerated reduction in the summer ice cover in the AO leads to an increased accumulation of heat in the upper ocean layer during the summer season. The extra heat content of the upper ocean layer favors prerequisite conditions for winter thermohaline convection and the transfer of heat from the Atlantic water (AW) layer to the ice cover. This, in turn, contributes to further ice thinning and a decrease in ice concentration, accelerated melting in summer, and a greater accumulation of heat in the ocean by the end of the following summer. An important role is played by the seasonal variability of the temperature of AW, which forms on the border between the North European and Arctic basins. The phase of seasonal oscillation changes while the AW is moving through the Nansen Basin. As a result, the timing of temperature peak shifts from summer to winter, additionally contributing to enhanced ice melting in winter. The formulated theoretical concept is substantiated by a simplified mathematical model and comparison with observations.
The 2012 Arctic Field Season of the NRL Sea-Ice Measurement Program
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Gardner, J. M.; Brozena, J. M.; Hagen, R. A.; Liang, R.; Ball, D.
2012-12-01
The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is beginning a five year study of the changing Arctic with a particular focus on ice thickness and distribution variability with the intent of optimizing state-of-the-art computer models which are currently used to predict sea ice changes. An important part of our study is to calibrate/validate CryoSat2 ice thickness data prior to its incorporation into new ice forecast models. NRL Code 7420 collected coincident data with the CryoSat2 satellite in both 2011 and 2012 using a LiDAR (Riegl Q560) to measure combined snow and ice thickness and a 10 GHz pulse-limited precision radar altimeter to measure sea-ice freeboard. These measurements were coordinated with the Seasonal Ice Zone Observing Network (SIZONet) group who conducted surface based ice thickness surveys using a Geonics EM-31 along hunter trails on the landfast ice near Barrow as well as on drifting ice offshore during helicopter landings. On two sorties, a twin otter carrying the NRL LiDAR and radar altimeter flew in tandem with the helicopter carrying the EM-31 to achieve synchronous data acquisition. Data from these flights are shown here along with a digital elevation map. The LiDAR and radar altimeter were also flown on grid patterns over the ice that were synchronous with 5 Cryosat2 satellite passes. These grids were intended to cover roughly 10 km long segments of Cryosat2 tracks with widths similar to the footprint of the satellite (~2 km). Reduction of these grids is challenging because of ice drift which can be many hundreds of meters over the 1-2 hours collection period of each grid. Relocation of the individual scanning LiDAR tracks is done by means of tie-points observed in the overlapping swaths. Data from these grids are shown here and will be used to examine the relationship of the tracked satellite waveform data to the actual surface across the footprint.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Smith, Emma C.; Eisen, Olaf; Hofstede, Coen; Lambrecht, Astrid; Mayer, Christoph
2017-04-01
The grounding zone, where an ice sheet becomes a floating ice shelf, is known to be a key threshold region for ice flow and stability. A better understanding of ice dynamics and sediment transport across such zones will improve knowledge about contemporary and palaeo ice flow, as well as past ice extent. Here we present a set of seismic reflection profiles crossing the grounding zone and continuing to the shelf edge of Ekström Ice Shelf, East Antarctica. Using an on-ice vibroseis source combined with a snowstreamer we have imaged a range of sub-glacial and sub-shelf sedimentary and geomorphological features; from layered sediment deposits to elongated flow features. The acoustic properties of the features as well as their morphology allow us to draw conclusions as to their material properties and origin. These results will eventually be integrated with numerical models of ice dynamics to quantify past and present interactions between ice and the solid Earth in East Antarctica; leading to a better understanding of future contributions of this region to sea-level rise.
Satellite microwave and in situ observations of the Weddell Sea ice cover and its marginal ice zone
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Comiso, J. C.; Sullivan, C. W.
1986-01-01
The radiative and physical characteristics of the Weddell Sea ice cover and its marginal ice zone are analyzed using multichannel satellite passive microwave data and ship and helicopter observations obtained during the 1983 Antarctic Marine Ecosystem Research. Winter and spring brightness temperatures are examined; spatial variability in the brightness temperatures of consolidated ice in winter and spring cyclic increases and decrease in brightness temperatures of consolidated ice with an amplitude of 50 K at 37 GHz and 20 K at 18 GHz are observed. The roles of variations in air temperature and surface characteristics in the variability of spring brightness temperatures are investigated. Ice concentrations are derived using the frequency and polarization techniques, and the data are compared with the helicopter and ship observations. Temporal changes in the ice margin structure and the mass balance of fresh water and of biological features of the marginal ice zone are studied.
The Seasonal Evolution of Sea Ice Floe Size Distribution
2013-09-30
the summer breakup of the ice cover . Large-scale, lower resolution imagery from MODIS and other platforms will also be analyzed to determine changes...control number. 1. REPORT DATE 30 SEP 2013 2. REPORT TYPE 3. DATES COVERED 00-00-2013 to 00-00-2013 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE The Seasonal Evolution...appearance and morphology of the Arctic sea ice cover over and annual cycle. These photos were taken over the pack ice near SHEBA in May (left) and
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.
Sea Ice in the NCEP Seasonal Forecast System
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Wu, X.; Saha, S.; Grumbine, R. W.; Bailey, D. A.; Carton, J.; Penny, S. G.
2017-12-01
Sea ice is known to play a significant role in the global climate system. For a weather or climate forecast system (CFS), it is important that the realistic distribution of sea ice is represented. Sea ice prediction is challenging; sea ice can form or melt, it can move with wind and/or ocean current; sea ice interacts with both the air above and ocean underneath, it influences by, and has impact on the air and ocean conditions. NCEP has developed coupled CFS (version 2, CFSv2) and also carried out CFS reanalysis (CFSR), which includes a coupled model with the NCEP global forecast system, a land model, an ocean model (GFDL MOM4), and a sea ice model. In this work, we present the NCEP coupled model, the CFSv2 sea ice component that includes a dynamic thermodynamic sea ice model and a simple "assimilation" scheme, how sea ice has been assimilated in CFSR, the characteristics of the sea ice from CFSR and CFSv2, and the improvements of sea ice needed for future seasonal prediction system, part of the Unified Global Coupled System (UGCS), which is being developed and under testing, including sea ice data assimilation with the Local Ensemble Transform Kalman Filter (LETKF). Preliminary results from the UGCS testing will also be presented.
Microwave and physical properties of sea ice in the winter marginal ice zone
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Tucker, W. B., III; Perovich, D. K.; Gow, A. J.; Grenfell, T. C.; Onstott, R. G.
1991-01-01
Surface-based active and passive microwave measurements were made in conjunction with ice property measurements for several distinct ice types in the Fram Strait during March and April 1987. Synthesis aperture radar imagery downlinked from an aircraft was used to select study sites. The surface-based radar scattering cross section and emissivity spectra generally support previously inferred qualitative relationships between ice types, exhibiting expected separation between young, first-year and multiyear ice. Gradient ratios, calculated for both active and passive data, appear to allow clear separation of ice types when used jointly. Surface flooding of multiyear floes, resulting from excessive loading and perhaps wave action, causes both active and passive signatures to resemble those of first-year ice. This effect could possibly cause estimates of ice type percentages in the marginal ice zone to be in error when derived from aircraft- or satellite-born sensors.
Marginal Ice Zone Processes Observed from Unmanned Aerial Systems
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Zappa, C. J.
2015-12-01
Recent years have seen extreme changes in the Arctic. Marginal ice zones (MIZ), or areas where the "ice-albedo feedback" driven by solar warming is highest and ice melt is extensive, may provide insights into the extent of these changes. Furthermore, MIZ play a central role in setting the air-sea CO2 balance making them a critical component of the global carbon cycle. Incomplete understanding of how the sea-ice modulates gas fluxes renders it difficult to estimate the carbon budget in MIZ. Here, we investigate the turbulent mechanisms driving mixing and gas exchange in leads, polynyas and in the presence of ice floes using both field and laboratory measurements. Measurements from unmanned aerial systems (UAS) in the marginal ice zone were made during 2 experiments: 1) North of Oliktok Point AK in the Beaufort Sea were made during the Marginal Ice Zone Ocean and Ice Observations and Processes EXperiment (MIZOPEX) in July-August 2013 and 2) Fram Strait and Greenland Sea northwest of Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, Norway during the Air-Sea-Ice Physics and Biogeochemistry Experiment (ASIPBEX) April - May 2015. We developed a number of new payloads that include: i) hyperspectral imaging spectrometers to measure VNIR (400-1000 nm) and NIR (900-1700 nm) spectral radiance; ii) net longwave and net shortwave radiation for ice-ocean albedo studies; iii) air-sea-ice turbulent fluxes as well as wave height, ice freeboard, and surface roughness with a LIDAR; and iv) drone-deployed micro-drifters (DDµD) deployed from the UAS that telemeter temperature, pressure, and RH as it descends through the atmosphere and temperature and salinity of the upper meter of the ocean once it lands on the ocean's surface. Visible and IR imagery of melting ice floes clearly defines the scale of the ice floes. The IR imagery show distinct cooling of the skin sea surface temperature (SST) as well as an intricate circulation and mixing pattern that depends on the surface current, wind speed, and near
The Seasonal Evolution of Sea Ice Floe Size Distribution
2014-09-30
summer breakup of the ice cover . Large-scale, lower resolution imagery from MODIS and other platforms will also be analyzed to determine changes in floe...number. 1. REPORT DATE 30 SEP 2014 2. REPORT TYPE 3. DATES COVERED 00-00-2014 to 00-00-2014 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE The Seasonal Evolution of Sea...morphology of the Arctic sea ice cover over and annual cycle. These photos were taken over the pack ice near SHEBA in May (left) and August (right
Seasonal reversal at Miryang Eoreumgol (Ice Valley), Korea: observation and monitoring
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Byun, Hi-Ryong; Tanaka, Hiroshi L.; Choi, Pom-Yong; Kim, Do-Woo
2011-12-01
We investigate an anomalous phenomenon evident in the Miryang Eoreumgol (Ice Valley), Korea: The wind and water are cold during summer and warm during winter, and ice formation does not occur in winter but in summer. We have initiated observations and investigations into the origin of heat sources particularly with regard to the mechanism of ice formation in summer. Previous theories, e.g., concerning underground gravity currents, water evaporation, diurnal and seasonal respirations of the talus, effects of ground heat, radiation and topography, etc., are considered. After a calculation of heat sources, we propose two new concepts—a repetitious heat separation mechanism and a positive feedback mechanism of cold air generation—to demonstrate that the heat mechanism of the seasonal reversal of the ice valley may be controlled by the use of the phase change between ice and water vapor with only a small amount of additional unknown energy.
Norwegian remote sensing experiment in a marginal ice zone
Farrelly, B.; Johannessen, J.A.; Svendsen, E.; Kloster, K.; Horjen, I.; Matzler, C.; Crawford, J.; Harrington, R.; Jones, L.; Swift, C.; Delnore, V.E.; Cavalieri, D.; Gloersen, P.; Hsiao, S.V.; Shemdin, O.H.; Thompson, T.W.; Ramseier, R.O.; Johannessen, O.M.; Campbell, W.J.
1983-01-01
The Norwegian Remote Sensing Experiment in the marginal ice zone north of Svalbard took place in fall 1979. Coordinated passive and active microwave measurements were obtained from shipborne, airborne, and satellite instruments together with in situ observations. The obtained spectra of emissivity (frequency range, 5 to 100 gigahertz) should improve identification of ice types and estimates of ice concentration. Mesoscale features along the ice edge were revealed by a 1.215-gigahertz synthetic aperture radar. Ice edge location by the Nimbus 7 scanning multichannel microwave radiometer was shown to be accurate to within 10 kilometers.
CO2 jets formed by sublimation beneath translucent slab ice in Mars' seasonal south polar ice cap
Kieffer, H.H.; Christensen, P.R.; Titus, T.N.
2006-01-01
The martian polar caps are among the most dynamic regions on Mars, growing substantially in winter as a significant fraction of the atmosphere freezes out in the form of CO2 ice. Unusual dark spots, fans and blotches form as the south-polar seasonal CO2 ice cap retreats during spring and summer. Small radial channel networks are often associated with the location of spots once the ice disappears. The spots have been proposed to be simply bare, defrosted ground; the formation of the channels has remained uncertain. Here we report infrared and visible observations that show that the spots and fans remain at CO2 ice temperatures well into summer, and must be granular materials that have been brought up to the surface of the ice, requiring a complex suite of processes to get them there. We propose that the seasonal ice cap forms an impermeable, translucent slab of CO2 ice that sublimates from the base, building up high-pressure gas beneath the slab. This gas levitates the ice, which eventually ruptures, producing high-velocity CO 2 vents that erupt sand-sized grains in jets to form the spots and erode the channels. These processes are unlike any observed on Earth. ?? 2006 Nature Publishing Group.
Shallow methylmercury production in the marginal sea ice zone of the central Arctic Ocean
Heimbürger, Lars-Eric; Sonke, Jeroen E.; Cossa, Daniel; Point, David; Lagane, Christelle; Laffont, Laure; Galfond, Benjamin T.; Nicolaus, Marcel; Rabe, Benjamin; van der Loeff, Michiel Rutgers
2015-01-01
Methylmercury (MeHg) is a neurotoxic compound that threatens wildlife and human health across the Arctic region. Though much is known about the source and dynamics of its inorganic mercury (Hg) precursor, the exact origin of the high MeHg concentrations in Arctic biota remains uncertain. Arctic coastal sediments, coastal marine waters and surface snow are known sites for MeHg production. Observations on marine Hg dynamics, however, have been restricted to the Canadian Archipelago and the Beaufort Sea (<79°N). Here we present the first central Arctic Ocean (79–90°N) profiles for total mercury (tHg) and MeHg. We find elevated tHg and MeHg concentrations in the marginal sea ice zone (81–85°N). Similar to other open ocean basins, Arctic MeHg concentration maxima also occur in the pycnocline waters, but at much shallower depths (150–200 m). The shallow MeHg maxima just below the productive surface layer possibly result in enhanced biological uptake at the base of the Arctic marine food web and may explain the elevated MeHg concentrations in Arctic biota. We suggest that Arctic warming, through thinning sea ice, extension of the seasonal sea ice zone, intensified surface ocean stratification and shifts in plankton ecodynamics, will likely lead to higher marine MeHg production. PMID:25993348
Shallow methylmercury production in the marginal sea ice zone of the central Arctic Ocean.
Heimbürger, Lars-Eric; Sonke, Jeroen E; Cossa, Daniel; Point, David; Lagane, Christelle; Laffont, Laure; Galfond, Benjamin T; Nicolaus, Marcel; Rabe, Benjamin; van der Loeff, Michiel Rutgers
2015-05-20
Methylmercury (MeHg) is a neurotoxic compound that threatens wildlife and human health across the Arctic region. Though much is known about the source and dynamics of its inorganic mercury (Hg) precursor, the exact origin of the high MeHg concentrations in Arctic biota remains uncertain. Arctic coastal sediments, coastal marine waters and surface snow are known sites for MeHg production. Observations on marine Hg dynamics, however, have been restricted to the Canadian Archipelago and the Beaufort Sea (<79 °N). Here we present the first central Arctic Ocean (79-90 °N) profiles for total mercury (tHg) and MeHg. We find elevated tHg and MeHg concentrations in the marginal sea ice zone (81-85 °N). Similar to other open ocean basins, Arctic MeHg concentration maxima also occur in the pycnocline waters, but at much shallower depths (150-200 m). The shallow MeHg maxima just below the productive surface layer possibly result in enhanced biological uptake at the base of the Arctic marine food web and may explain the elevated MeHg concentrations in Arctic biota. We suggest that Arctic warming, through thinning sea ice, extension of the seasonal sea ice zone, intensified surface ocean stratification and shifts in plankton ecodynamics, will likely lead to higher marine MeHg production.
The ocean mixed layer under Southern Ocean sea-ice: seasonal cycle and forcing.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Violaine, P.; Sallee, J. B.; Schmidtko, S.; Roquet, F.; Charrassin, J. B.
2016-02-01
The mixed-layer at the surface of the ocean is the gateway for all exchanges between air and sea. A vast area of the Southern Ocean is however seasonally capped by sea-ice, which alters this gateway and the characteristic the ocean mixed-layer. The interaction between the ocean mixed-layer and sea-ice plays a key role for water-mass formation and circulation, carbon cycle, sea-ice dynamics, and ultimately for the climate as a whole. However, the structure and characteristics of the mixed layer, as well as the processes responsible for its evolution, are poorly understood due to the lack of in-situ observations and measurements. We urgently need to better understand the forcing and the characteristics of the ocean mixed-layer under sea-ice if we are to understand and predict the world's climate. In this study, we combine a range of distinct sources of observation to overcome this lack in our understanding of the Polar Regions. Working on Elephant Seal-derived data as well as ship-based observations and Argo float data, we describe the seasonal cycle of the characteristics and stability of the ocean mixed layer over the entire Southern Ocean (South of 40°S), and specifically under sea-ice. Mixed-layer budgets of heat and freshwater are used to investigate the main forcings of the mixed-layer seasonal cycle. The seasonal variability of sea surface salinity and temperature are primarily driven by surface processes, dominated by sea-ice freshwater flux for the salt budget, and by air-sea flux for the heat budget. Ekman advection, vertical diffusivity and vertical entrainment play only secondary role.Our results suggest that changes in regional sea-ice distribution or sea-ice seasonal cycle duration, as currently observed, would widely affect the buoyancy budget of the underlying mixed-layer, and impacts large-scale water-mass formation and transformation.
A comparison of radiation budgets in the Fram Strait marginal ice zone
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Francis, Jennifer A.; Katsaros, Kristina B.; Ackerman, Thomas P.; Lind, Richard J.; Davidson, Kenneth L.
1991-01-01
Results are presented from calculations of radiation budgets for the sea-ice and the open-water regimes in the marginal ice zone (MIZ) of the Fram Strait, from measurements of surface irradiances and meteorological conditions made during the 1984 Marginal Ice Zone Experiment. Simultaneous measurements on either side of the ice edge allowed a comparison of the open-water and the sea-ice environments. The results show significant differences between the radiation budgets of the two regimes in the MIZ. The open water absorbed twice as much radiation as did the ice, and the mean cooling rate of the atmosphere over water was approximately 15 percent larger than that over ice. Calculated fluxes and atmospheric cooling rates were found to compare well with available literature data.
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
DeMott, P. J.; Hill, T. C.J.
Despite the significance of the marginal ice zones of the Arctic Ocean, basic parameters such as sea surface temperature (SST) and a range of sea-ice characteristics are still insufficiently understood in these areas, and especially so during the summer melt period. The field campaigns summarized here, identified collectively as the “Marginal Ice Zone Ocean and Ice Observations and Processes Experiment” (MIZOPEX), were funded by U.S. National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) with the intent of helping to address these information gaps through a targeted, intensive observation field campaign that tested and exploited unique capabilities of multiple classes of unmanned aerialmore » systems (UASs). MIZOPEX was conceived and carried out in response to NASA’s request for research efforts that would address a key area of science while also helping to advance the application of UASs in a manner useful to NASA for assessing the relative merits of different UASs. To further exercise the potential of unmanned systems and to expand the science value of the effort, the field campaign added further challenges such as air deployment of miniaturized buoys and coordinating missions involving multiple aircraft. Specific research areas that MIZOPEX data were designed to address include relationships between ocean skin temperatures and subsurface temperatures and how these evolve over time in an Arctic environment during summer; variability in sea-ice conditions such as thickness, age, and albedo within the marginal ice zone (MIZ); interactions of SST, salinity, and ice conditions during the melt cycle; and validation of satellite-derived SST and ice concentration fields provided by satellite imagery and models.« less
Spatial Distribution of Trends and Seasonality in the Hemispheric Sea Ice Covers
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Gloersen, P.; Parkinson, C. L.; Cavalieri, D. J.; Cosmiso, J. C.; Zwally, H. J.
1998-01-01
We extend earlier analyses of a 9-year sea ice data set that described the local seasonal and trend variations in each of the hemispheric sea ice covers to the recently merged 18.2-year sea ice record from four satellite instruments. The seasonal cycle characteristics remain essentially the same as for the shorter time series, but the local trends are markedly different, in some cases reversing sign. The sign reversal reflects the lack of a consistent long-term trend and could be the result of localized long-term oscillations in the hemispheric sea ice covers. By combining the separate hemispheric sea ice records into a global one, we have shown that there are statistically significant net decreases in the sea ice coverage on a global scale. The change in the global sea ice extent, is -0.01 +/- 0.003 x 10(exp 6) sq km per decade. The decrease in the areal coverage of the sea ice is only slightly smaller, so that the difference in the two, the open water within the packs, has no statistically significant change.
Identification of contrasting seasonal sea ice conditions during the Younger Dryas
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Cabedo-Sanz, P.; Belt, S. T.; Knies, J.
2012-12-01
The presence of the sea ice diatom biomarker IP25 in Arctic marine sediments has been used in previous studies as a proxy for past spring sea ice occurrence and as an indicator of wider palaeoenvironmental conditions for different regions of the Arctic over various timescales [e.g. 1, 2]. The current study focuses on high-resolution palaeo sea ice reconstructions for northern Norway during the last ca. 15 cal. kyr BP. Within this study, particular emphasis has been placed on the identification of the sea ice conditions during the Younger Dryas and the application of different biomarker-based proxies to both identify and quantify seasonal sea ice conditions. Firstly, the appearance of the specific sea ice diatom proxy IP25 at ca. 12.9 cal. kyr BP in a marine sediment core (JM99-1200) obtained from Andfjorden has provided an unambiguous but qualitative measure of seasonal sea ice and thus the onset of the Younger Dryas stadial. The near continuous occurrence of IP25 for the next ca. 1400 yr demonstrates seasonal sea ice during this interval, although variable abundances suggest that the recurrent conditions in the early-mid Younger Dryas (ca. 12.9 - 11.9 cal. kyr BP) changed significantly from stable to highly variable sea ice conditions at ca. 11.9 cal. kyr BP and this instability in sea ice prevailed for the subsequent ca. 400 yr. At ca. 11.5 cal. kyr BP, IP25 disappeared from the record indicating ice-free conditions that signified the beginning of the Holocene. Similarly, a high resolution record from the Kveithola Through, western Barents Sea, showed clearly higher IP25 concentrations during the Younger Dryas stadial compared to the Holocene. For both marine records, the IP25 concentrations were also combined with those of the open water phytoplankton biomarker brassicasterol to generate PBIP25 data from which more quantitative measurements of sea ice were determined. The contrasting seasonal sea ice conditions during the Younger Dryas were further verified
Sensitivity studies with a coupled ice-ocean model of the marginal ice zone
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Roed, L. P.
1983-01-01
An analytical coupled ice-ocean model is considered which is forced by a specified wind stress acting on the open ocean as well as the ice. The analysis supports the conjecture that the upwelling dynamics at ice edges can be understood by means of a simple analytical model. In similarity with coastal problems it is shown that the ice edge upwelling is determined by the net mass flux at the boundaries of the considered region. The model is used to study the sensitivity of the upwelling dynamics in the marginal ice zone to variation in the controlling parameters. These parameters consist of combinations of the drag coefficients used in the parameterization of the stresses on the three interfaces atmosphere-ice, atmosphere-ocean, and ice-ocean. The response is shown to be sensitive to variations in these parameters in that one set of parameters may give upwelling while a slightly different set of parameters may give downwelling.
Ocean-ice interaction in the marginal ice zone using synthetic aperture radar imagery
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Liu, Antony K.; Peng, Chich Y.; Weingartner, Thomas J.
1994-01-01
Ocean-ice interaction processes in the marginal ice zone (MIZ) by wind, waves, and mesoscale features, such as up/downwelling and eddies are studied using Earth Remote-Sensing Satellite (ERS) 1 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images and an ocean-ice interaction model. A sequence of seven SAR images of the MIZ in the Chukchi Sea with 3 or 6 days interval are investigated for ice edge advance/retreat. Simultaneous current measurements from the northeast Chukchi Sea, as well as the Barrow wind record, are used to interpret the MIZ dynamics. SAR spectra of waves in ice and ocean waves in the Bering and Chukchi Sea are compared for the study of wave propagation and dominant SAR imaging mechanism. By using the SAR-observed ice edge configuration and wind and wave field in the Chukchi Sea as inputs, a numerical simulation has been performed with the ocean-ice interaction model. After 3 days of wind and wave forcing the resulting ice edge configuration, eddy formation, and flow velocity field are shown to be consistent with SAR observations.
Seasonal Study of Mercury Species in the Antarctic Sea Ice Environment.
Nerentorp Mastromonaco, Michelle G; Gårdfeldt, Katarina; Langer, Sarka; Dommergue, Aurélien
2016-12-06
Limited studies have been conducted on mercury concentrations in the polar cryosphere and the factors affecting the distribution of mercury within sea ice and snow are poorly understood. Here we present the first comprehensive seasonal study of elemental and total mercury concentrations in the Antarctic sea ice environment covering data from measurements in air, sea ice, seawater, snow, frost flowers, and brine. The average concentration of total mercury in sea ice decreased from winter (9.7 ng L -1 ) to spring (4.7 ng L -1 ) while the average elemental mercury concentration increased from winter (0.07 ng L -1 ) to summer (0.105 ng L -1 ). The opposite trends suggest potential photo- or dark oxidation/reduction processes within the ice and an eventual loss of mercury via brine drainage or gas evasion of elemental mercury. Our results indicate a seasonal variation of mercury species in the polar sea ice environment probably due to varying factors such as solar radiation, temperature, brine volume, and atmospheric deposition. This study shows that the sea ice environment is a significant interphase between the polar ocean and the atmosphere and should be accounted for when studying how climate change may affect the mercury cycle in polar regions.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Yu, Lisan; Jin, Xiangze; Schulz, Eric W.; Josey, Simon A.
2017-08-01
This study analyzed shipboard air-sea measurements acquired by the icebreaker Aurora Australis during its off-winter operation in December 2010 to May 2012. Mean conditions over 7 months (October-April) were compiled from a total of 22 ship tracks. The icebreaker traversed the water between Hobart, Tasmania, and the Antarctic continent, providing valuable in situ insight into two dynamically important, yet poorly sampled, regimes: the sub-Antarctic Southern Ocean and the Antarctic marginal ice zone (MIZ) in the Indian Ocean sector. The transition from the open water to the ice-covered surface creates sharp changes in albedo, surface roughness, and air temperature, leading to consequential effects on air-sea variables and fluxes. Major effort was made to estimate the air-sea fluxes in the MIZ using the bulk flux algorithms that are tuned specifically for the sea-ice effects, while computing the fluxes over the sub-Antarctic section using the COARE3.0 algorithm. The study evidenced strong sea-ice modulations on winds, with the southerly airflow showing deceleration (convergence) in the MIZ and acceleration (divergence) when moving away from the MIZ. Marked seasonal variations in heat exchanges between the atmosphere and the ice margin were noted. The monotonic increase in turbulent latent and sensible heat fluxes after summer turned the MIZ quickly into a heat loss regime, while at the same time the sub-Antarctic surface water continued to receive heat from the atmosphere. The drastic increase in turbulent heat loss in the MIZ contrasted sharply to the nonsignificant and seasonally invariant turbulent heat loss over the sub-Antarctic open water.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Heilig, Achim; Eisen, Olaf; MacFerrin, Michael; Tedesco, Marco; Fettweis, Xavier
2018-06-01
Increasing melt over the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) recorded over the past several years has resulted in significant changes of the percolation regime of the ice sheet. It remains unclear whether Greenland's percolation zone will act as a meltwater buffer in the near future through gradually filling all pore space or if near-surface refreezing causes the formation of impermeable layers, which provoke lateral runoff. Homogeneous ice layers within perennial firn, as well as near-surface ice layers of several meter thickness have been observed in firn cores. Because firn coring is a destructive method, deriving stratigraphic changes in firn and allocation of summer melt events is challenging. To overcome this deficit and provide continuous data for model evaluations on snow and firn density, temporal changes in liquid water content and depths of water infiltration, we installed an upward-looking radar system (upGPR) 3.4 m below the snow surface in May 2016 close to Camp Raven (66.4779° N, 46.2856° W) at 2120 m a.s.l. The radar is capable of quasi-continuously monitoring changes in snow and firn stratigraphy, which occur above the antennas. For summer 2016, we observed four major melt events, which routed liquid water into various depths beneath the surface. The last event in mid-August resulted in the deepest percolation down to about 2.3 m beneath the surface. Comparisons with simulations from the regional climate model MAR are in very good agreement in terms of seasonal changes in accumulation and timing of onset of melt. However, neither bulk density of near-surface layers nor the amounts of liquid water and percolation depths predicted by MAR correspond with upGPR data. Radar data and records of a nearby thermistor string, in contrast, matched very well for both timing and depth of temperature changes and observed water percolations. All four melt events transferred a cumulative mass of 56 kg m-2 into firn beneath the summer surface of 2015. We find that
Coupling of Waves, Turbulence and Thermodynamics Across the Marginal Ice Zone
2013-09-30
under-predict the observed trend of declining sea ice area over the last decade. A potential explanation for this under-prediction is that models...are missing important feedbacks within the ocean- ice system. Results from the proposed research will contribute to improving the upper ocean and sea ...and solar-radiation-driven thermodynamic forcing in the marginal ice zone. Within the MIZ, the ocean- ice - albedo feedback mechanism is coupled to ice
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Burns, B. A.; Cavalieri, D. J.; Keller, M. R.
1986-01-01
Active and passive microwave data collected during the 1984 summer Marginal Ice Zone Experiment in the Fram Strait (MIZEX 84) are used to compare ice concentration estimates derived from synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data to those obtained from passive microwave imagery at several frequencies. The comparison is carried out to evaluate SAR performance against the more established passive microwave technique, and to investigate discrepancies in terms of how ice surface conditions, imaging geometry, and choice of algorithm parameters affect each sensor. Active and passive estimates of ice concentration agree on average to within 12%. Estimates from the multichannel passive microwave data show best agreement with the SAR estimates because the multichannel algorithm effectively accounts for the range in ice floe brightness temperatures observed in the MIZ.
Wave Attenuation and Gas Exchange Velocity in Marginal Sea Ice Zone
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Bigdeli, A.; Hara, T.; Loose, B.; Nguyen, A. T.
2018-03-01
The gas transfer velocity in marginal sea ice zones exerts a strong control on the input of anthropogenic gases into the ocean interior. In this study, a sea state-dependent gas exchange parametric model is developed based on the turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate. The model is tuned to match the conventional gas exchange parametrization in fetch-unlimited, fully developed seas. Next, fetch limitation is introduced in the model and results are compared to fetch limited experiments in lakes, showing that the model captures the effects of finite fetch on gas exchange with good fidelity. Having validated the results in fetch limited waters such as lakes, the model is next applied in sea ice zones using an empirical relation between the sea ice cover and the effective fetch, while accounting for the sea ice motion effect that is unique to sea ice zones. The model results compare favorably with the available field measurements. Applying this parametric model to a regional Arctic numerical model, it is shown that, under the present conditions, gas flux into the Arctic Ocean may be overestimated by 10% if a conventional parameterization is used.
Wave attenuation in the marginal ice zone during LIMEX
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Liu, Antony K.; Peng, Chih Y.; Vachon, Paris W.
1991-01-01
During LIMEX'87 and '89, the CCRS CV-580 aircraft collected SAR (synthetic aperture radar) data over the marginal ice zone off the coast of Newfoundland. Based upon the wavenumber spectra from SAR data, the wave attenuation rate is estimated and compared with a model. The model-data comparisons are reasonably good for the ice conditions during LIMEX (Labrador Ice Margin Experiment). Both model and SAR-derived wave attenuation rates show a roll-over at high wavenumbers.
Correlation studies of passive and active microwave data in the marginal ice zone
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Comiso, J. C.
1991-01-01
The microwave radiative and backscatter characteristics of sea ice in an Arctic marginal ice zone have been studied using near-simultaneous passive and active synthetic aperture radar microwave data. Intermediate-resolution multichannel passive microwave data were registered and analyzed. Passive and active microwave data generally complement each other as the two sensors are especially sensitive to different physical properties of the sea ice. In the inner pack, undeformed first-year ice is observed to have low backscatter values but high brightness temperatures while multiyear ice has generally high backscatter values and low brightness temperatures. However, in the marginal ice zone, the signature and backscatter for multiyear ice are considerably different and closer to those of first-year ice. Some floes identified by photography as snow-covered thick ice have backscatter similar to that of new ice or open water while brash ice has backscatter similar to or higher than that of ridged ice.
Evolution of microwave sea ice signatures during early summer and midsummer in the marginal ice zone
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Onstott, R. G.; Grenfell, T. C.; Matzler, C.; Luther, C. A.; Svendsen, E. A.
1987-01-01
Emissivities at frequencies from 5 to 94 GHz and backscatter at frequencies from 1 to 17 GHz were measured from sea ice in Fram Strait during the marginal Ice Zone Experiment in June and July of 1983 and 1984. The ice observed was primarily multiyear; the remainder, first-year ice, was often deformed. Results from this active and passive microwave study include the description of the evolution of the sea ice during early summer and midsummer; the absorption properties of summer snow; the interrelationship between ice thickness and the state and thickness of snow; and the modulation of the microwave signature, especially at the highest frequencies, by the freezing of the upper few centimeters of the ice.
Will Arctic sea ice thickness initialization improve seasonal forecast skill?
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Day, J. J.; Hawkins, E.; Tietsche, S.
2014-11-01
Arctic sea ice thickness is thought to be an important predictor of Arctic sea ice extent. However, coupled seasonal forecast systems do not generally use sea ice thickness observations in their initialization and are therefore missing a potentially important source of additional skill. To investigate how large this source is, a set of ensemble potential predictability experiments with a global climate model, initialized with and without knowledge of the sea ice thickness initial state, have been run. These experiments show that accurate knowledge of the sea ice thickness field is crucially important for sea ice concentration and extent forecasts up to 8 months ahead, especially in summer. Perturbing sea ice thickness also has a significant impact on the forecast error in Arctic 2 m temperature a few months ahead. These results suggest that advancing capabilities to observe and assimilate sea ice thickness into coupled forecast systems could significantly increase skill.
Mass Balance of Multiyear Sea Ice in the Southern Beaufort Sea
2012-09-30
datasets. Table 1 lists the primary data sources to be used. To determine sources and sinks of MY ice, we use a simple model of MY ice circulation, which is...shown in Figure 1. In this model , we consider the Beaufort Sea to consist of four zones defined by mean drift of sea ice in summer and winter, such...Healy/Louis S. St. Laurant cruises 1 Seasonal Ice Zone Observing Network 2 Polar Airborne Measurements and Arctic Regional Climate Model
The ocean mixed layer under Southern Ocean sea-ice: Seasonal cycle and forcing
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Pellichero, Violaine; Sallée, Jean-Baptiste; Schmidtko, Sunke; Roquet, Fabien; Charrassin, Jean-Benoît
2017-02-01
The oceanic mixed layer is the gateway for the exchanges between the atmosphere and the ocean; in this layer, all hydrographic ocean properties are set for months to millennia. A vast area of the Southern Ocean is seasonally capped by sea-ice, which alters the characteristics of the ocean mixed layer. The interaction between the ocean mixed layer and sea-ice plays a key role for water mass transformation, the carbon cycle, sea-ice dynamics, and ultimately for the climate as a whole. However, the structure and characteristics of the under-ice mixed layer are poorly understood due to the sparseness of in situ observations and measurements. In this study, we combine distinct sources of observations to overcome this lack in our understanding of the polar regions. Working with elephant seal-derived, ship-based, and Argo float observations, we describe the seasonal cycle of the ocean mixed-layer characteristics and stability of the ocean mixed layer over the Southern Ocean and specifically under sea-ice. Mixed-layer heat and freshwater budgets are used to investigate the main forcing mechanisms of the mixed-layer seasonal cycle. The seasonal variability of sea surface salinity and temperature are primarily driven by surface processes, dominated by sea-ice freshwater flux for the salt budget and by air-sea flux for the heat budget. Ekman advection, vertical diffusivity, and vertical entrainment play only secondary roles. Our results suggest that changes in regional sea-ice distribution and annual duration, as currently observed, widely affect the buoyancy budget of the underlying mixed layer, and impact large-scale water mass formation and transformation with far reaching consequences for ocean ventilation.
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Cavalieri, D. J.; Gloersen, P.; Wilheit, T. T.; Calhoon, C.
1984-01-01
Passive microwave measurements of the Bering Sea were made with the NASA CV-990 airborne laboratory during February. Microwave data were obtained with imaging and dual-polarized, fixed-beam radiometers in a range of frequencies from 10 to 183 GHz. The high resolution imagery at 92 GHz provides a particularly good description of the marginal ice zone delineating regions of open water, ice compactness, and ice-edge structure. Analysis of the fixed-beam data shows that spectral differences increase with a decrease in ice thickness. Polarization at 18 and 37 GHz distinguishes among new, young, and first-year sea ice types.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Ortiz, M.; Pinales, J. C.; Graber, H. C.; Wilkinson, J.; Lund, B.
2016-02-01
Melt ponds on sea ice play a significant and complex role on the thermodynamics in the Marginal Ice Zone (MIZ). Ponding reduces the sea ice's ability to reflect sunlight, and in consequence, exacerbates the albedo positive feedback cycle. In order to understand how melt ponds work and their effect on the heat uptake of sea ice, we must quantify ponds through their seasonal evolution first. A semi-supervised neural network three-class learning scheme using a gradient descent with momentum and adaptive learning rate backpropagation function is applied to classify melt ponds/melt areas in the Beaufort Sea region. The network uses high resolution panchromatic satellite images from the MEDEA program, which are collocated with autonomous platform arrays from the Marginal Ice Zone Program, including ice mass-balance buoys, arctic weather stations and wave buoys. The goal of the study is to capture the spatial variation of melt onset and freeze-up of the ponds within the MIZ, and gather ponding statistics such as size and concentration. The innovation of this work comes from training the neural network as the melt ponds evolve over time; making the machine learning algorithm time-dependent, which has not been previously done. We will achieve this by analyzing the image histograms through quantification of the minima and maxima intensity changes as well as linking textural variation information of the imagery. We will compare the evolution of the melt ponds against several different array sites on the sea ice to explore if there are spatial differences among the separated platforms in the MIZ.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Kuzmin, R. O.; Zabalueva, E. V.; Evdokimova, N. A.; Christensen, P. H.; Mitrofanov, I. G.; Litvak, M. L.
2008-09-01
Introduction: The processes of the hydration/ dehydration of salt minerals within the Martian soil and the condensation/sublimation of water ice (and frost) in the surficial soil layer and on the polar cap surface play great significance in the modern water cycle on Mars and directly affect the redistribution of the water phases and forms in the system "atmosphere/regolith/polar caps" [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. The processes are reversible in time and their intensity is strongly dependent on such time-variable climatic parameters as atmospheric and surface temperature, atmospheric water vapour content and specific features of atmospheric seasonal circulation [6, 7, 8, 9, 10]. In the work we report the study results of the seasonal variations of the chemically bound water (BW) spectral signature (based on the TES and OMEGA data), estimation and mapping of the winterand spring-time water ice increase within the Martian surface soil (based on the TES and HEND data). Analysis and results: Regional and global mapping of the BW spectral index distribution as function of the seasons was conducted by using of the 6.1 μm emission pick from the TES dataset and the 1.91 μm absorption band from reflectance spectra of the OMEGA data. The study of the seasonal redistribution of the water ice (and frost) within the thin surficial soil layer was conducted based on the TES thermal inertia (TI) data and the HEND neutrons flux mapping data. Bound water mapping: The mapping of the TES 6.1 μm BW index distributions was conducted at the time steps from 30° to 60° of Ls [11]. The mapping results show remarkable changes of the BW index values from one season to other one at notable latitudinal dependence of the index (Fig.1). At that, the higher BW index values are disposed mostly within the peripheral zone near the edge of the perennial and seasonal polar caps (cooler, wetter areas), while the lower BW index values are observed at low latitudes (warmer, drier areas). Between the Nspring (Ls=0
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Kuzmin, R. O.; Zabalueva, E. V.; Evdokimova, N. A.; Christensen, P. H.; Mitrofanov, I. G.; Litvak, M. L.
2008-09-01
Introduction: The processes of the hydration/ dehydration of salt minerals within the Martian soil and the condensation/sublimation of water ice (and frost) in the surficial soil layer and on the polar cap surface play great significance in the modern water cycle on Mars and directly affect the redistribution of the water phases and forms in the system "atmosphere/regolith/polar caps" [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. The processes are reversible in time and their intensity is strongly dependent on such time-variable climatic parameters as atmospheric and surface temperature, atmospheric water vapour content and specific features of atmospheric seasonal circulation [6, 7, 8, 9, 10]. In the work we report the study results of the seasonal variations of the chemically bound water (BW) spectral signature (based on the TES and OMEGA data), estimation and mapping of the winterand spring-time water ice increase within the Martian surface soil (based on the TES and HEND data). Analysis and results: Regional and global mapping of the BW spectral index distribution as function of the seasons was conducted by using of the 6.1 μm emission pick from the TES dataset and the 1.91 μm absorption band from reflectance spectra of the OMEGA data. The study of the seasonal redistribution of the water ice (and frost) within the thin surficial soil layer was conducted based on the TES thermal inertia (TI) data and the HEND neutrons flux mapping data. Bound water mapping: The mapping of the TES 6.1 μm BW index distributions was conducted at the time steps from 30° to 60° of Ls [11]. The mapping results show remarkable changes of the BW index values from one season to other one at notable latitudinal dependence of the index (Fig.1). At that, the higher BW index values are disposed mostly within the peripheral zone near the edge of the perennial and seasonal polar caps (cooler, wetter areas), while the lower BW index values are observed at low latitudes (warmer, drier areas). Between the Nspring (Ls=0
Marginal Ice Zone (MIZ) Program: Science and Experiment Plan
2012-10-01
decline and greatest loss in arctic summer ice (Shimada et al ., 2006 ). The Beaufort Sea lends its name to the Beaufort Gyre, the anti-cyclonic...which in turn influences regional atmospheric circulation patterns and temperature profiles, especially along the seasonal MIZ (Rinke et al ., 2006 ...coupling (Krinner et al ., 2010; Gerdes, 2006 ). Both for scientific and practical reasons, prediction of sea ice cover is particularly important as it
A coupled dynamic-thermodynamic model of an ice-ocean system in the marginal ice zone
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Hakkinen, Sirpa
1987-01-01
Thermodynamics are incorporated into a coupled ice-ocean model in order to investigate wind-driven ice-ocean processes in the marginal zone. Upswelling at the ice edge which is generated by the difference in the ice-air and air-water surface stresses is found to give rise to a strong entrainment by drawing the pycnocline closer to the surface. Entrainment is shown to be negligible outside the areas affected by the ice edge upswelling. If cooling at the top is included in the model, the heat and salt exchanges are further enhanced in the upswelling areas. It is noted that new ice formation occurs in the region not affected by ice edge upswelling, and it is suggested that the high-salinity mixed layer regions (with a scale of a few Rossby radii of deformation) will overturn due to cooling, possibly contributing to the formation of deep water.
Seasonal Ice Zone Reconnaissance Surveys Coordination and Ocean Profiles
2015-09-30
Morison), UpTempO buoy measurements of sea surface temperature (SST), sea level atmospheric pressure ( SLP ), and velocity (Steele), and dropsonde...dropsondes, micro-aircraft), cloud top/base heights UpTempO buoys for understanding and prediction…. Steele UpTempO buoy drops for SLP , SST, SSS...Air Expendable Current Profiler, SLP = Sea Level atmospheric Pressure, SST= Seas Surface Temperature, A/C= aircraft, SIC=Sea Ice Concentration We
Modelling wave-induced sea ice break-up in the marginal ice zone
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Montiel, F.; Squire, V. A.
2017-10-01
A model of ice floe break-up under ocean wave forcing in the marginal ice zone (MIZ) is proposed to investigate how floe size distribution (FSD) evolves under repeated wave break-up events. A three-dimensional linear model of ocean wave scattering by a finite array of compliant circular ice floes is coupled to a flexural failure model, which breaks a floe into two floes provided the two-dimensional stress field satisfies a break-up criterion. A closed-feedback loop algorithm is devised, which (i) solves the wave-scattering problem for a given FSD under time-harmonic plane wave forcing, (ii) computes the stress field in all the floes, (iii) fractures the floes satisfying the break-up criterion, and (iv) generates an updated FSD, initializing the geometry for the next iteration of the loop. The FSD after 50 break-up events is unimodal and near normal, or bimodal, suggesting waves alone do not govern the power law observed in some field studies. Multiple scattering is found to enhance break-up for long waves and thin ice, but to reduce break-up for short waves and thick ice. A break-up front marches forward in the latter regime, as wave-induced fracture weakens the ice cover, allowing waves to travel deeper into the MIZ.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Kellerer-Pirklbauer, Andreas; Avian, Michael; Hirschmann, Simon; Lieb, Gerhard Karl; Seier, Gernot; Sulzer, Wolfgang; Wakonigg, Herwig
2017-04-01
Rapid deglaciation does not only reveal a landscape which is prone to rapid geomorphic changes and sediment reworking but also the glacier ice itself might be in a state of disintegration by ice melting, pressure relief, crevasse formation, ice collapse or changes in the glacier's hydrology. In this study we considered the sudden disintegration of glacier ice in the glacial-proglacial transition zone of Pasterze Glacier. Pasterze Glacier is a typical alpine valley glacier and covers currently some 16.5 km2 making it to the largest glacier in Austria. This glacier is an important site for alpine mass tourism in Austria related to a public high alpine road and a cable car which enable access to the glacier rather easily also for unexperienced mountaineers. Spatial focus in our research is given on two particular study areas where several ice-mass movement events occurred during the 2015- and 2016-melting seasons. The first study area is a crevasse field at the lower third of the glacier tongue. This lateral crevasse field has been substantially modified during the last two melting seasons particularly because of thermo-erosional effects of a glacial stream which changed at this site from subglacial (until 2015) to glacier-lateral revealing a several tens of meters high unstable ice cliff prone to ice falls of different magnitudes. The second study area is located at the proglacial area. At Pasterze Glacier the proglacial area is widely influenced by dead-ice bodies of various dimensions making this area prone to slow to sudden geomorphic changes caused by ice mass changes. A particular ice-mass movement event took place on 20.09.2016. Within less than one hour the surface of the proglacial area changed substantially by tilting, lateral shifting, and subsidence of the ground accompanied by complete ice disintegration of once-debris covered ice. To understand acting processes at both areas of interest and to quantify mass changes we used field observations, terrain
The structure and effect of suture zones in the Larsen C Ice Shelf, Antarctica
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
McGrath, Daniel; Steffen, Konrad; Holland, Paul R.; Scambos, Ted; Rajaram, Harihar; Abdalati, Waleed; Rignot, Eric
2014-03-01
Ice shelf fractures frequently terminate where they encounter suture zones, regions of material heterogeneity that form between meteoric inflows in ice shelves. This heterogeneity can consist of marine ice, meteoric ice with modified rheological properties, or the presence of fractures. Here, we use radar observations on the Larsen C Ice Shelf, Antarctica, to investigate (i) the termination of a 25 km long rift in the Churchill Peninsula suture zone, which was found to contain 60 m of accreted marine ice, and (ii) the along-flow evolution of a suture zone originating at Cole Peninsula. We determine a steady state field of basal melting/freezing rates and apply it to a flowline model to delineate the along-flow evolution of layers within the ice shelf. The thickening surface wedge of locally accumulated meteoric ice, which likely has limited lateral variation in its mechanical properties, accounts for 60% of the total ice thickness near the calving front. Thus, we infer that the lower 40% of the ice column and the material heterogeneities present there are responsible for resisting fracture propagation and thereby delaying tabular calving events, as demonstrated in the >40 year time series leading up to the 2004/2005 calving event for Larsen C. This likely represents a highly sensitive aspect of ice shelf stability, as changes in the oceanic forcing may lead to the loss of this heterogeneity.
Radar Remote Sensing of Ice and Sea State and Air-Sea Interaction in the Marginal Ice Zone
2014-09-30
1 DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A. Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. Radar Remote Sensing of Ice and Sea State and Air-Sea...Interaction in the Marginal Ice Zone Hans C. Graber RSMAS – Department of Ocean Sciences Center for Southeastern Tropical Advanced Remote Sensing...scattering and attenuation process of ocean waves interacting with ice . A nautical X-band radar on a vessel dedicated to science would be used to follow the
36 CFR 13.912 - Kantishna area summer season firearm safety zone.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR
2010-07-01
... firearm safety zone. 13.912 Section 13.912 Parks, Forests, and Public Property NATIONAL PARK SERVICE... Preserve General Provisions § 13.912 Kantishna area summer season firearm safety zone. What is prohibited? No one may fire a gun during the summer season in or across the Kantishna area firearm safety zone...
36 CFR 13.912 - Kantishna area summer season firearm safety zone.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR
2011-07-01
... firearm safety zone. 13.912 Section 13.912 Parks, Forests, and Public Property NATIONAL PARK SERVICE... Preserve General Provisions § 13.912 Kantishna area summer season firearm safety zone. What is prohibited? No one may fire a gun during the summer season in or across the Kantishna area firearm safety zone...
36 CFR 13.912 - Kantishna area summer season firearm safety zone.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR
2013-07-01
... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Kantishna area summer season... Preserve General Provisions § 13.912 Kantishna area summer season firearm safety zone. What is prohibited? No one may fire a gun during the summer season in or across the Kantishna area firearm safety zone...
36 CFR 13.912 - Kantishna area summer season firearm safety zone.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR
2012-07-01
... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Kantishna area summer season... Preserve General Provisions § 13.912 Kantishna area summer season firearm safety zone. What is prohibited? No one may fire a gun during the summer season in or across the Kantishna area firearm safety zone...
Using Reanalysis Data for the Prediction of Seasonal Wind Turbine Power Losses Due to Icing
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Burtch, D.; Mullendore, G. L.; Delene, D. J.; Storm, B.
2013-12-01
The Northern Plains region of the United States is home to a significant amount of potential wind energy. However, in winter months capturing this potential power is severely impacted by the meteorological conditions, in the form of icing. Predicting the expected loss in power production due to icing is a valuable parameter that can be used in wind turbine operations, determination of wind turbine site locations and long-term energy estimates which are used for financing purposes. Currently, losses due to icing must be estimated when developing predictions for turbine feasibility and financing studies, while icing maps, a tool commonly used in Europe, are lacking in the United States. This study uses the Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) dataset in conjunction with turbine production data to investigate various methods of predicting seasonal losses (October-March) due to icing at two wind turbine sites located 121 km apart in North Dakota. The prediction of icing losses is based on temperature and relative humidity thresholds and is accomplished using three methods. For each of the three methods, the required atmospheric variables are determined in one of two ways: using industry-specific software to correlate anemometer data in conjunction with the MERRA dataset and using only the MERRA dataset for all variables. For each season, a percentage of the total expected generated power lost due to icing is determined and compared to observed losses from the production data. An optimization is performed in order to determine the relative humidity threshold that minimizes the difference between the predicted and observed values. Eight seasons of data are used to determine an optimal relative humidity threshold, and a further three seasons of data are used to test this threshold. Preliminary results have shown that the optimized relative humidity threshold for the northern turbine is higher than the southern turbine for all methods
Coupled ice-ocean dynamics in the marginal ice zones Upwelling/downwelling and eddy generation
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Hakkinen, S.
1986-01-01
This study is aimed at modeling mesoscale processes such as upwelling/downwelling and ice edge eddies in the marginal ice zones. A two-dimensional coupled ice-ocean model is used for the study. The ice model is coupled to the reduced gravity ocean model through interfacial stresses. The parameters of the ocean model were chosen so that the dynamics would be nonlinear. The model was tested by studying the dynamics of upwelling. Wings parallel to the ice edge with the ice on the right produce upwelling because the air-ice momentum flux is much greater than air-ocean momentum flux; thus the Ekman transport is greater than the ice than in the open water. The stability of the upwelling and downwelling jets is discussed. The downwelling jet is found to be far more unstable than the upwelling jet because the upwelling jet is stabilized by the divergence. The constant wind field exerted on a varying ice cover will generate vorticity leading to enhanced upwelling/downwelling regions, i.e., wind-forced vortices. Steepening and strengthening of vortices are provided by the nonlinear terms. When forcing is time-varying, the advection terms will also redistribute the vorticity. The wind reversals will separate the vortices from the ice edge, so that the upwelling enhancements are pushed to the open ocean and the downwelling enhancements are pushed underneath the ice.
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Markus, Thorsten; Henrichs, John
2006-01-01
and volume scattering characteristics. The Canadian RADARSAT C-band SAR provides data that cover the Arctic Ocean and the MIZ every 3 days. A change-point detection approach was utilized to obtain an ice edge estimate from the RADARSAT data The Quickscat scatterometer provides ice edge information with a resolution of a few kilometers on a near-daily basis. During portions of March and April of 2003 a series of aircraft flights were conducted over the ice edge in the Bering Sea carrying the Polarimetric Scanning Radiometer (PSR), which provides spectral coverage identical with the AMSR-E instrument at a resolution of 500 meters. In this study we investigated these different data sets and analyzed differences in their definition of the sea ice edge and the marginal ice zone and how these differences as well as their individual limitations affect the monitoring of the ice edge dynamics. We also examined how the nature of the sea ice edge, including its location, compactness and shape, changes over the seasons. Our approach was based on calculation of distances between ice edges derived from the satellite and aircraft data sets listed above as well as spectral coherence methods and shape parameters such as tortuosity, curvature, and fractional dimension.
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Nihashi, Sohey; Cavalieri, Donald J.
2007-01-01
The effect of ice-ocean albedo feedback (a kind of ice-albedo feedback) on sea-ice decay is demonstrated over the Antarctic sea-ice zone from an analysis of satellite-derived hemispheric sea ice concentration and European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ERA-40) atmospheric data for the period 1979-2001. Sea ice concentration in December (time of most active melt) correlates better with the meridional component of the wind-forced ice drift (MID) in November (beginning of the melt season) than the MID in December. This 1 month lagged correlation is observed in most of the Antarctic sea-ice covered ocean. Daily time series of ice , concentration show that the ice concentration anomaly increases toward the time of maximum sea-ice melt. These findings can be explained by the following positive feedback effect: once ice concentration decreases (increases) at the beginning of the melt season, solar heating of the upper ocean through the increased (decreased) open water fraction is enhanced (reduced), leading to (suppressing) a further decrease in ice concentration by the oceanic heat. Results obtained fi-om a simple ice-ocean coupled model also support our interpretation of the observational results. This positive feedback mechanism explains in part the large interannual variability of the sea-ice cover in summer.
Modeling seasonality of ice and ocean carbon production in the Arctic
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Jin, M.; Deal, C. M.; Ji, R.
2011-12-01
In the Arctic Ocean, both phytoplankton and sea ice algae are important contributors to the primary production and the arctic food web. Copepod in the arctic regions have developed their feeding habit depending on the timing between the ice algal bloom and the subsequent phytoplankton bloom. A mismatch of the timing due to climate changes could have dramatic consequences on the food web as shown by some regional observations. In this study, a global coupled ice-ocean-ecosystem model was used to assess the seasonality of the ice algal and phytoplankton blooms in the arctic. The ice-ocean ecosystem modules are fully coupled in the physical model POP-CICE (Parallel Ocean Program- Los Alamos Sea Ice Model). The model results are compared with various observations. The modeled ice and ocean carbon production were analyzed by regions and their linkage to the physical environment changes (such as changes of ice concentration and water temperature, and light intensity etc.) between low- and high-ice years.
Cherry, Seth G; Derocher, Andrew E; Thiemann, Gregory W; Lunn, Nicholas J
2013-07-01
Understanding how seasonal environmental conditions affect the timing and distribution of synchronized animal movement patterns is a central issue in animal ecology. Migration, a behavioural adaptation to seasonal environmental fluctuations, is a fundamental part of the life history of numerous species. However, global climate change can alter the spatiotemporal distribution of resources and thus affect the seasonal movement patterns of migratory animals. We examined sea ice dynamics relative to migration patterns and seasonal geographical fidelity of an Arctic marine predator, the polar bear (Ursus maritimus). Polar bear movement patterns were quantified using satellite-linked telemetry data collected from collars deployed between 1991-1997 and 2004-2009. We showed that specific sea ice characteristics can predict the timing of seasonal polar bear migration on and off terrestrial refugia. In addition, fidelity to specific onshore regions during the ice-free period was predicted by the spatial pattern of sea ice break-up but not by the timing of break-up. The timing of migration showed a trend towards earlier arrival of polar bears on shore and later departure from land, which has been driven by climate-induced declines in the availability of sea ice. Changes to the timing of migration have resulted in polar bears spending progressively longer periods of time on land without access to sea ice and their marine mammal prey. The links between increased atmospheric temperatures, sea ice dynamics, and the migratory behaviour of an ice-dependent species emphasizes the importance of quantifying and monitoring relationships between migratory wildlife and environmental cues that may be altered by climate change. © 2013 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology © 2013 British Ecological Society.
Unusual radar echoes from the Greenland ice sheet
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Rignot, E. J.; Vanzyl, J. J.; Ostro, S. J.; Jezek, K. C.
1993-01-01
In June 1991, the NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory airborne synthetic-aperture radar (AIRSAR) instrument collected the first calibrated data set of multifrequency, polarimetric, radar observations of the Greenland ice sheet. At the time of the AIRSAR overflight, ground teams recorded the snow and firn (old snow) stratigraphy, grain size, density, and temperature at ice camps in three of the four snow zones identified by glaciologists to characterize four different degrees of summer melting of the Greenland ice sheet. The four snow zones are: (1) the dry-snow zone, at high elevation, where melting rarely occurs; (2) the percolation zone, where summer melting generates water that percolates down through the cold, porous, dry snow and then refreezes in place to form massive layers and pipes of solid ice; (3) the soaked-snow zone where melting saturates the snow with liquid water and forms standing lakes; and (4) the ablation zone, at the lowest elevations, where melting is vigorous enough to remove the seasonal snow cover and ablate the glacier ice. There is interest in mapping the spatial extent and temporal variability of these different snow zones repeatedly by using remote sensing techniques. The objectives of the 1991 experiment were to study changes in radar scattering properties across the different melting zones of the Greenland ice sheet, and relate the radar properties of the ice sheet to the snow and firn physical properties via relevant scattering mechanisms. Here, we present an analysis of the unusual radar echoes measured from the percolation zone.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Selyuzhenok, V.; Krumpen, T.; Mahoney, A.; Janout, M.; Gerdes, R.
2015-12-01
Along with changes in sea ice extent, thickness, and drift speed, Arctic sea ice regime is characterized by a decrease of fast ice season and reduction of fast ice extent. The most extensive fast ice cover in the Arctic develops in the southeastern Laptev Sea. Using weekly operational sea ice charts produced by Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI, Russia) from 1999 to 2013, we identified five main key events that characterize the annual evolution of fast ice in the southeastern Laptev Sea. Linking the occurrence of the key events with the atmospheric forcing, bathymetry, freezeup, and melt onset, we examined the processes driving annual fast ice cycle. The analysis revealed that fast ice in the region is sensitive to thermodynamic processes throughout a season, while the wind has a strong influence only on the first stages of fast ice development. The maximal fast ice extent is closely linked to the bathymetry and local topography and is primarily defined by the location of shoals, where fast ice is likely grounded. The annual fast ice cycle shows significant changes over the period of investigation, with tendencies toward later fast ice formation and earlier breakup. These tendencies result in an overall decrease of the fast ice season by 2.8 d/yr, which is significantly higher than previously reported trends.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Ryan, J. C.; Hubbard, A.; Irvine-Fynn, T. D.; Doyle, S. H.; Cook, J. M.; Stibal, M.; Box, J. E.
2017-06-01
Calibration and validation of satellite-derived ice sheet albedo data require high-quality, in situ measurements commonly acquired by up and down facing pyranometers mounted on automated weather stations (AWS). However, direct comparison between ground and satellite-derived albedo can only be justified when the measured surface is homogeneous at the length-scale of both satellite pixel and in situ footprint. Here we use digital imagery acquired by an unmanned aerial vehicle to evaluate point-to-pixel albedo comparisons across the western, ablating margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Our results reveal that in situ measurements overestimate albedo by up to 0.10 at the end of the melt season because the ground footprints of AWS-mounted pyranometers are insufficient to capture the spatial heterogeneity of the ice surface as it progressively ablates and darkens. Statistical analysis of 21 AWS across the entire Greenland Ice Sheet reveals that almost half suffer from this bias, including some AWS located within the wet snow zone.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Ryan, J.; Hubbard, A., II; Irvine-Fynn, T. D.; Doyle, S. H.; Cook, J.; Stibal, M.; Smith, L. C.; Box, J. E.
2017-12-01
Calibration and validation of satellite-derived ice sheet albedo data require high-quality, in situ measurements commonly acquired by up and down facing pyranometers mounted on automated weather stations (AWS). However, direct comparison between ground and satellite-derived albedo can only be justified when the measured surface is homogeneous at the length-scale of both satellite pixel and in situ footprint. We used digital imagery acquired by an unmanned aerial vehicle to evaluate point-to-pixel albedo comparisons across the western, ablating margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Our results reveal that in situ measurements overestimate albedo by up to 0.10 at the end of the melt season because the ground footprints of AWS-mounted pyranometers are insufficient to capture the spatial heterogeneity of the ice surface as it progressively ablates and darkens. Statistical analysis of 21 AWS across the entire Greenland Ice Sheet reveals that almost half suffer from this bias, including some AWS located within the wet snow zone.
Modelling wave-induced sea ice break-up in the marginal ice zone
Squire, V. A.
2017-01-01
A model of ice floe break-up under ocean wave forcing in the marginal ice zone (MIZ) is proposed to investigate how floe size distribution (FSD) evolves under repeated wave break-up events. A three-dimensional linear model of ocean wave scattering by a finite array of compliant circular ice floes is coupled to a flexural failure model, which breaks a floe into two floes provided the two-dimensional stress field satisfies a break-up criterion. A closed-feedback loop algorithm is devised, which (i) solves the wave-scattering problem for a given FSD under time-harmonic plane wave forcing, (ii) computes the stress field in all the floes, (iii) fractures the floes satisfying the break-up criterion, and (iv) generates an updated FSD, initializing the geometry for the next iteration of the loop. The FSD after 50 break-up events is unimodal and near normal, or bimodal, suggesting waves alone do not govern the power law observed in some field studies. Multiple scattering is found to enhance break-up for long waves and thin ice, but to reduce break-up for short waves and thick ice. A break-up front marches forward in the latter regime, as wave-induced fracture weakens the ice cover, allowing waves to travel deeper into the MIZ. PMID:29118659
Modelling wave-induced sea ice break-up in the marginal ice zone.
Montiel, F; Squire, V A
2017-10-01
A model of ice floe break-up under ocean wave forcing in the marginal ice zone (MIZ) is proposed to investigate how floe size distribution (FSD) evolves under repeated wave break-up events. A three-dimensional linear model of ocean wave scattering by a finite array of compliant circular ice floes is coupled to a flexural failure model, which breaks a floe into two floes provided the two-dimensional stress field satisfies a break-up criterion. A closed-feedback loop algorithm is devised, which (i) solves the wave-scattering problem for a given FSD under time-harmonic plane wave forcing, (ii) computes the stress field in all the floes, (iii) fractures the floes satisfying the break-up criterion, and (iv) generates an updated FSD, initializing the geometry for the next iteration of the loop. The FSD after 50 break-up events is unimodal and near normal, or bimodal, suggesting waves alone do not govern the power law observed in some field studies. Multiple scattering is found to enhance break-up for long waves and thin ice, but to reduce break-up for short waves and thick ice. A break-up front marches forward in the latter regime, as wave-induced fracture weakens the ice cover, allowing waves to travel deeper into the MIZ.
The seasonal cycle of snow cover, sea ice and surface albedo
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Robock, A.
1980-01-01
The paper examines satellite data used to construct mean snow cover caps for the Northern Hemisphere. The zonally averaged snow cover from these maps is used to calculate the seasonal cycle of zonally averaged surface albedo. The effects of meltwater on the surface, solar zenith angle, and cloudiness are parameterized and included in the calculations of snow and ice albedo. The data allows a calculation of surface albedo for any land or ocean 10 deg latitude band as a function of surface temperature ice and snow cover; the correct determination of the ice boundary is more important than the snow boundary for accurately simulating the ice and snow albedo feedback.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Raphael, Marilyn N.; Holland, Marika M.; Landrum, Laura; Hobbs, William R.
2018-05-01
Previous studies have shown that sea ice extent in the Southern Ocean is influenced by the intensity and location of the Amundsen Sea Low (ASL), through their effect on the meridional winds. However, the inhomogeneous nature of the influence of the ASL on sea ice as well as its influence during critical periods of the sea ice annual cycle is not clear. In this study, we do a spatio-temporal analysis of links between the ASL and the sea ice during the advance and retreat periods of the ice over the period 1979-2013 focusing on the role of the meridional and zonal winds. We use the ERA-Interim monthly-averaged 500 mb geopotential height and 10 m wind data along with monthly Passive Microwave Sea Ice Concentrations (SIC) to examine the seasonal and interannual relationships between the ASL and SIC in the Ross-Amundsen sea ice sector. To characterize the state of the ASL we use indices that describe its location and its intensity. We show that the ASL has preferred locations and intensities during ice advance and retreat seasons. The strength and direction of the influence of the ASL are not spatially homogeneous and can change from advance to retreat season and there are strong significant relationships between the characteristics of the ASL and SIC, within and across seasons and interannually.
Micromechanics of sea ice gouge in shear zones
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Sammonds, Peter; Scourfield, Sally; Lishman, Ben
2015-04-01
The deformation of sea ice is a key control on the Arctic Ocean dynamics. Shear displacement on all scales is an important deformation process in the sea cover. Shear deformation is a dominant mechanism from the scale of basin-scale shear lineaments, through floe-floe interaction and block sliding in ice ridges through to the micro-scale mechanics. 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. Recent observations made during fieldwork in the Barents Sea show that shear produces a gouge similar to a fault gouge in a shear zone in the crust. A range of sizes of gouge are exhibited. The consolidation of these fragments has a profound influence on the shear strength and the rate of the processes involved. 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, and upscale to field measurement of sea ice friction and gouge deformation made during experiments off Svalbard. We find that consolidation, fragmentation and bridging play important roles in the overall dynamics and fit the model of Sammis and Ben-Zion, developed for understanding the micro-mechanics of rock fault gouge, to the sea ice problem.
Local Effects of Ice Floes on Skin Sea Surface Temperature in the Marginal Ice Zone from UAVs
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Zappa, C. J.; Brown, S.; Emery, W. J.; Adler, J.; Wick, G. A.; Steele, M.; Palo, S. E.; Walker, G.; Maslanik, J. A.
2013-12-01
Recent years have seen extreme changes in the Arctic. Particularly striking are changes within the Pacific sector of the Arctic Ocean, and especially in the seas north of the Alaskan coast. These areas have experienced record warming, reduced sea ice extent, and loss of ice in areas that had been ice-covered throughout human memory. Even the oldest and thickest ice types have failed to survive through the summer melt period in areas such as the Beaufort Sea and Canada Basin, and fundamental changes in ocean conditions such as earlier phytoplankton blooms may be underway. Marginal ice zones (MIZ), or areas where the "ice-albedo feedback" driven by solar warming is highest and ice melt is extensive, may provide insights into the extent of these changes. Airborne remote sensing, in particular InfraRed (IR), offers a unique opportunity to observe physical processes at sea-ice margins. It permits monitoring the ice extent and coverage, as well as the ice and ocean temperature variability. It can also be used for derivation of surface flow field allowing investigation of turbulence and mixing at the ice-ocean interface. Here, we present measurements of visible and IR imagery of melting ice floes in the marginal ice zone north of Oliktok Point AK in the Beaufort Sea made during the Marginal Ice Zone Ocean and Ice Observations and Processes EXperiment (MIZOPEX) in July-August 2013. The visible and IR imagery were taken from the unmanned airborne vehicle (UAV) ScanEagle. The visible imagery clearly defines the scale of the ice floes. The IR imagery show distinct cooling of the skin sea surface temperature (SST) as well as a intricate circulation and mixing pattern that depends on the surface current, wind speed, and near-surface vertical temperature/salinity structure. Individual ice floes develop turbulent wakes as they drift and cause transient mixing of an influx of colder surface (fresh) melt water. The upstream side of the ice floe shows the coldest skin SST, and
Comparison of icing cloud instruments for 1982-1983 icing season flight program
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Ide, R. F.; Richter, G. P.
1984-01-01
A number of modern and old style liquid water content (LWC) and droplet sizing instruments were mounted on a DeHavilland DHC-6 Twin Otter and operated in natural icing clouds in order to determine their comparative operating characteristics and their limitations over a broad range of conditions. The evaluation period occurred during the 1982-1983 icing season from January to March 1983. Time histories of all instrument outputs were plotted and analyzed to assess instrument repeatability and reliability. Scatter plots were also generated for comparison of instruments. The measured LWC from four instruments differed by as much as 20 percent. The measured droplet size from two instruments differed by an average of three microns. The overall effort demonstrated the need for additional data, and for some means of calibrating these instruments to known standards.
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Gloersen, Per; Campbell, William J.
1988-01-01
This paper compares satellite data on the marginal ice zone obtained during the Marginal Ice Zone Experiment in 1984 by Nimbus 7 with simultaneous mesoscale aircraft (in particular, the NASA CV-990 airborne laboratory) and surface observations. Total and multiyear sea ice concentrations calculated from the airborne multichannel microwave radiometer were found to agree well with similar calculations using the Nimbus SMMR data. The temperature dependence of the determination of multiyear sea-ice concentration near the melting point was found to be the same for both airborne and satellite data. It was found that low total ice concentrations and open-water storm effects near the ice edge could be reliably distinguished by means of spectral gradient ratio, using data from the 0.33-cm and the 1.55-cm radiometers.
Using Airborne Lidar Data from IcePod to Measure Annual and Seasonal Ice Changes Over Greenland
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Frearson, N.; Bertinato, C.; Das, I.
2014-12-01
The IcePod is a multi-sensor airborne science platform that supports a wide suite of instruments, including a Riegl VQ-580 infrared scanning laser, GPS-inertial positioning system, shallow and deep-ice radars, visible-wave and infrared cameras, and upward-looking pyrometer. These instruments allow us to image the ice from top to bottom, including the surface of melt-water plumes that originate at the ice-ocean boundary. In collaboration with the New York Air National Guard 109th Airlift Wing, the IcePod is flown on LC-130 aircraft, which presents the unique opportunity to routinely image the Greenland ice sheet several times within a season. This is particularly important for mass balance studies, as we can measure elevation changes during the melt season. During the 2014 summer, laser data was collected via IcePod over the Greenland ice sheet, including Russell Glacier, Jakobshavn Glacier, Eqip Glacier, and Summit Camp. The Icepod will also be routinely operated in Antarctica. We present the initial testing, calibration, and error estimates from the first set of laser data that were collected on IcePod. At a survey altitude of 1000 m, the laser swath covers ~ 1000 m. A Northrop-Grumman LN-200 tactical grade IMU is rigidly attached to the laser scanner to provide attitude data at a rate of 200 Hz. Several methods were used to determine the lever arm between the IMU center of navigation and GPS antenna phase center, terrestrial scanning laser, total station survey, and optimal estimation. Additionally, initial bore sight calibration flights yielded misalignment angles within an accuracy of ±4 cm. We also performed routine passes over the airport ramp in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, comparing the airborne GPS and Lidar data to a reference GPS-based ground survey across the ramp, spot GPS points on the ramp and a nearby GPS base station. Positioning errors can severely impact the accuracy of a laser altimeter when flying over remote regions such as across the ice sheets
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
McGrath, Daniel J.
Understanding ice shelf structure and processes is paramount to future predictions of sea level rise, as nearly 75% of the ice flux from the Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS) passes through these gates. The breakup of an ice shelf removes the longitudinal back stress acting on the grounded inland ice and leads to flow acceleration, dynamic thinning and frontal retreat, processes that can be sustained for more than a decade. Increased ice discharge to the ocean contributes to global sea level rise. This dissertation investigates basal crevasses and suture zones, two key structural components of ice shelves, in order to understand how the structure of an ice shelf influences its stability in a warming climate. Ground penetrating radar, high-resolution satellite imagery and a variety of modeling approaches are utilized to assess these features on the Larsen C Ice Shelf but in a manner that considers their influence on ice shelf stability around the AIS. Basal crevasses are large-scale (~66% of ice thickness and ten's of kms in length) and abundant features that are significant structural weaknesses. The viscoplastic deformation of the ice shelf in response to the perturbed hydrostatic balance leads to the formation of both surface depressions and crevasses, hence weakening the ice shelf further. Basal crevasses increase the local ice-ocean interface by ~30%, thereby increasing basal roughness and altering ice-ocean interactions. Ice-shelf fractures frequently terminate where they encounter suture zones, regions of material heterogeneity that form at the lateral bounds of meteoric inflows to ice shelves. The termination of a 25 km-long rift in the Churchill Peninsula suture zone is investigated and found to contain ~60 m of accreted marine ice. Steady-state basal melting/freezing rates are determined for the ice shelf and applied to a flowline model to examine the along-flow evolution of ice shelf structure. The thickening surface wedge of locally accumulated meteoric ice
What Models and Satellites Tell Us (and Don't Tell Us) About Arctic Sea Ice Melt Season Length
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Ahlert, A.; Jahn, A.
2017-12-01
Melt season length—the difference between the sea ice melt onset date and the sea ice freeze onset date—plays an important role in the radiation balance of the Arctic and the predictability of the sea ice cover. However, there are multiple possible definitions for sea ice melt and freeze onset in climate models, and none of them exactly correspond to the remote sensing definition. Using the CESM Large Ensemble model simulations, we show how this mismatch between model and remote sensing definitions of melt and freeze onset limits the utility of melt season remote sensing data for bias detection in models. It also opens up new questions about the precise physical meaning of the melt season remote sensing data. Despite these challenges, we find that the increase in melt season length in the CESM is not as large as that derived from remote sensing data, even when we account for internal variability and different definitions. At the same time, we find that the CESM ensemble members that have the largest trend in sea ice extent over the period 1979-2014 also have the largest melt season trend, driven primarily by the trend towards later freeze onsets. This might be an indication that an underestimation of the melt season length trend is one factor contributing to the generally underestimated sea ice loss within the CESM, and potentially climate models in general.
The Increase of the Ice-free Season as Further Indication of the Rapid Decline of the Arctic sea ice
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Rodrigues, J.
2008-12-01
The unprecedented depletion of sea ice in large sectors of the Arctic Ocean in the summer of 2007 has been the subject of many publications which highlight the spectacular disappearance of the sea ice at the time of minimum ice cover or emphasise the losses at very high latitudes. However, minimum values can be strongly affected by specific circumstances occurring in a comparatively short time interval. The unusually clear skies and the presence of a particular wind pattern over the Arctic Ocean may partly explain the record minimum attained in September 2007. In this contribution, instead of limiting ourselves to the September minimum or the March maximum, we consider the ice conditions throughout the year, opting for a less used, and hopefully more convenient approach. We chose as variables to describe the evolution of the sea ice situation in the Arctic Ocean and peripheral seas in the 1979-2007 period the length of the ice- free season (LIFS) and the inverse sea ice index (ISII). The latter is a quantity that measures the degree of absence of sea ice in a year and varies between zero (when there is a perennial ice cover) and one (when there is open water all year round). We used sea ice concentration data obtained from passive microwave satellite imagery and processed with the Bootstrap algorithm for the SMMR and SSM/I periods, and with the Enhanced NASA Team algorithm for the AMSR-E period. From a linear fit of the observed data, we found that the average LIFS in the Arctic went from 118 days in the late 1970s to 148 days in 2006, which represents an average rate of increase of 1.1 days/year. In the period 2001-2007 the LIFS increased monotonically at an average rate of 5.5 days/year, in good agreement with the general consensus that the Arctic sea ice is currently in an accelerated decline. We also found that 2007 was the longest ice- free season on record (168 days). The ISII also reached a maximum in 2007 . We also investigated what happened at the regional
Polar Bears Across the Arctic Face Shorter Sea Ice Season
2017-12-08
Polar bears already face shorter ice seasons - limiting prime hunting and breeding opportunities. Nineteen separate polar bear subpopulations live throughout the Arctic, spending their winters and springs roaming on sea ice and hunting. The bears have evolved mainly to eat seals, which provide necessary fats and nutrients in the harsh Arctic environment. Polar bears can't outswim their prey, so instead they perch on the ice as a platform and ambush seals at breathing holes or break through the ice to access their dens. The total number of ice-covered days declined at the rate of seven to 19 days per decade between 1979 and 2014. The decline was even greater in the Barents Sea and the Arctic basin. Sea ice concentration during the summer months — an important measure because summertime is when some subpopulations are forced to fast on land — also declined in all regions, by 1 percent to 9 percent per decade. Read more: go.nasa.gov/2cIZSSc Photo credit: Mario Hoppmann
36 CFR 13.1304 - Ice fall hazard zones.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR
2012-07-01
... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Ice fall hazard zones. 13.1304 Section 13.1304 Parks, Forests, and Public Property NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM UNITS IN ALASKA Special Regulations-Kenai Fjords National Park General...
Wave attenuation in the marginal ice zone during LIMEX
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Liu, Antony K.; Vachon, Paris W.; Peng, Chih Y.; Bhogal, A. S.
1992-01-01
The effect of ice cover on ocean-wave attenuation is investigated for waves under flexure in the marginal ice zone (MIZ) with SAR image spectra and the results of models. Directional wavenumber spectra are taken from the SAR image data, and the wave-attenuation rate is evaluated with SAR image spectra and by means of the model by Liu and Mollo-Christensen (1988). Eddy viscosity is described by means of dimensional analysis as a function of ice roughness and wave-induced velocity, and comparisons are made with the remotely sensed data. The model corrects the open-water model by introducing the effects of a continuous ice sheet, and turbulent eddy viscosity is shown to depend on ice thickness, floe sizes, significant wave height, and wave period. SAR and wave-buoy data support the trends described in the model results, and a characteristic rollover is noted in the model and experimental wave-attenuation rates at high wavenumbers.
Regional Arctic sea-ice prediction: potential versus operational seasonal forecast skill
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Bushuk, Mitchell; Msadek, Rym; Winton, Michael; Vecchi, Gabriel; Yang, Xiaosong; Rosati, Anthony; Gudgel, Rich
2018-06-01
Seasonal predictions of Arctic sea ice on regional spatial scales are a pressing need for a broad group of stakeholders, however, most assessments of predictability and forecast skill to date have focused on pan-Arctic sea-ice extent (SIE). In this work, we present the first direct comparison of perfect model (PM) and operational (OP) seasonal prediction skill for regional Arctic SIE within a common dynamical prediction system. This assessment is based on two complementary suites of seasonal prediction ensemble experiments performed with a global coupled climate model. First, we present a suite of PM predictability experiments with start dates spanning the calendar year, which are used to quantify the potential regional SIE prediction skill of this system. Second, we assess the system's OP prediction skill for detrended regional SIE using a suite of retrospective initialized seasonal forecasts spanning 1981-2016. In nearly all Arctic regions and for all target months, we find a substantial skill gap between PM and OP predictions of regional SIE. The PM experiments reveal that regional winter SIE is potentially predictable at lead times beyond 12 months, substantially longer than the skill of their OP counterparts. Both the OP and PM predictions display a spring prediction skill barrier for regional summer SIE forecasts, indicating a fundamental predictability limit for summer regional predictions. We find that a similar barrier exists for pan-Arctic sea-ice volume predictions, but is not present for predictions of pan-Arctic SIE. The skill gap identified in this work indicates a promising potential for future improvements in regional SIE predictions.
Forecasting Future Sea Ice Conditions in the MIZ: A Lagrangian Approach
2013-09-30
www.mcgill.ca/meteo/people/tremblay LONG-TERM GOALS 1- Determine the source regions for sea ice in the seasonally ice-covered zones (SIZs...distribution of sea ice cover and transport pathways. 2- Improve our understanding of the strengths and/or limitations of GCM predictions of future...ocean currents, RGPS sea ice deformation, Reanalysis surface wind , surface radiative fluxes, etc. Processing the large datasets involved is a tedious
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Hakkinen, S.
1984-01-01
This study is aimed at the modelling of mesoscale processed such as up/downwelling and ice edge eddies in the marginal ice zones. A 2-dimensional coupled ice-ocean model is used for the study. The ice model is coupled to the reduced gravity ocean model (f-plane) through interfacial stresses. The constitutive equations of the sea ice are formulated on the basis of the Reiner-Rivlin theory. The internal ice stresses are important only at high ice concentrations (90-100%), otherwise the ice motion is essentially free drift, where the air-ice stress is balanced by the ice-water stress. The model was tested by studying the upwelling dynamics. Winds parallel to the ice edge with the ice on the right produce upwilling because the air-ice momentum flux is much greater that air-ocean momentum flux, and thus the Ekman transport is bigger under the ice than in the open water. The upwelling simulation was extended to include temporally varying forcing, which was chosen to vary sinusoidally with a 4 day period. This forcing resembles successive cyclone passings. In the model with a thin oceanic upper layer, ice bands were formed.
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Parkinson, Claire L.
1992-01-01
Recently it was reported that sea ice extents in the Northern Hemisphere showed a very slight but statistically significant decrease over the 8.8-year period of the Nimbus 7 scanning multichannel microwave radiometer (SMMR) data set. In this paper the same SMMR data are used to reveal spatial patterns in increasing and decreasing sea ice coverage. Specifically, the length of the ice season is mapped for each full year of the SMMR data set (1979-1986), and the trends over the 8 years in these ice season lengths are also mapped. These trends show considerable spatial coherence, with a shortening in the sea ice season apparent in much of the eastern hemisphere of the north polar ice cover, particularly in the Sea of Okhotsk, the Barents Sea, and the Kara Sea, and a lengthening of the sea ice season apparent in much of the western hemisphere of the north polar ice cover, particularly in Davis Strait, the Labrador Sea, and the Beaufort Sea.
The Sea-Ice Floe Size Distribution
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Stern, H. L., III; Schweiger, A. J. B.; Zhang, J.; Steele, M.
2017-12-01
The size distribution of ice floes in the polar seas affects the dynamics and thermodynamics of the ice cover and its interaction with the ocean and atmosphere. Ice-ocean models are now beginning to include the floe size distribution (FSD) in their simulations. In order to characterize seasonal changes of the FSD and provide validation data for our ice-ocean model, we calculated the FSD in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas over two spring-summer-fall seasons (2013 and 2014) using more than 250 cloud-free visible-band scenes from the MODIS sensors on NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites, identifying nearly 250,000 ice floes between 2 and 30 km in diameter. We found that the FSD follows a power-law distribution at all locations, with a seasonally varying exponent that reflects floe break-up in spring, loss of smaller floes in summer, and the return of larger floes after fall freeze-up. We extended the results to floe sizes from 10 m to 2 km at selected time/space locations using more than 50 high-resolution radar and visible-band satellite images. Our analysis used more data and applied greater statistical rigor than any previous study of the FSD. The incorporation of the FSD into our ice-ocean model resulted in reduced sea-ice thickness, mainly in the marginal ice zone, which improved the simulation of sea-ice extent and yielded an earlier ice retreat. We also examined results from 17 previous studies of the FSD, most of which report power-law FSDs but with widely varying exponents. It is difficult to reconcile the range of results due to different study areas, seasons, and methods of analysis. We review the power-law representation of the FSD in these studies and discuss some mathematical details that are important to consider in any future analysis.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Andry, Olivier; Bintanja, Richard; Hazeleger, Wilco
2015-04-01
The Arctic is warming two to three times faster than the global average. Arctic sea ice cover is very sensitive to this warming and has reached historic minima in late summer in recent years (i.e. 2007, 2012). Considering that the Arctic Ocean is mainly ice-covered and that the albedo of sea ice is very high compared to that of open water, the change in sea ice cover is very likely to have a strong impact on the local surface albedo feedback. Here we quantify the temporal changes in surface albedo feedback in response to global warming. Usually feedbacks are evaluated as being representative and constant for long time periods, but we show here that the strength of climate feedbacks in fact varies strongly with time. For instance, time series of the amplitude of the surface albedo feedback, derived from future climate simulations (CIMP5, RCP8.5 up to year 2300) using a kernel method, peaks around the year 2100. This maximum is likely caused by an increased seasonality in sea-ice cover that is inherently associated with sea ice retreat. We demonstrate that the Arctic average surface albedo has a strong seasonal signature with a maximum in spring and a minimum in late summer/autumn. In winter when incoming solar radiation is minimal the surface albedo doesn't have an important effect on the energy balance of the climate system. The annual mean surface albedo is thus determined by the seasonality of both downwelling shortwave radiation and sea ice cover. As sea ice cover reduces the seasonal signature is modified, the transient part from maximum sea ice cover to its minimum is shortened and sharpened. The sea ice cover is reduced when downwelling shortwave radiation is maximum and thus the annual surface albedo is drastically smaller. Consequently the change in annual surface albedo with time will become larger and so will the surface albedo feedback. We conclude that a stronger seasonality in sea ice leads to a stronger surface albedo feedback, which accelerates
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.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Ahmadi, B.; Kiani, S.; Irannezhad, M.; Ronkanen, A. K.; Kløve, B.; Moradkhani, H.
2016-12-01
In cold climate regions, ice roads are engineered as temporary winter transportation routes on the frozen seas, lakes and rivers. The ice road season parameters (start, end and length) are principally dependent on the thickness of ice, which is naturally controlled by temperature in terms of freezing (FDDs) and thawing (TDDs) degree-days. It has been shown that the variations in FDDs and TDDs are influenced by large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns (ACPs). Therefore, this study aims at understanding the role of ACPs in variability and trends in the seasonality of Oulu-Hailuoto ice road in northern Finland during 1974-2009. The Mann-Kendall nonparametric trend test determined significant shortening in the length of ice road season over the study period of 1974-2009, which can be attributed to later start and earlier end days. In the study area, the maximum ice thickness of the Baltic Sea also showed significant declines over time. Such sea ice thinning can be associated with the wintertime temperature warming manifested by the decreasing trend found in the cumulative FDD during October-January in the water year (September-August). The increased cumulative TDD during February-April also reflects warmer climate in spring, which has resulted in the earlier end day of the ice road season. Measuring the Spearman's rank correlation identified the Arctic Oscillation as the most significant ACP influencing variations in the cumulative FDD, and accordingly in the ice thickness and the start day. However, the cumulative TDD during February-April shows significant positive correlation with the East Atlantic (EA) pattern, which appears to control the end day of the Oulu-Hailuoto ice road season.
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.
Duration of the Arctic sea ice melt season: Regional and interannual variability, 1979-2001
Belchansky, G.I.; Douglas, David C.; Platonov, Nikita G.
2004-01-01
Melt onset dates, freeze onset dates, and melt season duration were estimated over Arctic sea ice, 1979–2001, using passive microwave satellite imagery and surface air temperature data. Sea ice melt duration for the entire Northern Hemisphere varied from a 104-day minimum in 1983 and 1996 to a 124-day maximum in 1989. Ranges in melt duration were highest in peripheral seas, numbering 32, 42, 44, and 51 days in the Laptev, Barents-Kara, East Siberian, and Chukchi Seas, respectively. In the Arctic Ocean, average melt duration varied from a 75-day minimum in 1987 to a 103-day maximum in 1989. On average, melt onset in annual ice began 10.6 days earlier than perennial ice, and freeze onset in perennial ice commenced 18.4 days earlier than annual ice. Average annual melt dates, freeze dates, and melt durations in annual ice were significantly correlated with seasonal strength of the Arctic Oscillation (AO). Following high-index AO winters (January–March), spring melt tended to be earlier and autumn freeze later, leading to longer melt season durations. The largest increases in melt duration were observed in the eastern Siberian Arctic, coincident with cyclonic low pressure and ice motion anomalies associated with high-index AO phases. Following a positive AO shift in 1989, mean annual melt duration increased 2–3 weeks in the northern East Siberian and Chukchi Seas. Decreasing correlations between consecutive-year maps of melt onset in annual ice during 1979–2001 indicated increasing spatial variability and unpredictability in melt distributions from one year to the next. Despite recent declines in the winter AO index, recent melt distributions did not show evidence of reestablishing spatial patterns similar to those observed during the 1979–88 low-index AO period. Recent freeze distributions have become increasingly similar to those observed during 1979–88, suggesting a recurrent spatial pattern of freeze chronology under low-index AO conditions.
Tran, Patricia; Ramachandran, Arthi; Khawasek, Ola; Beisner, Beatrix E; Rautio, Milla; Huot, Yannick; Walsh, David A
2018-06-19
Northern lakes are ice-covered for a large part of the year, yet our understanding of microbial diversity and activity during winter lags behind that of the ice-free period. In this study, we investigated under-ice diversity and metabolism of Verrucomicrobia in seasonally ice-covered lakes in temperate and boreal regions of Quebec, Canada using 16S rRNA sequencing, metagenomics and metatranscriptomics. Verrucomicrobia, particularly the V1, V3 and V4 subdivisions, were abundant during ice-covered periods. A diversity of Verrucomicrobia genomes were reconstructed from Quebec lake metagenomes. Several genomes were associated with the ice-covered period and were represented in winter metatranscriptomes, supporting the notion that Verrucomicrobia are metabolically active under ice. Verrucomicrobia transcriptome analysis revealed a range of metabolisms potentially occurring under ice, including carbohydrate degradation, glycolate utilization, scavenging of chlorophyll degradation products, and urea use. Genes for aerobic sulfur and hydrogen oxidation were expressed, suggesting chemolithotrophy may be an adaptation to conditions where labile carbon may be limited. The expression of genes for flagella biosynthesis and chemotaxis was detected, suggesting Verrucomicrobia may be actively sensing and responding to winter nutrient pulses, such as phytoplankton blooms. These results increase our understanding on the diversity and metabolic processes occurring under ice in northern lakes ecosystems. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. © 2018 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
LANDSAT survey of near-shore ice conditions along the Arctic coast of Alaska
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Stringer, W. J. (Principal Investigator); Barrett, S. A.
1978-01-01
The author has identified the following significant results. Winter and spring near-shore ice conditions were analyzed for the Beaufort Sea 1973-77, and the Chukchi Sea 1973-76. LANDSAT imagery was utilized to map major ice features related to regional ice morphology. Significant features from individual LANDSAT image maps were combined to yield regional maps of major ice ridge systems for each year of study and maps of flaw lead systems for representative seasons during each year. These regional maps were, in turn, used to prepare seasonal ice morphology maps. These maps showed, in terms of a zonal analysis, regions of statistically uniform ice behavior. The behavioral characteristics of each zone were described in terms of coastal processes and bathymetric configuration.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Küttel, M.; Steig, E. J.; Ding, Q.; Battisti, D. S.
2010-12-01
Recent evidence suggests that West Antarctica has been warming since at least the 1950s. With the instrumental record being limited to the mid-20th century, indirect information from stable isotopes (δ18O and δD, hereafter collectively δ) preserved within ice cores have commonly been used to place this warming into a long term context. Here, using a large number of δ records obtained during the International Trans-Antarctic Scientific Expedition (ITASE), past variations in West Antarctic δ are not only investigated over time but also in space. This study therefore provides an important complement to longer records from single locations as e.g. the currently being processed West Antarctic ice sheet (WAIS) Divide ice core. Although snow accumulation rates at the ITASE sites in West Antarctica are variable, they are generally high enough to allow studies on sub-annual scale over the last 50-100 years. Here, we show that variations in δ in this region are strongly related to the state of the large-scale atmospheric circulation as well as sea ice variations in the adjacent Southern Ocean, with important seasonal changes. While a strong relationship to sea ice changes in the Ross and Amundsen Sea as well as to the atmospheric circulation offshore is found during austral fall (MAM) and winter (JJA), only modest correlations are found during spring (SON) and summer (DJF). Interestingly, the correlations with the atmospheric circulation in the latter two seasons have the strongest signal over the Antarctic continent, but not offshore - an important difference to MAM and JJA. These seasonal changes are in good agreement with the seasonally varying predominant circulation: meridional with more frequent storms in the Amundsen Sea during MAM and JJA and more zonal and stable during SON and DJF. The relationship to regional temperature is similarly seasonally variable with highest correlations found during MAM and JJA. Notably, the circulation pattern found to be strongest
Evolution of Meltwater on the McMurdo Ice Shelf, Antarctica During Two Summer Melt Seasons
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Macdonald, G. J.; Banwell, A. F.; Willis, I.; Mayer, D. P.; Hansen, E. K.; MacAyeal, D. R.
2017-12-01
Ice shelves surround > 50% of Antarctica's coast and their response to climate change is key to the ice sheet's future and global sea-level rise. Observations of the development and drainage of 2750 lakes prior to the collapse of the Larsen B Ice Shelf, combined with our understanding of ice-shelf flexure/fracture, suggest that surface meltwater plays a key role in ice-shelf stability, although the present state of knowledge remains limited. Here, we report results of an investigation into the seasonal evolution of meltwater on the McMurdo Ice Shelf (MIS) during the 2015/16 and 2016/17 austral summers using satellite remote sensing, complemented by ground survey. Although the MIS is relatively far south (78° S), it experiences relatively high ablation rates in the west due to adiabatically warmed winds, making it a useful example of how meltwater could evolve on more southerly ice shelves in a warming climate. We calculate the areas and depths of ponded surface meltwater on the ice shelf at different stages of the two melt seasons using a modified NDWI approach and water-depth algorithm applied to both Landsat 8 and Worldview imagery. Data from two automatic weather stations on the ice shelf are used to drive a positive degree-day model to compare our observations of surface water volumes with modelled meltwater production. Results suggest that the spatial and temporal variations in surface meltwater coverage on the ice shelf vary not only with climatic conditions but also in response to other important processes. First, a rift that widens and propagates between the two melt seasons intercepts meltwater streams, redirecting flow and facilitating ponding elsewhere. Second, some lakes from previous years remain frozen over and become pedestalled, causing streams to divert around their perimeter. Third, surface debris conditions also cause large-scale spatial variation in melt rates and the flow and storage of water.
Sea ice floe size distribution in the marginal ice zone: Theory and numerical experiments
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Zhang, Jinlun; Schweiger, Axel; Steele, Michael; Stern, Harry
2015-05-01
To better describe the state of sea ice in the marginal ice zone (MIZ) with floes of varying thicknesses and sizes, both an ice thickness distribution (ITD) and a floe size distribution (FSD) are needed. In this work, we have developed a FSD theory that is coupled to the ITD theory of Thorndike et al. (1975) in order to explicitly simulate the evolution of FSD and ITD jointly. The FSD theory includes a FSD function and a FSD conservation equation in parallel with the ITD equation. The FSD equation takes into account changes in FSD due to ice advection, thermodynamic growth, and lateral melting. It also includes changes in FSD because of mechanical redistribution of floe size due to ice ridging and, particularly, ice fragmentation induced by stochastic ocean surface waves. The floe size redistribution due to ice fragmentation is based on the assumption that wave-induced breakup is a random process such that when an ice floe is broken, floes of any smaller sizes have an equal opportunity to form, without being either favored or excluded. To focus only on the properties of mechanical floe size redistribution, the FSD theory is implemented in a simplified ITD and FSD sea ice model for idealized numerical experiments. Model results show that the simulated cumulative floe number distribution (CFND) follows a power law as observed by satellites and airborne surveys. The simulated values of the exponent of the power law, with varying levels of ice breakups, are also in the range of the observations. It is found that floe size redistribution and the resulting FSD and mean floe size do not depend on how floe size categories are partitioned over a given floe size range. The ability to explicitly simulate multicategory FSD and ITD together may help to incorporate additional model physics, such as FSD-dependent ice mechanics, surface exchange of heat, mass, and momentum, and wave-ice interactions.
Radar measurements of melt zones on the Greenland Ice Sheet
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Jezek, Kenneth C.; Gogineni, Prasad; Shanableh, M.
1994-01-01
Surface-based microwave radar measurements were performed at a location on the western flank of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Here, firn metamorphasis is dominated by seasonal melt, which leads to marked contrasts in the vertical structure of winter and summer firn. This snow regime is also one of the brightest radar targets on Earth with an average backscatter coefficient of 0 dB at 5.3 GHz and an incidence angle of 25 deg. By combining detailed observations of firn physical properties with ranging radar measurements we find that the glaciological mechanism associated with this strong electromagnetic response is summer ice lens formation within the previous winter's snow pack. This observation has important implications for monitoring and understanding changes in ice sheet volume using spaceborne microwave sensors.
2015-09-30
Meter-Scale Sea Ice Properties Karen E. Frey, Christopher Polashenski The Seasonal Evolution of Sea Ice Floe Size Distribution Jacqueline A...Richter-Menge and Donald K. Perovich 3 Monitoring of Arctic Conditions from a Virtual Constellation of Synthetic Aperture Radar Hans C. Graber, Peter...Jennifer K. Hutchings, Jacqueline A. Richter-Menge Seasonal Ice Zone Reconnaissance Surveys Coordination James Morison REFERENCES Kwok, R., and N
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Jensen, A. A.; Harrington, J. Y.; Morrison, H.
2017-12-01
A quasi-idealized 3D squall line (based on a June 2007 Oklahoma case) is simulated using a novel bulk microphysics scheme called the Ice-Spheroids Habit Model with Aspect-ratio Evolution (ISHMAEL). In ISHMAEL, the evolution of ice particle properties, such as mass, shape, maximum diameter, density, and fall speed, are tracked as these properties evolve from vapor growth, sublimation, riming, and melting. Thus, ice properties evolve from various microphysical processes without needing separate unrimed and rimed ice categories. Simulation results show that ISHMAEL produces both a squall-line transition zone and an enhanced stratiform precipitation region. The ice particle properties produced in this simulation are analyzed and compared to observations to determine the characteristics of ice that lead to the development of these squall-line features. It is shown that rimed particles advected rearward from the convective region produce the enhanced stratiform precipitation region. The development of the transition zone results from hydrometer sorting: the evolution of ice particle properties in the convective region produces specific fall speeds that favor significant ice advecting rearward of the transition zone before reaching the melting level, causing a local minimum in precipitation rate and reflectivity there. Microphysical sensitivity studies, for example turning rime splintering off, that lead to changes in ice particle properties reveal that the fall speed of ice particles largely determines both the location of the enhanced stratiform precipitation region and whether or not a transition zone forms.
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Gagliano, J. A.; Mcsheehy, J. J.; Cavalieri, D. J.
1983-01-01
An airborne imaging 92/183 GHz radiometer was recently flown onboard NASA's Convair 990 research aircraft during the February 1983 Bering Sea Marginal Ice Zone Experiment (MIZEX-WEST). The 92 GHz portion of the radiometer was used to gather ice signature data and to generate real-time millimeter wave images of the marginal ice zone. Dry atmospheric conditions in the Arctic resulted in good surface ice signature data for the 183 GHz double sideband (DSB) channel situated + or - 8.75 GHz away from the water vapor absorption line. The radiometer's beam scanner imaged the marginal ice zone over a + or - 45 degrees swath angle about the aircraft nadir position. The aircraft altitude was 30,000 feet (9.20 km) maximum and 3,000 feet (0.92 km) minimum during the various data runs. Calculations of the minimum detectable target (ice) size for the radiometer as a function of aircraft altitude were performed. In addition, the change in the atmospheric attenuation at 92 GHz under varying weather conditions was incorporated into the target size calculations. A radiometric image of surface ice at 92 GHz in the marginal ice zone is included.
Atmospheric boundary layer modification in the marginal ice zone
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Bennett, Theodore J., Jr.; Hunkins, Kenneth
1986-01-01
A case study of the Andreas et al. (1984) data on atmospheric boundary layer modification in the marginal ice zone is made. The model is a two-dimensional, multilevel, linear model with turbulence, lateral and vertical advection, and radiation. Good agreement between observed and modeled temperature cross sections is obtained. In contrast to the hypothesis of Andreas et al., the air flow is found to be stable to secondary circulations. Adiabatic lifting and, at long fetches, cloud top longwave cooling, not an air-to-surface heat flux, dominate the cooling of the boundary layer. The accumulation with fetch over the ice of changes in the surface wind field is shown to have a large effect on estimates of the surface wind stress. It is speculated that the Andreas et al. estimates of the drag coefficient over the compact sea ice are too high.
Upper Ocean Evolution Across the Beaufort Sea Marginal Ice Zone from Autonomous Gliders
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Lee, Craig; Rainville, Luc; Perry, Mary Jane
2016-04-01
The observed reduction of Arctic summertime sea ice extent and expansion of the marginal ice zone (MIZ) have profound impacts on the balance of processes controlling sea ice evolution, including the introduction of several positive feedback mechanisms that may act to accelerate melting. Examples of such feedbacks include increased upper ocean warming though absorption of solar radiation, elevated internal wave energy and mixing that may entrain heat stored in subsurface watermasses (e.g., the relatively warm Pacific Summer (PSW) and Atlantic (AW) waters), and elevated surface wave energy that acts to deform and fracture sea ice. Spatial and temporal variability in ice properties and open water fraction impact these processes. To investigate how upper ocean structure varies with changing ice cover, and how the balance of processes shift as a function of ice fraction and distance from open water, four long-endurance autonomous Seagliders occupied sections that extended from open water, through the marginal ice zone, deep into the pack during summer 2014 in the Beaufort Sea. Sections reveal strong fronts where cold, ice-covered waters meet waters that have been exposed to solar warming, and O(10 km) scale eddies near the ice edge. In the pack, Pacific Summer Water and a deep chlorophyll maximum form distinct layers at roughly 60 m and 80 m, respectively, which become increasingly diffuse as they progress through the MIZ and into open water. The isopynal layer between 1023 and 1024 kgm-3, just above the PSW, consistently thickens near the ice edge, likely due to mixing or energetic vertical exchange associated with strong lateral gradients in this region. This presentation will discuss the upper ocean variability, its relationship to sea ice extent, and evolution over the summer to the start of freeze up.
Upper Ocean Evolution Across the Beaufort Sea Marginal Ice Zone from Autonomous Gliders
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Lee, C.; Rainville, L.; Perry, M. J.
2016-02-01
The observed reduction of Arctic summertime sea ice extent and expansion of the marginal ice zone (MIZ) have profound impacts on the balance of processes controlling sea ice evolution, including the introduction of several positive feedback mechanisms that may act to accelerate melting. Examples of such feedbacks include increased upper ocean warming though absorption of solar radiation, elevated internal wave energy and mixing that may entrain heat stored in subsurface watermasses (e.g., the relatively warm Pacific Summer (PSW) and Atlantic (AW) waters), and elevated surface wave energy that acts to deform and fracture sea ice. Spatial and temporal variability in ice properties and open water fraction impact these processes. To investigate how upper ocean structure varies with changing ice cover, and how the balance of processes shift as a function of ice fraction and distance from open water, four long-endurance autonomous Seagliders occupied sections that extended from open water, through the marginal ice zone, deep into the pack during summer 2014 in the Beaufort Sea. Sections reveal strong fronts where cold, ice-covered waters meet waters that have been exposed to solar warming, and O(10 km) scale eddies near the ice edge. In the pack, Pacific Summer Water and a deep chlorophyll maximum form distinct layers at roughly 60 m and 80 m, respectively, which become increasingly diffuse as they progress through the MIZ and into open water. The isopynal layer between 1023 and 1024 kg m-3, just above the PSW, consistently thickens near the ice edge, likely due to mixing or energetic vertical exchange associated with strong lateral gradients in this region. This presentation will discuss the upper ocean variability, its relationship to sea ice extent, and evolution over the summer to the start of freeze up.
Propagation of acoustic-gravity waves in arctic zones with elastic ice-sheets
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Kadri, Usama; Abdolali, Ali; Kirby, James T.
2017-04-01
We present an analytical solution of the boundary value problem of propagating acoustic-gravity waves generated in the ocean by earthquakes or ice-quakes in arctic zones. At the surface, we assume elastic ice-sheets of a variable thickness, and show that the propagating acoustic-gravity modes have different mode shape than originally derived by Ref. [1] for a rigid ice-sheet settings. Computationally, we couple the ice-sheet problem with the free surface model by Ref. [2] representing shrinking ice blocks in realistic sea state, where the randomly oriented ice-sheets cause inter modal transition at the edges and multidirectional reflections. We then derive a depth-integrated equation valid for spatially slowly varying thickness of ice-sheet and water depth. Surprisingly, and unlike the free-surface setting, here it is found that the higher acoustic-gravity modes exhibit a larger contribution. These modes travel at the speed of sound in water carrying information on their source, e.g. ice-sheet motion or submarine earthquake, providing various implications for ocean monitoring and detection of quakes. In addition, we found that the propagating acoustic-gravity modes can result in orbital displacements of fluid parcels sufficiently high that may contribute to deep ocean currents and circulation, as postulated by Refs. [1, 3]. References [1] U. Kadri, 2016. Generation of Hydroacoustic Waves by an Oscillating Ice Block in Arctic Zones. Advances in Acoustics and Vibration, 2016, Article ID 8076108, 7 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/8076108 [2] A. Abdolali, J. T. Kirby and G. Bellotti, 2015, Depth-integrated equation for hydro-acoustic waves with bottom damping, J. Fluid Mech., 766, R1 doi:10.1017/jfm.2015.37 [3] U. Kadri, 2014. Deep ocean water transportation by acoustic?gravity waves. J. Geophys. Res. Oceans, 119, doi:10.1002/ 2014JC010234
2013-09-30
What is the volume of sea ice in the Beaufort Sea SIZ and how does this evolve during summer as the ice edge retreats? Recent observations...suggest that the remaining ice in the Beaufort Sea is younger and thinner in recent years in part because even the oldest ice advected into the region does...indicated that ponds on thinner ice are often darker, accelerating the ice - albedo feedback over thin ice in summer. During winter, leads and very
Ice erosion of a sea-floor knickpoint at the inner edge of the stamukhi zone, Beaufort Sea, Alaska
Barnes, P.W.; Asbury, J.L.; Rearic, D.M.; Ross, C.R.
1987-01-01
In 1981 and 1982, detailed bathymetric and side-scan sonar surveys were made of an area of the sea floor north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, to study the changing characteristics of the seabed at the inner boundary of the stamukhi zone, the coast-parallel zone of grounded ice ridges that occurs in water depths between 15 and 50 m in the arctic. The fathograms and sonographs resolved 10-cm features and electronic navigation gave relocations accurate to about 10 m. Year after year an ice boundary develops at the inner edge of the stamukhi zone where major shear and pressure deformation occur in about the same location. Associated with this ice boundary, the bathymetry shows a pronounced break in slope - the knickpoint - on the shelf profile at about 20 m depth. The 2-3 m-high knickpoint is cut in a consolidated gravelly mud of pre-Holocene age. A well-defined gravel and cobble shoal a few meters high usually occurs at the inshore edge of the knickpoint. The sonograph mosaic shows that seaward of the knickpoint, ice gouges saturate the sea floor and are well defined; inshore the gouges are fewer in number and are poorly defined on the records. Few gouges can be traced from the seaward side of the knickpoint across the shoals to the inshore side of the knickpoint. Studies of ice gouging rates in two seabed corridors that cross the stamukhi zone reveal the highest rates of gouging seaward of the knickpoint. We believe that the knickpoint results from ice erosion at the inner boundary of the stamukhi zone. Intensified currents associated with this boundary winnow away fine sediments. Ice bulldozing and currents shape the shoals, which perch atop the knickpoint. The knickpoint helps to limit ice forces on the seabed inshore of the stamukhi zone. ?? 1987.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Arndt, S.; Haas, C.
2017-12-01
Snow is one of the key drivers determining the seasonal energy and mass budgets of sea ice in the Southern Ocean. Here, we analyze radar backscatter time series from the European Remote Sensing Satellites (ERS)-1 and-2 scatterometers, from the Quick Scatterometer (QSCAT), and from the Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) in order to observe the regional and inter-annual variability of Antarctic snowmelt processes from 1992 to 2014. On perennial ice, seasonal backscatter changes show two different snowmelt stages: A weak backscatter rise indicating the initial warming and metamorphosis of the snowpack (pre-melt), followed by a rapid rise indicating the onset of internal snowmelt and thaw-freeze cycles (snowmelt). In contrast, similar seasonal backscatter cycles are absent on seasonal ice, preventing the periodic retrieval of spring/summer transitions. This may be due to the dominance of ice bottom melt over snowmelt, leading to flooding and ice disintegration before strong snowmelt sets in. Resulting snowmelt onset dates on perennial sea ice show the expected latitudinal gradient from early melt onsets (mid-November) in the northern Weddell Sea towards late (end-December) or even absent snowmelt conditions further south. This result is likely related to seasonal variations in solar shortwave radiation (absorption). In addition, observations with different microwave frequencies allow to detect changing snow properties at different depths. We show that short wavelengths of passive microwave observations indicate earlier pre-melt and snowmelt onset dates than longer wavelength scatterometer observations, in response to earlier warming of upper snow layers compared to lower snow layers. Similarly, pre-melt and snowmelt onset dates retrieved from Ku-Band radars were earlier by an average of 11 and 23 days, respectively, than those retrieved from C-Band. This time difference was used to correct melt onset dates retrieved from Ku-Band to compile a consistent time series from
Modeling the impediment of methane ebullition bubbles by seasonal lake ice
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Greene, S.; Walter Anthony, K. M.; Archer, D.
Microbial methane (CH 4) ebullition (bubbling) from anoxic lake sediments comprises a globally significant flux to the atmosphere, but ebullition bubbles in temperate and polar lakes can be trapped by winter ice cover and later released during spring thaw. This "ice-bubble storage" (IBS) constitutes a novel mode of CH 4 emission. Before bubbles are encapsulated by downward-growing ice, some of their CH 4 dissolves into the lake water, where it may be subject to oxidation. We present field characterization and a model of the annual CH 4 cycle in Goldstream Lake, a thermokarst (thaw) lake in interior Alaska. We findmore » that summertime ebullition dominates annual CH 4 emissions to the atmosphere. Eighty percent of CH 4 in bubbles trapped by ice dissolves into the lake water column in winter, and about half of that is oxidized. The ice growth rate and the magnitude of the CH 4 ebullition flux are important controlling factors of bubble dissolution. Seven percent of annual ebullition CH 4 is trapped as IBS and later emitted as ice melts. In a future warmer climate, there will likely be less seasonal ice cover, less IBS, less CH 4 dissolution from trapped bubbles, and greater CH 4 emissions from northern lakes.« less
Modeling the impediment of methane ebullition bubbles by seasonal lake ice
Greene, S.; Walter Anthony, K. M.; Archer, D.; ...
2014-12-08
Microbial methane (CH 4) ebullition (bubbling) from anoxic lake sediments comprises a globally significant flux to the atmosphere, but ebullition bubbles in temperate and polar lakes can be trapped by winter ice cover and later released during spring thaw. This "ice-bubble storage" (IBS) constitutes a novel mode of CH 4 emission. Before bubbles are encapsulated by downward-growing ice, some of their CH 4 dissolves into the lake water, where it may be subject to oxidation. We present field characterization and a model of the annual CH 4 cycle in Goldstream Lake, a thermokarst (thaw) lake in interior Alaska. We findmore » that summertime ebullition dominates annual CH 4 emissions to the atmosphere. Eighty percent of CH 4 in bubbles trapped by ice dissolves into the lake water column in winter, and about half of that is oxidized. The ice growth rate and the magnitude of the CH 4 ebullition flux are important controlling factors of bubble dissolution. Seven percent of annual ebullition CH 4 is trapped as IBS and later emitted as ice melts. In a future warmer climate, there will likely be less seasonal ice cover, less IBS, less CH 4 dissolution from trapped bubbles, and greater CH 4 emissions from northern lakes.« less
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Kamal, S.; Maslowski, W.; Roberts, A.; Osinski, R.; Cassano, J. J.; Seefeldt, M. W.
2017-12-01
The Regional Arctic system model has been developed and used to advance the current state of Arctic modeling and increase the skill of sea ice forecast. RASM is a fully coupled, limited-area model that includes the atmosphere, ocean, sea ice, land hydrology and runoff routing components and the flux coupler to exchange information among them. Boundary conditions are derived from NCEP Climate Forecasting System Reanalyses (CFSR) or Era Iterim (ERA-I) for hindcast simulations or from NCEP Coupled Forecast System Model version 2 (CFSv2) for seasonal forecasts. We have used RASM to produce sea ice forecasts for September 2016 and 2017, in contribution to the Sea Ice Outlook (SIO) of the Sea Ice Prediction Network (SIPN). Each year, we produced three SIOs for the September minimum, initialized on June 1, July 1 and August 1. In 2016, predictions used a simple linear regression model to correct for systematic biases and included the mean September sea ice extent, the daily minimum and the week of the minimum. In 2017, we produced a 12-member ensemble on June 1 and July 1, and 28-member ensemble August 1. The predictions of September 2017 included the pan-Arctic and regional Alaskan sea ice extent, daily and monthly mean pan-Arctic maps of sea ice probability, concentration and thickness. No bias correction was applied to the 2017 forecasts. Finally, we will also discuss future plans for RASM forecasts, which include increased resolution for model components, ecosystem predictions with marine biogeochemistry extensions (mBGC) to the ocean and sea ice components, and feasibility of optional boundary conditions using the Navy Global Environmental Model (NAVGEM).
Gaden, A; Ferguson, S H; Harwood, L; Melling, H; Stern, G A
2009-05-15
We examined a unique time series of ringed seal (Phoca hispida) samples collected from a single location in the western Canadian Arctic between 1973 and 2007 to test for changes in total mercury (THg) in muscle tissue associated with (1) year and (2) length of ice-free season. We found no temporal trend with muscle THg whereas a curvilinear relationship existed with the length of ice-free season: seals attaimed higher THg in short (2 months) and long (5 months) ice-free seasons. delta 15N and delta13C in muscle tissue did not illustrate significant trends with ice-free days. We estimated that the turnover time of THg in muscle was about twice as long as stable isotope turnover in muscle, possibly explaining the lack of trend with stable isotopes in association with ice-free duration. Our discussion explains how summer environmental conditions may influence the composition of prey (mercury exposure) available to ringed seals. Results offer insight into how marine mammals may respond to directional changes in the Arctic ice-free season.
Seasonal sea ice cover during the warm Pliocene: Evidence from the Iceland Sea (ODP Site 907)
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Clotten, Caroline; Stein, Ruediger; Fahl, Kirsten; De Schepper, Stijn
2018-01-01
Sea ice is a critical component in the Arctic and global climate system, yet little is known about its extent and variability during past warm intervals, such as the Pliocene (5.33-2.58 Ma). Here, we present the first multi-proxy (IP25, sterols, alkenones, palynology) sea ice reconstructions for the Late Pliocene Iceland Sea (ODP Site 907). Our interpretation of a seasonal sea ice cover with occasional ice-free intervals between 3.50-3.00 Ma is supported by reconstructed alkenone-based summer sea surface temperatures. As evidenced from brassicasterol and dinosterol, primary productivity was low between 3.50 and 3.00 Ma and the site experienced generally oligotrophic conditions. The East Greenland Current (and East Icelandic Current) may have transported sea ice into the Iceland Sea and/or brought cooler and fresher waters favoring local sea ice formation. Between 3.00 and 2.40 Ma, the Iceland Sea is mainly sea ice-free, but seasonal sea ice occurred between 2.81 and 2.74 Ma. Sea ice extending into the Iceland Sea at this time may have acted as a positive feedback for the build-up of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GIS), which underwent a major expansion ∼2.75 Ma. Thereafter, most likely a stable sea ice edge developed close to Greenland, possibly changing together with the expansion and retreat of the GIS and affecting the productivity in the Iceland Sea.
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Colgan, William; Rajaram, Harihar; Anderson, Robert; Steffen. Konrad; Phillips, Thomas; Zwally, H. Jay; Abdalati, Waleed
2012-01-01
We apply a novel one-dimensional glacier hydrology model that calculates hydraulic head to the tidewater-terminating Sermeq Avannarleq flowline of the Greenland ice sheet. Within a plausible parameter space, the model achieves a quasi-steady-state annual cycle in which hydraulic head oscillates close to flotation throughout the ablation zone. Flotation is briefly achieved during the summer melt season along a approx.17 km stretch of the approx.50 km of flowline within the ablation zone. Beneath the majority of the flowline, subglacial conduit storage closes (i.e. obtains minimum radius) during the winter and opens (i.e. obtains maximum radius) during the summer. Along certain stretches of the flowline, the model predicts that subglacial conduit storage remains open throughout the year. A calculated mean glacier water residence time of approx.2.2 years implies that significant amounts of water are stored in the glacier throughout the year. We interpret this residence time as being indicative of the timescale over which the glacier hydrologic system is capable of adjusting to external surface meltwater forcings. Based on in situ ice velocity observations, we suggest that the summer speed-up event generally corresponds to conditions of increasing hydraulic head during inefficient subglacial drainage. Conversely, the slowdown during fall generally corresponds to conditions of decreasing hydraulic head during efficient subglacial drainage.
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Perovich, Donald K.; Nghiem, Son V.; Markus, Thorsten; Schwieger, Axel
2007-01-01
The melt season of the Arctic sea ice cover is greatly affected by the partitioning of the incident solar radiation between reflection to the atmosphere and absorption in the ice and ocean. This partitioning exhibits a strong seasonal cycle and significant interannual variability. Data in the period 1998, 2000-2004 were analyzed in this study. Observations made during the 1997-1998 SHEBA (Surface HEat Budget of the Arctic Ocean) field experiment showed a strong seasonal dependence of the partitioning, dominated by a five-phase albedo evolution. QuikSCAT scatterometer data from the SHEBA region in 1999-2004 were used to further investigate solar partitioning in summer. The time series of scatterometer data were used to determine the onset of melt and the beginning of freezeup. This information was combined with SSM/I-derived ice concentration, TOVS-based estimates of incident solar irradiance, and SHEBA results to estimate the amount of solar energy absorbed in the ice-ocean system for these years. The average total solar energy absorbed in the ice-ocean system from April through September was 900 MJ m(sup -2). There was considerable interannual variability, with a range of 826 to 1044 MJ m(sup -2). The total amount of solar energy absorbed by the ice and ocean was strongly related to the date of melt onset, but only weakly related to the total duration of the melt season or the onset of freezeup. The timing of melt onset is significant because the incident solar energy is large and a change at this time propagates through the entire melt season, affecting the albedo every day throughout melt and freezeup.
Seasonal Variation of Carbon Metabolism in the Cambial Zone of Eucalyptus grandis
Budzinski, Ilara G. F.; Moon, David H.; Lindén, Pernilla; Moritz, Thomas; Labate, Carlos A.
2016-01-01
Eucalyptus species are the most widely hardwood planted in the world. It is one of the successful examples of commercial forestry plantation in Brazil and other tropical and subtropical countries. The tree is valued for its rapid growth, adaptability and wood quality. Wood formation is the result of cumulative annual activity of the vascular cambium. This cambial activity is generally related to the alternation of cold and warm, and/or dry and rainy seasons. Efforts have focused on analysis of cambial zone in response to seasonal variations in trees from temperate zones. However, little is known about the molecular changes triggered by seasonal variations in trees from tropical countries. In this work we attempted to establish a global view of seasonal alterations in the cambial zone of Eucalyptus grandis Hill ex Maiden, emphasizing changes occurring in the carbon metabolism. Using transcripts, proteomics and metabolomics we analyzed the tissues harvested in summer-wet and winter-dry seasons. Based on proteomics analysis, 70 proteins that changed in abundance were successfully identified. Transcripts for some of these proteins were analyzed and similar expression patterns were observed. We identified 19 metabolites differentially abundant. Our results suggest a differential reconfiguration of carbon partioning in E. grandis cambial zone. During summer, pyruvate is primarily metabolized via ethanolic fermentation, possibly to regenerate NAD+ for glycolytic ATP production and cellular maintenance. However, in winter there seems to be a metabolic change and we found that some sugars were highly abundant. Our results revealed a dynamic change in E. grandis cambial zone due to seasonality and highlight the importance of glycolysis and ethanolic fermentation for energy generation and maintenance in Eucalyptus, a fast growing tree. PMID:27446160
The winter pack-ice zone provides a sheltered but food-poor habitat for larval Antarctic krill.
Meyer, Bettina; Freier, Ulrich; Grimm, Volker; Groeneveld, Jürgen; Hunt, Brian P V; Kerwath, Sven; King, Rob; Klaas, Christine; Pakhomov, Evgeny; Meiners, Klaus M; Melbourne-Thomas, Jessica; Murphy, Eugene J; Thorpe, Sally E; Stammerjohn, Sharon; Wolf-Gladrow, Dieter; Auerswald, Lutz; Götz, Albrecht; Halbach, Laura; Jarman, Simon; Kawaguchi, So; Krumpen, Thomas; Nehrke, Gernot; Ricker, Robert; Sumner, Michael; Teschke, Mathias; Trebilco, Rowan; Yilmaz, Noyan I
2017-12-01
A dominant Antarctic ecological paradigm suggests that winter sea ice is generally the main feeding ground for krill larvae. Observations from our winter cruise to the southwest Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean contradict this view and present the first evidence that the pack-ice zone is a food-poor habitat for larval development. In contrast, the more open marginal ice zone provides a more favourable food environment for high larval krill growth rates. We found that complex under-ice habitats are, however, vital for larval krill when water column productivity is limited by light, by providing structures that offer protection from predators and to collect organic material released from the ice. The larvae feed on this sparse ice-associated food during the day. After sunset, they migrate into the water below the ice (upper 20 m) and drift away from the ice areas where they have previously fed. Model analyses indicate that this behaviour increases both food uptake in a patchy food environment and the likelihood of overwinter transport to areas where feeding conditions are more favourable in spring.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Bliss, A. C.; Anderson, M. R.
2011-12-01
Little research has gone into studying the concurrent variations in the annual loss of continental snow cover and sea ice extent across the land-ocean boundary, however, the analysis of these data averaged spatially over three study regions located in North America and Eastern and Western Russia, reveals a distinct difference in the response of anomalous snow and sea ice conditions to the atmospheric forcing. This study compares the monthly continental snow cover and sea ice extent loss in the Arctic, during the melt season months (May-August) for the period 1979-2007, with regional atmospheric conditions known to influence summer melt including: mean sea level pressures, 925 hPa air temperatures, and mean 2 m U and V wind vectors from NCEP/DOE Reanalysis 2. The monthly hemispheric snow cover extent data used are from the Rutgers University Global Snow Lab and sea ice extents for this study are derived from the monthly passive microwave satellite Bootstrap algorithm sea ice concentrations available from the National Snow and Ice Data Center. Three case study years (1985, 1996, and 2007) are used to compare the direct response of monthly anomalous sea ice and snow cover areal extents to monthly mean atmospheric forcing averaged spatially over the extent of each study region. This comparison is then expanded for all summer months over the 29 year study period where the monthly persistence of sea ice and snow cover extent anomalies and changes in the sea ice and snow conditions under differing atmospheric conditions are explored further. The monthly anomalous atmospheric conditions are classified into four categories including: warmer temperatures with higher pressures, warmer temperatures with lower pressures, cooler temperatures with higher pressures, and cooler temperatures with lower pressures. Analysis of the atmospheric conditions surrounding anomalous loss of snow and ice cover over the independent study regions indicates that conditions of warmer temperatures
Tracking Retreat of the North Seasonal Ice Cap on Mars: Results from the THEMIS Investigation
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Ivanov, A. B.; Wagstaff, K. L.; Ttus, T. N.
2005-01-01
The CO2 ice caps on Mars advance and retreat with the seasons. This phenomenon was first observed by Cassini and then confirmed by numerous ground based observations in 19th and 20th centuries. With the advent of the space age observations of the seasonal ice cap were done by all orbiting spacecraft starting with Mariner 7. Viking Orbiters and more recently the Mars Global Surveyor (particularly Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) and Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) instruments) have accumulated significant data on the retreat of the CO2 seasonal cap. During Mars year 2 of THEMIS operations at Mars, we planned an observational campaign in which the THEMIS instrument (onboard the Mars Odyssey spacecraft) repeatedly observed the north seasonal polar cap from midwinter to late spring. THEMIS allows simultaneous observations in both Thermal IR (12.57 m) and Visible wavelengths (0.65 m). One of the goals for this work is to initiate an interannual program for observations of the seasonal ice caps using the THEMIS instrument. The most efficient way to detect the edge between frost and bare ground is directly onboard of the spacecraft. Prior to onboard software design effort, we have developed two groundbased algorithms for automatically finding the edge of the seasonal polar cap in THEMIS IR data. The first algorithm relies on fully calibrated data and can be used for highly reliable groundbased analyses. The second method was specifically developed for processing raw, uncalibrated data in a highly efficient way. It has the potential to enable automatic, onboard detections of the seasonal cap retreat. We have experimentally confirmed that both methods produce similar results, and we have validated both methods against a model constructed from the MGS TES data from the same season.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Noble, Abigail; Saito, Mak; Moran, Dawn; Allen, Andrew
2013-10-01
Dissolved and particulate metal concentrations are reported from three sites beneath and at the base of the McMurdo Sound seasonal sea ice in the Ross Sea of Antarctica. This dataset provided insight into Co and Mn biogeochemistry, supporting a previous hypothesis for water column mixing occurring faster than scavenging. Three observations support this: first, Mn-containing particles with Mn/Al ratios in excess of the sediment were present in the water column, implying the presence of bacterial Mn-oxidation processes. Second, dissolved and labile Co were uniform with depth beneath the sea ice after the winter season. Third, dissolved Co:PO43- ratios were consistent with previously observed Ross Sea stoichiometry, implying that over-winter scavenging was slow relative to mixing. Abundant dissolved Fe and Mn were consistent with a winter reserve concept, and particulate Al, Fe, Mn, and Co covaried, implying that these metals behaved similarly. Elevated particulate metals were observed in proximity to the nearby Islands, with particulate Fe/Al ratios similar to that of nearby sediment, consistent with a sediment resuspension source. Dissolved and particulate metals were elevated at the shallowest depths (particularly Fe) with elevated particulate P/Al and Fe/Al ratios in excess of sediments, demonstrating a sea ice biomass source. The sea ice biomass was extremely dense (chl a >9500 μg/L) and contained high abundances of particulate metals with elevated metal/Al ratios. A hypothesis for seasonal accumulation of bioactive metals at the base of the McMurdo Sound sea ice by the basal algal community is presented, analogous to a capacitor that accumulates iron during the spring and early summer. The release and transport of particulate metals accumulated at the base of the sea ice by sloughing is discussed as a potentially important mechanism in providing iron nutrition during polynya phytoplankton bloom formation and could be examined in future oceanographic expeditions.
Hemispheric asymmetry in martian seasonal surface water ice from MGS TES
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Bapst, Jonathan; Bandfield, Joshua L.; Wood, Stephen E.
2015-11-01
The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) visible/near-infrared and thermal infrared bolometers measured planetary broadband albedo and temperature for more than three Mars years. As seasons progress on Mars, surface temperatures may fall below the frost point of volatiles in the atmosphere (namely, carbon dioxide and water). Systematic mapping of the spatial and temporal occurrence of these volatiles in the martian atmosphere, on the surface, and in the subsurface has shown their importance in understanding the climate of Mars. We examine TES daytime albedo, temperature, and atmospheric opacity data to map the latitudinal and temporal occurrence of seasonal surface water frost on Mars. We expand on previous work by looking at the behavior of water frost over the entire martian year, made possible with comprehensive, multi-year data. Interpretations of frost are based on albedo changes and the corresponding daytime temperature range. Data is considered consistent with water frost when there are significant albedo increases (>0.05 relative to frost-free seasons) and the observed temperatures are ∼170-200 K. We argue the presence of extensive water frost in the northern hemisphere, extending from the pole to ∼40°N, following seasonal temperature trends. In the north, water frost first appears near the pole at Ls = ∼160° and is last observed at Ls = ∼90°. Extensive water frost is less evident in southern hemisphere data, though both hemispheres show data that are consistent with the presence of a water ice annulus during seasonal cap retreat. Hemispherical asymmetry in the occurrence of seasonal water frost is due in part to the lower (∼40%) atmospheric water vapor abundances observed in the southern hemisphere. Our results are consistent with net transport of water vapor to the northern hemisphere. The deposition and sublimation of seasonal water frost may significantly increase the near-surface water vapor density that could
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Colgan, William Terence; Rajaram, Harihar; Anderson, Robert S.; Steffen, Konrad; Zwally, H. Jay; Phillips, Thomas; Abdalati, Waleed
2012-01-01
Ice velocities observed in 2005/06 at three GPS stations along the Sermeq Avannarleq flowline, West Greenland, are used to characterize an observed annual velocity cycle. We attempt to reproduce this annual ice velocity cycle using a 1-D ice-flow model with longitudinal stresses coupled to a 1-D hydrology model that governs an empirical basal sliding rule. Seasonal basal sliding velocity is parameterized as a perturbation of prescribed winter sliding velocity that is proportional to the rate of change of glacier water storage. The coupled model reproduces the broad features of the annual basal sliding cycle observed along this flowline, namely a summer speed-up event followed by a fall slowdown event. We also evaluate the hypothesis that the observed annual velocity cycle is due to the annual calving cycle at the terminus. We demonstrate that the ice acceleration due to a catastrophic calving event takes an order of magnitude longer to reach CU/ETH ('Swiss') Camp (46km upstream of the terminus) than is observed. The seasonal acceleration observed at Swiss Camp is therefore unlikely to be the result of velocity perturbations propagated upstream via longitudinal coupling. Instead we interpret this velocity cycle to reflect the local history of glacier water balance.
Seasonally-Active Water on Mars: Vapour, Ice, Adsorbate, and the Possibility of Liquid
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Richardson, M. I.
2002-12-01
Seasonally-active water can be defined to include any water reservoir that communicates with other reservoirs on time scales of a year or shorter. It is the interaction of these water reservoirs, under the influence of varying solar radiation and in conjunction with surface and atmospheric temperatures, that determines the phase-stability field for water at the surface, and the distribution of water in various forms below, on, and above the surface. The atmosphere is the critical, dynamical link in this cycling system, and also (fortunately) one of the easiest to observe. Viking and Mars Global Surveyor observations paint a strongly asymmetric picture of the global seasonal water cycle, tied proximately to planetary eccentricity, and the existence of residual ice caps of different composition at the two poles. The northern summer experiences the largest water vapour columns, and is associated with sublimation from the northern residual water ice cap. The southern summer residual carbon dioxide ice cap is cold trap for water. Asymmetry in the water cycle is an unsolved problem. Possible solutions may involve the current timing of perihelion (the water cap resides at the pole experiencing the longer but cooler summer), the trapping of water ice in the northern hemisphere by tropical water ice clouds, and the bias in the annual-average, zonal-mean atmospheric circulation resulting from the zonal-mean difference in the elevation of the northern and southern hemispheres. Adsorbed and frozen water have proven harder to constrain. Recent Odyssey Gamma Ray Spectrometer results suggest substantial ground ice in the mid- and high-latitudes, but this water is likely below the seasonal skin depth for two reasons: the GRS results are best fit with such a model, and GCM models of the water cycle produce dramatically unrealistic atmospheric vapour distributions when such a very near surface, GRS-like distribution is initialized - ultimately removing the water to the northern and
Seasonal comparisons of sea ice concentration estimates derived from SSM/I, OKEAN, and RADARSAT data
Belchansky, Gennady I.; Douglas, David C.
2002-01-01
The Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) microwave satellite radiometer and its predecessor SMMR are primary sources of information for global sea ice and climate studies. However, comparisons of SSM/I, Landsat, AVHRR, and ERS-1 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) have shown substantial seasonal and regional differences in their estimates of sea ice concentration. To evaluate these differences, we compared SSM/I estimates of sea ice coverage derived with the NASA Team and Bootstrap algorithms to estimates made using RADARSAT, and OKEAN-01 satellite sensor data. The study area included the Barents Sea, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, and adjacent parts of the Arctic Ocean, during October 1995 through October 1999. Ice concentration estimates from spatially and temporally near-coincident imagery were calculated using independent algorithms for each sensor type. The OKEAN algorithm implemented the satellite's two-channel active (radar) and passive microwave data in a linear mixture model based on the measured values of brightness temperature and radar backscatter. The RADARSAT algorithm utilized a segmentation approach of the measured radar backscatter, and the SSM/I ice concentrations were derived at National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) using the NASA Team and Bootstrap algorithms. Seasonal and monthly differences between SSM/I, OKEAN, and RADARSAT ice concentrations were calculated and compared. Overall, total sea ice concentration estimates derived independently from near-coincident RADARSAT, OKEAN-01, and SSM/I satellite imagery demonstrated mean differences of less than 5.5% (S.D.<9.5%) during the winter period. Differences between the SSM/I NASA Team and the SSM/I Bootstrap concentrations were no more than 3.1% (S.D.<5.4%) during this period. RADARSAT and OKEAN-01 data both yielded higher total ice concentrations than the NASA Team and the Bootstrap algorithms. The Bootstrap algorithm yielded higher total ice concentrations than the NASA Team algorithm. Total ice
Notable increases in nutrient concentrations in a shallow lake during seasonal ice growth.
Fang, Yang; Changyou, Li; Leppäranta, Matti; Xiaonghong, Shi; Shengnan, Zhao; Chengfu, Zhang
2016-12-01
Nutrients may be eliminated from ice when liquid water is freezing, resulting in enhanced concentrations in the unfrozen water. The nutrients diluted from the ice may contribute to accumulated concentrations in sediment during winter and an increased risk of algae blooms during the following spring and summer. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of ice cover on nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations in the water and sediment of a shallow lake, through an examination of Ulansuhai Lake, northern China, from the period of open water to ice season in 2011-2013. The N and P concentrations were between two and five times higher, and between two and eight times higher, than in unfrozen lakes, respectively. As the ice thickness grew, contents of total N and total P showed C-shaped profiles in the ice, and were lower in the middle layer and higher in the bottom and surface layers. Most of the nutrients were released from the ice to liquid water. The results confirm that ice can cause the nutrient concentrations in water and sediment during winter to increase dramatically, thereby significantly impacting on processes in the water environment of shallow lakes.
Coupling of Waves, Turbulence and Thermodynamics Across the Marginal Ice Zone
2015-09-30
1 DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A. Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. Coupling of Waves, Turbulence and Thermodynamics across...developing Thermodynamically Forced Marginal Ice Zone. Submitted to JGR. Heiles,A. S., NPS thesis, Sep. 2014 Schmidt, B. K., NPS thesis March 2012 Shaw
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
MacMackin, C. T.; Wells, A.
2017-12-01
While relatively small in mass, ice shelves play an important role in buttressing ice sheets, slowing their flow into the ocean. As such, an understanding of ice shelf stability is needed for predictions of future sea level rise. Networks of channels have been observed underneath Antarctic ice shelves and are thought to affect their stability. While the origins of channels running parallel to ice flow are thought to be well understood, transverse channels have also been observed and the mechanism for their formation is less clear. It has been suggested that seasonal variations in ice and ocean properties could be a source and we run nonlinear, vertically integrated 1-D simulations of a coupled ice shelf and plume to test this hypothesis. We also examine how these variations might alter the shape of internal radar reflectors within the ice, suggesting a new technique to model their distribution using a vertically integrated model of ice flow. We examine a range of sources for seasonal forcing which might lead to channel formation, finding that variability in subglacial discharge results in small variations of ice thickness. Additional mechanisms would be required to expand these into large transverse channels.
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.
Alaska shorefast ice: Interfacing geophysics with local sea ice knowledge and use
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Druckenmiller, Matthew L.
This thesis interfaces geophysical techniques with local and traditional knowledge (LTK) of indigenous ice experts to track and evaluate coastal sea ice conditions over annual and inter-annual timescales. A novel approach is presented for consulting LTK alongside a systematic study of where, when, and how the community of Barrow, Alaska uses the ice cover. The goal of this research is to improve our understanding of and abilities to monitor the processes that govern the state and dynamics of shorefast sea ice in the Chukchi Sea and use of ice by the community. Shorefast ice stability and community strategies for safe hunting provide a framework for data collection and knowledge sharing that reveals how nuanced observations by Inupiat ice experts relate to identifying hazards. In particular, shorefast ice break-out events represent a significant threat to the lives of hunters. Fault tree analysis (FTA) is used to combine local and time-specific observations of ice conditions by both geophysical instruments and local experts, and to evaluate how ice features, atmospheric and oceanic forces, and local to regional processes interact to cause break-out events. Each year, the Barrow community builds trails across shorefast ice for use during the spring whaling season. In collaboration with hunters, a systematic multi-year survey (2007--2011) was performed to map these trails and measure ice thickness along them. Relationships between ice conditions and hunter strategies that guide trail placement and risk assessment are explored. In addition, trail surveys provide a meaningful and consistent approach to monitoring the thickness distribution of shorefast ice, while establishing a baseline for assessing future environmental change and potential impacts to the community. Coastal communities in the region have proven highly adaptive in their ability to safely and successfully hunt from sea ice over the last 30 years as significant changes have been observed in the ice zone
1986-03-01
8217 ILI L2.2363 31-25 UICRQCCW p O TEST C4ART’OPSMa, -f AoA IV 4 86 9 ’ 5 MIZEX BULLETIN SERIES: INFORMATION FOR CONTRIBUTORS The main purpose of the...Ice-Ocean Interaction Experiments in Arctic Marginal Ice Zones MIZEX BULLETIN VII LEC T E SEP 2 9 1986 ’Jl P March 1986 J A ’QOzltnal OontsSn$ ooLoP...studies in both the northern and southern hemispheres. W.D. HIBLER Ill March 1986 ii CONTENTS* Page P reface
Regional Patterns of Stress Transfer in the Ablation Zone of the Western Greenland Ice Sheet
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Andrews, L. C.; Hoffman, M. J.; Neumann, T.; Catania, G. A.; Luethi, M. P.; Hawley, R. L.
2016-12-01
Current understanding of the subglacial system indicates that the seasonal evolution of ice flow is strongly controlled by the gradual upstream progression of an inefficient - efficient transition within the subglacial hydrologic system followed by the reduction of melt and a downstream collapse of the efficient system. Using a spatiotemporally dense network of GPS-derived surface velocities from the Pâkitsoq Region of the western Greenland Ice Sheet, we find that this pattern of subglacial development is complicated by heterogeneous bed topography, resulting in complex patterns of ice flow. Following low elevation melt onset, early melt season strain rate anomalies are dominated by regional extension, which then gives way to spatially expansive compression. However, once daily minimum ice velocities fall below the observed winter background velocities, an alternating spatial pattern of extension and compression prevails. This pattern of strain rate anomalies is correlated with changing basal topography and differences in the magnitude of diurnal surface ice speeds. Along subglacial ridges, diurnal variability in ice speed is large, suggestive of a mature, efficient subglacial system. In regions of subglacial lows, diurnal variability in ice velocity is relatively low, likely associated with a less developed efficient subglacial system. The observed pattern suggests that borehole observations and modeling results demonstrating the importance of longitudinal stress transfer at a single field location are likely widely applicable in our study area and other regions of the Greenland Ice Sheet with highly variable bed topography. Further, the complex pattern of ice flow and evidence of spatially extensive longitudinal stress transfer add to the body of work indicating that the bed character plays an important role in the development of the subglacial system; closely matching diurnal ice velocity patterns with subglacial models may be difficult without coupling these
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Liu, Jiping; Song, Mirong; Horton, Radley M.; Hu, Yongyun
2015-01-01
The rapid change in Arctic sea ice in recent decades has led to a rising demand for seasonal sea ice prediction. A recent modeling study that employed a prognostic melt pond model in a stand-alone sea ice model found that September Arctic sea ice extent can be accurately predicted from the melt pond fraction in May. Here we show that satellite observations show no evidence of predictive skill in May. However, we find that a significantly strong relationship (high predictability) first emerges as the melt pond fraction is integrated from early May to late June, with a persistent strong relationship only occurring after late July. Our results highlight that late spring to mid summer melt pond information is required to improve the prediction skill of the seasonal sea ice minimum. Furthermore, satellite observations indicate a much higher percentage of melt pond formation in May than does the aforementioned model simulation, which points to the need to reconcile model simulations and observations, in order to better understand key mechanisms of melt pond formation and evolution and their influence on sea ice state.
Noble, Abigail E.; Moran, Dawn M.; Allen, Andrew E.; Saito, Mak A.
2013-01-01
Dissolved and particulate metal concentrations are reported from three sites beneath and at the base of the McMurdo Sound seasonal sea ice in the Ross Sea of Antarctica. This dataset provided insight into Co and Mn biogeochemistry, supporting a previous hypothesis for water column mixing occurring faster than scavenging. Three observations support this: first, Mn-containing particles with Mn/Al ratios in excess of the sediment were present in the water column, implying the presence of bacterial Mn-oxidation processes. Second, dissolved and labile Co were uniform with depth beneath the sea ice after the winter season. Third, dissolved Co:PO3−4 ratios were consistent with previously observed Ross Sea stoichiometry, implying that over-winter scavenging was slow relative to mixing. Abundant dissolved Fe and Mn were consistent with a winter reserve concept, and particulate Al, Fe, Mn, and Co covaried, implying that these metals behaved similarly. Elevated particulate metals were observed in proximity to the nearby Islands, with particulate Fe/Al ratios similar to that of nearby sediment, consistent with a sediment resuspension source. Dissolved and particulate metals were elevated at the shallowest depths (particularly Fe) with elevated particulate P/Al and Fe/Al ratios in excess of sediments, demonstrating a sea ice biomass source. The sea ice biomass was extremely dense (chl a >9500 μg/L) and contained high abundances of particulate metals with elevated metal/Al ratios. A hypothesis for seasonal accumulation of bioactive metals at the base of the McMurdo Sound sea ice by the basal algal community is presented, analogous to a capacitor that accumulates iron during the spring and early summer. The release and transport of particulate metals accumulated at the base of the sea ice by sloughing is discussed as a potentially important mechanism in providing iron nutrition during polynya phytoplankton bloom formation and could be examined in future oceanographic
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Hoffman, M. J.; Catania, G. A.; Newmann, T. A.; Andrews, L. C.; Rumrill, J. A.
2012-01-01
The impact of increasing summer melt on the dynamics and stability of the Greenland Ice Sheet is not fully understood. Mounting evidence suggests seasonal evolution of subglacial drainage mitigates or counteracts the ability of surface runoff to increase basal sliding. Here, we compare subdaily ice velocity and uplift derived from nine Global Positioning System stations in the upper ablation zone in west Greenland to surface melt and supraglacial lake drainage during summer 2007. Starting around day 173, we observe speedups of 6-41% above spring velocity lasting approximately 40 days accompanied by sustained surface uplift at most stations, followed by a late summer slowdown. After initial speedup, we see a spatially uniform velocity response across the ablation zone and strong diurnal velocity variations during periods of melting. Most lake drainages were undetectable in the velocity record, and those that were detected only perturbed velocities for approximately 1 day, suggesting preexisting drainage systems could efficiently drain large volumes of water. The dynamic response to melt forcing appears to 1) be driven by changes in subglacial storage of water that is delivered in diurnal and episodic pulses, and 2) decrease over the course of the summer, presumably as the subglacial drainage system evolves to greater efficiency. The relationship between hydrology and ice dynamics observed is similar to that observed on mountain glaciers, suggesting that seasonally large water pressures under the ice sheet largely compensate for the greater ice thickness considered here. Thus, increases in summer melting may not guarantee faster seasonal ice flow.
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Hoffman, M. J.; Catania, G. A.; Neumann, T. A.; Andrews, L. C.; Rumrill, J. A.
2011-01-01
The impact of increasing summer melt on the dynamics and stability of the Greenland Ice Sheet is not fully understood. Mounting evidence suggests seasonal evolution of subglacial drainage mitigates or counteracts the ability of surface runoff to increase basal sliding. Here, we compare subdaily ice velocity and uplift derived from nine Global Positioning System stations in the upper ablation zone in west Greenland to surface melt and supraglacial lake drainage during summer 2007. Starting around day 173, we observe speedups of 6-41% above spring velocity lasting 40 days accompanied by sustained surface uplift at most stations, followed by a late summer slowdown. After initial speedup, we see a spatially uniform velocity response across the ablation zone and strong diurnal velocity variations during periods of melting. Most lake drainages were undetectable in the velocity record, and those that were detected only perturbed velocities for approx 1 day, suggesting preexisting drainage systems could efficiently drain large volumes of water. The dynamic response to melt forcing appears to (1) be driven by changes in subglacial storage of water that is delivered in diurnal and episodic pulses, and (2) decrease over the course of the summer, presumably as the subglacial drainage system evolves to greater efficiency. The relationship between hydrology and ice dynamics observed is similar to that observed on mountain glaciers, suggesting that seasonally large water pressures under the ice sheet largely compensate for the greater ice thickness considered here. Thus, increases in summer melting may not guarantee faster seasonal ice flow.
Arctic continental shelf morphology related to sea-ice zonation, Beaufort Sea, Alaska
Reimnitz, E.; Toimil, L.; Barnes, P.
1978-01-01
processes. A proposed ice zonation, including zones of (1) bottom-fast ice, (2) floating fast ice, (3) stamukhi, and (4) seasonal pack ice, emphasizes ice interaction with the shelf surface and differs from previous zonation. Certain aspects of the results reported here are directly applicable to planned offshore developments in the Prudhoe Bay oil field. Properly placed artificial structures similar to offshore shoals should be able to withstand the forces of the ice, serve to modify the observed ice zonation, and might be used to make the environment less hostile to human activities. ?? 1978.
Seasonal changes in the spatial distribution of phytoplankton in small, temperate-zone lakes
Cloern, J.E.; Alpine, A.E.; Cole, B.E.; Heller, T.
1992-01-01
Sampling across two N Minnesota small lakes shows that phytoplankton patchiness is greatly enhanced during winter ice-cover relative to the open-water seasons of exposure to wind stress and rapid turbulent mixing. -Authors
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Zhang, J.; Stern, H. L., III; Hwang, P. B.; Schweiger, A. J. B.; Stark, M.; Steele, M.
2015-12-01
To better describe the state of sea ice in the marginal ice zone (MIZ) with floes of varying thicknesses and sizes, both an ice thickness distribution (ITD) and a floe size distribution (FSD) are needed. We have developed a FSD theory [Zhang et al., 2015] that is coupled to the ITD theory of Thorndike et al. [1975] in order to explicitly simulate the evolution of FSD and ITD jointly. The FSD theory includes a FSD function and a FSD conservation equation in parallel with the ITD equation. The FSD equation takes into account changes in FSD due to ice advection, thermodynamic growth, and lateral melting. It also includes changes in FSD because of mechanical redistribution of floe size due to ice opening, ridging and, particularly, ice fragmentation induced by stochastic ocean surface waves. The floe size redistribution due to ice fragmentation is based on the assumption that wave-induced breakup is a random process such that when an ice floe is broken, floes of any smaller sizes have an equal opportunity to form, without being either favored or excluded. It is also based on the assumption that floes of larger sizes are easier to break because they are subject to larger flexure-induced stresses and strains than smaller floes that are easier to ride with waves with little bending; larger floes also have higher areal coverages and therefore higher probabilities to break. These assumptions with corresponding formulations ensure that the simulated FSD follows a power law as observed by satellites and airborne surveys. The FSD theory has been tested in the Pan-arctic Ice/Ocean Modeling and Assimilation System (PIOMAS). The existing PIOMAS has 12 categories each for ice thickness, ice enthalpy, and snow depth. With the implementation of the FSD theory, PIOMAS is able to represent 12 categories of floe sizes ranging from 0.1 m to ~3000 m. It is found that the simulated 12-category FSD agrees reasonably well with FSD derived from SAR and MODIS images. In this study, we will
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Pavlov, A. K.; Granskog, M. A.; Hudson, S. R.; Taskjelle, T.; Kauko, H.; Hamre, B.; Assmy, P.; Mundy, C. J.; Nicolaus, M.; Kowalczuk, P.; Stedmon, C. A.; Fernandez Mendez, M.
2016-02-01
A thinner and younger Arctic sea-ice cover has led to an increase in solar light transmission into the surface ocean, especially during late spring and summer. A description of the seasonal evolution of polar surface water optical properties is essential, in order to understand how changes are affecting light availability for photosynthetic organisms and the surface ocean energy budget. The development of the bio-optical properties of Arctic surface waters under predominantly first-year sea ice in the southern Nansen Basin were studied from January to June 2015 during the Norwegian Young Sea Ice Cruise (N-ICE2015). Observations included inherent optical properties, absorption by colored dissolved organic matter and particles, as well as radiometric measurements. We documented a rapid transition from relatively clear and transparent waters in winter to turbid waters in late May and June. This transition was associated with a strong under-ice phytoplankton bloom detected first under the compact ice pack and then monitored during drift across the marginal ice zone. We discuss potential implications of underwater light availability for photosynthesis, heat redistribution in the upper ocean layer, and energy budget of the sea-ice - ocean system.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Wiedmann, Ingrid; Reigstad, Marit; Marquardt, Miriam; Vader, Anna; Gabrielsen, Tove M.
2016-02-01
The arctic Adventfjorden (78°N, 15°E, Svalbard) used to be seasonally ice-covered but has mostly been ice-free since 2007. We used this ice-free arctic fjord as a model area to investigate (1) how the vertical flux of biomass (chlorophyll a and particulate organic carbon, POC) follows the seasonality of suspended material, (2) how sinking particle characteristics change seasonally and affect the vertical flux, and (3) if the vertical flux in the ice-free arctic fjord with glacial runoff resembles the flux in subarctic ice-free fjords. During seven field investigations (December 2011-September 2012), suspended biomass was determined (5, 15, 25, and 60 m), and short-term sediment traps were deployed (20, 30, 40, and 60 m), partly modified with gel-filled jars to study the size and frequency distribution of sinking particles. During winter, resuspension from the seafloor resulted in large, detrital sinking particles. Intense sedimentation of fresh biomass occurred during the spring bloom. The highest POC flux was found during autumn (770-1530 mg POC m- 2 d- 1), associated with sediment-loaded glacial runoff and high pteropod abundances. The vertical biomass flux in the ice-free arctic Adventfjorden thus resembled that in subarctic fjords during winter and spring, but a higher POC sedimentation was observed during autumn.
Loitering of the retreating sea ice edge in the Arctic Seas.
Steele, Michael; Ermold, Wendy
2015-12-01
Each year, the arctic sea ice edge retreats from its winter maximum extent through the Seasonal Ice Zone (SIZ) to its summer minimum extent. On some days, this retreat happens at a rapid pace, while on other days, parts of the pan-arctic ice edge hardly move for periods of days up to 1.5 weeks. We term this stationary behavior "ice edge loitering," and identify areas that are more prone to loitering than others. Generally, about 20-25% of the SIZ area experiences loitering, most often only one time at any one location during the retreat season, but sometimes two or more times. The main mechanism controlling loitering is an interaction between surface winds and warm sea surface temperatures in areas from which the ice has already retreated. When retreat happens early enough to allow atmospheric warming of this open water, winds that force ice floes into this water cause melting. Thus, while individual ice floes are moving, the ice edge as a whole appears to loiter. The time scale of loitering is then naturally tied to the synoptic time scale of wind forcing. Perhaps surprisingly, the area of loitering in the arctic seas has not changed over the past 25 years, even as the SIZ area has grown. This is because rapid ice retreat happens most commonly late in the summer, when atmospheric warming of open water is weak. We speculate that loitering may have profound effects on both physical and biological conditions at the ice edge during the retreat season.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Paul, S.; Hoppmann, M.; Willmes, S.; Heinemann, G.
2016-12-01
Around Antarctica, sea ice is regularly attached to coastal features. These regions of mostly seasonal fast ice interact with the atmosphere, ocean and coastal ecosystem in a variety of ways. The growth and breakup cycles may depend on different factors, such as water- and air temperatures, wind conditions, tides, ocean swell, the passage of icebergs and the presence of nearby polynyas. However, a detailed understanding about the interaction between these factors and the fast-ice cycle is missing. In order to better understand the linkages between general fast-ice evolution and external forcing factors, we present results from an observational case study performed on the seasonal fast-ice cover of Atka Bay, eastern Weddell Sea. The ice conditions in this region are critical for the supply of the German wintering station Neumayer III. Moreover, the fast ice at Atka Bay hosts a unique ecosystem based on the presence of a sub-ice platelet layer and a large emperor penguin colony. While some qualitative characterizations on the seasonal fast-ice cycle in this region exist, no proper quantification was carried out to date. The backbone of this work is a new algorithm, which yields the first continuous time series of open-water fractions from Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) surface temperatures. The open-water fractions are derived from a range of running multi-day median temperature composites, utilizing the thermal footprint of warm open water and thin ice in contrast to cold pack-ice/ice-shelf areas. This unique, and manually validated dataset allows us to monitor changes in fast-ice extent on a near daily basis, for a period of 14 years (2002-2015). In a second step, we combine these results with iceberg observations, data from the meteorological observatory, and auxiliary satellite data in order to identify the main factors governing fast-ice formation and break-up.
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
Seasonal Changes in Mars' North Polar Ice Cap
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
1997-01-01
These images, which seem to have been taken while NASA's Hubble Space Telescope (HST) was looking directly down on the Martian North Pole, were actually created by assembling mosaics of three sets of images taken by HST in October, 1996 and in January and March, 1997 and projecting them to appear as they would if seen from above the pole. This first mosaic is a view which could not actually be seen in nature because at this season a portion of the pole would have actually been in shadow; the last view, taken near the summer solstice, would correspond to the Midnight Sun on Earth with the pole fully illuminated all day. The resulting polar maps begin at 50 degrees N latitude and are oriented with 0 degrees longitude at the 12 o'clock position. This series of pictures captures the seasonal retreat of Mars' north polar cap.
October 1996 (early spring in the Northern hemisphere): In this map, assembled from images obtained between Oct. 8 and 15, the cap extends down to 60 degrees N latitude, nearly it's maximum winter extent. (The notches are areas where Hubble data were not available). A thin, comma-shaped cloud of dust can be seen as a salmon-colored crescent at the 7 o'clock position. The cap is actually fairly circular about the geographic pole at this season; the bluish 'knobs' where the cap seems to extend further are actually clouds that occurred near the edges of the three separate sets of images used to make the mosaic.January 1997 (mid-spring): Increased warming as spring progresses in the northern hemisphere has sublimated the carbon dioxide ice and frost below 70 degrees north latitude. The faint darker circle inside the cap boundary marks the location of circumpolar sand dunes (see March '97 map); these dark dunes are warmed more by solar heating than are the brighter surroundings, so the surface frost sublimates from the dunes earlier than from the neighboring areas. Particularly evident is the marked hexagonal shape of the polar cap at this seasonSeasonal sea ice predictions for the Arctic based on assimilation of remotely sensed observations
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Kauker, F.; Kaminski, T.; Ricker, R.; Toudal-Pedersen, L.; Dybkjaer, G.; Melsheimer, C.; Eastwood, S.; Sumata, H.; Karcher, M.; Gerdes, R.
2015-10-01
The recent thinning and shrinking of the Arctic sea ice cover has increased the interest in seasonal sea ice forecasts. Typical tools for such forecasts are numerical models of the coupled ocean sea ice system such as the North Atlantic/Arctic Ocean Sea Ice Model (NAOSIM). The model uses as input the initial state of the system and the atmospheric boundary condition over the forecasting period. This study investigates the potential of remotely sensed ice thickness observations in constraining the initial model state. For this purpose it employs a variational assimilation system around NAOSIM and the Alfred Wegener Institute's CryoSat-2 ice thickness product in conjunction with the University of Bremen's snow depth product and the OSI SAF ice concentration and sea surface temperature products. We investigate the skill of predictions of the summer ice conditions starting in March for three different years. Straightforward assimilation of the above combination of data streams results in slight improvements over some regions (especially in the Beaufort Sea) but degrades the over-all fit to independent observations. A considerable enhancement of forecast skill is demonstrated for a bias correction scheme for the CryoSat-2 ice thickness product that uses a spatially varying scaling factor.
Influence of the sea-ice edge on the Arctic nearshore environment
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Barnhart, K. R.; Overeem, I.; Anderson, R. S.
2013-12-01
Coasts form the dynamic interface of the terrestrial and oceanic systems. In the Arctic, and in much of the world, the coast is a zone of relatively high population, infrastructure, biodiversity, and ecosystem services. A significant difference between Arctic and temperate coasts is the presence of sea ice. Sea ice influences Arctic coasts in two main ways: (1) the length of the sea ice-free season controls the length of time over which nearshore water can interact with the land, and (2) the sea ice edge controls the fetch over which storm winds can blow over open water, resulting in changes in nearshore water level and wave field. The resulting nearshore hydrodynamic environment impacts all aspects of the coastal system. Here, we use satellite records of sea ice along with a simple model for wind-driven storm surge and waves to document how changes in the length and character of the sea ice-free season have impacted the nearshore hydrodynamic environment. For our sea ice analysis we primarily use the Bootstrap Sea Ice Concentrations from Nimbus-7 SMMR and DMSP SSM/I-SSMIS. We make whole-Arctic maps of sea ice change in the coastal zone. In addition to evaluating changes in length of the sea ice-free season at the coast, we look at changes segmented by azimuth. This allows us to consider changes in the sea ice in the context of the wind field. For our storm surge and wave field analysis we focus on the Beaufort Sea region. This region has experienced some of the greatest changes in both sea ice cover and coastal erosion rates in the Arctic and is anticipated to experience significant change in the future. In addition, the NOAA ESRL GMD has observed the wind field at Barrow since extends to 1977. In our past work on the rapid and accelerating coastal erosion, we have shown that one may model storm surge with a 2D numerical bathystrophic model, and that waves are well represented by the Shore Protection Manual methods for shallow-water fetch-limited waves. We use
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Lu, Q.; Amelung, F.; Wdowinski, S.
2017-12-01
The Greenland ice sheet is rapidly shrinking with the fastest retreat and thinning occurring at the ice sheet margin and near the outlet glaciers. The changes of the ice mass cause an elastic response of the bedrock. Theoretically, ice mass loss during the summer melting season is associated with bedrock uplift, whereas increasing ice mass during the winter months is associated with bedrock subsidence. Here we examine the annual changes of the vertical displacements measured at 37 GPS stations and compare the results with Greenland drainage basins' gravity from GRACE. We use both Fourier Series (FS) analysis and Cubic Smoothing Spline (CSS) method to estimate the phases and amplitudes of seasonal variations. Both methods show significant differences seasonal behaviors in southern and northern Greenland. The average amplitude of bedrock displacements (3.29±0.02mm) in south Greenland is about 2 times larger than the north (1.65±0.02mm). The phase of bedrock maximum uplift (November) is considerably consistent with the time of minimum ice mass load in south Greenland (October). However, the phase of bedrock maximum uplift in north Greenland (February) is 4 months later than the minimum ice mass load in north Greenland basins (October). In addition, we present ground deformation near several famous glaciers in Greenland such as Petermann glacier and Jakobshavn glacier. We process InSAR data from TerraSAR-X and Sentinel satellite, based on small baseline interferograms. We observed rapid deglaciation-induced uplift and seasonal variations on naked bedrock near the glacier ice margin.
Seasonality of light transmittance through Arctic sea ice during spring and summe
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Nicolaus, M.; Hudson, S. R.; Granskog, M. A.; Pavlov, A.; Taskjelle, T.; Kauko, H.; Katlein, C.; Geland, S.; Perovich, D. K.
2017-12-01
The energy budget of sea ice and the upper ocean during spring, summer, and autumn is strongly affected by the transfer of solar shortwave radiation through sea ice and into the upper ocean. Previous studies highlighted the great importance of the spring-summer transition, when incoming fluxes are highest and even small changes in surface albedo and transmittance have strong impacts on the annual budgets. The timing of melt onset and changes in snow and ice conditions are also crucial for primary productivity and biogeochemical processes. Here we present results from time series measurements of radiation fluxes through seasonal Arctic sea ice, as it may be expected to play a key role in the future Arctic. Our observations were performed during the Norwegian N-ICE drift experiment in 2015 and the Polarstern expedition PS106 in 2017, both studying sea ice north of Svalbard. Autonomous stations were installed to monitor spectral radiation fluxes above and under sea ice. The observation periods cover the spring-summer transition, including snow melt and early melt pond formation. The results show the direct relation of optical properties to under ice algae blooms and their influence on the energy budget. Beyond these results, we will discuss the latest plans and implementation of radiation measurements during the MOSAiC drift in 2019/2020. Then, a full annual cycle of radiation fluxes may be studied from manned and autonomous (buoys) measurements as well as using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) as measurement platform. These measurements will be performed in direct relation with numerical simulations on different scales.
Mapping the grounding zone of Ross Ice Shelf using ICESat laser altimetry
Brunt, Kelly M.; Fricker, Helen A.; Padman, Laurie; Scambos, Ted A.; O'Neel, Shad
2010-01-01
We use laser altimetry from the Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) to map the grounding zone (GZ) of the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica, at 491 locations where ICESat tracks cross the grounding line (GL). Ice flexure in the GZ occurs as the ice shelf responds to short-term sea-level changes due primarily to tides. ICESat repeat-track analysis can be used to detect this region of flexure since each repeated pass is acquired at a different tidal phase; the technique provides estimates for both the landward limit of flexure and the point where the ice becomes hydrostatically balanced. We find that the ICESat-derived landward limits of tidal flexure are, in many places, offset by several km (and up to ∼60 km) from the GL mapped previously using other satellite methods. We discuss the reasons why different mapping methods lead to different GL estimates, including: instrument limitations; variability in the surface topographic structure of the GZ; and the presence of ice plains. We conclude that reliable and accurate mapping of the GL is most likely to be achieved when based on synthesis of several satellite datasets
Seasonal regional forecast of the minimum sea ice extent in the LapteV Sea
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Tremblay, B.; Brunette, C.; Newton, R.
2017-12-01
Late winter anomaly of sea ice export from the peripheral seas of the Atctic Ocean was found to be a useful predictor for the minimum sea ice extent (SIE) in the Arctic Ocean (Williams et al., 2017). In the following, we present a proof of concept for a regional seasonal forecast of the min SIE for the Laptev Sea based on late winter coastal divergence quantified using a Lagrangian Ice Tracking System (LITS) forced with satellite derived sea-ice drifts from the Polar Pathfinder. Following Nikolaeva and Sesterikov (1970), we track an imaginary line just offshore of coastal polynyas in the Laptev Sea from December of the previous year to May 1 of the following year using LITS. Results show that coastal divergence in the Laptev Sea between February 1st and May 1st is best correlated (r = -0.61) with the following September minimum SIE in accord with previous results from Krumpen et al. (2013, for the Laptev Sea) and Williams et a. (2017, for the pan-Arctic). This gives a maximum seasonal predictability of Laptev Sea min SIE anomalies from observations of approximately 40%. Coastal ice divergence leads to formation of thinner ice that melts earlier in early summer, hence creating areas of open water that have a lower albedo and trigger an ice-albedo feedback. In the Laptev Sea, we find that anomalies of coastal divergence in late winter are amplified threefold to result in the September SIE. We also find a correlation coefficient r = 0.49 between February-March-April (FMA) anomalies of coastal divergence with the FMA averaged AO index. Interestingly, the correlation is stronger, r = 0.61, when comparing the FMA coastal divergence anomalies to the DJFMA averaged AO index. It is hypothesized that the AO index at the beginning of the winter (and the associated anomalous sea ice export) also contains information that impact the magnitude of coastal divergence opening later in the winter. Our approach differs from previous approaches (e.g. Krumpen et al and Williams et al
Wave Climate and Wave Mixing in the Marginal Ice Zones of Arctic Seas, Observations and Modelling
2014-09-30
At the same time, the PIs participate in Australian efforts of developing wave-ocean- ice coupled models for Antarctica . Specific new physics modules...Wave Mixing in the Marginal Ice Zones of Arctic Seas, Observations and Modelling Alexander V. Babanin Swinburne University of Technology, PO Box...operational forecast. Altimeter climatology and the wave models will be used to study the current and future wind/wave and ice trends. APPROACH
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Liu, Z.; Schweiger, A. J. B.
2016-12-01
We use the Polar Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model to simulate atmospheric conditions during the Seasonal Ice Zone Reconnaissance Survey (SIZRS) over the Beaufort Sea in the summer since 2013. With the 119 SIZRS dropsondes in the18 cross sections along the 150W and 140W longitude lines, we evaluate the performance of WRF simulations and two forcing data sets, the ERA-Interim reanalysis and the Global Forecast System (GFS) analysis, and explore the improvement of the Polar WRF performance when the dropsonde data are assimilated using observation nudging. Polar WRF, ERA-Interim, and GFS can reproduce the general features of the observed mean atmospheric profiles, such as low-level temperature inversion, low-level jet (LLJ) and specific humidity inversion. The Polar WRF significantly improves the mean LLJ, with a lower and stronger jet and a larger turning angle than the forcing, which is likely related to the lower values of the boundary layer diffusion in WRF than in the global models such as ECMWF and GFS. The Polar WRF simulated relative humidity closely resembles the forcing datasets while having large biases compared to observations. This suggests that the performance of Polar WRF and its forecasts in this region are limited by the quality of the forcing dataset and that the assimilation of more and better-calibrated observations, such as humidity data, is critical for their improvement. We investigate the potential of assimilating the SIZRS dropsonde dataset in improving the weather forecast over the Beaufort Sea. A simple local nudging approach is adopted. Along SIZRS flight cross sections, a set of Polar WRF simulations are performed with varying number of variables and dropsonde profiles assimilated. Different model physics are tested to examine the sensitivity of different aspects of model physics, such as boundary layer schemes, cloud microphysics, and radiation parameterization, to data assimilation. The comparison of the Polar WRF runs with
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Alexander, Patrick M.; Tedesco, Marco; Schlegel, Nicole-Jeanne; Luthcke, Scott B.; Fettweis, Xavier; Larour, Eric
2016-06-01
Improving the ability of regional climate models (RCMs) and ice sheet models (ISMs) to simulate spatiotemporal variations in the mass of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) is crucial for prediction of future sea level rise. While several studies have examined recent trends in GrIS mass loss, studies focusing on mass variations at sub-annual and sub-basin-wide scales are still lacking. At these scales, processes responsible for mass change are less well understood and modeled, and could potentially play an important role in future GrIS mass change. Here, we examine spatiotemporal variations in mass over the GrIS derived from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites for the January 2003-December 2012 period using a "mascon" approach, with a nominal spatial resolution of 100 km, and a temporal resolution of 10 days. We compare GRACE-estimated mass variations against those simulated by the Modèle Atmosphérique Régionale (MAR) RCM and the Ice Sheet System Model (ISSM). In order to properly compare spatial and temporal variations in GrIS mass from GRACE with model outputs, we find it necessary to spatially and temporally filter model results to reproduce leakage of mass inherent in the GRACE solution. Both modeled and satellite-derived results point to a decline (of -178.9 ± 4.4 and -239.4 ± 7.7 Gt yr-1 respectively) in GrIS mass over the period examined, but the models appear to underestimate the rate of mass loss, especially in areas below 2000 m in elevation, where the majority of recent GrIS mass loss is occurring. On an ice-sheet-wide scale, the timing of the modeled seasonal cycle of cumulative mass (driven by summer mass loss) agrees with the GRACE-derived seasonal cycle, within limits of uncertainty from the GRACE solution. However, on sub-ice-sheet-wide scales, some areas exhibit significant differences in the timing of peaks in the annual cycle of mass change. At these scales, model biases, or processes not accounted for by models related
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Hebert, David A.; Allard, Richard A.; Metzger, E. Joseph; Posey, Pamela G.; Preller, Ruth H.; Wallcraft, Alan J.; Phelps, Michael W.; Smedstad, Ole Martin
2015-12-01
In this study the forecast skill of the U.S. Navy operational Arctic sea ice forecast system, the Arctic Cap Nowcast/Forecast System (ACNFS), is presented for the period February 2014 to June 2015. ACNFS is designed to provide short term, 1-7 day forecasts of Arctic sea ice and ocean conditions. Many quantities are forecast by ACNFS; the most commonly used include ice concentration, ice thickness, ice velocity, sea surface temperature, sea surface salinity, and sea surface velocities. Ice concentration forecast skill is compared to a persistent ice state and historical sea ice climatology. Skill scores are focused on areas where ice concentration changes by ±5% or more, and are therefore limited to primarily the marginal ice zone. We demonstrate that ACNFS forecasts are skilful compared to assuming a persistent ice state, especially beyond 24 h. ACNFS is also shown to be particularly skilful compared to a climatologic state for forecasts up to 102 h. Modeled ice drift velocity is compared to observed buoy data from the International Arctic Buoy Programme. A seasonal bias is shown where ACNFS is slower than IABP velocity in the summer months and faster in the winter months. In February 2015, ACNFS began to assimilate a blended ice concentration derived from Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR2) and the Interactive Multisensor Snow and Ice Mapping System (IMS). Preliminary results show that assimilating AMSR2 blended with IMS improves the short-term forecast skill and ice edge location compared to the independently derived National Ice Center Ice Edge product.
The Relationship Between Arctic Sea Ice Albedo and the Geophysical Parameters of the Ice Cover
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Riihelä, A.
2015-12-01
The Arctic sea ice cover is thinning and retreating. Remote sensing observations have also shown that the mean albedo of the remaining ice cover is decreasing on decadal time scales, albeit with significant annual variability (Riihelä et al., 2013, Pistone et al., 2014). Attribution of the albedo decrease between its different drivers, such as decreasing ice concentration and enhanced surface melt of the ice, remains an important research question for the forecasting of future conditions of the ice cover. A necessary step towards this goal is understanding the relationships between Arctic sea ice albedo and the geophysical parameters of the ice cover. Particularly the question of the relationship between sea ice albedo and ice age is both interesting and not widely studied. The recent changes in the Arctic sea ice zone have led to a substantial decrease of its multi-year sea ice, as old ice melts and is replaced by first-year ice during the next freezing season. It is generally known that younger sea ice tends to have a lower albedo than older ice because of several reasons, such as wetter snow cover and enhanced melt ponding. However, the quantitative correlation between sea ice age and sea ice albedo has not been extensively studied to date, excepting in-situ measurement based studies which are, by necessity, focused on a limited area of the Arctic Ocean (Perovich and Polashenski, 2012).In this study, I analyze the dependencies of Arctic sea ice albedo relative to the geophysical parameters of the ice field. I use remote sensing datasets such as the CM SAF CLARA-A1 (Karlsson et al., 2013) and the NASA MeaSUREs (Anderson et al., 2014) as data sources for the analysis. The studied period is 1982-2009. The datasets are spatiotemporally collocated and analysed. The changes in sea ice albedo as a function of sea ice age are presented for the whole Arctic Ocean and for potentially interesting marginal sea cases. This allows us to see if the the albedo of the older sea
Various remote sensing approaches to understanding roughness in the marginal ice zone
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Gupta, Mukesh
Multi-platform based measurement approaches to understanding complex marginal ice zone (MIZ) are suggested in this paper. Physical roughness measurements using ship- and helicopter-based laser systems combined with ship-based active microwave backscattering (C-band polarimetric coherences) and dual-polarized passive microwave emission (polarization ratio, PR and spectral gradient ratios, GR at 37 and 89 GHz) are presented to study diverse sea ice types found in the MIZ. Autocorrelation functions are investigated for different sea ice roughness types. Small-scale roughness classes were discriminated using data from a ship-based laser profiler. The polarimetric coherence parameter ρHHVH , is not found to exhibit any observable sensitivity to the surface roughness for all incidence angles. Rubble-ridges, pancake ice, snow-covered frost flowers, and dense frost flowers exhibit separable signatures using GR-H and GR-V at >70° incidence angles. This paper diagnosed changes in sea ice roughness on a spatial scale of ∼0.1-4000 m and on a temporal scale of ∼1-240 days (ice freeze-up to summer melt). The coupling of MIZ wave roughness and aerodynamic roughness in conjunction with microwave emission and backscattering are future avenues of research. Additionally, the integration of various datasets into thermodynamic evolution model of sea ice will open pathways to successful development of inversion models of MIZ behavior.
The Navy's First Seasonal Ice Forecasts using the Navy's Arctic Cap Nowcast/Forecast System
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Preller, Ruth
2013-04-01
As conditions in the Arctic continue to change, the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) has developed an interest in longer-term seasonal ice extent forecasts. The Arctic Cap Nowcast/Forecast System (ACNFS), developed by the Oceanography Division of NRL, was run in forward model mode, without assimilation, to estimate the minimum sea ice extent for September 2012. The model was initialized with varying assimilative ACNFS analysis fields (June 1, July 1, August 1 and September 1, 2012) and run forward for nine simulations using the archived Navy Operational Global Atmospheric Prediction System (NOGAPS) atmospheric forcing fields from 2003-2011. The mean ice extent in September, averaged across all ensemble members was the projected summer ice extent. These results were submitted to the Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH) Sea Ice Outlook project (http://www.arcus.org/search/seaiceoutlook). The ACNFS is a ~3.5 km coupled ice-ocean model that produces 5 day forecasts of the Arctic sea ice state in all ice covered areas in the northern hemisphere (poleward of 40° N). The ocean component is the HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) and is coupled to the Los Alamos National Laboratory Community Ice CodE (CICE) via the Earth System Modeling Framework (ESMF). The ocean and ice models are run in an assimilative cycle with the Navy's Coupled Ocean Data Assimilation (NCODA) system. Currently the ACNFS is being transitioned to operations at the Naval Oceanographic Office.
Observations of the north polar water ice annulus on Mars using THEMIS and TES
Wagstaff, K.L.; Titus, T.N.; Ivanov, A.B.; Castano, R.; Bandfield, J.L.
2008-01-01
The Martian seasonal CO2 ice caps advance and retreat each year. In the spring, as the CO2 cap gradually retreats, it leaves behind an extensive defrosting zone from the solid CO2 cap to the location where all CO2 frost has sublimated. We have been studying this phenomenon in the north polar region using data from the THermal EMission Imaging System (THEMIS), a visible and infra-red (IR) camera on the Mars Odyssey spacecraft, and the Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) on Mars Global Surveyor. Recently, we discovered that some THEMIS images of the CO2 defrosting zone contain evidence for a distinct defrosting phenomenon: some areas just south of the CO2 cap edge are too bright in visible wavelengths to be defrosted terrain, but too warm in the IR to be CO2 ice. We hypothesize that we are seeing evidence for a seasonal annulus of water ice (frost) that recedes with the seasonal CO2 cap, as predicted by previous workers. In this paper, we describe our observations with THEMIS and compare them to simultaneous observations by TES and OMEGA. All three instruments find that this phenomenon is distinct from the CO2 cap and most likely composed of water ice. We also find strong evidence that the annulus widens as it recedes. Finally, we show that this annulus can be detected in the raw THEMIS data as it is collected, enabling future long-term onboard monitoring. ?? 2007.
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Liu, Antony K.; Holt, Benjamin; Vachon, Paris W.
1991-01-01
Ocean wave dispersion relation and viscous attenuation by a sea ice cover are studied for waves propagating into the marginal ice zone (MIZ). The Labrador ice margin experiment (LIMEX), conducted on the MIZ off the east coast of Newfoundland, Canada in March 1987, provided aircraft SAR imagery, ice property and wave buoy data. Wave energy attenuation rates are estimated from SAR data and the ice motion package data that were deployed at the ice edge and into the ice pack, and compared with a model. It is shown that the model data comparisons are quite good for the ice conditions observed during LIMEX 1987.
Measuring Geophysical Parameters of the Greenland Ice Sheet using Airborne Radar Altimetry
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Ferraro, Ellen J.; Swift. Calvin T.
1995-01-01
This paper presents radar-altimeter scattering models for each of the diagenetic zones of the Greenland ice sheet. AAFE radar- altimeter waveforms obtained during the 1991 and 1993 NASA multi-sensor airborne altimetry experiments over Greenland reveal that the Ku-band return pulse changes significantly with the different diagenetic zones. These changes are due to varying amounts of surface and volume scattering in the return waveform. In the ablation and soaked zones, where surface scattering dominates the AAFE return, geophysical parameters such as rms surface height and rms surface slope are obtained by fitting the waveforms to a surface-scattering model. Waveforms from the percolation zone show that the sub-surface ice features have a much more significant effect on the return pulse than the surrounding snowpack. Model percolation waveforms, created using a combined surface- and volume-scattering model and an ice-feature distribution obtained during the 1993 field season, agree well with actual AAFE waveforms taken in the same time period. Using a combined surface- and volume-scattering model for the dry-snow-zone return waveforms, the rms surface height and slope and the attenuation coefficient of the snowpack are obtained. These scattering models not only allow geophysical parameters of the ice sheet to be measured but also help in the understanding of satellite radar-altimeter data.
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.
In situ observations of Arctic cloud properties across the Beaufort Sea marginal ice zone
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Corr, C.; Moore, R.; Winstead, E.; Thornhill, K. L., II; Crosbie, E.; Ziemba, L. D.; Beyersdorf, A. J.; Chen, G.; Martin, R.; Shook, M.; Corbett, J.; Smith, W. L., Jr.; Anderson, B. E.
2016-12-01
Clouds play an important role in Arctic climate. This is particularly true over the Arctic Ocean where feedbacks between clouds and sea-ice impact the surface radiation budget through modifications of sea-ice extent, ice thickness, cloud base height, and cloud cover. This work summarizes measurements of Arctic cloud properties made aboard the NASA C-130 aircraft over the Beaufort Sea during ARISE (Arctic Radiation - IceBridge Sea&Ice Experiment) in September 2014. The influence of surface-type on cloud properties is also investigated. Specifically, liquid water content (LWC), droplet concentrations, and droplet size distributions are compared for clouds sampled over three distinct regimes in the Beaufort Sea: 1) open water, 2) the marginal ice zone, and 3) sea-ice. Regardless of surface type, nearly all clouds intercepted during ARISE were liquid-phase clouds. However, differences in droplet size distributions and concentrations were evident for the surface types; clouds over the MIZ and sea-ice generally had fewer and larger droplets compared to those over open water. The potential implication these results have for understanding cloud-surface albedo climate feedbacks in Arctic are discussed.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Zhang, Y.; Li, F.; Zhang, S.; Hao, W.; Zhu, T.; Yuan, L.; Xiao, F.
2017-09-01
In this paper, Statistical Distribution based Conditional Random Fields (STA-CRF) algorithm is exploited for improving marginal ice-water classification. Pixel level ice concentration is presented as the comparison of methods based on CRF. Furthermore, in order to explore the effective statistical distribution model to be integrated into STA-CRF, five statistical distribution models are investigated. The STA-CRF methods are tested on 2 scenes around Prydz Bay and Adélie Depression, where contain a variety of ice types during melt season. Experimental results indicate that the proposed method can resolve sea ice edge well in Marginal Ice Zone (MIZ) and show a robust distinction of ice and water.
The Floe Size Distribution in the Marginal Ice Zone of the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Schweiger, A. J. B.; Stern, H. L., III; Stark, M.; Zhang, J.; Steele, M.; Hwang, P. B.
2014-12-01
Several key processes in the Marginal Ice Zone (MIZ) of the Arctic Ocean are related to the size of the ice floes, whose diameters range from meters to tens of kilometers. The floe size distribution (FSD) influences the mechanical properties of the ice cover, air-sea momentum and heat transfer, lateral melting, and light penetration. However, no existing sea-ice/ocean models currently simulate the FSD in the MIZ. Model development depends on observations of the FSD for parameterization, calibration, and validation. To support the development and implementation of the FSD in the Marginal Ice Zone Modeling and Assimilation System (MIZMAS), we have analyzed the FSD in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas using multiple sources of satellite imagery: NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra and Aqua satellites (250 m pixel size), the USGS Landsat 8 satellite (80 m pixel size), the Canadian Space Agency's synthetic aperture radar (SAR) on RADARSAT (50 meter pixel size), and declassified National Technical Means imagery from the Global Fiducials Library (GFL) of the USGS (1 m pixel size). The procedure for identifying ice floes in the imagery begins with manually delineating cloud-free regions (if necessary). A threshold is then chosen to separate ice from water. Morphological operations and other semi-automated techniques are used to identify individual floes, whose properties are then easily calculated. We use the mean caliper diameter as the measure of floe size. The FSD is adequately described by a power-law in which the exponent characterizes the relative number of large and small floes. Changes in the exponent over time and space reflect changes in physical processes in the MIZ, such as sea-ice deformation, fracturing, and melting. We report results of FSD analysis for the spring and summer of 2013 and 2014, and show how the FSD will be incorporated into the MIZMAS model.
The Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere Mission: Science Results After Three PMC Seasons
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Russell, J. M.; Bailey, S. M.; Rusch, D.; Thomas, G. E.; Gordley, L. L.; Hervig, M. E.; Horanyi, M.
2008-12-01
The Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) satellite was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 1:26:03 PDT on April 25, 2007 becoming the first satellite mission dedicated to the study of Polar Mesospheric Clouds (PMCs). A Pegasus XL rocket launched the satellite into a near perfect 600 km sun synchronous circular orbit. AIM carries three instruments - a nadir imager, a solar occultation sounder and an in-situ cosmic dust detector. Brief instrument descriptions, data quality and key science results will be presented. AIM has observed three PMC seasons at this point in time including two in the northern hemisphere (2007 and 2008) and one in the south (2007/2008). The observations are providing extraordinary detail on the horizontal and vertical extent of PMCs and their variability. Results show that the mesospheric ice layer extends up to the mesopause, there are voids in the PMC fields of both hemispheres and for the two northern seasons, temporal trends are remarkably similar.
Sunlight, Sea Ice, and the Ice Albedo Feedback in a Changing Arctic Sea Ice Cover
2013-09-30
Sea Ice , and the Ice Albedo Feedback in a...COVERED 00-00-2013 to 00-00-2013 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Sunlight, Sea Ice , and the Ice Albedo Feedback in a Changing Arctic Sea Ice Cover 5a...during a period when incident solar irradiance is large increasing solar heat input to the ice . Seasonal sea ice typically has a smaller albedo
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Kehrl, L. M.; Joughin, I. R.; Shean, D. E.
2016-12-01
Marine-terminating glaciers can be very sensitive to changes in ice-front position, depending on their geometry. If a nearly grounded glacier retreats into deeper water, the glacier typically must speed up to produce the additional longitudinal and lateral stress gradients necessary to restore force balance. This speedup often causes thinning, which can increase the glacier's susceptibility to further retreat. In this study, we combine satellite observations and numerical modeling (Elmer/Ice) to investigate how seasonal changes in ice-front position affect glacier speed and surface elevation at Helheim Glacier, SE Greenland, from 2010-2016. Helheim's calving front position fluctuated about a mean position from 2010-2016. During 2010/11, 2013/14, and 2015/16, Helheim seasonally retreated and advanced along a reverse bed slope by > 3 km. During these years, the glacier retreated from winter/spring to late summer and then readvanced until winter/spring. During the retreat, Helheim sped up by 20-30% and thinned by 20 m near its calving front. This thinning caused the calving front to unground, and a floating ice tongue was then able to readvance over the following winter with limited iceberg calving. The advance, which continued until the glacier reached the top of the bathymetric high, caused the glacier to slow and thicken. During years when Helheim likely did not form a floating ice tongue, iceberg calving continued throughout the winter. Consequently, the formation of this floating ice tongue may have helped stabilize Helheim after periods of rapid retreat and dynamic thinning. Helheim's rapid retreat from 2001-2005 also ended when a floating ice tongue formed and readvanced over the 2005/06 winter. These seasonal retreat/advance cycles may therefore be important for understanding Helheim's long-term behavior.
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Liu, A. K.; Holt, B.; Vachon, P. W.
1989-01-01
The ocean-wave dispersion relation and viscous attenuation by a sea ice cover were studied for waves in the marginal ice zone (MIZ). The Labrador ice margin experiment (Limex), conducted off the east coast of Newfoundland, Canada in March 1987, provided aircraft SAR, wave buoy, and ice property data. Based on the wave number spectrum from SAR data, the concurrent wave frequency spectrum from ocean buoy data, and accelerometer data on the ice during Limex '87, the dispersion relation has been derived and compared with the model. Accelerometers were deployed at the ice edge and into the ice pack. Data from the accelerometers were used to estimate wave energy attenuation rates and compared with the model. The model-data comparisons are reasonably good for the ice conditions observed during Limex' 87.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Koval, M. V.; Gorin, S. L.; Romanenko, F. A.; Lepskaya, E. V.; Polyakova, A. A.; Galyamov, R. A.; Esin, E. V.
2017-07-01
New data on the abiotic conditions; species composition; abundance, distribution, and migrations of fauna; and feeding interactions in an estuary ecosystem were obtained during expeditions in the mouths of Penzhina and Talovka rivers (northwest Kamchatka). It is revealed that in the ice-free season, the hydrological regime of the estuary is determined by seasonal fluctuations of river runoff, as well as fortnightly and daily variation of tides. The estuary is characterized by hypertidal fluctuations (up to 10-12 m); strong reverse flows (up to 1.0-1.5 m/s), considerable tidal variations in salinity (from 0 to 6-9‰ at the river boundary and from 6-8 to 14-16‰ at the offshore boundary), and high water turbidity (up to 1 000 NTU or more). Based on the spatial structure of the community, three ecological zones with mobile boundaries are distinguished: freshwater (salinity 0-0.1‰), estuarine (0-12.3‰), and neritic (11.2-18.9‰). High turbidity prevents the development of phytoplankton in the estuarine zone (EZ), and the local benthic community is significantly depleted due to the desalination and wide spread of aleuritic silts. Neritic copepods and nektobenthic brackish- water crustaceans generate the maximum abundance and biomass here. The species that have adapted to the local extreme hydrologic conditions dominate and form the basis of the estuarine food chain. Dominant among the EZ vertebrates are such groups as anadromous fishes (smelts, pacific salmons, charrs, and sticklebacks); waterfowl (terns, kittiwakes, cormorants, fulmars, puffins, guillemots, auklets, and wadepipers); and predatory marine mammals (larga, ringed seal, bearded seal, and white whale). The total abundance and biomass of these animals are much higher in the pelagic EZ in comparison to neighboring zones.
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Parkinson, Claire L.; Cavalieri, Donald J.; Zukor, Dorothy J. (Technical Monitor)
2001-01-01
Satellite passive-microwave data have been used to calculate sea ice extents over the period 1979-1999 for the north polar sea ice cover as a whole and for each of nine regions. Over this 21-year time period, the trend in yearly average ice extents for the ice cover as a whole is -32,900 +/- 6,100 sq km/yr (-2.7 +/- 0.5 %/decade), indicating a reduction in sea ice coverage that has decelerated from the earlier reported value of -34,000 +/- 8,300 sq km/yr (-2.8 +/- 0.7 %/decade) for the period 1979-1996. Regionally, the reductions are greatest in the Arctic Ocean, the Kara and Barents Seas, and the Seas of Okhotsk and Japan, whereas seasonally, the reductions are greatest in summer, for which season the 1979-1999 trend in ice extents is -41,600 +/- 12,900 sq km/ yr (-4.9 +/- 1.5 %/decade). On a monthly basis, the reductions are greatest in July and September for the north polar ice cover as a whole, in September for the Arctic Ocean, in June and July for the Kara and Barents Seas, and in April for the Seas of Okhotsk and Japan. Only two of the nine regions show overall ice extent increases, those being the Bering Sea and the Gulf of St. Lawrence.For neither of these two regions is the increase statistically significant, whereas the 1079 - 1999 ice extent decreases are statistically significant at the 99% confidence level for the north polar region as a whole, the Arctic Ocean, the Seas of Okhotsk and Japan, and Hudson Bay.
Wang, Hong; Li, Xiaobing; Han, Ruibo; Ge, Yongqin
2006-12-01
In this study, North China was latitudinally divided into five zones, i.e., 32 degrees - 36 degrees N (Zone I), 36 degrees - 40 degrees N (Zone II), 40 degrees - 44 degrees N (Zone III), 44 degrees - 48 degrees N (Zone IV) and 48 degrees - 52 degrees N (Zone V), and the NOAA/ AVHRR NDVI and MSAVI time-series images from 1982 to 1999 were smoothed with Savitzky-Golay filter algorithm. Based on the EOF analysis, the principal components of NDVI and MSAVI for the vegetations in different latitudinal zones of North China were extracted, the annual beginning and ending dates and the length of growth season in 1982 - 1999 were estimated, and the related parameters were linearly fitted, aimed to analyze the variability of vegetation growth season. The results showed that the beginning date of the growth season in different zones tended to be advanced, while the ending date tended to be postponed with increasing latitude. The length of the growth season was also prolonged, with the prolonging time exceeded 10 days.
Acoustic Transients of the Marginal Sea Ice Zone: A Provisional Catalog
1989-08-01
Arctic marine mammals is approximately 20 million individuals. Most of these inhabit the marginal sea ice zone (MIZ), but some species, such as ringed ...Food: molluscs, worms, sea urchins, Arctic cod, occasionally other marine mammals, e.g., ringed and bearded seals, narwhals. Dive: to 80 m...called for. TRANSIENT DESCRIPTION Recordings unavailable DATA SOURCE SERIAL _____ 21 SUPPORTING DATA SOURCE IRIS Ringed Seal, Phoca hispida Circumpolar
Seasonality of coastal zone scanner phytoplankton pigment in the offshore oceans
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Banse, K.; English, D. C.
1994-01-01
The NASA Global Ocean Data Set of plant pigment concentrations in the upper euphotic zone is evaluated for diserning geographical and temporal patterns of seasonality in the open sea. Monthly medians of pigment concentrations for all available years are generated for fields of approximately 77,000 sq km. For the climatological year, highest and lowest medians, month of occurence of the highest median, ratio of highest to lowest medians, and absolute range between the highest and lowest medians are mapped ocean-wide between 62.5 deg N and 62.5 deg S. Seasonal cycles are depicted for 48 sites. In much of the offshore ocean, seasonality of pigment is inferred to be driven almost equally by the interaction of the abiotic environment with phytoplankton physiology and the loss of cells from grazing. Special emphasis among natural domains or provinces is given to the Subantarctic water ring, with no seasonality in its low chlorophyll concentrations in spite of strong environmental forcing, and the narrow Transition Zones, a few degrees of latitude on the equatorial sides of the Subtropical Convergences of the southern hemisphere and their homologs in the northern hemisphere, which have late winter blooms caused by nutrient injection into the upper layers.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Schweiger, A. J.; Stern, H. L.; Stark, M.; Zhang, J.; Hwang, P.; Steele, M.
2013-12-01
Several key processes in the Marginal Ice Zone (MIZ) of the Arctic Ocean are related to the size of the ice floes, whose diameters range from meters to tens of kilometers. The floe size distribution (FSD) influences mechanical properties of the ice and thus its response to winds, currents, and waves, which is likely to modify the air-sea momentum transfer. The FSD also influences the air-sea heat transfer and the response of the MIZ ice cover to the thermal forcing. The FSD also has a significant role in lateral melting. No existing sea-ice/ocean models currently simulate the FSD in the MIZ. Significant uncertainties in FSD-related processes hinder model incorporation of the FSD, and model development must heavily depend on observations of the FSD for parameterization, calibration, and validation. To support the development and implementation of the FSD in the Marginal Ice Zone Modeling and Assimilation System (MIZMAS), we have conducted an analysis of the FSD in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas using three sources of satellite imagery: NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra and Aqua satellites, the Canadian Space Agency's synthetic aperture radar (SAR) on RADARSAT, and declassified National Technical Means imagery from the Global Fiducials Library (GFL) of the U.S. Geological Survey. The MODIS visible and short-wave infrared bands have a pixel size of 250 meters, and are only useful in cloud-free regions. The SAR imagery is unaffected by clouds and darkness, and has a pixel size of 50 meters. The GFL visible imagery, with a pixel size of 1 meter, is only useful in cloud-free regions. The resolution and spatial extent of the various image products allows us to identify ice floes of all sizes from 10 meters to 100 kilometers. The general procedure for identifying ice floes in the imagery is as follows: delineate cloud-free regions (if necessary); choose a threshold to separate ice from water, and create a binary image; apply the
Changes in the firn structure of the western Greenland Ice Sheet caused by recent warming
de la Peña, S.; Howat, I. M.; Nienow, P. W.; ...
2015-06-11
Atmospheric warming over the Greenland Ice Sheet during the last 2 decades has increased the amount of surface meltwater production, resulting in the migration of melt and percolation regimes to higher altitudes and an increase in the amount of ice content from refrozen meltwater found in the firn above the superimposed ice zone. Here we present field and airborne radar observations of buried ice layers within the near-surface (0–20 m) firn in western Greenland, obtained from campaigns between 1998 and 2014. We find a sharp increase in firn-ice content in the form of thick widespread layers in the percolation zone,more » which decreases the capacity of the firn to store meltwater. The estimated total annual ice content retained in the near-surface firn in areas with positive surface mass balance west of the ice divide in Greenland reached a maximum of 74 ± 25 Gt in 2012, when compared to the 1958–1999 average of 13 ± 2 Gt, while the percolation zone area more than doubled between 2003 and 2012. Increased melt and column densification resulted in surface lowering averaging -0.80 ± 0.39 m yr -1 between 1800 and 2800 m in the accumulation zone of western Greenland. Since 2007, modeled annual melt and refreezing rates in the percolation zone at elevations below 2100 m surpass the annual snowfall from the previous year, implying that mass gain in the region is retained after melt in the form of refrozen meltwater. Furthermore, if current melt trends over high elevation regions continue, subsequent changes in firn structure will have implications for the hydrology of the ice sheet and related abrupt seasonal densification could become increasingly significant for altimetry-derived ice sheet mass balance estimates.« less
Multi-frequency SAR, SSM/I and AVHRR derived geophysical information of the marginal ice zone
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Shuchman, R. A.; Onstott, R. G.; Wackerman, C. C.; Russel, C. A.; Sutherland, L. L.; Johannessen, O. M.; Johannessen, J. A.; Sandven, S.; Gloerson, P.
1991-01-01
A description is given of the fusion of synthetic aperture radar (SAR), special sensor microwave imager (SSM/I), and NOAA Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) data to study arctic processes. These data were collected during the SIZEX/CEAREX experiments that occurred in the Greenland Sea in March of 1989. Detailed comparisons between the SAR, AVHRR, and SSM/I indicated: (1) The ice edge position was in agreement to within 25 km, (2) The SSM/I SAR total ice concentration compared favorably, however, the SSM/I significantly underpredicted the multiyear fraction, (3) Combining high resolution SAR with SSM/I can potentially map open water and new ice features in the marginal ice zone (MIZ) which cannot be mapped by the single sensors, and (4) The combination of all three sensors provides accurate ice information as well as sea surface temperature and wind speeds.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Furukawa, Ryoto; Uemura, Ryu; Fujita, Koji; Sjolte, Jesper; Yoshimura, Kei; Matoba, Sumito; Iizuka, Yoshinori
2017-10-01
A precise age scale based on annual layer counting is essential for investigating past environmental changes from ice core records. However, subannual scale dating is hampered by the irregular intraannual variabilities of oxygen isotope (δ18O) records. Here we propose a dating method based on matching the δ18O variations between ice core records and records simulated by isotope-enabled climate models. We applied this method to a new δ18O record from an ice core obtained from a dome site in southeast Greenland. The close similarity between the δ18O records from the ice core and models enables correlation and the production of a precise age scale, with an accuracy of a few months. A missing δ18O minimum in the 1995/1996 winter is an example of an indistinct δ18O seasonal cycle. Our analysis suggests that the missing δ18O minimum is likely caused by a combination of warm air temperature, weak moisture transport, and cool ocean temperature. Based on the age scale, the average accumulation rate from 1960 to 2014 is reconstructed as 1.02 m yr-1 in water equivalent. The annual accumulation rate shows an increasing trend with a slope of 3.6 mm yr-1, which is mainly caused by the increase in the autumn accumulation rate of 2.6 mm yr-1. This increase is likely linked to the enhanced hydrological cycle caused by the decrease in Arctic sea ice area. Unlike the strong seasonality of precipitation amount in the ERA reanalysis data in the southeast dome region, our reconstructed accumulation rate suggests a weak seasonality.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Eicken, Hajo; Lee, Olivia A.; Johnson, Mark A.; Pulsifer, Peter; Danielsen, Finn
2017-04-01
Break-up and freeze-up of coastal sea ice determine the timing and extent of a number of human activities, ranging from ice use by Indigenous hunters to coastal shipping. Yet, while major reductions in the extent of Arctic summer sea ice have been well studied, changes in its seasonal cycle have received less attention. Here, we discuss decadal scale changes and interannual variability in the timing of spring break-up and fall freeze-up, with a focus on coastal communities in Arctic Alaska. Observations of ice conditions by Indigenous sea-ice experts since 2006 indicate significant interannual variability in both the character and timing of freeze-up and break-up in the region. To aid in the archival and sharing of such observations, we have developed a database for community ice observations (eloka-arctic.org/sizonet). Development of this database addressed key questions ranging from community guidance on different levels of data sharing and access to the development of protocols that may lend themselves for implementation in the context of operational programs such as Global Cryosphere Watch. The lessons learned and tools developed through this effort may help foster the emergence of common observation protocols and sharing practices across the Arctic, as explored jointly with the Greenlandic PISUNA initiative and the European INTAROS project. For the Arctic Alaska region, we developed an algorithm to extract the timing of break-up and freeze-up from passive microwave satellite data, drawing on community-based observations. Data from 1979 to 2013 show break-up start arriving earlier by 5-9 days per decade and freeze-up start arriving later by 7-14 days per decade in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. The trends towards a shorter ice season observed over the past several decades point towards a substantial change in the winter ice regime by mid-century with incipient overlap of the end of the freeze-up and start of the break-up season as defined by coastal ice users.
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.
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
North, G. R.; Short, D. A.; Mengel, J. G.
1983-01-01
An analysis is undertaken of the properties of a one-level seasonal energy balance climate model having explicit, two-dimensional land-sea geography, where land and sea surfaces are strictly distinguished by the local thermal inertia employed and transport is governed by a smooth, latitude-dependent diffusion mechanism. Solutions of the seasonal cycle for the cases of both ice feedback exclusion and inclusion yield good agreements with real data, using minimal turning of the adjustable parameters. Discontinuous icecap growth is noted for both a solar constant that is lower by a few percent and a change of orbital elements to favor cool Northern Hemisphere summers. This discontinuous sensitivity is discussed in the context of the Milankovitch theory of the ice ages, and the associated branch structure is shown to be analogous to the 'small ice cap' instability of simpler models.
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Yi, Donghui; Robbins, John W.
2010-01-01
Sea-ice freeboard heights for 17 ICESat campaign periods from 2003 to 2009 are derived from ICESat data. Freeboard is combined with snow depth from Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) data and nominal densities of snow, water and sea ice, to estimate sea-ice thickness. Sea-ice freeboard and thickness distributions show clear seasonal variations that reflect the yearly cycle of growth and decay of the Weddell Sea (Antarctica) pack ice. During October-November, sea ice grows to its seasonal maximum both in area and thickness; the mean freeboards are 0.33-0.41 m and the mean thicknesses are 2.10-2.59 m. During February-March, thinner sea ice melts away and the sea-ice pack is mainly distributed in the west Weddell Sea; the mean freeboards are 0.35-0.46 m and the mean thicknesses are 1.48-1.94 m. During May-June, the mean freeboards and thicknesses are 0.26-0.29 m and 1.32-1.37 m, respectively. The 6 year trends in sea-ice extent and volume are (0.023+/-0.051) x 10(exp 6)sq km/a (0.45%/a) and (0.007+/-1.0.092) x 10(exp 3)cu km/a (0.08%/a); however, the large standard deviations indicate that these positive trends are not statistically significant.
Acoustic Gravity Waves Generated by an Oscillating Ice Sheet in Arctic Zone
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Abdolali, A.; Kadri, U.; Kirby, J. T., Jr.
2016-12-01
., 2015, Depth-integrated equation for hydro-acoustic waves with bottom damping, Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 766, R1 doi:10.1017/jfm.2015.37 Kadri, U., 2016, Generation of Hydroacoustic Waves by an Oscillating Ice Block in Arctic Zones, Advances in Acoustics and Vibration. 2016. doi:10.1155/2016/8076108
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Zhang, Yu; Chen, Changsheng; Beardsley, Robert C.; Gao, Guoping; Qi, Jianhua; Lin, Huichan
2016-11-01
A high-resolution (up to 2 km), unstructured-grid, fully ice-sea coupled Arctic Ocean Finite-Volume Community Ocean Model (AO-FVCOM) was used to simulate the sea ice in the Arctic over the period 1978-2014. The spatial-varying horizontal model resolution was designed to better resolve both topographic and baroclinic dynamics scales over the Arctic slope and narrow straits. The model-simulated sea ice was in good agreement with available observed sea ice extent, concentration, drift velocity and thickness, not only in seasonal and interannual variability but also in spatial distribution. Compared with six other Arctic Ocean models (ECCO2, GSFC, INMOM, ORCA, NAME, and UW), the AO-FVCOM-simulated ice thickness showed a higher mean correlation coefficient of ˜0.63 and a smaller residual with observations. Model-produced ice drift speed and direction errors varied with wind speed: the speed and direction errors increased and decreased as the wind speed increased, respectively. Efforts were made to examine the influences of parameterizations of air-ice external and ice-water interfacial stresses on the model-produced bias. The ice drift direction was more sensitive to air-ice drag coefficients and turning angles than the ice drift speed. Increasing or decreasing either 10% in water-ice drag coefficient or 10° in water-ice turning angle did not show a significant influence on the ice drift velocity simulation results although the sea ice drift speed was more sensitive to these two parameters than the sea ice drift direction. Using the COARE 4.0-derived parameterization of air-water drag coefficient for wind stress did not significantly influence the ice drift velocity simulation.
Microwave properties of sea ice in the marginal ice zone
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Onstott, R. G.; Larson, R. W.
1986-01-01
Active microwave properties of summer sea ice were measured. Backscatter data were acquired at frequencies from 1 to 17 GHz, at angles from 0 to 70 deg from vertical, and with like and cross antenna polarizations. Results show that melt-water, snow thickness, snowpack morphology, snow surface roughness, ice surface roughness, and deformation characteristics are the fundamental scene parameters which govern the summer sea ice backscatter response. A thick, wet snow cover dominates the backscatter response and masks any ice sheet features below. However, snow and melt-water are not distributed uniformly and the stage of melt may also be quite variable. These nonuniformities related to ice type are not necessarily well understood and produce unique microwave signature characteristics.
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Forget, F.; Levrard, B.; Montmessin, F.; Schmitt, B.; Doute, S.; Langevin, Y.; Bibring, J. P.
2005-01-01
To better understand the behavior of the Mars CO2 ice seasonal polar caps, and in particular interpret the the Mars Express Omega observations of the recession of the northern seasonal cap, we present some simulations of the Martian Climate/CO2 cycle/ water cycle as modeled by the Laboratoire de Meteorologie Dynamique (LMD) global climate model.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR
2012-07-01
... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Safety Zone; Kemah Boardwalk Summer Season Fireworks, Galveston Bay, Kemah, TX. 165.T08-0240 Section 165.T08-0240 Navigation and... Areas Eighth Coast Guard District § 165.T08-0240 Safety Zone; Kemah Boardwalk Summer Season Fireworks...
Contrasting Trends in Arctic and Antarctic Sea Ice Coverage Since the Late 1970s
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Parkinson, C. L.
2016-12-01
Satellite observations have allowed a near-continuous record of Arctic and Antarctic sea ice coverage since late 1978. This record has revealed considerable interannual variability in both polar regions but also significant long-term trends, with the Arctic losing, the Antarctic gaining, and the Earth as a whole losing sea ice coverage. Over the period 1979-2015, the trend in yearly average sea ice extents in the Arctic is -53,100 km2/yr (-4.3 %/decade) and in the Antarctic is 23,800 km2/yr (2.1 %/decade). For all 12 months, trends are negative in the Arctic and positive in the Antarctic, with the highest magnitude monthly trend being for September in the Arctic, at -85,300 km2/yr (-10.9 %/decade). The decreases in Arctic sea ice extents have been so dominant that not a single month since 1986 registered a new monthly record high, whereas 75 months registered new monthly record lows between 1987 and 2015 and several additional record lows were registered in 2016. The Antarctic sea ice record highs and lows are also out of balance, in the opposite direction, although not in such dramatic fashion. Geographic details on the changing ice covers, down to the level of individual pixels, can be seen by examining changes in the length of the sea ice season. Results reveal (and quantify) shortening ice seasons throughout the bulk of the Arctic marginal ice zone, the main exception being within the Bering Sea, and lengthening sea ice seasons through much of the Southern Ocean but shortening seasons in the Bellingshausen Sea, southern Amundsen Sea, and northwestern Weddell Sea. The decreasing Arctic sea ice coverage was widely anticipated and fits well with a large array of environmental changes in the Arctic, whereas the increasing Antarctic sea ice coverage was not widely anticipated and explaining it remains an area of active research by many scientists exploring a variety of potential explanations.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Vijay, Saurabh; Braun, Matthias
2014-05-01
Columbia Glacier is a grounded tidewater glacier located on the south coast of Alaska. It has lost half of its volume during 1957-2007, more rapidly after 1980. It is now split into two branches, known as Main/East and West branch due to the dramatic retreat of ~ 23 km and calving of iceberg from its terminus in past few decades. In Alaska, a majority of the mass loss from glaciers is due to rapid ice flow and calving icebergs into tidewater and lacustrine environments. In addition, submarine melting and change in the frontal position can accelerate the ice flow and calving rate. We use time series of high-resolution TanDEM-X stripmap satellite imagery during 2011-2013. The active image of the bistatic TanDEM-X acquisitions, acquired over 11 or 22 day repeat intervals, are utilized to derive surface velocity fields using SAR intensity offset tracking. Due to the short temporal baselines, the precise orbit control and the high-resolution of the data, the accuracies of the velocity products are high. We observe a pronounce seasonal signal in flow velocities close to the glacier front of East/Main branch of Columbia Glacier. Maximum values at the glacier front reach up to 14 m/day were recorded in May 2012 and 12 m/day in June 2013. Minimum velocities at the glacier front are generally observed in September and October with lowest values below 2 m/day in October 2012. Months in between those dates show corresponding increase or deceleration resulting a kind of sinusoidal annual course of the surface velocity at the glacier front. The seasonal signal is consistently decreasing with the distance from the glacier front. At a distance of 17.5 km from the ice front, velocities are reduced to 2 m/day and almost no seasonal variability can be observed. We attribute these temporal and spatial variability to changes in the basal hydrology and lubrification of the glacier bed. Closure of the basal drainage system in early winter leads to maximum speeds while during a fully
Sea-ice deformation in a coupled ocean-sea-ice model and in satellite remote sensing data
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Spreen, Gunnar; Kwok, Ron; Menemenlis, Dimitris; Nguyen, An T.
2017-07-01
A realistic representation of sea-ice deformation in models is important for accurate simulation of the sea-ice mass balance. Simulated sea-ice deformation from numerical simulations with 4.5, 9, and 18 km horizontal grid spacing and a viscous-plastic (VP) sea-ice rheology are compared with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite observations (RGPS, RADARSAT Geophysical Processor System) for the time period 1996-2008. All three simulations can reproduce the large-scale ice deformation patterns, but small-scale sea-ice deformations and linear kinematic features (LKFs) are not adequately reproduced. The mean sea-ice total deformation rate is about 40 % lower in all model solutions than in the satellite observations, especially in the seasonal sea-ice zone. A decrease in model grid spacing, however, produces a higher density and more localized ice deformation features. The 4.5 km simulation produces some linear kinematic features, but not with the right frequency. The dependence on length scale and probability density functions (PDFs) of absolute divergence and shear for all three model solutions show a power-law scaling behavior similar to RGPS observations, contrary to what was found in some previous studies. Overall, the 4.5 km simulation produces the most realistic divergence, vorticity, and shear when compared with RGPS data. This study provides an evaluation of high and coarse-resolution viscous-plastic sea-ice simulations based on spatial distribution, time series, and power-law scaling metrics.
Refreezing on the Greenland ice sheet: a model comparison
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Steger, Christian; Reijmer, Carleen; van den Broeke, Michiel; Ligtenberg, Stefan; Kuipers Munneke, Peter; Noël, Brice
2016-04-01
Mass loss of the Greenland ice sheet (GrIS) is an important contributor to global sea level rise. Besides calving, surface melt is the dominant source of mass loss. However, only part of the surface melt leaves the ice sheet as runoff whereas the other part percolates into the snow cover and refreezes. Due to this process, part of the meltwater is (intermediately) stored. Refreezing thus impacts the surface mass balance of the ice sheet but it also affects the vertical structure of the snow cover due to transport of mass and energy. Due to the sparse availability of in situ data and the demand of future projections, it is inevitable to use numerical models to simulate refreezing and related processes. Currently, the magnitude of refrozen mass is neither well constrained nor well validated. In this study, we model the snow and firn layer, and compare refreezing on the GrIS as modelled with two different numerical models. Both models are forced with meteorological data from the regional climate model RACMO 2 that has been shown to simulate realistic conditions for Greenland. One model is the UU/IMAU firn densification model (FDM) that can be used both in an on- and offline mode with RACMO 2. The other model is SNOWPACK; a model originally designed to simulate seasonal snow cover in alpine conditions. In contrast to FDM, SNOWPACK accounts for snow metamorphism and microstructure and contains a more physically based snow densification scheme. A first comparison of the models indicates that both seem to be able to capture the general spatial and temporal pattern of refreezing. Spatially, refreezing occurs mostly in the ablation zone and decreases in the accumulation zone towards the interior of the ice sheet. Below the equilibrium line altitude (ELA) where refreezing occurs in seasonal snow cover on bare ice, the storage effect is only intermediate. Temporal patterns on a seasonal range indicate two peaks in refreezing; one at the beginning of the melt season where
Doig, Lorne E; Carr, Meghan K; Meissner, Anna G N; Jardine, Tim D; Jones, Paul D; Bharadwaj, Lalita; Lindenschmidt, Karl-Erich
2017-11-01
Across the circumpolar world, intensive anthropogenic activities in the southern reaches of many large, northward-flowing rivers can cause sediment contamination in the downstream depositional environment. The influence of ice cover on concentrations of inorganic contaminants in bed sediment (i.e., sediment quality) is unknown in these rivers, where winter is the dominant season. A geomorphic response unit approach was used to select hydraulically diverse sampling sites across a northern test-case system, the Slave River and delta (Northwest Territories, Canada). Surface sediment samples (top 1 cm) were collected from 6 predefined geomorphic response units (12 sites) to assess the relationships between bed sediment physicochemistry (particle size distribution and total organic carbon content) and trace element content (mercury and 18 other trace elements) during open-water conditions. A subset of sites was resampled under-ice to assess the influence of season on these relationships and on total trace element content. Concentrations of the majority of trace elements were strongly correlated with percent fines and proxies for grain size (aluminum and iron), with similar trace element grain size/grain size proxy relationships between seasons. However, finer materials were deposited under ice with associated increases in sediment total organic carbon content and the concentrations of most trace elements investigated. The geomorphic response unit approach was effective at identifying diverse hydrological environments for sampling prior to field operations. Our data demonstrate the need for under-ice sampling to confirm year-round consistency in trace element-geochemical relationships in fluvial systems and to define the upper extremes of these relationships. Whether contaminated or not, under-ice bed sediment can represent a "worst-case" scenario in terms of trace element concentrations and exposure for sediment-associated organisms in northern fluvial systems
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Schubert, B.; Jahren, A. H.
2017-12-01
Arctic sea ice thickness and extent are projected to continue their substantial decline during this century, with an 80% reduction in sea-ice extent by 2050. While there is a clear relationship between mean annual temperature (MAT) and the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (pCO2) across both glacial and interglacial periods, data on seasonal fluctuations is limited. Here we report seasonal temperature estimates for the Arctic during the ice-free conditions of the late early to middle Eocene based upon exquisitely preserved, mummified wood collected from Banks Island, Northwest Territories, Canada ( 74 oN). Annual growth rings identified in the wood specimens were subdivided by hand at sub-millimeter resolution and cellulose was extracted from each sub-sample for determination of stable oxygen isotope (δ18O) value (n = 81). The data reveal a consistent, cyclic pattern of decreasing and increasing δ18O value up to 3‰ across growth rings that was consistent with patterns observed in other modern and fossil wood, including from other high latitude sites. From these data we quantified cold month and warm month seasonal temperatures using a previously published model (Schubert and Jahren, 2015, QSR, 125: 1-14). Our calculations revealed low overall seasonality in the Arctic during the Eocene with above-freezing winters and mild summers, consistent with the presence of high biomass temperate rainforests. These results highlight the importance of warm winters in maintaining ice-free conditions in the Arctic and suggest that increased winter temperatures in today's Arctic in response to rising pCO2 will be of particular importance for Arctic ice-loss.
Variability, trends, and predictability of seasonal sea ice retreat and advance in the Chukchi Sea
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Serreze, Mark C.; Crawford, Alex D.; Stroeve, Julienne C.; Barrett, Andrew P.; Woodgate, Rebecca A.
2016-10-01
As assessed over the period 1979-2014, the date that sea ice retreats to the shelf break (150 m contour) of the Chukchi Sea has a linear trend of -0.7 days per year. The date of seasonal ice advance back to the shelf break has a steeper trend of about +1.5 days per year, together yielding an increase in the open water period of 80 days. Based on detrended time series, we ask how interannual variability in advance and retreat dates relate to various forcing parameters including radiation fluxes, temperature and wind (from numerical reanalyses), and the oceanic heat inflow through the Bering Strait (from in situ moorings). Of all variables considered, the retreat date is most strongly correlated (r ˜ 0.8) with the April through June Bering Strait heat inflow. After testing a suite of statistical linear models using several potential predictors, the best model for predicting the date of retreat includes only the April through June Bering Strait heat inflow, which explains 68% of retreat date variance. The best model predicting the ice advance date includes the July through September inflow and the date of retreat, explaining 67% of advance date variance. We address these relationships by discussing heat balances within the Chukchi Sea, and the hypothesis of oceanic heat transport triggering ocean heat uptake and ice-albedo feedback. Developing an operational prediction scheme for seasonal retreat and advance would require timely acquisition of Bering Strait heat inflow data. Predictability will likely always be limited by the chaotic nature of atmospheric circulation patterns.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Cadieux, S. B.; White, J. R.; Pratt, L. M.; Peng, Y.; Young, S. A.
2013-12-01
Northern lakes contribute from 6-16% of annual methane inputs to Earth's atmosphere, yet little is known about the seasonal biogeochemistry of CH4 cycling, particularly for lakes in the Arctic. Studies during ice-free conditions have been conducted in Alaskan, Swedish and Siberian lakes. However, there is little information on CH4 cycling under ice-covered conditions, and few stable isotopic measurements, which can help elucidate production and consumption pathways. In order to better understand methane dynamics of ice-covered Arctic lakes, 4 small lakes (surface area <1 km2) within a narrow valley extending from the Russells Glacier to Søndre Strømfjord in Southwestern Greenland were examined during summer stratification and winter ice-cover. Lakes in the study area are ice-covered from mid-September to mid-June. In both seasons, variations in the concentrations and isotopic composition of methane with depth were related to redox fluctuations. During late winter under~2 m of ice, the entire water column was anoxic with wide variation in methane concentrationsand isotopic composition from lake to lake. In three of the lakes, CH4 concentrations and δ13C were relatively stable over the depth of the water column, averaging from 120 to 480μM, with δ13CH4 values from -56‰ to -66‰, respectively. Methane concentrations in the other lake increased with depth from <1 μM below the ice to 800 μM at the sediment/water interface, while δ13C decreased by 30‰ from -30‰ to -70‰ over this depth. In all the lakes, δ13C of sediment porewater was lighter than the overlying water by at least 10‰. The δD-CH4 in the water column ranged from -370‰ to -50‰, exhibiting covariance with δ13C consistent with significant methanotrophic activity. In the sediment, δD-CH4 values ranged from -330‰ to -275‰, and were inversely correlated with δ13C. We will present detailed information on redox dynamics as a controlling factor in methane cycling, and explore the
Seasonal Bias of Retrieved Ice Cloud Optical Properties Based on MISR and MODIS Measurements
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Wang, Y.; Hioki, S.; Yang, P.; Di Girolamo, L.; Fu, D.
2017-12-01
The precise estimation of two important cloud optical and microphysical properties, cloud particle optical thickness and cloud particle effective radius, is fundamental in the study of radiative energy budget and hydrological cycle. In retrieving these two properties, an appropriate selection of ice particle surface roughness is important because it substantially affects the single-scattering properties. At present, using a predetermined ice particle shape without spatial and temporal variations is a common practice in satellite-based retrieval. This approach leads to substantial uncertainties in retrievals. The cloud radiances measured by each of the cameras of the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument are used to estimate spherical albedo values at different scattering angles. By analyzing the directional distribution of estimated spherical albedo values, the degree of ice particle surface roughness is estimated. With an optimal degree of ice particle roughness, cloud optical thickness and effective radius are retrieved based on a bi-spectral shortwave technique in conjunction with two Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) bands centered at 0.86 and 2.13 μm. The seasonal biases of retrieved cloud optical and microphysical properties, caused by the uncertainties in ice particle roughness, are investigated by using one year of MISR-MODIS fused data.
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Lindner, Bernhard Lee
1992-01-01
Carbon dioxide ice has been inferred to exist at the south pole in summertime, but Earth based measurements in 1969 of water vapor in the Martian atmosphere suggest that all CO2 ice sublined from the southern polar cap and exposed underlying water ice. This implies that the observed summertime CO2 ice is of recent origin. It appears possible to construct an energy balance model that maintains seasonal CO2 ice at the south pole year round and still reasonably simulates the polar cap regression and atmospheric pressure data. This implies that the CO2 ice observed in the summertime south polar cap could be seasonal in origin, and that minor changes in climate could cause CO2 ice to completely vanish, as would appear to have happened in 1969. However, further research remains before it is certain whether the CO2 ice observed in the summertime south polar cap is seasonal or is part of a permanent reservoir.
Deterministic multi-zone ice accretion modeling
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Yamaguchi, K.; Hansman, R. John, Jr.; Kazmierczak, Michael
1991-01-01
The focus here is on a deterministic model of the surface roughness transition behavior of glaze ice. The initial smooth/rough transition location, bead formation, and the propagation of the transition location are analyzed. Based on the hypothesis that the smooth/rough transition location coincides with the laminar/turbulent boundary layer transition location, a multizone model is implemented in the LEWICE code. In order to verify the effectiveness of the model, ice accretion predictions for simple cylinders calculated by the multizone LEWICE are compared to experimental ice shapes. The glaze ice shapes are found to be sensitive to the laminar surface roughness and bead thickness parameters controlling the transition location, while the ice shapes are found to be insensitive to the turbulent surface roughness.
Towards seasonal Arctic shipping route predictions
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Haines, K.; Melia, N.; Hawkins, E.; Day, J. J.
2017-12-01
In our previous work [1] we showed how trans-Arctic shipping routes would become more available through the 21st century as sea ice declines, using CMIP5 models with means and stds calibrated to PIOMAS sea ice observations. Sea ice will continue to close shipping routes to open water vessels through the winter months for the foreseeable future so the availability of open sea routes will vary greatly from year to year. Here [2] we look at whether the trans-Arctic shipping season period can be predicted in seasonal forecasts, again using several climate models, and testing both perfect and imperfect knowledge of the initial sea ice conditions. We find skilful predictions of the upcoming summer shipping season can be made from as early as January, although typically forecasts may show lower skill before a May `predictability barrier'. Focussing on the northern sea route (NSR) off Siberia, the date of opening of this sea route is twice as variable as the closing date, and this carries through to reduced predictability at the start of the season. Under climate change the later freeze-up date accounts for 60% of the lengthening season, Fig1 We find that predictive skill is state dependent with predictions for high or low ice years exhibiting greater skill than for average ice years. Forecasting the exact timing of route open periods is harder (more weather dependent) under average ice conditions while in high and low ice years the season is more controlled by the initial ice conditions from spring onwards. This could be very useful information for companies planning vessel routing for the coming season. We tested this dependence on the initial ice conditions by changing the initial ice state towards climatologically average conditions and show directly that early summer sea-ice thickness information is crucial to obtain skilful forecasts of the coming shipping season. Mechanisms for this are discussed. This strongly suggests that good sea ice thickness observations
Hall, D.K.; Williams, R.S.; Casey, K.A.; DiGirolamo, N.E.; Wan, Z.
2006-01-01
Mean, clear-sky surface temperature of the Greenland Ice Sheet was measured for each melt season from 2000 to 2005 using Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)–derived land-surface temperature (LST) data-product maps. During the period of most-active melt, the mean, clear-sky surface temperature of the ice sheet was highest in 2002 (−8.29 ± 5.29°C) and 2005 (−8.29 ± 5.43°C), compared to a 6-year mean of −9.04 ± 5.59°C, in agreement with recent work by other investigators showing unusually extensive melt in 2002 and 2005. Surface-temperature variability shows a correspondence with the dry-snow facies of the ice sheet; a reduction in area of the dry-snow facies would indicate a more-negative mass balance. Surface-temperature variability generally increased during the study period and is most pronounced in the 2005 melt season; this is consistent with surface instability caused by air-temperature fluctuations.
Barents-Kara sea ice and the winter NAO in the DePreSys3 Met Office Seasonal forecast model
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Warner, J.; Screen, J.
2017-12-01
Accurate seasonal forecasting leads to a wide range of socio-economic benefits and increases resilience to prolonged bouts of extreme weather. This work looks at how November Barents-Kara sea ice may affect the winter northern hemisphere atmospheric circulation, using various compositing methods in the DePreSys3 ensemble model, with lag to argue better a relationship between the two. In particular, the NAO (North Atlantic Oscillation) is focused on given its implications on European weather. Using this large hindcast dataset comprised of 35 years with 30 available ensemble members, it is found that low Barents-Kara sea ice leads to a negative NAO tendency in all composite methods, with increased mean sea level pressure in higher latitudes. The significance of this varies between composites. This is preliminary analysis of a larger PhD project to further understand how Arctic Sea ice may play a role in seasonal forecasting skill through its connection/influence on mid-latitude weather.
Gas exchange in the ice zone: the role of small waves and big animals
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Loose, B.; Takahashi, A.; Bigdeli, A.
2016-12-01
The balance of air-sea gas exchange and net biological carbon fixation determine the transport and transformation of carbon dioxide and methane in the ocean. Air-sea gas exchange is mostly driven by upper ocean physics, but biology can also play a role. In the open ocean, gas exchange increases proportionate to the square of wind speed. When sea ice is present, this dependence breaks down in part because breaking waves and air bubble entrainment are damped out by interactions between sea ice and the wave field. At the same time, sea ice motions, formation, melt, and even sea ice-associated organisms can act to introduce turbulence and air bubbles into the upper ocean, thereby enhancing air-sea gas exchange. We take advantage of the knowledge advances of upper ocean physics including bubble dynamics to formulate a model for air-sea gas exchange in the sea ice zone. Here, we use the model to examine the role of small-scale waves and diving animals that trap air for insulation, including penguins, seals and polar bears. We compare these processes to existing parameterizations of wave and bubble dynamics in the open ocean, to observe how sea ice both mitigates and locally enhances air-sea gas transfer.
Ice, Ocean and Atmosphere Interactions in the Arctic Marginal Ice Zone
2015-09-30
the northward retreat of the ice edge. Through the long-term measurement of the key oceanic, atmospheric, and sea ice processes that...began to move southward towards the Alaskan coast. In 2104 the anomalous areas of ice retreat were the region north of Alaska...and Siberia. (see figures below). This is not uncommon as these regions have seen the greatest retreat in sea ice. See http://nsidc.org
Increased Surface Wind Speeds Follow Diminishing Arctic Sea Ice
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Mioduszewski, J.; Vavrus, S. J.; Wang, M.; Holland, M. M.; Landrum, L.
2017-12-01
Projections of Arctic sea ice through the end of the 21st century indicate the likelihood of a strong reduction in ice area and thickness in all seasons, leading to a substantial thermodynamic influence on the overlying atmosphere. This is likely to have an effect on winds over the Arctic Basin, due to changes in atmospheric stability and/or baroclinicity. Prior research on future Arctic wind changes is limited and has focused mainly on the practical impacts on wave heights in certain seasons. Here we attempt to identify patterns and likely mechanisms responsible for surface wind changes in all seasons across the Arctic, particularly those associated with sea ice loss in the marginal ice zone. Sea level pressure, near-surface (10 m) and upper-air (850 hPa) wind speeds, and lower-level dynamic and thermodynamic variables from the Community Earth System Model Large Ensemble Project (CESM-LE) were analyzed for the periods 1971-2000 and 2071-2100 to facilitate comparison between a present-day and future climate. Mean near-surface wind speeds over the Arctic Ocean are projected to increase by late century in all seasons but especially during autumn and winter, when they strengthen by up to 50% locally. The most extreme wind speeds in the 90th percentile change even more, increasing in frequency by over 100%. The strengthened winds are closely linked to decreasing lower-tropospheric stability resulting from the loss of sea ice cover and consequent surface warming (locally over 20 ºC warmer in autumn and winter). A muted pattern of these future changes is simulated in CESM-LE historical runs from 1920-2005. The enhanced winds near the surface are mostly collocated with weaker winds above the boundary layer during autumn and winter, implying more vigorous vertical mixing and a drawdown of high-momentum air.The implications of stronger future winds include increased coastal hazards and the potential for a positive feedback with sea ice by generating higher winds and
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Loose, B.; Kelly, R. P.; Bigdeli, A.; Williams, W.; Krishfield, R.; Rutgers van der Loeff, M.; Moran, S. B.
2017-05-01
We present 34 profiles of radon-deficit from the ice-ocean boundary layer of the Beaufort Sea. Including these 34, there are presently 58 published radon-deficit estimates of air-sea gas transfer velocity (k) in the Arctic Ocean; 52 of these estimates were derived from water covered by 10% sea ice or more. The average value of k collected since 2011 is 4.0 ± 1.2 m d-1. This exceeds the quadratic wind speed prediction of weighted kws = 2.85 m d-1 with mean-weighted wind speed of 6.4 m s-1. We show how ice cover changes the mixed-layer radon budget, and yields an "effective gas transfer velocity." We use these 58 estimates to statistically evaluate the suitability of a wind speed parameterization for k, when the ocean surface is ice covered. Whereas the six profiles taken from the open ocean indicate a statistically good fit to wind speed parameterizations, the same parameterizations could not reproduce k from the sea ice zone. We conclude that techniques for estimating k in the open ocean cannot be similarly applied to determine k in the presence of sea ice. The magnitude of k through gaps in the ice may reach high values as ice cover increases, possibly as a result of focused turbulence dissipation at openings in the free surface. These 58 profiles are presently the most complete set of estimates of k across seasons and variable ice cover; as dissolved tracer budgets they reflect air-sea gas exchange with no impact from air-ice gas exchange.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Chen, C.; Howat, I. M.; de la Peña, S.
2015-12-01
Surface meltwater lakes on the Greenland Ice Sheet have appeared at higher elevations, extending well into the percolation zone, under recent warming, with the largest expansion occurring in the western Greenland Ice Sheet. The conditions that allow lakes to form atop firn are poorly constrained, but the formation of new lakes imply changes in the permeability of the firn at high elevations, promoting meltwater runoff. We explore the formation and evolution of new surface lakes in this region above 1500 meters, using a combination of satellite imagery and repeat Snow (2-6.5 GHz) radar echograms and LIDAR measurements from NASA's Operation IceBridge of 2009-2014. We identify conditions for surface lake formation at their farthest inland extent and suggest behaviors of persistence and lake drainage are due to differences in regional ice dynamics.
Maiden Voyage of the Under-Ice Float
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Shcherbina, A.; D'Asaro, E. A.; Light, B.; Deming, J. W.; Rehm, E.
2016-02-01
The Under-Ice Float (UIF) is a new autonomous platform for sea ice and upper ocean observations in the marginal ice zone (MIZ). UIF is based on the Mixed Layer Lagrangian Float design, inheriting its accurate buoyancy control and relatively heavy payload capability. A major challenge for sustained autonomous observations in the MIZ is detection of open water for navigation and telemetry surfacings. UIF employs the new surface classification algorithm based on the spectral analysis of surface roughness sensed by an upward-looking sonar. A prototype UIF was deployed in the MIZ of the central Arctic Ocean in late August 2015. The main payload of the first UIF was a bio-optical suit consisting of upward- and downward hyperspectral radiometers; temperature, salinity, chlorophyll, turbidity, and dissolved oxygen sensors, and a high-definition photo camera. In the early stages of its mission, the float successfully avoided ice, detected leads, surfaced in open water, and transmitted data and photographs. We will present the analysis of these observations from the full UIF mission extending into the freeze-up season.
A Decade of Arctic Sea Ice Thickness Change from Airborne and Satellite Altimetry (Invited)
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Farrell, S. L.; Richter-Menge, J.; Kurtz, N. T.; McAdoo, D. C.; Newman, T.; Zwally, H.; Ruth, J.
2013-12-01
Altimeters on both airborne and satellite platforms provide direct measurements of sea ice freeboard from which sea ice thickness may be calculated. Satellite altimetry observations of Arctic sea ice from ICESat and CryoSat-2 indicate a significant decline in ice thickness, and volume, over the last decade. During this time the ice pack has experienced a rapid change in its composition, transitioning from predominantly thick, multi-year ice to thinner, increasingly seasonal ice. We will discuss the regional trends in ice thickness derived from ICESat and IceBridge altimetry between 2003 and 2013, contrasting observations of the multi-year ice pack with seasonal ice zones. ICESat ceased operation in 2009, and the final, reprocessed data set became available recently. We extend our analysis to April 2013 using data from the IceBridge airborne mission, which commenced operations in 2009. We describe our current efforts to more accurately convert from freeboard to ice thickness, with a modified methodology that corrects for range errors, instrument biases, and includes an enhanced treatment of snow depth, with respect to ice type. With the planned launch by NASA of ICESat-2 in 2016 we can expect continuity of the sea ice thickness time series through the end of this decade. Data from the ICESat-2 mission, together with ongoing observations from CryoSat-2, will allow us to understand both the decadal trends and inter-annual variability in the Arctic sea ice thickness record. We briefly present the status of planned ICESat-2 sea ice data products, and demonstrate the utility of micro-pulse, photon-counting laser altimetry over sea ice.
Diatom assemblages promote ice formation in large lakes
D'souza, N A; Kawarasaki, Y; Gantz, J D; Lee, R E; Beall, B F N; Shtarkman, Y M; Koçer, Z A; Rogers, S O; Wildschutte, H; Bullerjahn, G S; McKay, R M L
2013-01-01
We present evidence for the directed formation of ice by planktonic communities dominated by filamentous diatoms sampled from the ice-covered Laurentian Great Lakes. We hypothesize that ice formation promotes attachment of these non-motile phytoplankton to overlying ice, thereby maintaining a favorable position for the diatoms in the photic zone. However, it is unclear whether the diatoms themselves are responsible for ice nucleation. Scanning electron microscopy revealed associations of bacterial epiphytes with the dominant diatoms of the phytoplankton assemblage, and bacteria isolated from the phytoplankton showed elevated temperatures of crystallization (Tc) as high as −3 °C. Ice nucleation-active bacteria were identified as belonging to the genus Pseudomonas, but we could not demonstrate that they were sufficiently abundant to incite the observed freezing. Regardless of the source of ice nucleation activity, the resulting production of frazil ice may provide a means for the diatoms to be recruited to the overlying lake ice, thereby increasing their fitness. Bacterial epiphytes are likewise expected to benefit from their association with the diatoms as recipients of organic carbon excreted by their hosts. This novel mechanism illuminates a previously undescribed stage of the life cycle of the meroplanktonic diatoms that bloom in Lake Erie and other Great Lakes during winter and offers a model relevant to aquatic ecosystems having seasonal ice cover around the world. PMID:23552624
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Dimitriadis, Charalampos; Sini, Maria; Trygonis, Vasilis; Gerovasileiou, Vasilis; Sourbès, Laurent; Koutsoubas, Drosos
2018-07-01
The efficacy of a Mediterranean Marine Protected Area (National Marine Park of Zakynthos - NMPZ, Ionian Sea, Greece) that implements a seasonal no-take zone as part of its management scheme was assessed using fish data collected in situ with underwater visual census. Sampling was conducted at two habitat types (Posidonia oceanica meadows and rocky reefs) that occur at sites of different protection level with respect to fisheries (high protection: seasonal no-take zone within the MPA; intermediate: zones within the MPA where small-scale fishing is allowed; none: areas outside the MPA, where all types of fishing are allowed, including trawlers, purse seiners, and recreational fishing). The data were used to examine the effects of protection level and habitat type on community parameters, trophic structure and functional diversity of fish populations that occupy the upper sublittoral zone. Overall, habitat type had a more pronounced effect than protection level on all investigated parameters. Biomass, density and number of fish species with low commercial value were higher in sites of intermediate protection, but no substantial fisheries-related ecological benefits were detected for targeted fish in the seasonal no-take zone. Conducted 8 years after the initial implementation of the seasonal no-take management scheme, our study suggests that existing fishing regulations in the NMPZ provide some measurable effects, but fall short of maintaining sufficient protection for the recovery of apex predators or other commercially important fish species. A revision of the existing zoning system to include permanent no-take zones, alongside the regulation of professional fishing and all extractive activities in the rest of the MPA, are strongly encouraged in order to enhance the effectiveness of fisheries management.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Rodrigues, J.
2009-04-01
We use the length of the ice-free season (LIFS) and a quantity designated by inverse sea ice index (ISII) to quantify the rapid decline of the Arctic sea ice that has been observed in the past decades. The LIFS and ISII in each point for each year between 1979 and 2008 are derived from the daily sea ice concentrations C(y,d;i) for cell i on day (y,d) = (year,day) which, in turn, are obtained from satellite passive microwave imagery. We define the LIFS L(y;i) at a certain point i in year y as the number of days between the clearance of the ice and the formation (more exactly, the appearance) of the ice in that point in that year. If the number of clearances and formations is larger than one the LIFS is defined as the sum of the lengths of all periods between an ice clearance and the following ice formation. The criteria to identify dates of ice clearance and ice formation are as follows. We assume that there is clearance on day d if the ice concentration is 0.15 or higher on days d - 4,d - 3,d - 2 and d - 1 and below 0.15 on days d,d + 1,d + 2,d + 3 and d + 4. We consider that there is formation on day d if the ice concentration is below 0.15 on days d - 4,d - 3,d - 2 and d - 1 and 0.15 or higher on days d,d + 1,d + 2,d + 3 and d + 4. The ISII S(y;i) for point i in year y is given by S(y;i) = 1 - d=1NC(y,d;i) N , where N is the number of days in the year. This quantity, which varies between zero (when there is a perennial ice cover) and one (when there is open water all year round), measures the absence of sea ice throughout the year, hence the name inverse sea ice index. We argue that these variables are at least as suitable for the purpose of describing the depletion of sea ice in the Arctic as those that are more often found in the literature, namely the sea ice area and extent at the times of annual minimum. Firstly, the sea ice extent and area are global variables while the length of the ice-free season is a local one, and thus more appropriated to study
Ice Mass Fluctuations and Earthquake Hazard
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Sauber, J.
2006-01-01
In south central Alaska, tectonic strain rates are high in a region that includes large glaciers undergoing ice wastage over the last 100-150 years [Sauber et al., 2000; Sauber and Molnia, 2004]. In this study we focus on the region referred to as the Yakataga segment of the Pacific-North American plate boundary zone in Alaska. In this region, the Bering and Malaspina glacier ablation zones have average ice elevation decreases from 1-3 meters/year (see summary and references in Molnia, 2005). The elastic response of the solid Earth to this ice mass decrease alone would cause several mm/yr of horizontal motion and uplift rates of up to 10-12 mm/yr. In this same region observed horizontal rates of tectonic deformation range from 10 to 40 mm/yr to the north-northwest and the predicted tectonic uplift rates range from -2 mm/year near the Gulf of Alaska coast to 12mm/year further inland [Savage and Lisowski, 1988; Ma et al, 1990; Sauber et al., 1997, 2000, 2004; Elliot et al., 2005]. The large ice mass changes associated with glacial wastage and surges perturb the tectonic rate of deformation at a variety of temporal and spatial scales. The associated incremental stress change may enhance or inhibit earthquake occurrence. We report recent (seasonal to decadal) ice elevation changes derived from data from NASA's ICESat satellite laser altimeter combined with earlier DEM's as a reference surface to illustrate the characteristics of short-term ice elevation changes [Sauber et al., 2005, Muskett et al., 2005]. Since we are interested in evaluating the effect of ice changes on faulting potential, we calculated the predicted surface displacement changes and incremental stresses over a specified time interval and calculated the change in the fault stability margin using the approach given by Wu and Hasegawa [1996]. Additionally, we explored the possibility that these ice mass fluctuations altered the seismic rate of background seismicity. Although we primarily focus on
The Ice Cap Zone: A Unique Habitable Zone for Ocean Worlds
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Ramirez, Ramses M.; Levi, Amit
2018-03-01
Traditional definitions of the habitable zone assume that habitable planets contain a carbonate-silicate cycle that regulates CO2 between the atmosphere, surface, and the interior. Such theories have been used to cast doubt on the habitability of ocean worlds. However, Levi et al (2017) have recently proposed a mechanism by which CO2 is mobilized between the atmosphere and the interior of an ocean world. At high enough CO2 pressures, sea ice can become enriched in CO2 clathrates and sink after a threshold density is achieved. The presence of subpolar sea ice is of great importance for habitability in ocean worlds. It may moderate the climate and is fundamental in current theories of life formation in diluted environments. Here, we model the Levi et al. mechanism and use latitudinally-dependent non-grey energy balance and single-column radiative-convective models and find that this mechanism may be sustained on ocean worlds that rotate at least 3 times faster than the Earth. We calculate the circumstellar region in which this cycle may operate for G-M-stars (Teff = 2,600-5,800 K), extending from ˜1.23 - 1.65, 0.69 - 0.873, 0.38-0.528 AU, 0.219-0.308 AU, 0.146-0.206 AU, and 0.0428-0.0617 AU for G2, K3, M0, M3, M5, and M8 stars, respectively. However, unless planets are very young and not tidally-locked, our mechanism would be unlikely to apply to stars cooler than a ˜M3. We predict C/O ratios for our atmospheres (˜0.5) that can be verified by the JWST mission.
The ice cap zone: a unique habitable zone for ocean worlds
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Ramirez, Ramses M.; Levi, Amit
2018-07-01
Traditional definitions of the habitable zone assume that habitable planets contain a carbonate-silicate cycle that regulates CO2 between the atmosphere, surface, and the interior. Such theories have been used to cast doubt on the habitability of ocean worlds. However, Levi et al. have recently proposed a mechanism by which CO2 is mobilized between the atmosphere and the interior of an ocean world. At high enough CO2 pressures, sea ice can become enriched in CO2 clathrates and sink after a threshold density is achieved. The presence of subpolar sea ice is of great importance for habitability in ocean worlds. It may moderate the climate and is fundamental in current theories of life formation in diluted environments. Here, we model the Levi et al. mechanism and use latitudinally dependent non-grey energy balance and single-column radiative-convective climate models and find that this mechanism may be sustained on ocean worlds that rotate at least 3 times faster than the Earth. We calculate the circumstellar region in which this cycle may operate for G-M stars (Teff = 2600-5800 K), extending from ˜1.23-1.65, 0.69-0.954, 0.38-0.528, 0.219-0.308 , 0.146-0.206, and 0.0428-0.0617 au for G2, K2, M0, M3, M5, and M8 stars, respectively. However, unless planets are very young and not tidally locked, our mechanism would be unlikely to apply to stars cooler than a ˜M3. We predict C/O ratios for our atmospheres (˜0.5) that can be verified by the James Webb Space Telescope mission.
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
Runoff from the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) has increased in recent years due largely to changes in atmospheric circulation and atmospheric warming. Albedo reductions resulting from these changes have amplified surface melting. Some of the largest declines in GrIS albedo have occurred in the ablation zone of the south-west sector and are associated with the development of dark ice surfaces. Field observations at local scales reveal that a variety of light-absorbing impurities (LAIs) can be present on the surface, ranging from inorganic particulates to cryoconite materials and ice algae. Meanwhile, satellite observations show that the areal extent of dark ice has varied significantly between recent successive melt seasons. However, the processes that drive such large interannual variability in dark ice extent remain essentially unconstrained. At present we are therefore unable to project how the albedo of bare ice sectors of the GrIS will evolve in the future, causing uncertainty in the projected sea level contribution from the GrIS over the coming decades. Here we use MODIS satellite imagery to examine dark ice dynamics on the south-west GrIS each year from 2000 to 2016. We quantify dark ice in terms of its annual extent, duration, intensity and timing of first appearance. Not only does dark ice extent vary significantly between years but so too does its duration (from 0 to > 80 % of June-July-August, JJA), intensity and the timing of its first appearance. Comparison of dark ice dynamics with potential meteorological drivers from the regional climate model MAR reveals that the JJA sensible heat flux, the number of positive minimum-air-temperature days and the timing of bare ice appearance are significant interannual synoptic controls. We use these findings to identify the surface processes which are most likely to explain recent dark ice dynamics. We suggest that whilst the spatial distribution of dark ice is best explained by outcropping of particulates from
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).
Abundant Methanol Ice toward a Massive Young Stellar Object in the Central Molecular Zone
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
An, Deokkeun; Sellgren, Kris; Boogert, A. C. Adwin; Ramírez, Solange V.; Pyo, Tae-Soo
2017-07-01
Previous radio observations revealed widespread gas-phase methanol (CH3OH) in the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) at the Galactic center (GC), but its origin remains unclear. Here, we report the discovery of CH3OH ice toward a star in the CMZ, based on a Subaru 3.4-4.0 μm spectrum, aided by NASA/IRTF L\\prime imaging and 2-4 μm spectra. The star lies ˜8000 au away in projection from a massive young stellar object (MYSO). Its observed high CH3OH ice abundance (17 % +/- 3 % relative to H2O ice) suggests that the 3.535 μm CH3OH ice absorption likely arises in the MYSO’s extended envelope. However, it is also possible that CH3OH ice forms with a higher abundance in dense clouds within the CMZ, compared to within the disk. Either way, our result implies that gas-phase CH3OH in the CMZ can be largely produced by desorption from icy grains. The high solid CH3OH abundance confirms the prominent 15.4 μm shoulder absorption observed toward GC MYSOs arises from CO2 ice mixed with CH3OH. Based in part on data collected at Subaru Telescope, which is operated by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Woods, Cian; Caballero, Rodrigo
2015-04-01
warming at the surface. There are an average of 14 such events that enter the polar cap each winter, driving about 50% of the seasonal variation in surface temperature over the deep Arctic. We show that, over the last 30 years, the marginal ice-zones in the Barents, Labrador and Chukchi Seas have experienced roughly a doubling in the frequency of these intense moisture intrusion events during winter. Interestingly, these are the regions that have experienced the most rapid wintertime ice loss in the Arctic, raising the question: to what extent has the recent Arctic warming been driven by local vs. interannual/remote processes?
Schütte, Ursel M E; Cadieux, Sarah B; Hemmerich, Chris; Pratt, Lisa M; White, Jeffrey R
2016-01-01
Despite most lakes in the Arctic being perennially or seasonally frozen for at least 40% of the year, little is known about microbial communities and nutrient cycling under ice cover. We assessed the vertical microbial community distribution and geochemical composition in early spring under ice in a seasonally ice-covered lake in southwest Greenland using amplicon-based sequencing that targeted 16S rRNA genes and using a combination of field and laboratory aqueous geochemical methods. Microbial communities changed consistently with changes in geochemistry. Composition of the abundant members responded strongly to redox conditions, shifting downward from a predominantly heterotrophic aerobic community in the suboxic waters to a heterotrophic anaerobic community in the anoxic waters. Operational taxonomic units (OTUs) of Sporichthyaceae, Comamonadaceae, and the SAR11 Clade had higher relative abundances above the oxycline and OTUs within the genus Methylobacter, the phylum Lentisphaerae, and purple sulfur bacteria (PSB) below the oxycline. Notably, a 13-fold increase in sulfide at the oxycline was reflected in an increase and change in community composition of potential sulfur oxidizers. Purple non-sulfur bacteria were present above the oxycline and green sulfur bacteria and PSB coexisted below the oxycline, however, PSB were most abundant. For the first time we show the importance of PSB as potential sulfur oxidizers in an Arctic dimictic lake.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Neff, P. D.; Steig, E. J.; Clark, D. H.; McConnell, J. R.; Pettit, E. C.; Menounos, B.
2011-12-01
We recovered a 141 m ice core from Combatant Col (51.39°N, 125.22°W, 3000 m asl) on the flank of Mt. Waddington, southern Coast Mountains, British Columbia, Canada. Aerosols and other impurities in the ice show unambiguous seasonal variations, allowing for annual dating of the core. Clustered melt layers, originating from summer surface heating, also aid in the dating of the core. Seasonality in water stable isotopes is preserved throughout the record, showing little evidence of diffusion at depth, and serves as an independent verification of the timescale. The annual signal of deuterium excess is especially well preserved. The record of lead deposition in the core agrees with those of ice cores from Mt. Logan and from Greenland, with a sharp drop-off in concentration in the 1970s and early 1980s, further validating the timescales. Despite significant summertime melt at this mid-latitude site, these data collectively reveal a continuous and annually resolved 36-year record of snow accumulation. We derived an accumulation time series from the Mt. Waddington ice core, after correcting for ice flow. Years of anomalously high or low snow accumulation in the core correspond with extremes in precipitation data and geopotential height anomalies from reanalysis data that make physical sense. Specifically, anomalously high accumulation years at Mt. Waddington correlate with years where "Pineapple Express" atmospheric river events bring large amounts of moisture from the tropical Pacific to western North America. The Mt. Waddington accumulation record thus reflects regional-scale climate. These results demonstrate the potential of ice core records from temperate glaciers to provide meaningful paleoclimate information. A longer core to bedrock (250-300 m) at the Mt. Waddington site could yield ice with an age of several hundred to 1000 years.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Tjernström, Michael; Sotiropoulou, Georgia; Sedlar, Joseph; Achtert, Peggy; Brooks, Barbara; Brooks, Ian; Persson, Ola; Prytherch, John; Salsbury, Dominic; Shupe, Matthew; Johnston, Paul; Wolfe, Dan
2016-04-01
With more open water present in the Arctic summer, an understanding of atmospheric processes over open-water and sea-ice surfaces as summer turns into autumn and ice starts forming becomes increasingly important. The Arctic Clouds in Summer Experiment (ACSE) was conducted in a mix of open water and sea ice in the eastern Arctic along the Siberian shelf during late summer and early autumn 2014, providing detailed observations of the seasonal transition, from melt to freeze. Measurements were taken over both ice-free and ice-covered surfaces, offering an insight to the role of the surface state in shaping the lower troposphere and the boundary-layer conditions as summer turned into autumn. During summer, strong surface inversions persisted over sea ice, while well-mixed boundary layers capped by elevated inversions were frequent over open-water. The former were often associated with advection of warm air from adjacent open-water or land surfaces, whereas the latter were due to a positive buoyancy flux from the warm ocean surface. Fog and stratus clouds often persisted over the ice, whereas low-level liquid-water clouds developed over open water. These differences largely disappeared in autumn, when mixed-phase clouds capped by elevated inversions dominated in both ice-free and ice-covered conditions. Low-level-jets occurred ~20-25% of the time in both seasons. The observations indicate that these jets were typically initiated at air-mass boundaries or along the ice edge in autumn, while in summer they appeared to be inertial oscillations initiated by partial frictional decoupling as warm air was advected in over the sea ice. The start of the autumn season was related to an abrupt change in atmospheric conditions, rather than to the gradual change in solar radiation. The autumn onset appeared as a rapid cooling of the whole atmosphere and the freeze up followed as the warm surface lost heat to the atmosphere. While the surface type had a pronounced impact on boundary
B. L. Wong; K. L. Baggett; A. H. Rye
2009-01-01
This study examines the effects of summer drought on the composition and profiles of cold-season reserve and soluble carbohydrates in sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) trees (50-100 years old or ~200 years old) in which the crowns were nondamaged or damaged by the 1998 ice storm. The overall cold season reserve...
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Manrubia, S. C.; Prieto Ballesteros, O.; González Kessler, C.; Fernández Remolar, D.; Córdoba-Jabonero, C.; Selsis, F.; Bérczi, S.; Gánti, T.; Horváth, A.; Sik, A.; Szathmáry, E.
2004-03-01
We carry out a comparative analysis of the morphological and seasonal features of two regions in the Martian Southern Polar Region: the Inca City (82S 65W) and the Pityusa Patera zone (66S 37E). These two sites are representative of a large number of areas which are subjected to dynamical, seasonal processes that deeply modify the local conditions of those regions. Due to varitions in sunlight, seasonal CO2 accumulates during autumn and winter and starts defrosting in spring. By mid summer the seasonal ice has disappeared. Despite a number of relevant differences in the morphology of the seasonal features observed, they seem to result from similar processes.
Teleseismic Earthquake Signals Observed on an Ice Shelf
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Baker, M. G.; Aster, R. C.; Anthony, R. E.; Wiens, D.; Nyblade, A.; Bromirski, P. D.; Stephen, R. A.; Gerstoft, P.
2015-12-01
The West Antarctic Rift System (WARS) is one of Earth's largest continental extension zones. Study of the WARS is complicated by the presence of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, the Ross Ice Shelf, and the Ross Sea. Recent deployments of broadband seismographs in the POLENET project have allowed passive seismic techniques, such as receiver function analysis and surface wave dispersion, to be widely utilized to infer crustal and mantle velocity structure across much of the WARS and West Antarctica. However, a large sector of the WARS lies beneath the Ross Ice Shelf. In late 2014, 34 broadband seismographs were deployed atop the ice shelf to jointly study deep Earth structure and the dynamics of the ice shelf. Ice shelf conditions present strong challenges to broadband teleseismic imaging: 1) The presence of complicating signals in the microseism through long-period bands due to the influence of ocean gravity waves; 2) The strong velocity contrasts at the ice-water and water-sediment interfaces on either side of the water layer give rise to large amplitude reverberations; 3) The water layer screens S-waves or P-to-S phases originating from below the water layer. We present an initial analysis of the first teleseismic earthquake arrivals collected on the ice shelf at the end of the 2014 field season from a limited subset of these stations.
Distinct patterns of seasonal Greenland glacier velocity
Moon, Twila; Joughin, Ian; Smith, Ben; van den Broeke, Michiel R; van de Berg, Willem Jan; Noël, Brice; Usher, Mika
2014-01-01
Predicting Greenland Ice Sheet mass loss due to ice dynamics requires a complete understanding of spatiotemporal velocity fluctuations and related control mechanisms. We present a 5 year record of seasonal velocity measurements for 55 marine-terminating glaciers distributed around the ice sheet margin, along with ice-front position and runoff data sets for each glacier. Among glaciers with substantial speed variations, we find three distinct seasonal velocity patterns. One pattern indicates relatively high glacier sensitivity to ice-front position. The other two patterns are more prevalent and appear to be meltwater controlled. These patterns reveal differences in which some subglacial systems likely transition seasonally from inefficient, distributed hydrologic networks to efficient, channelized drainage, while others do not. The difference may be determined by meltwater availability, which in some regions may be influenced by perennial firn aquifers. Our results highlight the need to understand subglacial meltwater availability on an ice sheet-wide scale to predict future dynamic changes. Key Points First multi-region seasonal velocity measurements show regional differences Seasonal velocity fluctuations on most glaciers appear meltwater controlled Seasonal development of efficient subglacial drainage geographically divided PMID:25821275
Tang, Qiang; Bao, Yuhai; He, Xiubin; Fu, Bojie; Collins, Adrian L; Zhang, Xinbao
2016-04-01
Since the launch of the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River, a distinctive reservoir fluctuation zone has been created and significantly modified by regular dam operations. Sediment redistribution within this artificial landscape differs substantially from that in natural fluvial riparian zones, due to a specific hydrological regime comprising steps of water impoundment with increasing magnitudes and seasonal water level fluctuation holding a range of sediment fluxes. This study reinterpreted post-dam sedimentary dynamics in the reservoir fluctuation zone by stratigraphy determination of a 345-cm long sediment core, and related it to impact of the hydrological regime. Seasonality in absolute grain-size composition of suspended sediment was applied as a methodological basis for stratigraphic differentiation. Sedimentary laminations with relatively higher proportions of sandy fractions were ascribed to sedimentation during the dry season when proximal subsurface bank erosion dominates source contributions, while stratigraphy with a lower proportion of sandy fractions is possibly contributed by sedimentation during the wet season when distal upstream surface erosion prevails. Chronology determination revealed non-linear and high annual sedimentation rates ranging from 21.7 to 152.1cm/yr. Although channel geomorphology may primarily determine the spatial extent of sedimentation, seasonal sedimentary dynamics was predominantly governed by the frequency, magnitude, and duration of flooding. Summer inundation by natural floods with enhanced sediment loads produced from upstream basins induced higher sedimentation rates than water impoundment during the dry season when distal sediment supply was limited. We thus conclude that flow regulation manipulates contemporary seasonal sedimentary dynamics in the reservoir fluctuation zone, though little impact on total sediment retention rate was detected. Ongoing reductions in flow and sediment supply under human disturbance may
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Blanchard-Wrigglesworth, E.; Barthélemy, A.; Chevallier, M.; Cullather, R.; Fučkar, N.; Massonnet, F.; Posey, P.; Wang, W.; Zhang, J.; Ardilouze, C.; Bitz, C. M.; Vernieres, G.; Wallcraft, A.; Wang, M.
2017-08-01
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 forecast post-processing (bias correction) 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.
Modeling ocean wave propagation under sea ice covers
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Zhao, Xin; Shen, Hayley H.; Cheng, Sukun
2015-02-01
Operational ocean wave models need to work globally, yet current ocean wave models can only treat ice-covered regions crudely. The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief overview of ice effects on wave propagation and different research methodology used in studying these effects. Based on its proximity to land or sea, sea ice can be classified as: landfast ice zone, shear zone, and the marginal ice zone. All ice covers attenuate wave energy. Only long swells can penetrate deep into an ice cover. Being closest to open water, wave propagation in the marginal ice zone is the most complex to model. The physical appearance of sea ice in the marginal ice zone varies. Grease ice, pancake ice, brash ice, floe aggregates, and continuous ice sheet may be found in this zone at different times and locations. These types of ice are formed under different thermal-mechanical forcing. There are three classic models that describe wave propagation through an idealized ice cover: mass loading, thin elastic plate, and viscous layer models. From physical arguments we may conjecture that mass loading model is suitable for disjoint aggregates of ice floes much smaller than the wavelength, thin elastic plate model is suitable for a continuous ice sheet, and the viscous layer model is suitable for grease ice. For different sea ice types we may need different wave ice interaction models. A recently proposed viscoelastic model is able to synthesize all three classic models into one. Under suitable limiting conditions it converges to the three previous models. The complete theoretical framework for evaluating wave propagation through various ice covers need to be implemented in the operational ocean wave models. In this review, we introduce the sea ice types, previous wave ice interaction models, wave attenuation mechanisms, the methods to calculate wave reflection and transmission between different ice covers, and the effect of ice floe breaking on shaping the sea ice morphology
Effects of thermal vapor diffusion on seasonal dynamics of water in the unsaturated zone
Milly, Paul C.D.
1996-01-01
The response of water in the unsaturated zone to seasonal changes of temperature (T) is determined analytically using the theory of nonisothermal water transport in porous media, and the solutions are tested against field observations of moisture potential and bomb fallout isotopic (36Cl and 3H) concentrations. Seasonally varying land surface temperatures and the resulting subsurface temperature gradients induce thermal vapor diffusion. The annual mean vertical temperature gradient is close to zero; however, the annual mean thermal vapor flux is downward, because the temperature‐dependent vapor diffusion coefficient is larger, on average, during downward diffusion (occurring at high T) than during upward diffusion (low T). The annual mean thermal vapor flux is shown to decay exponentially with depth; the depth (about 1 m) at which it decays to e−1of its surface value is one half of the corresponding decay depth for the amplitude of seasonal temperature changes. This depth‐dependent annual mean flux is effectively a source of water, which must be balanced by a flux divergence associated with other transport processes. In a relatively humid environment the liquid fluxes greatly exceed the thermal vapor fluxes, so such a balance is readily achieved without measurable effect on the dynamics of water in the unsaturated zone. However, if the mean vertical water flux through the unsaturated zone is very small (<1 mm y−1), as it may be at many locations in a desert landscape, the thermal vapor flux must be balanced mostly by a matric‐potential‐induced upward flux of water. This return flux may include both vapor and liquid components. Below any near‐surface zone of weather‐related fluctuations of matric potential, maintenance of this upward flux requires an increase with depth in the annual mean matric potential; this theoretical prediction is supported by long‐term field measurements in the Chihuahuan Desert. The analysis also makes predictions
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Ibrahime Adodo, Fifi; Remy, Frédérique; Picard, Ghislain
2018-05-01
Spaceborne radar altimeters are a valuable tool for observing the Antarctic Ice Sheet. The radar wave interaction with the snow provides information on both the surface and the subsurface of the snowpack due to its dependence on the snow properties. However, the penetration of the radar wave within the snowpack also induces a negative bias on the estimated surface elevation. Empirical corrections of this space- and time-varying bias are usually based on the backscattering coefficient variability. We investigate the spatial and seasonal variations of the backscattering coefficient at the S (3.2 GHz ˜ 9.4 cm), Ku (13.6 GHz ˜ 2.3 cm) and Ka (37 GHz ˜ 0.8 cm) bands. We identified that the backscattering coefficient at Ku band reaches a maximum in winter in part of the continent (Region 1) and in the summer in the remaining (Region 2), while the evolution at other frequencies is relatively uniform over the whole continent. To explain this contrasting behavior between frequencies and between regions, we studied the sensitivity of the backscattering coefficient at three frequencies to several parameters (surface snow density, snow temperature and snow grain size) using an electromagnetic model. The results show that the seasonal cycle of the backscattering coefficient at Ka frequency is dominated by the volume echo and is mainly driven by snow temperature evolution everywhere. In contrast, at S band, the cycle is dominated by the surface echo. At Ku band, the seasonal cycle is dominated by the volume echo in Region 1 and by the surface echo in Region 2. This investigation provides new information on the seasonal dynamics of the Antarctic Ice Sheet surface and provides new clues to build more accurate corrections of the radar altimeter surface elevation signal in the future.
Modeling of surface roughness effects on glaze ice accretion
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Hansman, R. John, Jr.; Yamaguchi, Keiko; Berkowitz, Brian M.; Potapczuk, Mark
1990-01-01
A series of experimental investigations focused on studying the cause and effect of roughness on accreting glaze ice surfaces were conducted. Detailed microvideo observations were made of glaze ice accretions on 1 to 4 inch diameter cylinders in three icing wind tunnels (the Data Products of New England six inch test facility, the NASA Lewis Icing Research Tunnel, and the B. F. Goodrich Ice Protection Research Facility). Infrared thermal video recordings were made of accreting ice surfaces in the Goodrich facility. Distinct zones of surface water behavior were observed; a smooth wet zone in the stagnation region with a uniform water film; a rough zone where surface tension effects caused coalescence of surface water into stationary beads; a horn zone where roughness elements grow into horn shapes; a runback zone where surface water ran back as rivulets; and a dry zone where rime feathers formed. The location of the transition from the smooth to the rough zone was found to migrate with time towards the stagnation point. The behavior of the transition appeared to be controlled by boundary layer transition and bead formation mechanisms at the interface between the smooth and rough zones. Regions of wet ice growth and enhanced heat transfer were clearly visible in the infrared video recordings of glaze ice surfaces. A simple multi-zone modification to the current glaze ice accretion model was proposed to include spatial variability in surface roughness.
Mercury concentration in phytoplankton in response to warming of an autumn - winter season.
Bełdowska, Magdalena; Kobos, Justyna
2016-08-01
Among other climate changes in the southern Baltic, there is a tendency towards warming, especially in autumn-winter. As a result, the ice cover on the coastal zone often fails to occur. This is conducive to the thriving of phytoplankton, in which metals, including mercury, can be accumulated. The dry deposition of atmospheric Hg during heating seasons is more intense than in non-heating seasons, owing to the combustion of fossil fuels for heating purposes. This has resulted in studies into the role of phytoplankton in the introduction of Hg into the first link of trophic chain, as a function of autumn and winter warming in the coastal zone of the lagoon. The studies were conducted at two stations in the coastal zone of the southern Baltic, in the Puck Lagoon, between December 2011 and May 2013. The obtained results show that, in the estuary region, the lack of ice cover can lead to a 30% increase and during an "extremely warm" autumn and winter an increase of up to three-fold in the mean annual Hg pool in phytoplankton (mass of Hg in phytoplankton per liter of seawater). The Hg content in phytoplankton was higher when Mesodinium rubrum was prevalent in the biomass, while the proportion of dinoflagellates was small. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Nghiem, S. V.; Clemente-Colon, P.; Rigor, I. G.; Hall, D. K.; Neumann, G.
2011-01-01
The seafloor has a profound role in Arctic sea ice formation and seasonal evolution. Ocean bathymetry controls the distribution and mixing of warm and cold waters, which may originate from different sources, thereby dictating the pattern of sea ice on the ocean surface. Sea ice dynamics, forced by surface winds, are also guided by seafloor features in preferential directions. Here, satellite mapping of sea ice together with buoy measurements are used to reveal the bathymetric control on sea ice growth and dynamics. Bathymetric effects on sea ice formation are clearly observed in the conformation between sea ice patterns and bathymetric characteristics in the peripheral seas. Beyond local features, bathymetric control appears over extensive ice-prone regions across the Arctic Ocean. The large-scale conformation between bathymetry and patterns of different synoptic sea ice classes, including seasonal and perennial sea ice, is identified. An implication of the bathymetric influence is that the maximum extent of the total sea ice cover is relatively stable, as observed by scatterometer data in the decade of the 2000s, while the minimum ice extent has decreased drastically. Because of the geologic control, the sea ice cover can expand only as far as it reaches the seashore, the continental shelf break, or other pronounced bathymetric features in the peripheral seas. Since the seafloor does not change significantly for decades or centuries, sea ice patterns can be recurrent around certain bathymetric features, which, once identified, may help improve short-term forecast and seasonal outlook of the sea ice cover. Moreover, the seafloor can indirectly influence cloud cover by its control on sea ice distribution, which differentially modulates the latent heat flux through ice covered and open water areas.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Onojeghuo, A. R.; Balzter, H.; Monks, P. S.
2015-12-01
West Africa is a region with six different climatic zones including a rich savannah affected by biomass burning annually, the Niger delta oil producing region with major gas flaring sites and a long coastline. Research on atmospheric pollution using remotely sensed data over West Africa has mostly been conducted at regional scale or for individual countries, with little emphasis on the dynamics of climatic zones and the diversity of land cover types. This study analyses annual seasonal dynamics of emissions of two ozone precursors stratified by climatic zone: nitrogen dioxide (NO2) from OMI and carbon monoxide (CO) from TES. The different sources of these pollutants and their seasonality are explicitly considered. Results indicate that the highest annual wet season NO2 column concentrations were in the semi-arid zone (1.33 x 1015 molecules cm-2) after prolonged periods of low soil moisture while the highest dry season were observed in the wet sub-humid zone (2.62 x 1015 molecules cm-2) where the savannah fires occur annually. The highest annual CO concentrations (> 3.1 x 1018 molecules cm-2) were from the Niger Delta, located in the humid zone. There were indications of atmospheric transport of CO from the southern hemisphere in the west season. Climate change induced soil moisture variability was most prominent in the dry sub-humid and semi-arid climatic zones (±0.015m3m-3) . The causal effects of soil moisture variability on NO2 emissions and their seasonal cycles were tested using the Granger causality test. Causal effects of inter-zonal exchanges/transport of NO2 and CO emissions respectively were inferred using Directed Acyclic Graphs. The results indicate that NO2, CO and their seasonal ratios are strongly affected by changes in soil moisture.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Crozier, J. A.; Karlstrom, L.; Yang, K.
2017-12-01
Ice sheet surface topography reflects a complicated combination of processes that act directly upon the surface and that are products of ice advection. Using recently-available high resolution ice velocity, imagery, ice surface elevation, and bedrock elevation data sets, we seek to determine the domain of significance of two important processes - thermal fluvial incision and transfer of bedrock topography through the ice sheet - on controlling surface topography in the ablation zone. Evaluating such controls is important for understanding how melting of the GIS surface during the melt season may be directly imprinted in topography through supraglacial drainage networks, and indirectly imprinted through its contribution to basal sliding that affects bedrock transfer. We use methods developed by (Karlstrom and Yang, 2016) to identify supraglacial stream networks on the GIS, and use high resolution surface digital elevation models as well as gridded ice velocity and melt rate models to quantify surface processes. We implement a numerically efficient Fourier domain bedrock transfer function (Gudmundsson, 2003) to predict surface topography due to ice advection over bedrock topography obtained from radar. Despite a number of simplifying assumptions, the bedrock transfer function predicts the observed ice sheet surface in most regions of the GIS with ˜90% accuracy, regardless of the presence or absence of supraglacial drainage networks. This supports the hypothesis that bedrock is the most significant driver of ice surface topography on wavelengths similar to ice thickness. Ice surface topographic asymmetry on the GIS is common, with slopes in the direction of ice flow steeper than those faced opposite to ice flow, consistent with bedrock transfer theory. At smaller wavelengths, topography consistent with fluvial erosion by surface hydrologic features is evident. We quantify the effect of ice advection versus fluvial thermal erosion on supraglacial longitudinal stream
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Gooseff, M. N.; Bergstrom, A.
2016-12-01
The Dry Valleys of Antarctica are a polar desert ecosystem consisting of piedmont and alpine glaciers, ice-covered lakes, and vast expanses of bare soil. The ecosystem is highly dependent on glacial melt a water source. Because average summer temperatures are close to freezing, glacier ice and lake ice are very closely linked to the energy balance. A slight increase in incoming radiation or decrease in albedo can have large effects on the timing and volume of available liquid water. However, we have yet to fully characterize the seasonal evolution of albedo in the valleys. In this study, we used a camera, gps, and short wave radiometer to characterize the albedo within and across landscape types in the Taylor Valley. These instruments were attached to a helicopter and flown on a prescribed path along the valley at approximately 300 feet above the ground surface five different times throughout the season from mid-November to mid-January, 2015-2016. We used these data to calculate the albedo of each glacier, lake, and the soil surface of the lake basins in the valley for each flight. As expected, we found that all landscape types had significantly different albedo, with the glaciers consistently the highest throughout the season and the bare soils the lowest (p-value < 0.05). We hypothesized that albedo would decrease throughout the season with snow melt and increasing sediment exposure on the glacier and lake surfaces. However, small snow events (< 3 cm) caused somewhat persistent high albedo on the lakes and glaciers. Furthermore, there was a range in albedo across glaciers and each responded to seasonal snow and melt differently. These findings highlight the importance of understanding the spatial and temporal variability in albedo and the close coupling of climate and landscape response. We can use this new understanding of landscape albedo to better predict how the Dry Valley ecosystems will respond to changing climate at the basin scale.
Özkundakci, Deniz; Gsell, Alena S; Hintze, Thomas; Täuscher, Helgard; Adrian, Rita
2016-01-01
How climate change will affect the community dynamics and functionality of lake ecosystems during winter is still little understood. This is also true for phytoplankton in seasonally ice-covered temperate lakes which are particularly vulnerable to the presence or absence of ice. We examined changes in pelagic phytoplankton winter community structure in a north temperate lake (Müggelsee, Germany), covering 18 winters between 1995 and 2013. We tested how phytoplankton taxa composition varied along a winter-severity gradient and to what extent winter severity shaped the functional trait composition of overwintering phytoplankton communities using multivariate statistical analyses and a functional trait-based approach. We hypothesized that overwintering phytoplankton communities are dominated by taxa with trait combinations corresponding to the prevailing winter water column conditions, using ice thickness measurements as a winter-severity indicator. Winter severity had little effect on univariate diversity indicators (taxon richness and evenness), but a strong relationship was found between the phytoplankton community structure and winter severity when taxon trait identity was taken into account. Species responses to winter severity were mediated by the key functional traits: motility, nutritional mode, and the ability to form resting stages. Accordingly, one or the other of two functional groups dominated the phytoplankton biomass during mild winters (i.e., thin or no ice cover; phototrophic taxa) or severe winters (i.e., thick ice cover; exclusively motile taxa). Based on predicted milder winters for temperate regions and a reduction in ice-cover durations, phytoplankton communities during winter can be expected to comprise taxa that have a relative advantage when the water column is well mixed (i.e., need not be motile) and light is less limiting (i.e., need not be mixotrophic). A potential implication of this result is that winter severity promotes different
Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR
2013-07-01
... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Safety Zone; Sea World San Diego Fireworks 2013 Season, Mission Bay; San Diego, CA. 165.T11-560 Section 165.T11-560 Navigation and Navigable... Eleventh Coast Guard District § 165.T11-560 Safety Zone; Sea World San Diego Fireworks 2013 Season, Mission...
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Cavanagh, J. P.; Lampkin, D. J.; Moon, T.
2017-12-01
The impact of meltwater injection into the shear margins of Jakobshavn Isbræ via drainage from water-filled crevasses on ice flow is examined. We use Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager panchromatic, high-resolution imagery to monitor the spatiotemporal variability of seven water-filled crevasse ponds during the summers of 2013 to 2015. The timing of drainage from water-filled crevasses coincides with an increase of 2 to 20% in measured ice velocity beyond Jakobshavn Isbræ shear margins, which we define as extramarginal ice velocity. Some water-filled crevasse groups demonstrate multiple drainage events within a single melt season. Numerical simulations show that hydrologic shear weakening due to water-filled crevasse drainage can accelerate extramarginal flow by as much as 35% within 10 km of the margins and enhance mass flux through the shear margins by 12%. This work demonstrates a novel mechanism through which surface melt can influence regional ice flow.
Studies of the Antarctic Sea Ice Edges and Ice Extents from Satellite and Ship Observations
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Worby, Anthony P.; Comiso, Josefino C.
2003-01-01
Passive-microwave derived ice edge locations in Antarctica are assessed against other satellite data as well as in situ observations of ice edge location made between 1989 and 2000. The passive microwave data generally agree with satellite and ship data but the ice concentration at the observed ice edge varies greatly with averages of 14% for the TEAM algorithm and 19% for the Bootstrap algorithm. The comparisons of passive microwave with the field data show that in the ice growth season (March - October) the agreement is extremely good, with r(sup 2) values of 0.9967 and 0.9797 for the Bootstrap and TEAM algorithms respectively. In the melt season however (November - February) the passive microwave ice edge is typically 1-2 degrees south of the observations due to the low concentration and saturated nature of the ice. Sensitivity studies show that these results can have significant impact on trend and mass balance studies of the sea ice cover in the Southern Ocean.
Iverson, Samuel A; Gilchrist, H Grant; Smith, Paul A; Gaston, Anthony J; Forbes, Mark R
2014-03-22
Northern polar regions have warmed more than other parts of the globe potentially amplifying the effects of climate change on biological communities. Ice-free seasons are becoming longer in many areas, which has reduced the time available to polar bears (Ursus maritimus) to hunt for seals and hampered bears' ability to meet their energetic demands. In this study, we examined polar bears' use of an ancillary prey resource, eggs of colonial nesting birds, in relation to diminishing sea ice coverage in a low latitude region of the Canadian Arctic. Long-term monitoring reveals that bear incursions onto common eider (Somateria mollissima) and thick-billed murre (Uria lomvia) nesting colonies have increased greater than sevenfold since the 1980s and that there is an inverse correlation between ice season length and bear presence. In surveys encompassing more than 1000 km of coastline during years of record low ice coverage (2010-2012), we encountered bears or bear sign on 34% of eider colonies and estimated greater egg loss as a consequence of depredation by bears than by more customary nest predators, such as foxes and gulls. Our findings demonstrate how changes in abiotic conditions caused by climate change have altered predator-prey dynamics and are leading to cascading ecological impacts in Arctic ecosystems.
Iverson, Samuel A.; Gilchrist, H. Grant; Smith, Paul A.; Gaston, Anthony J.; Forbes, Mark R.
2014-01-01
Northern polar regions have warmed more than other parts of the globe potentially amplifying the effects of climate change on biological communities. Ice-free seasons are becoming longer in many areas, which has reduced the time available to polar bears (Ursus maritimus) to hunt for seals and hampered bears’ ability to meet their energetic demands. In this study, we examined polar bears’ use of an ancillary prey resource, eggs of colonial nesting birds, in relation to diminishing sea ice coverage in a low latitude region of the Canadian Arctic. Long-term monitoring reveals that bear incursions onto common eider (Somateria mollissima) and thick-billed murre (Uria lomvia) nesting colonies have increased greater than sevenfold since the 1980s and that there is an inverse correlation between ice season length and bear presence. In surveys encompassing more than 1000 km of coastline during years of record low ice coverage (2010–2012), we encountered bears or bear sign on 34% of eider colonies and estimated greater egg loss as a consequence of depredation by bears than by more customary nest predators, such as foxes and gulls. Our findings demonstrate how changes in abiotic conditions caused by climate change have altered predator–prey dynamics and are leading to cascading ecological impacts in Arctic ecosystems. PMID:24500172
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Niebauer, H. J.; Alexander, Vera; Henrichs, Susan
1990-12-01
At the edge of the melting sea ice pack in the Bering Sea in spring, physical, biological, and chemical oceanographic processes combine to generate a short-lived, intense phytoplankton bloom that is associated with the retreating ice edge. The bloom begins a week or so before the first of May triggered by insolation and by the low-salinity meltwater stratification in the presence of high nitrate concentrations (˜ > 25 μM). Meltwater (salinity) stratification delineates ice edge blooms from open water blooms where temperature gradients generate the stratification. Five cross-ice sections of temperature, salinity, σt, chlorophyll, and nitrate are presented as a time series from April 27 to May 5 illustrating the bloom. Evidence of two separate but concurrent blooms in the ice edge zone are presented. In addition, meteorological and oceanographic conditions were observed that should have been conducive to ice edge up welling. While significant ice and water movement occurred, upwelling was not observed. Finally, the Bering Sea ice edge spring bloom is compared with other ice edge systems in both hemispheres, showing that initial Bering Sea nitrate concentrations are among the highest observed but quickly become limiting owing to the rapid build up of phytoplankton populations. This primary production is not coupled to the pelagic Zooplankton because Zooplankton are largely absent on account of the cold temperatures. Observed maximum chlorophyll concentrations in the bloom are several times greater than those observed in other systems.
Greenland-Wide Seasonal Temperatures During the Last Deglaciation
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Buizert, C.; Keisling, B. A.; Box, J. E.; He, F.; Carlson, A. E.; Sinclair, G.; DeConto, R. M.
2018-02-01
The sensitivity of the Greenland ice sheet to climate forcing is of key importance in assessing its contribution to past and future sea level rise. Surface mass loss occurs during summer, and accounting for temperature seasonality is critical in simulating ice sheet evolution and in interpreting glacial landforms and chronologies. Ice core records constrain the timing and magnitude of climate change but are largely limited to annual mean estimates from the ice sheet interior. Here we merge ice core reconstructions with transient climate model simulations to generate Greenland-wide and seasonally resolved surface air temperature fields during the last deglaciation. Greenland summer temperatures peak in the early Holocene, consistent with records of ice core melt layers. We perform deglacial Greenland ice sheet model simulations to demonstrate that accounting for realistic temperature seasonality decreases simulated glacial ice volume, expedites the deglacial margin retreat, mutes the impact of abrupt climate warming, and gives rise to a clear Holocene ice volume minimum.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Arcone, S. A.; Ray, L.; Lever, J.; Koons, P. O.; Kaluzienski, L. M.
2017-12-01
Shearing along ice shelf margins threatens shelf stability if crevassing results throughout the ice. We are investigating a 28 km2 section of the McMurdo Shear Zone (MSZ), which lies between the Ross Ice Shelf (RIS) and the McMurdo Ice Shelf (MIS). Our gridded transects are east-west, ice flow is nearly due north and the RIS compresses against the MIS from east to west. We find nearly synchronized firn and marine ice crevassing; the marine ice is stratified. However, the lack of any radar evidence for crevassing or fracture within the intermediate 120 m of meteoric ice is so far, enigmatic. The marine ice crevassing is interpreted from ground-penetrating radar (GPR) trace signatures within 100 m swaths of the interface between the meteoric and marine ice; thus the GPR performs like side-looking radar. Symmetric and deformed diffraction hyperbolas indicate crevasses oriented at 43-76 degrees relative to ice flow, as seen in the firn. Those near 45 degrees are interpreted as recently formed while those at greater angles are likely older and rotated. Many traces indicate crevasse warping, lateral faulting, and down-faulting. Traces nearly perpendicular to flow indicate possible wing cracks that grew from the tips of crevasses into the direction of compression from the RIS. We interpret the marine crevasses to have originated at the meteoric-marine interface, and to have extended to the shelf bottom because they appear filled with unstratified frozen seawater. In view of these observations, and that the intermediate meteoric ice must be under similar although not exactly the same stresses, the lack of fracturing within the meteoric ice may imply that suturing following brittle and ductile shear deformation provides stability for the MSZ and may result from this east-west compression of the RIS against the MIS.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Perry, M. J.; Lee, C.; Rainville, L.; Cetinic, I.; Yang, E. J.; Kang, S. H.
2016-02-01
In late summer 2014 during the Marginal Ice Zone (MIZ) Experiment, an international project sponsored by ONR, four Seagliders transited open water, through the marginal ice zone, and under ice-covered regions in the Beaufort Sea, penetrating as far as 100 km into the ice pack. The gliders navigated either by GPS in open water or, when under the ice, by acoustics from sound sources embedded in the MIZ autonomous observing array. The glider sensor suite included temperature, temperature microstructure, salinity, oxygen, chlorophyll fluorescence, optical backscatter, and multi-spectral downwelling irradiance. Cruises on the IBRV Araon operating in the open Beaufort Sea and on the R/V Ukpik and Norseman operating in continental shelf waters off Alaska's north slope allowed us to construct proxy libraries for converting chlorophyll fluorescence to chlorophyll concentration and optical backscatter to particulate organic carbon concentration. Water samples were collected for chlorophyll and particulate organic carbon analysis on the cruises and aligned with optical profiles of fluorescence and backscatter using sensors that were factory calibrated at the same time as the glider sensors. Fields of chlorophyll, particulate organic carbon, light, and primary productivity are constructed from the glider data. Productivity is modeled as a function of chlorophyll and light, using photosynthesis-light (PE) models with available PE parameters from Arctic measurements. During August the region under the ice was characterized by a deep chlorophyll maximum layer with low rates of production in overlying waters. A phytoplankton bloom developed in open water at the end of September, preceding the rapid reformation of ice, despite shorter days and reduce irradiation.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Takaya, Yuhei; Hirahara, Shoji; Yasuda, Tamaki; Matsueda, Satoko; Toyoda, Takahiro; Fujii, Yosuke; Sugimoto, Hiroyuki; Matsukawa, Chihiro; Ishikawa, Ichiro; Mori, Hirotoshi; Nagasawa, Ryoji; Kubo, Yutaro; Adachi, Noriyuki; Yamanaka, Goro; Kuragano, Tsurane; Shimpo, Akihiko; Maeda, Shuhei; Ose, Tomoaki
2018-02-01
This paper describes the Japan Meteorological Agency/Meteorological Research Institute-Coupled Prediction System version 2 (JMA/MRI-CPS2), which was put into operation in June 2015 for the purpose of performing seasonal predictions. JMA/MRI-CPS2 has various upgrades from its predecessor, JMA/MRI-CPS1, including improved resolution and physics in its atmospheric and oceanic components, introduction of an interactive sea-ice model and realistic initialization of its land component. Verification of extensive re-forecasts covering a 30-year period (1981-2010) demonstrates that JMA/MRI-CPS2 possesses improved seasonal predictive skills for both atmospheric and oceanic interannual variability as well as key coupled variability such as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). For ENSO prediction, the new system better represents the forecast uncertainty and transition/duration of ENSO phases. Our analysis suggests that the enhanced predictive skills are attributable to incremental improvements resulting from all of the changes, as is apparent in the beneficial effects of sea-ice coupling and land initialization on 2-m temperature predictions. JMA/MRI-CPS2 is capable of reasonably representing the seasonal cycle and secular trends of sea ice. The sea-ice coupling remarkably enhances the predictive capability for the Arctic 2-m temperature, indicating the importance of this factor, particularly for seasonal predictions in the Arctic region.
Ice911 Research: Preserving and Rebuilding Multi-Year Ice
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Field, L. A.; Chetty, S.; Manzara, A.
2013-12-01
A localized surface albedo modification technique is being developed that shows promise as a method to increase multi-year ice using reflective floating materials, chosen so as to have low subsidiary environmental impact. Multi-year ice has diminished rapidly in the Arctic over the past 3 decades (Riihela et al, Nature Climate Change, August 4, 2013) and this plays a part in the continuing rapid decrease of summer-time ice. As summer-time ice disappears, the Arctic is losing its ability to act as the earth's refrigeration system, and this has widespread climatic effects, as well as a direct effect on sea level rise, as oceans heat, and once-land-based ice melts into the sea. We have tested the albedo modification technique on a small scale over five Winter/Spring seasons at sites including California's Sierra Nevada Mountains, a Canadian lake, and a small man-made lake in Minnesota, using various materials and an evolving array of instrumentation. The materials can float and can be made to minimize effects on marine habitat and species. The instrumentation is designed to be deployed in harsh and remote locations. Localized snow and ice preservation, and reductions in water heating, have been quantified in small-scale testing. Climate modeling is underway to analyze the effects of this method of surface albedo modification in key areas on the rate of oceanic and atmospheric temperature rise. We are also evaluating the effects of snow and ice preservation for protection of infrastructure and habitat stabilization. This paper will also discuss a possible reduction of sea level rise with an eye to quantification of cost/benefit. The most recent season's experimentation on a man-made private lake in Minnesota saw further evolution in the material and deployment approach. The materials were successfully deployed to shield underlying snow and ice from melting; applications of granular materials remained stable in the face of local wind and storms. Localized albedo
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Comiso, Josefino C.; Parkinson, Claire L.
2007-01-01
We use two algorithms to process AMSR-E data in order to determine algorithm dependence, if any, on the estimates of sea ice concentration, ice extent and area, and trends and to evaluate how AMSR-E data compare with historical SSM/I data. The monthly ice concentrations derived from the two algorithms from AMSR-E data (the AMSR-E Bootstrap Algorithm, or ABA, and the enhanced NASA Team algorithm, or NT2) differ on average by about 1 to 3%, with data from the consolidated ice region being generally comparable for ABA and NT2 retrievals while data in the marginal ice zones and thin ice regions show higher values when the NT2 algorithm is used. The ice extents and areas derived separately from AMSR-E using these two algorithms are, however, in good agreement, with the differences (ABA-NT2) being about 6.6 x 10(exp 4) square kilometers on average for ice extents and -6.6 x 10(exp 4) square kilometers for ice area which are small compared to mean seasonal values of 10.5 x 10(exp 6) and 9.8 x 10(exp 6) for ice extent and area: respectively. Likewise, extents and areas derived from the same algorithm but from AMSR-E and SSM/I data are consistent but differ by about -24.4 x 10(exp 4) square kilometers and -13.9 x 10(exp 4) square kilometers, respectively. The discrepancies are larger with the estimates of extents than area mainly because of differences in channel selection and sensor resolutions. Trends in extent during the AMSR-E era were also estimated and results from all three data sets are shown to be in good agreement (within errors).
Sensitivity study of a dynamic thermodynamic sea ice model
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Holland, David M.; Mysak, Lawrence A.; Manak, Davinder K.; Oberhuber, Josef M.
1993-02-01
A numerical simulation of the seasonal sea ice cover in the Arctic Ocean and the Greenland, Iceland, and Norwegian seas is presented. The sea ice model is extracted from Oberhuber's (1990) coupled sea ice-mixed layer-isopycnal general circulation model and is written in spherical coordinates. The advantage of such a model over previous sea ice models is that it can be easily coupled to either global atmospheric or ocean general circulation models written in spherical coordinates. In this model, the thermodynamics are a modification of that of Parkinson and Washington (1979), while the dynamics use the full Hibler (1979) viscous-plastic rheology. Monthly thermodynamic and dynamic forcing fields for the atmosphere and ocean are specified. The simulations of the seasonal cycle of ice thickness, compactness, and velocity, for a control set of parameters, compare favorably with the known seasonal characteristics of these fields. A sensitivity study of the control simulation of the seasonal sea ice cover is presented. The sensitivity runs are carried out under three different themes, namely, numerical conditions, parameter values, and physical processes. This last theme refers to experiments in which physical processes are either newly added or completely removed from the model. Approximately 80 sensitivity runs have been performed in which a change from the control run environment has been implemented. Comparisons have been made between the control run and a particular sensitivity run based on time series of the seasonal cycle of the domain-averaged ice thickness, compactness, areal coverage, and kinetic energy. In addition, spatially varying fields of ice thickness, compactness, velocity, and surface temperature for each season are presented for selected experiments. A brief description and discussion of the more interesting experiments are presented. The simulation of the seasonal cycle of Arctic sea ice cover is shown to be robust.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Jones, J.; Eicken, H.; Mahoney, A. R.; MV, R.; Kambhamettu, C.; Fukamachi, Y.; Ohshima, K. I.; George, C.
2016-12-01
Landfast sea ice is an important seasonal feature along most Arctic coastlines, such as that of the Chukchi Sea near Barrow, Alaska. Its stability throughout the ice season is determined by many factors but grounded pressure ridges are the primary stabilizing component. Landfast ice breakouts occur when these grounded ridges fail or unground, and previously stationary ice detaches from the coast and drifts away. Using ground-based radar imagery from a coastal ice and ocean observatory at Barrow, we have developed a method to estimate the extent of grounded ridges by tracking ice motion and deformation over the course of winter and have derived ice keel depth and potential for grounding from cumulative convergent ice motion. Estimates of landfast ice grounding strength have been compared to the atmospheric and oceanic stresses acting on the landfast ice before and during breakout events to determine prevailing causes for the failure of stabilizing features. Applying this approach to two case studies in 2008 and 2010, we conclude that a combination of atmospheric and oceanic stresses may have caused the breakouts analyzed in this study, with the latter as the dominant force. Preconditioning (as weakening) of grounded ridges by sea level variations may facilitate failure of the ice sheet leading to breakout events.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Jones, Joshua; Eicken, Hajo; Mahoney, Andrew; MV, Rohith; Kambhamettu, Chandra; Fukamachi, Yasushi; Ohshima, Kay I.; George, J. Craig
2016-09-01
Landfast sea ice is an important seasonal feature along most Arctic coastlines, such as that of the Chukchi Sea near Barrow, Alaska. Its stability throughout the ice season is determined by many factors but grounded pressure ridges are the primary stabilizing component. Landfast ice breakouts occur when these grounded ridges fail or unground, and previously stationary ice detaches from the coast and drifts away. Using ground-based radar imagery from a coastal ice and ocean observatory at Barrow, we have developed a method to estimate the extent of grounded ridges by tracking ice motion and deformation over the course of winter and have derived ice keel depth and potential for grounding from cumulative convergent ice motion. Estimates of landfast ice grounding strength have been compared to the atmospheric and oceanic stresses acting on the landfast ice before and during breakout events to determine prevailing causes for the failure of stabilizing features. Applying this approach to two case studies in 2008 and 2010, we conclude that a combination of atmospheric and oceanic stresses may have caused the breakouts analyzed in this study, with the latter as the dominant force. Preconditioning (as weakening) of grounded ridges by sea level variations may facilitate failure of the ice sheet leading to breakout events.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Hezel, Paul J.
Observational studies have examined the relationship between methanesulfonic acid (MSA) measured in Antarctic ice cores and sea ice extent measured by satellites with the aim of producing a proxy for past sea ice extent. MSA is an oxidation product of dimethylsulfide (DMS) and is potentially linked to sea ice based on observations of very high surface seawater DMS in the sea ice zone. Using a global chemical transport model, we present the first modeling study that specifically examines this relationship on interannual and on glacial-interglacial time scales. On interannual time scales, the model shows no robust relationship between MSA deposited in Antarctica and sea ice extent. We show that lifetimes of MSA and DMS are longer in the high latitudes than in the global mean, interannual variability of sea ice is small (<25%) as a fraction of sea ice area, and sea ice determines only a fraction of the variability (<30%) of DMS emissions from the ocean surface. A potentially larger fraction of the variability in DMS emissions is determined by surface wind speed (up to 46%) via the parameterization for ocean-to-atmosphere gas exchange. Furthermore, we find that a significant fraction (up to 74%) of MSA deposited in Antarctica originates from north of 60°S, north of the seasonal sea ice zone. We then examine the deposition of MSA and non-sea-salt sulfate (nss SO2-4 ) on glacial-interglacial time scales. Ice core observations on the East Antarctic Plateau suggest that MSA increases much more than nss SO2-4 during the last glacial maximum (LGM) compared to the modern period. It has been suggested that high MSA during the LGM is indicative of higher primary productivity and DMS emissions in the LGM compared to the modern day. Studies have also shown that MSA is subject to post-depositional volatilization, especially during the modern period. Using the same chemical transport model driven by meteorology from a global climate model, we examine the sensitivity of MSA and nss
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Divine, Dmitry; Pedersen, Christina; Karlsen, Tor Ivan; Aas, Harald; Granskog, Mats; Renner, Angelika; Spreen, Gunnar; Gerland, Sebastian
2013-04-01
A new thin-ice Arctic paradigm requires reconsideration of the set of parameterizations of mass and energy exchange within the ocean-sea-ice-atmosphere system used in modern CGCMs. Such a reassessment would require a comprehensive collection of measurements made specifically on first-year pack ice with a focus on summer melt season when the difference from typical conditions for the earlier multi-year Arctic sea ice cover becomes most pronounced. Previous in situ studies have demonstrated a crucial importance of smaller (i.e. less than 10 m) scale surface topography features for the seasonal evolution of pack ice. During 2011-2012 NPI developed a helicopter borne ICE stereocamera system intended for mapping the sea ice surface topography and aerial photography. The hardware component of the system comprises two Canon 5D Mark II cameras, combined GPS/INS unit by "Novatel" and a laser altimeter mounted in a single enclosure outside the helicopter. The unit is controlled by a PXI chassis mounted inside the helicopter cabin. The ICE stereocamera system was deployed for the first time during the 2012 summer field season. The hardware setup has proven to be highly reliable and was used in about 30 helicopter flights over Arctic sea-ice during July-September. Being highly automated it required a minimal human supervision during in-flight operation. The deployment of the camera system was mostly done in combination with the EM-bird, which measures sea-ice thickness, and this combination provides an integrated view of sea ice cover along the flight track. During the flight the cameras shot sequentially with a time interval of 1 second each to ensure sufficient overlap between subsequent images. Some 35000 images of sea ice/water surface captured per camera sums into 6 Tb of data collected during its first field season. The reconstruction of the digital elevation model of sea ice surface will be done using SOCET SET commercial software. Refraction at water/air interface can
The role of the margins in ice stream dynamics
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Echelmeyer, Keith; Harrison, William
1993-01-01
equals 5) outward of the shear margin, or the bed is frozen there. And last, the high shear stress and strain rate found at the margin are likely to cause significant viscous heating (q) in the marginal ice. The increase in temperature is proportional to qX/u, where X is the width of the shear zone and u is the transverse velocity component bringing cold ice in from the ice sheet outside the shear zone. Near upstream B, this heating is likely to cause an increase in temperature of 4 to 10 K. Plans are to measure this temperature increase in a series of bore holes near the margin during the 1992-93 field season, as well as to provide a more detailed description of the velocity field there.
The role of the margins in ice stream dynamics
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Echelmeyer, Keith; Harrison, William
1993-07-01
equals 5) outward of the shear margin, or the bed is frozen there. And last, the high shear stress and strain rate found at the margin are likely to cause significant viscous heating (q) in the marginal ice. The increase in temperature is proportional to qX/u, where X is the width of the shear zone and u is the transverse velocity component bringing cold ice in from the ice sheet outside the shear zone. Near upstream B, this heating is likely to cause an increase in temperature of 4 to 10 K. Plans are to measure this temperature increase in a series of bore holes near the margin during the 1992-93 field season, as well as to provide a more detailed description of the velocity field there.
Li, Ha; Hua, Er; Zhang, Zhi-Nan
2012-12-01
An investigation was conducted on the abundance, group composition, and distribution of meiofauna at the Second Beach of Taiping Bay and the Shilaoren Beach in Qingdao in January, April, July, and October 2008, aimed to analyze the distribution and seasonal dynamics of meiofauna in the intertidal zone of Qingdao sandy beaches. The measurements of environmental factors, including sediment grain size, interstitial water salinity, interstitial water temperature, organic matter content (TOC), and chlorophyll a (Chl a) content, were made simultaneously. There existed obvious seasonal differences in the environment factors, which could be clustered into two groups, i. e. , spring-winter group (January and April) and summer-autumn group (July and October). At the Second Beach of Taiping Bay, the mean annual abundance of meiofauna was (1167.3 +/- 768.3) ind x 10 cm(-2), and the most dominant group was Nematoda, accounting for 91% of the total. The meiofaunal group composition and abundance at the Second Beach differed horizontally, with the abundance ranked as high tide zone < middle tide zone < low tide zone. The meiofaunal group composition and abundance also varied seasonally, with high values in spring/winter and low values in summer/autumn (spring > winter > autumn > summer). The vertical distribution of the meiofauna in the high and middle tide zones of the Second Beach varied seasonally too. The meiofauna migrated downward with increasing temperature, concentrated in surface layer in winter and migrated downward in summer. At the Shilaoren Beach, the mean annual abundance of meiofauna was (1130.2 +/- 1419.1) ind x 10 cm(-2), and Nematoda accounted for 85% of the total. There was a great similarity of the environmental factors in the middle tide zone of the Second Beach and Shilaoren Beach, which led to no differences in the meiofaunal group composition and abundance. However, the vertical distribution of the meiofauna differed between the two beaches. When the
ZAKARI, Friday Ocheja; AYO, Joseph Olusegun; REKWOT, Peter Ibrahim; KAWU, Mohammed Umar
2016-01-01
ABSTRACT The present experiment was performed with the aim of investigating the effect of season on behavioral activities of donkeys during the rainy and harmattan seasons in the Northern Guinea zone of Nigeria. Sixteen apparently healthy donkeys were used as subjects and divided into four groups based on age. During each season, behavioral activities of each donkey were evaluated for three weeks using the focal animal sampling technique. The dry-bulb temperature (DBT), relative humidity (RH), and temperature-humidity index (THI) were obtained three times each day during the experimental period using standard procedures. In the rainy season, the mean DBT (31.65 ± 0.49°C), RH (73.63 ± 1.09%), and THI (84.39 ± 0.71) were significantly (P<0.0001) higher than the corresponding values of 24.00 ± 0.44°C, 36.80 ± 0.92%, and 64.80 ± 0.62 in the harmattan season. During the rainy season, the donkeys spent 60.00 ± 0.77%, 25.40 ± 0.69%, and 2.94 ± 0.21% on grazing, resting, and grooming, respectively. During the harmattan season, the donkeys spent the most time on grazing (76.76 ± 0.43%), less time on resting (11.97 ± 0.38%), and the least time on grooming (0.89 ± 0.05%). In conclusion, season and seasonal variations affect the daytime behavioral activities of donkeys in the zone, and this should be considered in husbandry practices for donkeys. PMID:26858575
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Rignot, Eric; Jezek, K.; Vanzyl, J. J.; Drinkwater, Mark R.; Lou, Y. L.
1993-01-01
In June 1991, the NASA/JPL airborne SAR (AIRSAR) acquired C- (lambda = 5.6cm), L- (lambda = 24cm), and P- (lambda = 68m) band polarimetric SAR data over the Greenland ice sheet. These data are processed using version 3.55 of the AIRSAR processor which provides radiometrically and polarimetrically calibrated images. The internal calibration of the AIRSAR data is cross-checked using the radar response from corner reflectors deployed prior to flight in one of the scenes. In addition, a quantitative assessment of the noise power level at various frequencies and polarizations is made in all the scenes. Synoptic SAR data corresponding to a swath width of about 12 by 50 km in length (compared to the standard 12 x 12 km size of high-resolution scenes) are also processed and calibrated to study transitions in radar backscatter as a function of snow facies at selected frequencies and polarizations. The snow facies on the Greenland ice sheet are traditionally categorized based on differences in melting regime during the summer months. The interior of Greenland corresponds to the dry snow zone where terrain elevation is the highest and no snow melt occurs. The lowest elevation boundary of the dry snow zone is known traditionally as the dry snow line. Beneath it is the percolation zone where melting occurs in the summer and water percolates through the snow freezing at depth to form massive ice lenses and ice pipes. At the downslope margin of this zone is the wet snow line. Below it, the wet snow zone corresponds to the lowest elevations where snow remains at the end of the summer. Ablation produces enough meltwater to create areas of snow saturated with water, together with ponds and lakes. The lowest altitude zone of ablation sees enough summer melt to remove all traces of seasonal snow accumulation, such that the surface comprises bare glacier ice.
ICE911 Research: Preserving and Rebuilding Reflective Ice
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Field, L. A.; Chetty, S.; Manzara, A.; Venkatesh, S.
2014-12-01
We have developed a localized surface albedo modification technique that shows promise as a method to increase reflective multi-year ice using floating materials, chosen so as to have low subsidiary environmental impact. It is now well-known that multi-year reflective ice has diminished rapidly in the Arctic over the past 3 decades and this plays a part in the continuing rapid decrease of summer-time ice. As summer-time bright ice disappears, the Arctic is losing its ability to reflect summer insolation, and this has widespread climatic effects, as well as a direct effect on sea level rise, as oceans heat and once-land-based ice melts into the sea. We have tested the albedo modification technique on a small scale over six Winter/Spring seasons at sites including California's Sierra Nevada Mountains, a Canadian lake, and a small man-made lake in Minnesota, using various materials and an evolving array of instrumentation. The materials can float and can be made to minimize effects on marine habitat and species. The instrumentation is designed to be deployed in harsh and remote locations. Localized snow and ice preservation, and reductions in water heating, have been quantified in small-scale testing. We have continued to refine our material and deployment approaches, and we have had laboratory confirmation by NASA. In the field, the materials were successfully deployed to shield underlying snow and ice from melting; applications of granular materials remained stable in the face of local wind and storms. We are evaluating the effects of snow and ice preservation for protection of infrastructure and habitat stabilization, and we are concurrently developing our techniques to aid in water conservation. Localized albedo modification options such as those being studied in this work may act to preserve ice, glaciers, permafrost and seasonal snow areas, and perhaps aid natural ice formation processes. If this method is deployed on a large enough scale, it could conceivably
Sea ice melting in the marginal ice zone.
Josberger, E.G.
1983-01-01
The heat and salt flux boundary conditions together with the freezing curve relationship are a necessary component of any ice- sea water thermodynamic model. A neutral two-layer oceanic planetary boundary layer model that incorporates these boundary conditions is used. The results are discussed. -from Author
Report of the International Ice Patrol in the North Atlantic. 1986 Season Bulletin Number 72
1986-01-01
business transac-tions from the season. Flight The Intemnational Ice Patrol Month Sooe these nhos requested that all ships transiting -Month Sorties hours...GERMANY 1 EASTERN SHELL UNKNOWN 1 EASTERN UNICORN PANAMA 1 1 ESPANA 1 FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY 1 EUROPE BELGIUM 5 EVA FRANCE 1 1 EVERGREEN USA 15 1...when flown at 8000 ft similar pattern, but a winch failure computed using an algorithm (2438 m), maps a 50 km wide after 28 CTD stations resulted in
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Blanchard-Wrigglesworth, E.
2012-12-01
Arctic sea ice has exhibited a dramatic decrease both in area and thickness over the recent decades, particularly during the summer months. This decrease has led to growing interest in the potential predictability of summer sea ice, spurred in part by the socioeconomic implications. Here we present results of several parallel experiments designed to assess and understand the limits and potential for seasonal predictability of Arctic sea ice, with an emphasis on the summer minimum. Building on our experience from the SEARCH Outlook, we present results of a coupled general circulation model (GCM) hindcast simulation of Arctic summer sea ice variability for the satellite period (1979-present). These are initialized with spring sea ice volume anomalies obtained from a modelling and assimilation system, considered to be a close representation of reality. We show that there is significant predictability, yet the stochastic forcing imparted mainly by the atmosphere can lead to large errors in the hindcast. The model, however, can simulate anomalous runs that lie beyond a Gaussian distribution. Additionally, we investigate the regional characteristics of predictability and its links to sea ice dynamics and the spatio-temporal behavior of sea ice anomalies. We show a distinct difference between models. Unfortunately, observational data of thickness are not yet detailed enough to assess the models. Our results indicate the potential for detailed ice thickness observations in improving regional predictability. Finally, we discuss the importance of experiment design in predictability experiments, and show that predictions made with models that have a large mean state bias in sea ice require a careful initialization in order to fully capture all initial value predictability.
Arctic Sea Ice: Trends, Stability and Variability
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Moon, Woosok
A stochastic Arctic sea-ice model is derived and analyzed in detail to interpret the recent decay and associated variability of Arctic sea-ice under changes in greenhouse gas forcing widely referred to as global warming. The approach begins from a deterministic model of the heat flux balance through the air/sea/ice system, which uses observed monthly-averaged heat fluxes to drive a time evolution of sea-ice thickness. This model reproduces the observed seasonal cycle of the ice cover and it is to this that stochastic noise---representing high frequency variability---is introduced. The model takes the form of a single periodic non-autonomous stochastic ordinary differential equation. Following an introductory chapter, the two that follow focus principally on the properties of the deterministic model in order to identify the main properties governing the stability of the ice cover. In chapter 2 the underlying time-dependent solutions to the deterministic model are analyzed for their stability. It is found that the response time-scale of the system to perturbations is dominated by the destabilizing sea-ice albedo feedback, which is operative in the summer, and the stabilizing long wave radiative cooling of the ice surface, which is operative in the winter. This basic competition is found throughout the thesis to define the governing dynamics of the system. In particular, as greenhouse gas forcing increases, the sea-ice albedo feedback becomes more effective at destabilizing the system. Thus, any projections of the future state of Arctic sea-ice will depend sensitively on the treatment of the ice-albedo feedback. This in turn implies that the treatment a fractional ice cover as the ice areal extent changes rapidly, must be handled with the utmost care. In chapter 3, the idea of a two-season model, with just winter and summer, is revisited. By breaking the seasonal cycle up in this manner one can simplify the interpretation of the basic dynamics. Whereas in the fully
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Stroeve, J. C.
2014-12-01
The last four decades have seen a remarkable decline in the spatial extent of the Arctic sea ice cover, presenting both challenges and opportunities to Arctic residents, government agencies and industry. After the record low extent in September 2007 effort has increased to improve seasonal, decadal-scale and longer-term predictions of the sea ice cover. Coupled global climate models (GCMs) consistently project that if greenhouse gas concentrations continue to rise, the eventual outcome will be a complete loss of the multiyear ice cover. However, confidence in these projections depends o HoHoweon the models ability to reproduce features of the present-day climate. Comparison between models participating in the World Climate Research Programme Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) and observations of sea ice extent and thickness show that (1) historical trends from 85% of the model ensemble members remain smaller than observed, and (2) spatial patterns of sea ice thickness are poorly represented in most models. Part of the explanation lies with a failure of models to represent details of the mean atmospheric circulation pattern that governs the transport and spatial distribution of sea ice. These results raise concerns regarding the ability of CMIP5 models to realistically represent the processes driving the decline of Arctic sea ice and to project the timing of when a seasonally ice-free Arctic may be realized. On shorter time-scales, seasonal sea ice prediction has been challenged to predict the sea ice extent from Arctic conditions a few months to a year in advance. Efforts such as the Sea Ice Outlook (SIO) project, originally organized through the Study of Environmental Change (SEARCH) and now managed by the Sea Ice Prediction Network project (SIPN) synthesize predictions of the September sea ice extent based on a variety of approaches, including heuristic, statistical and dynamical modeling. Analysis of SIO contributions reveals that when the
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Thundercloud, Z. R.; Osterberg, E. C.; Ferris, D. G.; Graeter, K.; Lewis, G.; Hawley, R. L.; Marshall, H. P.
2016-12-01
Greenland ice cores provide seasonally to annually resolved proxy records of past temperature, accumulation and atmospheric circulation. Most Greenland ice cores have been collected from the dry snow zone at elevations greater than 2500 m to produce records of North Atlantic paleoclimate over the last full glacial cycle. Ice cores collected from more costal regions, however, provide the opportunity to develop regional-scale records of climate conditions along ice sheet margins where recent temperature and precipitation changes have been larger than those in the ice sheet interior. These cores are more readily comparable to lake sediment and landscape (i.e. moraine) records from the ice sheet margin, and are potentially more sensitive to sea-ice variability due to the proximity to the coast. Here we present major ion and stable isotope records from an array of firn cores (40-55 year records) collected in the western Greenland percolation zone, and assess the spatial variability of ice core statistical relationships with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and Baffin Bay sea ice extent. Seven cores were collected from elevations of 2100-2500 m along a 400-km segment of the ice sheet from Dye-2 to Milcent as part of the Greenland Traverse for Accumulation and Climate Studies (GreenTrACS) project from May-June 2016. They were sampled by a continuous melter system at Dartmouth College, and analyzed using Dionex ion chromatographs and a Picarro L2130-i laser ring-down spectrometer. We focus on the signature of the NAO and Baffin Bay sea ice extent in the sea-salt, dust, deuterium excess (d-excess), and methanesulfonic acid (MSA) firn core records, and assess the special variability of these climate-ice core relationships across the study area. Climate reanalysis data indicate that NAO-ice core correlations should be stronger at lower elevation in the percolation zone than high in the dry snow zone. Our results will provide valuable insight into the sensitivity of
Variability of Arctic Sea Ice as Determined from Satellite Observations
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Parkinson, Claire L.
1999-01-01
The compiled, quality-controlled satellite multichannel passive-microwave record of polar sea ice now spans over 18 years, from November 1978 through December 1996, and is revealing considerable information about the Arctic sea ice cover and its variability. The information includes data on ice concentrations (percent areal coverages of ice), ice extents, ice melt, ice velocities, the seasonal cycle of the ice, the interannual variability of the ice, the frequency of ice coverage, and the length of the sea ice season. The data reveal marked regional and interannual variabilities, as well as some statistically significant trends. For the north polar ice cover as a whole, maximum ice extents varied over a range of 14,700,000 - 15,900,000 sq km, while individual regions experienced much greater percent variations, for instance, with the Greenland Sea having a range of 740,000 - 1,110,000 sq km in its yearly maximum ice coverage. In spite of the large variations from year to year and region to region, overall the Arctic ice extents showed a statistically significant, 2.80% / decade negative trend over the 18.2-year period. Ice season lengths, which vary from only a few weeks near the ice margins to the full year in the large region of perennial ice coverage, also experienced interannual variability, along with spatially coherent overall trends. Linear least squares trends show the sea ice season to have lengthened in much of the Bering Sea, Baffin Bay, the Davis Strait, and the Labrador Sea, but to have shortened over a much larger area, including the Sea of Okhotsk, the Greenland Sea, the Barents Sea, and the southeastern Arctic.
Investigation of surface water behavior during glaze ice accretion
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Hansman, R. John, Jr.; Turnock, Stephen R.
1990-01-01
A series of experimental investigations that focused on isolating the primary factors that control the behavior of unfrozen surface water during glaze ice accretion were conducted. Detailed microvideo observations were made of glaze ice accretions on 2.54 cm diam cylinders in a closed-loop refrigerated wind tunnel. Distinct zones of surface water behavior were observed; a smooth wet zone in the stagnation region with a uniform water film, a rough zone where surface tension effects caused coalescence of surface water into stationary beads, and a zone where surface water ran back as rivulets. The location of the transition from the smooth to the rough zone was found to migrate towards the stagnation point with time. Comparative tests were conducted to study the effect of the substrate thermal and roughness properties on ice accretion. The importance of surface water behavior was evaluated by the addition of a surface tension reducing agent to the icing tunnel water supply, which significantly altered the accreted glaze ice shape. Measurements were made to determine the contact angle behavior of water droplets on ice. A simple multizone modification to current glaze ice accretion models was proposed to include the observed surface roughness behavior.
Seasonal variability of ice nuclei over Central Europe
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Klein, Holger; Nickovic, Slobodan; Schuetz, Lothar; Weinbruch, Stephan; Levin, Zev; Andreae, Meinrat; Barrie, Leonard; Ebert, Martin; Bundke, Ulrich; Bingemer, Heinz
2010-05-01
The abundance of ice nuclei (IN) has been measured every day since April 2008 at the Taunus Observatory on Mt. Kleiner Feldberg (50.22°N, 8.45°E, 825 m. above sea level) at 20 km north of Frankfurt / M., Germany. Aerosol samples were collected on silicon wafers by an electrical aerosol precipitator and analyzed for IN number concentration (condensation and deposition freezing modes) using the static vapor diffusion chamber FRIDGE (Klein et al., Atmos. Res, doi:10.1016/j.atmosres.2009.08.002, 2009). Around 800 samples were analyzed so far. The IN number concentration shows a pronounced seasonal signal with about a factor of 10 higher ice nuclei in summer than in winter. Desert dust transported over long distances appears to be the dominant contributor to IN at the site. Episodes of Sahara dust transport are well represented by individual peaks in the IN record and identified by airmass trajectories, transport modelling and mineralogical analysis. The contribution of mineral dust to IN is further corroborated by the covariance of the individual IN concentrations with the aerosol optical depth (AOD) due to extinction by large particles, which was measured simultaneously at the AERONET site (Max-Planck-Institute for Chemistry) at Mainz, 20 km southwest of our site. The relation between IN and AOD not only holds for our individual daily measurements, but is also valid for the monthly means of our IN record, which are highly correlated to the multi-year monthly means of coarse and middle-sized dust AOD which is derived from the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) satellite instrument (http://eosweb.larc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/misr_tools/clim_likely.cgi ) for the grid point closest to our site. Acknowledgements: We gratefully acknowledge funding of this work by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) as part of the collaborative research centre Die troposphärische Eisphase (SFB641) and by the German-Israeli Foundation (GIF).
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Stegen, J.
2016-12-01
The hyporheic zone is a critical ecosystem transition that links terrestrial, aquatic, and subsurface domains. To understand connections among physical, microbial, and biogeochemical components of the hyporheic zone, we obtained freeze cores along the Columbia River in the Hanford 300 Area and performed geologic, molecular, and microbial assays. Mud and sand content were found to be the primary drivers of microbial community attributes (in particular, of nitrite and carbon oxidizers). Microbial community analysis revealed an abundance of nitrifying Archaea (Thaumarchaea) and an absence of nitrifiying Bacteria. Network analysis revealed significant negative correlations between sand content and some statistical modules of microbial taxa, perhaps indicating the importance of pore water residence time on community composition. A similar set of microbial modules was positively correlated with total organic carbon. One such module that also positively correlated with aerobic metabolic rates was dominated by Thaumarchaea and Nitrospira, suggesting that ammonia oxidation was the dominant aerobic process. We also examined temporal changes in hyporheic microbial structure and activity through repeated sampling of attached and pore water microbes across a spatial gradient. We found that microbial communities remained distinct in river, hyporheic, and inland zones across seasonal variation in hydrologic mixing conditions. One reason was temperature-driven increases in microbial species richness in the hyporheic zone. We show that the relative importance of ecological selection and dispersal varied across environments and across geographic zones. Our results also indicated that while selection imposed short-term constraints on microbial community structure, hyporheic sediment communities did not respond to short-term hydrologic variation. Importantly, we demonstrated that the influence of selective pressures varied with phylogenetic affiliation, which may have been responsible
Synthesis of User Needs for Arctic Sea Ice Predictions
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Wiggins, H. V.; Turner-Bogren, E. J.; Sheffield Guy, L.
2017-12-01
Forecasting Arctic sea ice on sub-seasonal to seasonal scales in a changing Arctic is of interest to a diverse range of stakeholders. However, sea ice forecasting is still challenging due to high variability in weather and ocean conditions and limits to prediction capabilities; the science needs for observations and modeling are extensive. At a time of challenged science funding, one way to prioritize sea ice prediction efforts is to examine the information needs of various stakeholder groups. This poster will present a summary and synthesis of existing surveys, reports, and other literature that examines user needs for sea ice predictions. The synthesis will include lessons learned from the Sea Ice Prediction Network (a collaborative, multi-agency-funded project focused on seasonal Arctic sea ice predictions), the Sea Ice for Walrus Outlook (a resource for Alaska Native subsistence hunters and coastal communities, that provides reports on weather and sea ice conditions), and other efforts. The poster will specifically compare the scales and variables of sea ice forecasts currently available, as compared to what information is requested by various user groups.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Montiel, F.; Squire, V. A.
2013-12-01
A new ocean wave/sea-ice interaction model is proposed that simulates how a directional wave spectrum evolves as it travels through a realistic marginal ice zone (MIZ), where wave/ice dynamics are entirely governed by coherent conservative wave scattering effects. Field experiments conducted by Wadhams et al. (1986) in the Greenland Sea generated important data on wave attenuation in the MIZ and, particularly, on whether the wave spectrum spreads directionally or collimates with distance from the ice edge. The data suggest that angular isotropy, arising from multiple scattering by ice floes, occurs close to the edge and thenceforth dominates wave propagation throughout the MIZ. Although several attempts have been made to replicate this finding theoretically, including by the use of numerical models, none have confronted this problem in a 3D MIZ with fully randomised floe distribution properties. We construct such a model by subdividing the discontinuous ice cover into adjacent infinite slabs of finite width parallel to the ice edge. Each slab contains an arbitrary (but finite) number of circular ice floes with randomly distributed properties. Ice floes are modeled as thin elastic plates with uniform thickness and finite draught. We consider a directional wave spectrum with harmonic time dependence incident on the MIZ from the open ocean, defined as a continuous superposition of plane waves traveling at different angles. The scattering problem within each slab is then solved using Graf's interaction theory for an arbitrary incident directional plane wave spectrum. Using an appropriate integral representation of the Hankel function of the first kind (see Cincotti et al., 1993), we map the outgoing circular wave field from each floe on the slab boundaries into a directional spectrum of plane waves, which characterizes the slab reflected and transmitted fields. Discretizing the angular spectrum, we can obtain a scattering matrix for each slab. Standard recursive
Direct observations of evolving subglacial drainage beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet.
Andrews, Lauren C; Catania, Ginny A; Hoffman, Matthew J; Gulley, Jason D; Lüthi, Martin P; Ryser, Claudia; Hawley, Robert L; Neumann, Thomas A
2014-10-02
Seasonal acceleration of the Greenland Ice Sheet is influenced by the dynamic response of the subglacial hydrologic system to variability in meltwater delivery to the bed via crevasses and moulins (vertical conduits connecting supraglacial water to the bed of the ice sheet). As the melt season progresses, the subglacial hydrologic system drains supraglacial meltwater more efficiently, decreasing basal water pressure and moderating the ice velocity response to surface melting. However, limited direct observations of subglacial water pressure mean that the spatiotemporal evolution of the subglacial hydrologic system remains poorly understood. Here we show that ice velocity is well correlated with moulin hydraulic head but is out of phase with that of nearby (0.3-2 kilometres away) boreholes, indicating that moulins connect to an efficient, channelized component of the subglacial hydrologic system, which exerts the primary control on diurnal and multi-day changes in ice velocity. Our simultaneous measurements of moulin and borehole hydraulic head and ice velocity in the Paakitsoq region of western Greenland show that decreasing trends in ice velocity during the latter part of the melt season cannot be explained by changes in the ability of moulin-connected channels to convey supraglacial melt. Instead, these observations suggest that decreasing late-season ice velocity may be caused by changes in connectivity in unchannelized regions of the subglacial hydrologic system. Understanding this spatiotemporal variability in subglacial pressures is increasingly important because melt-season dynamics affect ice velocity beyond the conclusion of the melt season.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Eyles, Nick; Putkinen, Niko
2014-03-01
Anticosti is a large elongate island (240 km long, 60 km wide) in eastern Canada within the northern part of a deep water trough (Gulf of St. Lawrence) that terminates at the Atlantic continental shelf edge. The island's Pleistocene glaciological significance is that its long axis lay transverse to ice from the Quebec and Labrador sectors of the Laurentide Ice Sheet moving south from the relatively high-standing Canadian Shield. Recent glaciological reconstructions place a fast-flowing ice stream along the axis of the Gulf of St. Lawrence but supporting geologic evidence in terms of recognizing its hard-bedded onset zone and downstream streamlined soft bed is limited. Anticosti Island consists of gently southward-dipping limestone plains composed of Ordovician and Silurian limestones (Vaureal, Becscie and Jupiter formations) with north-facing escarpments transverse to regional ice flow. Glacial deposits are largely absent and limestone plains in the higher central plateau of the island retain a relict apparently ‘preglacial’ drainage system consisting of deeply-incised dendritic bedrock valleys. In contrast, the bedrock geomorphology of the lower lying western and eastern limestone plains of the island is strikingly different having been extensively modified by glacial erosion. Escarpments are glacially megalineated with a distinct ‘zig-zag’ planform reflecting northward-projecting bullet-shaped ‘noses’ (identified as rock drumlins) up to 2 km wide at their base and 4 km in length with rare megagrooved upper surfaces. Drumlins are separated by southward-closing, funnel-shaped ‘through valleys’ where former dendritic valleys have been extensively altered by the streaming of basal ice through gaps in the escarpments. Glacially-megalineated bedrock terrain such as on the western and eastern flanks of Anticosti Island is elsewhere associated with the hard-bedded onset zones of fast flowing ice streams and provides important ground truth for the
Snow and ice in a changing hydrological world.
Meier, M.F.
1983-01-01
Snow cover on land (especially in the Northern Hemisphere) and sea ice (especially in the Southern Hemisphere) vary seasonally, and this seasonal change has an important affect on the world climate because snow and sea ice reflect solar radiation efficiently and affect other heat flow processes between atmosphere and land or ocean. Glaciers, including ice sheets, store most of the fresh water on Earth, but change dimensions relatively slowly. There is no clear evidence that the glacier ice volume currently is declining, but more needs to be known about mountain glacier and ice sheet mass balances. -from Author
Roba, Kedir Teji; O'Connor, Thomas P; Belachew, Tefera; O'Brien, Nora M
2015-10-01
The aim of this study was to determine seasonal and agro-ecological variations in nutritional status, anemia, and associated factors among lactating women in rural Ethiopia. We conducted a longitudinal study with 216 mothers in pre- and postharvest seasons in two agro-ecological zones of rural Ethiopia. We conducted interviews using a structured questionnaire, anthropometric measurements, and blood tests for anemia. We used multivariable linear regression models to identify independent predictors. The prevalence of anemia increased from postharvest (21.8%) to preharvest seasons (40.9%). Increases were from 8.6% to 34.4% in midland and from 34.2% to 46.3% in lowland agro-ecological zones. Of the mothers, 15% were anemic during both seasons. The prevalence of undernutrition, assessed using body mass index (BMI) < 18.5 kg/m(2), increased from 41.7% to 54.7% between the two seasons. Prevalence of maternal mid upper arm circumferences <22 cm also increased from 43.1% to 55.2% during the preharvest season. The seasonal effect was generally more pronounced in the midland community for all forms of malnutrition. Predictors of anemia were high parity of mother and low dietary diversity. Parity, number of children under the age of 5 y, and regional variation were predictors of low BMI among lactating mothers. The magnitude of malnutrition and anemia was significantly influenced by variations in season and agro-ecological zones. Interventions focused on agro-ecology and seasonal variation should be considered in addition to current strategies to alleviate malnutrition in lactating mothers. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Crustacea in Arctic and Antarctic sea ice: distribution, diet and life history strategies.
Arndt, Carolin E; Swadling, Kerrie M
2006-01-01
This review concerns crustaceans that associate with sea ice. Particular emphasis is placed on comparing and contrasting the Arctic and Antarctic sea ice habitats, and the subsequent influence of these environments on the life history strategies of the crustacean fauna. Sea ice is the dominant feature of both polar marine ecosystems, playing a central role in physical processes and providing an essential habitat for organisms ranging in size from viruses to whales. Similarities between the Arctic and Antarctic marine ecosystems include variable cover of sea ice over an annual cycle, a light regimen that can extend from months of total darkness to months of continuous light and a pronounced seasonality in primary production. Although there are many similarities, there are also major differences between the two regions: The Antarctic experiences greater seasonal change in its sea ice extent, much of the ice is over very deep water and more than 80% breaks out each year. In contrast, Arctic sea ice often covers comparatively shallow water, doubles in its extent on an annual cycle and the ice may persist for several decades. Crustaceans, particularly copepods and amphipods, are abundant in the sea ice zone at both poles, either living within the brine channel system of the ice-crystal matrix or inhabiting the ice-water interface. Many species associate with ice for only a part of their life cycle, while others appear entirely dependent upon it for reproduction and development. Although similarities exist between the two faunas, many differences are emerging. Most notable are the much higher abundance and biomass of Antarctic copepods, the dominance of the Antarctic sea ice copepod fauna by calanoids, the high euphausiid biomass in Southern Ocean waters and the lack of any species that appear fully dependent on the ice. In the Arctic, the ice-associated fauna is dominated by amphipods. Calanoid copepods are not tightly associated with the ice, while harpacticoids and
2016-12-30
of Oceanography . Also, ITP-V investigators have collaborated with aNa a! Postgraduate School 3 student (Gallaher) whose dissertation is based on...under Arctic sea-ice. Journal of Physical Oceanography , doi: http://dx.doi.org/l 0.1175/JPO-D-12-0191.1 Cole, S.T. , F.T. Thwaites, R.A. Krishfield
Christner, Brent C.; Cai, Rongman; Morris, Cindy E.; McCarter, Kevin S.; Foreman, Christine M.; Skidmore, Mark L.; Montross, Scott N.; Sands, David C.
2008-01-01
Biological ice nucleators (IN) function as catalysts for freezing at relatively warm temperatures (warmer than −10 °C). We examined the concentration (per volume of liquid) and nature of IN in precipitation collected from Montana and Louisiana, the Alps and Pyrenees (France), Ross Island (Antarctica), and Yukon (Canada). The temperature of detectable ice-nucleating activity for more than half of the samples was ≥ −5 °C based on immersion freezing testing. Digestion of the samples with lysozyme (i.e., to hydrolyze bacterial cell walls) led to reductions in the frequency of freezing (0–100%); heat treatment greatly reduced (95% average) or completely eliminated ice nucleation at the measured conditions in every sample. These behaviors were consistent with the activity being bacterial and/or proteinaceous in origin. Statistical analysis revealed seasonal similarities between warm-temperature ice-nucleating activities in snow samples collected over 7 months in Montana. Multiple regression was used to construct models with biogeochemical data [major ions, total organic carbon (TOC), particle, and cell concentration] that were accurate in predicting the concentration of microbial cells and biological IN in precipitation based on the concentration of TOC, Ca2+, and NH4+, or TOC, cells, Ca2+, NH4+, K+, PO43−, SO42−, Cl−, and HCO3−. Our results indicate that biological IN are ubiquitous in precipitation and that for some geographic locations the activity and concentration of these particles is related to the season and precipitation chemistry. Thus, our research suggests that biological IN are widespread in the atmosphere and may affect meteorological processes that lead to precipitation. PMID:19028877
Warm water and life beneath the grounding zone of an Antarctic outlet glacier
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Sugiyama, Shin; Sawagaki, Takanobu; Fukuda, Takehiro
2013-04-01
Ice-ocean interaction plays a key role in rapidly changing Antarctic ice sheet margins. Recent studies demonstrated that warming ocean is eroding floating part of the ice sheet, resulting in thinning, retreat and acceleration of ice shelves and outlet glaciers. Field data are necessary to understand such processes, but direct observations at the interface of ice and the ocean are lacking, particularly beneath the grounding zone. To better understand the interaction of Antarctic ice sheet and the ocean, we performed subglacial measurements through boreholes drilled in the grounding zone of Langhovde Glacier, an outlet glacier in East Antarctica. Langhovde Glacier is located at 69°12'S, 39°48'E, approximately 20 km south of a Japanese research station Syowa. The glacier discharges ice into Lützow-holm Bay through a 3-km-wide floating terminus at a rate of 130 m a-1. Fast flowing feature is confined by bedrock to the west and slow moving ice to the east, and it extends about 10 km upglacier from the calving front. In 2011/12 austral summer season, we operated a hot water drilling system to drill through the glacier at 2.5 and 3 km from the terminus. Inspections of the boreholes revealed the ice was underlain by a shallow saline water layer. Ice and water column thicknesses were found to be 398 and 24 m at the first site, and 431 and 10 m at the second site. Judging from ice surface and bed elevations, the drilling sites were situated at within a several hundred meters from the grounding line. Sensors were lowered into the boreholes to measure temperature, salinity and current within the subglacial water layer. Salinity and temperature from the two sites were fairly uniform (34.25±0.05 PSU and -1.45±0.05°C), indicating vertical and horizontal mixing in the layer. The measured temperature was >0.7°C warmer than the in-situ freezing point, and very similar to the values measured in the open ocean near the glacier front. Subglacial current was up to 3 cm/s, which
Radiative habitable zones in martian polar environments.
Córdoba-Jabonero, Carmen; Zorzano, María-Paz; Selsis, Franck; Patel, Manish R; Cockell, Charles S
2005-06-01
The biologically damaging solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation (quantified by the DNA-weighted dose) reaches the martian surface in extremely high levels. Searching for potentially habitable UV-protected environments on Mars, we considered the polar ice caps that consist of a seasonally varying CO2 ice cover and a permanent H2O ice layer. It was found that, though the CO2 ice is insufficient by itself to screen the UV radiation, at approximately 1 m depth within the perennial H2O ice the DNA-weighted dose is reduced to terrestrial levels. This depth depends strongly on the optical properties of the H2O ice layers (for instance snow-like layers). The Earth-like DNA-weighted dose and Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) requirements were used to define the upper and lower limits of the northern and southern polar Radiative Habitable Zone (RHZ) for which a temporal and spatial mapping was performed. Based on these studies we conclude that photosynthetic life might be possible within the ice layers of the polar regions. The thickness varies along each martian polar spring and summer between approximately 1.5 and 2.4 m for H2O ice-like layers, and a few centimeters for snow-like covers. These martian Earth-like radiative habitable environments may be primary targets for future martian astrobiological missions. Special attention should be paid to planetary protection, since the polar RHZ may also be subject to terrestrial contamination by probes. c2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Variability of Arctic Sea Ice as Viewed from Space
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Parkinson, Claire L.
1998-01-01
Over the past 20 years, satellite passive-microwave radiometry has provided a marvelous means for obtaining information about the variability of the Arctic sea ice cover and particularly about sea ice concentrations (% areal coverages) and from them ice extents and the lengths of the sea ice season. This ability derives from the sharp contrast between the microwave emissions of sea ice versus liquid water and allows routine monitoring of the vast Arctic sea ice cover, which typically varies in extent from a minimum of about 8,000,000 sq km in September to a maximum of about 15,000,000 sq km in March, the latter value being over 1.5 times the area of either the United States or Canada. The vast Arctic ice cover has many impacts, including hindering heat, mass, and y momentum exchanges between the oceans and the atmosphere, reducing the amount of solar radiation absorbed at the Earth's surface, affecting freshwater transports and ocean circulation, and serving as a vital surface for many species of polar animals. These direct impacts also lead to indirect impacts, including effects on local and perhaps global atmospheric temperatures, effects that are being examined in general circulation modeling studies, where preliminary results indicate that changes on the order of a few percent sea ice concentration can lead to temperature changes of 1 K or greater even in local areas outside of the sea ice region. Satellite passive-microwave data for November 1978 through December 1996 reveal marked regional and interannual variabilities in both the ice extents and the lengths of the sea ice season, as well as some statistically significant trends. For the north polar ice cover as a whole, maximum ice extents varied over a range of 14,700,000 - 15,900,000 km(2), while individual regions showed much greater percentage variations, e.g., with the Greenland Sea experiencing a range of 740,000 - 1,1110,000 km(2) in its yearly maximum ice coverage. Although variations from year to
Under-Ice Phytoplankton Blooms Inhibited by Spring Convective Mixing in Refreezing Leads
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Lowry, Kate E.; Pickart, Robert S.; Selz, Virginia; Mills, Matthew M.; Pacini, Astrid; Lewis, Kate M.; Joy-Warren, Hannah L.; Nobre, Carolina; van Dijken, Gert L.; Grondin, Pierre-Luc; Ferland, Joannie; Arrigo, Kevin R.
2018-01-01
Spring phytoplankton growth in polar marine ecosystems is limited by light availability beneath ice-covered waters, particularly early in the season prior to snowmelt and melt pond formation. Leads of open water increase light transmission to the ice-covered ocean and are sites of air-sea exchange. We explore the role of leads in controlling phytoplankton bloom dynamics within the sea ice zone of the Arctic Ocean. Data are presented from spring measurements in the Chukchi Sea during the Study of Under-ice Blooms In the Chukchi Ecosystem (SUBICE) program in May and June 2014. We observed that fully consolidated sea ice supported modest under-ice blooms, while waters beneath sea ice with leads had significantly lower phytoplankton biomass, despite high nutrient availability. Through an analysis of hydrographic and biological properties, we attribute this counterintuitive finding to springtime convective mixing in refreezing leads of open water. Our results demonstrate that waters beneath loosely consolidated sea ice (84-95% ice concentration) had weak stratification and were frequently mixed below the critical depth (the depth at which depth-integrated production balances depth-integrated respiration). These findings are supported by theoretical model calculations of under-ice light, primary production, and critical depth at varied lead fractions. The model demonstrates that under-ice blooms can form even beneath snow-covered sea ice in the absence of mixing but not in more deeply mixed waters beneath sea ice with refreezing leads. Future estimates of primary production should account for these phytoplankton dynamics in ice-covered waters.
Arctic multiyear ice classification and summer ice cover using passive microwave satellite data
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Comiso, J. C.
1990-08-01
The ability to classify and monitor Arctic multiyear sea ice cover using multispectral passive microwave data is studied. Sea ice concentration maps during several summer minima have been analyzed to obtain estimates of ice surviving the summer. The results are compared with multiyear ice concentrations derived from data the following winter, using an algorithm that assumes a certain emissivity for multiyear ice. The multiyear ice cover inferred from the winter data is approximately 25 to 40% less than the summer ice cover minimum, suggesting that even during winter when the emissivity of sea ice is most stable, passive microwave data may account for only a fraction of the total multiyear ice cover. The difference of about 2×106 km2 is considerably more than estimates of advection through Fram Strait during the intervening period. It appears that as in the Antarctic, some multiyear ice floes in the Arctic, especially those near the summer marginal ice zone, have first-year ice or intermediate signatures in the subsequent winter. A likely mechanism for this is the intrusion of seawater into the snow-ice interface, which often occurs near the marginal ice zone or in areas where snow load is heavy. Spatial variations in melt and melt ponding effects also contribute to the complexity of the microwave emissivity of multiyear ice. Hence the multiyear ice data should be studied in conjunction with the previous summer ice data to obtain a more complete characterization of the state of the Arctic ice cover. The total extent and actual areas of the summertime Arctic pack ice were estimated to be 8.4×106 km2 and 6.2×106 km2, respectively, and exhibit small interannual variability during the years 1979 through 1985, suggesting a relatively stable ice cover.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Rusch, D. W.; Thomas, G. E.; McClintock, W.; Merkel, A. W.; Bailey, S. M.; Russell, J. M., III; Randall, C. E.; Jeppesen, C.; Callan, M.
2009-03-01
The Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) mission was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 4:26:03 EDT on April 25, 2007, becoming the first satellite mission dedicated to the study of noctilucent clouds (NLCs), also known as polar mesospheric clouds (PMC) when viewed from space. We present the first results from one of the three instruments on board the satellite, the Cloud Imaging and Particle Size (CIPS) instrument. CIPS has produced detailed morphology of the Northern 2007 PMC and Southern 2007/2008 seasons with 5 km horizontal spatial resolution. CIPS, with its very large angular field of view, images cloud structures at multiple scattering angles within a narrow spectral bandpass centered at 265 nm. Spatial coverage is 100% above about 70° latitude, where camera views overlap from orbit to orbit, and terminates at about 82°. Spatial coverage decreases to about 50% at the lowest latitudes where data are collected (35°). Cloud structures have for the first time been mapped out over nearly the entire summertime polar region. These structures include [`]ice rings', spatially small but bright clouds, and large regions ([`]ice-free regions') in the heart of the cloud season essentially devoid of ice particles. The ice rings bear a close resemblance to tropospheric convective outflow events, suggesting a point source of mesospheric convection. These rings (often circular arcs) are most likely Type IV NLC ([`]whirls' in the standard World Meteorological Organization (WMO) nomenclature).
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Ono, Jun; Tatebe, Hiroaki; Komuro, Yoshiki; Nodzu, Masato I.; Ishii, Masayoshi
2018-02-01
To assess the skill of seasonal to inter-annual predictions of the detrended sea ice extent in the Arctic Ocean (SIEAO) and to clarify the underlying physical processes, we conducted ensemble hindcasts, started on 1 January, 1 April, 1 July and 1 October for each year from 1980 to 2011, for lead times up to three years, using the Model for Interdisciplinary Research on Climate (MIROC) version 5 initialised with the observed atmosphere and ocean anomalies and sea ice concentration. Significant skill is found for the winter months: the December SIEAO can be predicted up to 11 months ahead (anomaly correlation coefficient is 0.42). This skill might be attributed to the subsurface ocean heat content originating in the North Atlantic. A plausible mechanism is as follows: the subsurface water flows into the Barents Sea from spring to fall and emerges at the surface in winter by vertical mixing, and eventually affects the sea ice variability there. Meanwhile, the September SIEAO predictions are skillful for lead times of up to two months, due to the persistence of sea ice in the Beaufort, Chukchi, and East Siberian seas initialised in July, as suggested by previous studies.
Satellite Remote Sensing: Passive-Microwave Measurements of Sea Ice
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Parkinson, Claire L.; Zukor, Dorothy J. (Technical Monitor)
2001-01-01
Satellite passive-microwave measurements of sea ice have provided global or near-global sea ice data for most of the period since the launch of the Nimbus 5 satellite in December 1972, and have done so with horizontal resolutions on the order of 25-50 km and a frequency of every few days. These data have been used to calculate sea ice concentrations (percent areal coverages), sea ice extents, the length of the sea ice season, sea ice temperatures, and sea ice velocities, and to determine the timing of the seasonal onset of melt as well as aspects of the ice-type composition of the sea ice cover. In each case, the calculations are based on the microwave emission characteristics of sea ice and the important contrasts between the microwave emissions of sea ice and those of the surrounding liquid-water medium.
Estimates of Ice Sheet Mass Balance from Satellite Altimetry: Past and Future
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Zwally, H. Jay; Zukor, Dorothy J. (Technical Monitor)
2001-01-01
A major uncertainty in predicting sea level rise is the sensitivity of ice sheet mass balance to climate change, as well as the uncertainty in present mass balance. Since the annual water exchange is about 8 mm of global sea level equivalent, the 20% uncertainty in current mass balance corresponds to 1.6 mm/yr in sea level change. Furthermore, estimates of the sensitivity of the mass balance to temperature change range from perhaps as much as - 10% to + 10% per K. A principal purpose of obtaining ice sheet elevation changes from satellite altimetry has been estimation of the current ice sheet mass balance. Limited information on ice sheet elevation change and their implications about mass balance have been reported by several investigators from radar altimetry (Seasat, Geosat, ERS-1&2). Analysis of ERS-1&2 data over Greenland for 7 years from 1992 to 1999 shows mixed patterns of ice elevation increases and decreases that are significant in terms of regional-scale mass balances. Observed seasonal and interannual variations in ice surface elevation are larger than previously expected because of seasonal and interannUal variations in precipitation, melting, and firn compaction. In the accumulation zone, the variations in firn compaction are modeled as a function of temperature leaving variations in precipitation and the mass balance trend. Significant interannual variations in elevation in some locations, in particular the difference in trends from 1992 to 1995 compared to 1995 to 1999, can be explained by changes in precipitation over Greenland. Over the 7 years, trends in elevation are mostly positive at higher elevations and negative at lower elevations. In addition, trends for the winter seasons (from a trend analysis through the average winter elevations) are more positive than the corresponding trends for the summer. At lower elevations, the 7-year trends in some locations are strongly negative for summer and near zero or slightly positive for winter. These
Seasonal Ice Wedge Dynamics in Fosheim Peninsula, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Ward, M. K.; Pollard, W. H.
2017-12-01
Areas with ice-rice permafrost are vulnerable to thermokarst (lowering of the land surface from melting ground ice). The Fosheim Peninsula on Ellesmere Island, Nunavut is a high Arctic polar desert system with cold permafrost 500 m thick that is ice-rich in the upper 20 - 30 m. Our team has been monitoring changing permafrost conditions on the Fosheim since 1990. In this area ground ice consists mainly of ice-wedge ice and massive tabular ice bodies. With a mean annual temperature of - 19°C, the area is still sensitive to thermokarst as experienced in 2012; one of the warmest summers on record there was a three-fold increase in thermokarst, with the accelerated deepening of ice wedge troughs and the development of retrogressive thaw slumps. In this study, 7 ice wedges were monitored for 7 weeks in July and August, 2017. Ice wedges were chosen to represent different conditions including varying tough depths (0.36 m to 1.2 m), secondary wedge, varying plant cover (heavily covered to bare soil) and one wedge initially experienced ponding from snow melt that subsequently drained. Data collected included active layer depth measurements, soil moisture, ground temperatures at ice wedge through and polygon centres, dGPS and GPR surveys. Using Worldview 2 satellite imagery from 2008, 2012, 2016, these sites were compared to assess changes in polygons at a landscape scale. Ice wedges are ubiquitous to the arctic but may respond differently within different high Arctic environments. With the majority of studies being focused in the lower arctic, this study provides important field data from a high arctic site.
Variability of Antarctic Sea Ice 1979-1998
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Zwally, H. Jay; Comiso, Josefino C.; Parkinson, Claire L.; Cavalieri, Donald J.; Gloersen, Per; Koblinsky, Chester J. (Technical Monitor)
2001-01-01
The principal characteristics of the variability of Antarctic sea ice cover as previously described from satellite passive-microwave observations are also evident in a systematically-calibrated and analyzed data set for 20.2 years (1979-1998). The total Antarctic sea ice extent (concentration > 15 %) increased by 13,440 +/- 4180 sq km/year (+1.18 +/- 0.37%/decade). The area of sea ice within the extent boundary increased by 16,960 +/- 3,840 sq km/year (+1.96 +/- 0.44%/decade). Regionally, the trends in extent are positive in the Weddell Sea (1.5 +/- 0.9%/decade), Pacific Ocean (2.4 +/- 1.4%/decade), and Ross (6.9 +/- 1.1 %/decade) sectors, slightly negative in the Indian Ocean (-1.5 +/- 1.8%/decade, and strongly negative in the Bellingshausen-Amundsen Seas sector (-9.5 +/- 1.5%/decade). For the entire ice pack, small ice increases occur in all seasons with the largest increase during autumn. On a regional basis, the trends differ season to season. During summer and fall, the trends are positive or near zero in all sectors except the Bellingshausen-Amundsen Seas sector. During winter and spring, the trends are negative or near zero in all sectors except the Ross Sea, which has positive trends in all seasons. Components of interannual variability with periods of about 3 to 5 years are regionally large, but tend to counterbalance each other in the total ice pack. The interannual variability of the annual mean sea-ice extent is only 1.6% overall, compared to 5% to 9% in each of five regional sectors. Analysis of the relation between regional sea ice extents and spatially-averaged surface temperatures over the ice pack gives an overall sensitivity between winter ice cover and temperature of -0.7% change in sea ice extent per K. For summer, some regional ice extents vary positively with temperature and others negatively. The observed increase in Antarctic sea ice cover is counter to the observed decreases in the Arctic. It is also qualitatively consistent with the
1984-04-01
Ii TS C]r.I2 TAB 0] Unzanro’ unoed 0 justi fica ~r: 0 April 1984 vs - ASValabilitY Codes lvyall and/or U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering...coupled model. Fig. 1. Annual average simulated velocity fields. 3 192 Aloka 190 / 902 190+ WOO S’,. o Ice OnlY Mod" D"’, 55*w F~tth Yea’ Ice Ocean Model...A more precise delinga- inflow boundary conditions. 12 4- a. [ o ll ii traspert 00 0 0- 0e a I " i i , - - I I 1161 63 15 67 69 Ti 73 75 77 1980 *= 4h
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Miller, J.; Scambos, T.; Forster, R. R.; Long, D. G.; Ligtenberg, S.; van den Broeke, M.; Vaughan, D. G.
2015-12-01
Near-surface liquid meltwater on ice shelves has been inferred to influence ice shelf stability if it induces hydrofracture and is linked to disintegration events on the Larsen B and the Wilkins ice shelves on the Antarctic Peninsula during the summer months. While the initial Wilkins disintegration event occurred in March of 2009, two smaller disintegration events followed in May and in July of that year. It has long been assumed meltwater refreezes soon after surface melt processes cease. Given this assumption, an earlier hypothesis for the two winter season disintegration events was hydrofracture via a brine infiltration layer. Two lines of evidence supported this hypothesis 1) early airborne radar surveys did not record a reflection from the bottom of the ice shelf, and 2) a shallow core drilled in 1972 on the Wilkins encountered liquid water at a depth of ~7 m. The salinity of the water and the temperature at the base of the core, however, were not described. The recent discovery of winter season liquid meltwater storage on the Greenland ice sheet has changed perceptions on meltwater longevity at depth in firn. Evidence of Greenland's firn aquifer includes liquid meltwater encountered in shallow firn cores at 5 m depth and a lack of reflections from the base of the ice sheet in airborne surveys. Thus, previous lines of evidence suggesting brine infiltration may alternatively suggest the presence of a perennial firn aquifer. We recently demonstrated the capability for observation of Greenland's firn aquifer from space using multi-frequency active and passive microwave remote sensing. This research exploits the retrieval technique developed for Greenland to provide the first spaceborne mappings of winter season liquid meltwater storage on the Wilkins. We combine L-band brightness temperature and backscatter data from the MIRAS instrument (1.4 GHz) aboard ESA's Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity mission and the radar (1.3 GHZ) and radiometer(1.4 GHz) aboard NASA
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Tinto, K. J.; Siddoway, C. S.; Padman, L.; Fricker, H. A.; Das, I.; Porter, D. F.; Springer, S. R.; Siegfried, M. R.; Caratori Tontini, F.; Bell, R. E.
2017-12-01
Bathymetry beneath Antarctic ice shelves controls sub-ice-shelf ocean circulation and has a major influence on the stability and dynamics of the ice sheets. Beneath the Ross Ice Shelf, the sea-floor bathymetry is a product of both tectonics and glacial processes, and is influenced by the processes it controls. New aerogeophysical surveys have revealed a fundamental crustal boundary bisecting the Ross Ice Shelf and imparting a duality to the Ross Ice Shelf systems, encompassing bathymetry, ocean circulation and ice flow history. The ROSETTA-Ice surveys were designed to increase the resolution of Ross Ice Shelf mapping from the 55 km RIGGS survey of the 1970s to a 10 km survey grid, flown over three years from New York Air National Guard LC130s. Radar, LiDAR, gravity and magnetic instruments provide a top to bottom profile of the ice shelf and the underlying seafloor, with 20 km resolution achieved in the first two survey seasons (2015 and 2016). ALAMO ocean-profiling floats deployed in the 2016 season are measuring the temperature and salinity of water entering and exiting the sub-ice water cavity. A significant east-west contrast in the character of the magnetic and gravity fields reveals that the lithospheric boundary between East and West Antarctica exists not at the base of the Transantarctic Mountains (TAM), as previously thought, but 300 km further east. The newly-identified boundary spatially coincides with the southward extension of the Central High, a rib of shallow basement identified in the Ross Sea. The East Antarctic side is characterized by lower amplitude magnetic anomalies and denser TAM-type lithosphere compared to the West Antarctic side. The crustal structure imparts a fundamental duality on the overlying ice and ocean, with deeper bathymetry and thinner ice on the East Antarctic side creating a larger sub-ice cavity for ocean circulation. The West Antarctic side has a shallower seabed, more restricted ocean access and a more complex history of
Hampton, Stephanie E; Galloway, Aaron W E; Powers, Stephen M; Ozersky, Ted; Woo, Kara H; Batt, Ryan D; Labou, Stephanie G; O'Reilly, Catherine M; Sharma, Sapna; Lottig, Noah R; Stanley, Emily H; North, Rebecca L; Stockwell, Jason D; Adrian, Rita; Weyhenmeyer, Gesa A; Arvola, Lauri; Baulch, Helen M; Bertani, Isabella; Bowman, Larry L; Carey, Cayelan C; Catalan, Jordi; Colom-Montero, William; Domine, Leah M; Felip, Marisol; Granados, Ignacio; Gries, Corinna; Grossart, Hans-Peter; Haberman, Juta; Haldna, Marina; Hayden, Brian; Higgins, Scott N; Jolley, Jeff C; Kahilainen, Kimmo K; Kaup, Enn; Kehoe, Michael J; MacIntyre, Sally; Mackay, Anson W; Mariash, Heather L; McKay, Robert M; Nixdorf, Brigitte; Nõges, Peeter; Nõges, Tiina; Palmer, Michelle; Pierson, Don C; Post, David M; Pruett, Matthew J; Rautio, Milla; Read, Jordan S; Roberts, Sarah L; Rücker, Jacqueline; Sadro, Steven; Silow, Eugene A; Smith, Derek E; Sterner, Robert W; Swann, George E A; Timofeyev, Maxim A; Toro, Manuel; Twiss, Michael R; Vogt, Richard J; Watson, Susan B; Whiteford, Erika J; Xenopoulos, Marguerite A
2017-01-01
Winter conditions are rapidly changing in temperate ecosystems, particularly for those that experience periods of snow and ice cover. Relatively little is known of winter ecology in these systems, due to a historical research focus on summer 'growing seasons'. We executed the first global quantitative synthesis on under-ice lake ecology, including 36 abiotic and biotic variables from 42 research groups and 101 lakes, examining seasonal differences and connections as well as how seasonal differences vary with geophysical factors. Plankton were more abundant under ice than expected; mean winter values were 43.2% of summer values for chlorophyll a, 15.8% of summer phytoplankton biovolume and 25.3% of summer zooplankton density. Dissolved nitrogen concentrations were typically higher during winter, and these differences were exaggerated in smaller lakes. Lake size also influenced winter-summer patterns for dissolved organic carbon (DOC), with higher winter DOC in smaller lakes. At coarse levels of taxonomic aggregation, phytoplankton and zooplankton community composition showed few systematic differences between seasons, although literature suggests that seasonal differences are frequently lake-specific, species-specific, or occur at the level of functional group. Within the subset of lakes that had longer time series, winter influenced the subsequent summer for some nutrient variables and zooplankton biomass. © 2016 The Authors. Ecology Letters published by CNRS and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
A Changing Arctic Sea Ice Cover and the Partitioning of Solar Radiation
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Perovich, D. K.; Light, B.; Polashenski, C.; Nghiem, S. V.
2010-12-01
Certain recent changes in the Arctic sea ice cover are well established. There has been a reduction in sea ice extent, an overall thinning of the ice cover, reduced prevalence of perennial ice with accompanying increases in seasonal ice, and a lengthening of the summer melt season. Here we explore the effects of these changes on the partitioning of solar energy between reflection to the atmosphere, absorption within the ice, and transmission to the ocean. The physical changes in the ice cover result in less light reflected and more light absorbed in the ice and transmitted to the ocean. These changes directly affect the heat and mass balance of the ice as well as the amount of light available for photosynthesis within and beneath the ice cover. The central driver is that seasonal ice covers tend to have lower albedo than perennial ice throughout the melt season, permitting more light to penetrate into the ice and ocean. The enhanced light penetration increases the amount of internal melting of the ice and the heat content of the upper ocean. The physical changes in the ice cover mentioned above have affected both the amount and the timing of the photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) transmitted into the ice and ocean, increasing transmitted PAR, particularly in the spring. A comparison of the partitioning of solar irradiance and PAR for both historical and recent ice conditions will be presented.
Operationally Monitoring Sea Ice at the Canadian Ice Service
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
de Abreu, R.; Flett, D.; Carrieres, T.; Falkingham, J.
2004-05-01
The Canadian Ice Service (CIS) of the Meteorological Service of Canada promotes safe and efficient maritime operations and protects Canada's environment by providing reliable and timely information about ice and iceberg conditions in Canadian waters. Daily and seasonal charts describing the extent, type and concentration of sea ice and icebergs are provided to support navigation and other activities (e.g. oil and gas) in coastal waters. The CIS relies on a suite of spaceborne visible, infrared and microwave sensors to operationally monitor ice conditions in Canadian coastal and inland waterways. These efforts are complemented by operational sea ice models that are customized and run at the CIS. The archive of these data represent a 35 year archive of ice conditions and have proven to be a valuable dataset for historical sea ice analysis. This presentation will describe the daily integration of remote sensing observations and modelled ice conditions used to produce ice and iceberg products. A review of the decadal evolution of this process will be presented, as well as a glimpse into the future of ice and iceberg monitoring. Examples of the utility of the CIS digital sea ice archive for climate studies will also be presented.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Xie, Surui; Dixon, Timothy H.; Voytenko, Denis; Deng, Fanghui; Holland, David M.
2018-04-01
Ice velocity variations near the terminus of Jakobshavn Isbræ, Greenland, were observed with a terrestrial radar interferometer (TRI) during three summer campaigns in 2012, 2015, and 2016. We estimate a ˜ 1 km wide floating zone near the calving front in early summer of 2015 and 2016, where ice moves in phase with ocean tides. Digital elevation models (DEMs) generated by the TRI show that the glacier front here was much thinner (within 1 km of the glacier front, average ice surface is ˜ 100 and ˜ 110 m above local sea level in 2015 and 2016, respectively) than ice upstream (average ice surface is > 150 m above local sea level at 2-3 km to the glacier front in 2015 and 2016). However, in late summer 2012, there is no evidence of a floating ice tongue in the TRI observations. Average ice surface elevation near the glacier front was also higher, ˜ 125 m above local sea level within 1 km of the glacier front. We hypothesize that during Jakobshavn Isbræ's recent calving seasons the ice front advances ˜ 3 km from winter to spring, forming a > 1 km long floating ice tongue. During the subsequent calving season in mid- and late summer, the glacier retreats by losing its floating portion through a sequence of calving events. By late summer, the entire glacier is likely grounded. In addition to ice velocity variation driven by tides, we also observed a velocity variation in the mélange and floating ice front that is non-parallel to long-term ice flow motion. This cross-flow-line signal is in phase with the first time derivative of tidal height and is likely associated with tidal currents or bed topography.
ICESat: Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Zwally, Jay; Shuman, Christopher
2002-01-01
Ice exists in the natural environment in many forms. The Earth dynamic ice features shows that at high elevations and/or high latitudes,snow that falls to the ground can gradually build up tu form thick consolidated ice masses called glaciers. Glaciers flow downhill under the force of gravity and can extend into areas that are too warm to support year-round snow cover. The snow line, called the equilibrium line on a glacier or ice sheet, separates the ice areas that melt on the surface and become show free in summer (net ablation zone) from the ice area that remain snow covered during the entire year (net accumulation zone). Snow near the surface of a glacier that is gradually being compressed into solid ice is called firm.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Hubbard, A., II; Ryan, J.; Box, J. E.; Snooke, N.
2015-12-01
Surface albedo is a primary control on absorbed radiation and hence ice surface darkening is a powerful amplifier of melt across the margin of the Greenland ice sheet. To investigate the relationship between ice surface roughness and variations in albedo in space and time at ~dm resolution, a suite of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) were deployed from the margin of Russell Glacier between June and August, 2014. The UAVs were equipped with digital and multispectral cameras, GoPros, fast response broadband pyranometers and temperature and humidity sensors. The primary mission was regular repeat longitudinal transects attaining data from the margin to the equilibrium line 80 km into the ice sheet interior and which were complimented by selected watershed and catchment surveys. The pyranometers reliably measure bare ice surface albedo between 0.34 and 0.58 that correlate well against concurrent MODIS data (where available). Repeat digital photogrammetric analysis enables investigation of relationship between changing meso- and micro-scale albedo and melt processes modulated by ice surface roughness that, in turn, are related to the seasonally evolving surface energy balance recorded at three AWS on the flight path.
Seasonal Ice Zone Reconnaissance Surveys Coordination
2016-03-30
sea surface temperature (SST), sea level atmospheric pressure ( SLP ), and velocity (Steele), and dropsonde measurements of atmospheric properties...aircraft), cloud top/base heights UpTempO buoys for understanding and prediction…. Steele UpTempO buoy drops for SLP , SST, SSS, & surface velocity...reflectance, skin temperature, visible imagery AXCTD= Air Expendable CTD, AXCP= Air Expendable Current Profiler, SLP = Sea Level atmospheric
Marginal Ice Zone: Biogeochemical Sampling with Gliders
2015-09-30
chlorophyll primary productivity model to estimate and compare phytoplankton productivity under full ice cover, in the MIZ, and in open ice-free water...observing array (Fig. 1). The glider sensor suite included temperature, temperature microstructure, salinity, oxygen, chlorophyll fluorescence, optical...operating in continental shelf waters off Alaska’s north slope allowed us to construct proxy libraries for converting chlorophyll fluorescence to
Early Cretaceous ice rafting and climate zonation in Australia
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Frakes, L.A.; Alley, N.F.; Deynoux, M.
1995-07-01
Lower Cretaceous (Valanginian to Albian) strata of the southwestern Eromanga and Carpentaria basins of central and northern Australia, respectively, provide evidence of strongly seasonal climates at high paleolatitudes. These include dispersed clasts (lonestones) in fine sediments and pseudomorphs of calcite after ikaite (glendonites), the latter being known to form only at temperatures below about 7{degrees}C. Rafting is regarded as the transport mechanism for clasts up to boulder size (lonestones) enclosed within dark mudrocks; this interpretation rests on rare occurrences of penetration by clasts into substrate layers. Driftwood and large floating algae are eliminated as possible rafts because fossil wood ismore » found mainly concentrated in nearshore areas of the basins and large algal masses have not been observed. Rafting by icebergs is considered unlikely in view of the global lack of tillites and related glacial deposits of this age. Our interpretation is that seasonal ice, formed in winter along stream courses and strandlines, incorporated clasts which, during the melt season, were dropped into muddy sediments in both basins. Eromanga fine-sediment and concentrations of large clasts and associated sand lenses, both lying above local erosion surfaces. In the Carpentaria Basin, local dumping of sediment from raft surfaces resulted in accumulation of pods of small clasts. Three zones can be identified for the Early Cretaceous climate of eastern Australia: (1) a very cold southern region, at latitudes above about 72{degrees} S, characterized by meteoric waters possibly originating as Antarctic glacial meltwaters; (2) a zone of strongly seasonal climates, with freezing winters and warm summers, between about 72{degrees} and 53{degrees} S.Lat.; and (3) a mid-latitude zone (below about 50{degrees} S. Lat.), where freezing temperatures were not common. 60 refs., 7 figs.« less
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Lange, B. A.; Haas, C.; Beckers, J.; Hendricks, S.
2011-12-01
Satellite observations demonstrate a decreasing summer Arctic sea ice extent over the past ~40 years, as well as a smaller perennial sea ice zone, with a significantly accelerated decline in the last decade. Recent ice extent observations are significantly lower than predicted by any model employed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The disagreement of the modeled and observed results, along with the large variability of model results, can be in part attributed to a lack of consistent and long term sea ice mass balance observations for the High Arctic. This study presents the derivation of large scale (individual floe) seasonal sea ice mass balance in the Lincoln Sea and Nares Strait. Large scale melt estimates are derived by comparing aerial borne electromagnetic induction thickness surveys conducted in spring with surveys conducted in summer 2009. The comparison of coincident floes is ensured by tracking sea ice using ENIVSAT ASAR and MODIS satellite imagery. Only EM thickness survey sections of floes that were surveyed in both spring and summer are analyzed and the resulting modal thicknesses of the distributions, which represent the most abundant ice type, are compared to determine the difference in thickness and therefore total melt (snow+basal ice+surface ice melt). Preliminary analyses demonstrate a bulk (regional ice tracking) seasonal total thickness variability of 1.1m, Lincoln Sea modal thickness 3.7m (April, 2009) and Nares Strait modal thickness 2.6m (August 2009)(Fig1). More detailed floe tracking, in depth analysis of EM surveys and removal of deformed ridged/rafted sea ice (due to inaccuracies over deformed ice) will result in more accurate melt estimates for this region and will be presented. The physical structure of deformed sea ice and the footprint of the EM instrument typically underestimate the total thicknesses observed. Seasonal variations of sea ice properties can add additional uncertainty to the response of the EM
Knight, P.G.; Jennings, C.E.; Waller, R.I.; Robinson, Z.P.
2007-01-01
Advance of part of the margin of the Greenland ice sheet across a proglacial moraine ridge between 1968 and 2002 caused progressive changes in moraine morphology, basal ice formation, debris release, ice-marginal sediment storage, and sediment transfer to the distal proglacial zone. When the ice margin is behind the moraine, most of the sediment released from the glacier is stored close to the ice margin. As the margin advances across the moraine the potential for ice-proximal sediment storage decreases and distal sediment flux is augmented by reactivation of moraine sediment. For six stages of advance associated with distinctive glacial and sedimentary processes we describe the ice margin, the debris-rich basal ice, debris release from the glacier, sediment routing into the proglacial zone, and geomorphic processes on the moraine. The overtopping of a moraine ridge is a significant glaciological, geomorphological and sedimentological threshold in glacier advance, likely to cause a distinctive pulse in distal sediment accumulation rates that should be taken into account when glacial sediments are interpreted to reconstruct glacier fluctuations. ?? 2007 Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography.
Determination of a Critical Sea Ice Thickness Threshold for the Central Arctic Ocean
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Ford, V.; Frauenfeld, O. W.; Nowotarski, C. J.
2017-12-01
While sea ice extent is readily measurable from satellite observations and can be used to assess the overall survivability of the Arctic sea ice pack, determining the spatial variability of sea ice thickness remains a challenge. Turbulent and conductive heat fluxes are extremely sensitive to ice thickness but are dominated by the sensible heat flux, with energy exchange expected to increase with thinner ice cover. Fluxes over open water are strongest and have the greatest influence on the atmosphere, while fluxes over thick sea ice are minimal as heat conduction from the ocean through thick ice cannot reach the atmosphere. We know that turbulent energy fluxes are strongest over open ocean, but is there a "critical thickness of ice" where fluxes are considered non-negligible? Through polar-optimized Weather Research and Forecasting model simulations, this study assesses how the wintertime Arctic surface boundary layer, via sensible heat flux exchange and surface air temperature, responds to sea ice thinning. The region immediately north of Franz Josef Land is characterized by a thickness gradient where sea ice transitions from the thickest multi-year ice to the very thin marginal ice seas. This provides an ideal location to simulate how the diminishing Arctic sea ice interacts with a warming atmosphere. Scenarios include both fixed sea surface temperature domains for idealized thickness variability, and fixed ice fields to detect changes in the ocean-ice-atmosphere energy exchange. Results indicate that a critical thickness threshold exists below 1 meter. The threshold is between 0.4-1 meters thinner than the critical thickness for melt season survival - the difference between first year and multi-year ice. Turbulent heat fluxes and surface air temperature increase as sea ice thickness transitions from perennial ice to seasonal ice. While models predict a sea ice free Arctic at the end of the warm season in future decades, sea ice will continue to transform
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.
Southern Ocean frontal structure and sea-ice formation rates revealed by elephant seals
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
Sensitivity of Great Lakes Ice Cover to Air Temperature
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Austin, J. A.; Titze, D.
2016-12-01
Ice cover is shown to exhibit a strong linear sensitivity to air temperature. Upwards of 70% of ice cover variability on all of the Great Lakes can be explained in terms of air temperature, alone, and nearly 90% of ice cover variability can be explained in some lakes. Ice cover sensitivity to air temperature is high, and a difference in seasonally-averaged (Dec-May) air temperature on the order of 1°C to 2°C can be the difference between a low-ice year and a moderate- to high- ice year. The total amount of seasonal ice cover is most influenced by air temperatures during the meteorological winter, contemporaneous with the time of ice formation. Air temperature conditions during the pre-winter conditioning period and during the spring melting period were found to have less of an impact on seasonal ice cover. This is likely due to the fact that there is a negative feedback mechanism when heat loss goes toward cooling the lake, but a positive feedback mechanism when heat loss goes toward ice formation. Ice cover sensitivity relationships were compared between shallow coastal regions of the Great Lakes and similarly shallow smaller, inland lakes. It was found that the sensitivity to air temperature is similar between these coastal regions and smaller lakes, but that the absolute amount of ice that forms varies significantly between small lakes and the Great Lakes, and amongst the Great Lakes themselves. The Lake Superior application of the ROMS three-dimensional hydrodynamic numerical model verifies a deterministic linear relationship between air temperature and ice cover, which is also strongest around the period of ice formation. When the Lake Superior bathymetry is experimentally adjusted by a constant vertical multiplier, average lake depth is shown to have a nonlinear relationship with seasonal ice cover, and this nonlinearity may be associated with a nonlinear increase in the lake-wide volume of the surface mixed layer.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Slater, T.; McMillan, M.; Shepherd, A.; Leeson, A.; Cornford, S. L.; Hogg, A.; Gilbert, L.; Muir, A. S.; Briggs, K.
2017-12-01
Over the past two decades, there has been an acceleration in the rate of mass losses from the Greenland ice sheet. This acceleration is, in part, attributed to an increasingly negative surface mass balance (SMB), linked to increasing melt water runoff rates due to enhanced surface melting. Understanding the past, present and future evolution in surface melting is central to ongoing monitoring of ice sheet mass balance and, in turn, to building realistic future projections. Currently, regional climate models are commonly used for this purpose, because direct in-situ observations are spatially and temporally sparse due to the logistics and resources required to collect such data. In particular, modelled SMB is used to estimate the extent and magnitude of surface melting, which influences (1) many geodetic mass balance estimates, and (2) snowpack microwave scattering properties. The latter is poorly understood and introduces uncertainty into radar altimeter estimates of ice sheet evolution. Here, we investigate the changes in CryoSat-2 waveforms and elevation measurements caused by the onset of surface melt in the summer months over the ablation zone of the Greenland ice sheet. Specifically, we use CryoSat-2 SARIn mode data acquired between 2011 and 2016, to characterise the effect of high variability in surface melt during this period, and to assess the associated impact on estimates of ice mass balance.
Marginal Ice Zone: Biogeochemical Sampling with Gliders
2014-09-30
chlorophyll primary productivity model to estimate and compare phytoplankton productivity under full ice cover, in the MIZ, and in open ice-free water...September, the gliders and still operating but will be retrieved in early October from the R/V Norseman. All gliders carried sensors for chlorophyll ...program, with modification for local conditions. The specific protocols for each sensor – backscatter and chlorophyll fluorescence – are described in
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Hunt, Brian P. V.; Hosie, Graham W.
2006-07-01
Between October 2001 and March 2002 six transects were completed at monthly intervals in the Sub-Antarctic Zone (SAZ) and Inter-Sub-Antarctic Front Zone (ISAFZ)/Polar Frontal Zone (PFZ) in the Southern Ocean south of Australia. Zooplankton were collected with a Continuous Plankton Recorder and NORPAC net and multivariate analysis was used to analyse the seasonal succession of communities. Despite strong, seasonally consistent, biogeographic differences between the SAZ and ISAFZ/PFZ, community structure in all zones was dominated by a suite of common taxa. These included the ubiquitous Oithona similis, foraminiferans and appendicularians (Core taxa), occurring in >97% of samples and contributing an average of 75% to total sample abundance, and Calanus simillimus, Rhincalanus gigas, Ctenocalanus citer, Clausocalanus brevipes, Clausocalanus laticeps, Oithona frigida, Limacina spp. and chaetognaths (Summer taxa), present in >57% of samples and occurring at seasonally high densities. Because of the dominance of the Core and Summer taxa, the seasonal succession was most clearly evident as a change in zooplankton densities. In October densities averaged <15 ind m -3, rising to 52 ind m -3 (max=92 ind m -3) in November, and subsequently increasing slowly through to January (ave=115 ind m -3; max=255 ind m -3). Densities peaked abruptly in February (ave=634 ind m -3; max=1593 ind m -3), and remained relatively high in March (ave=193 ind m -3; max=789 ind m -3). A latitudinal lag in seasonal development was observed with peak densities occurring first in the SAZ (February) and then in the ISAFZ/PFZ (March). The seasonal community succession was strongly influenced by species population cycles. The role of zooplankton in biogeochemical cycling in the SAZ and ISAFZ/PFZ was discussed in the light of past sediment trap data collected from the study area.
Effects of ice and floods on vegetation in streams in cold regions: implications for climate change
Lind, Lovisa; Nilsson, Christer; Weber, Christine
2014-01-01
Riparian zones support some of the most dynamic and species-rich plant communities in cold regions. A common conception among plant ecologists is that flooding during the season when plants are dormant generally has little effect on the survival and production of riparian vegetation. We show that winter floods may also be of fundamental importance for the composition of riverine vegetation. We investigated the effects of ice formation on riparian and in-stream vegetation in northern Sweden using a combination of experiments and observations in 25 reaches, spanning a gradient from ice-free to ice-rich reaches. The ice-rich reaches were characterized by high production of frazil and anchor ice. In a couple of experiments, we exposed riparian vegetation to experimentally induced winter flooding, which reduced the dominant dwarf-shrub cover and led to colonization of a species-rich forb-dominated vegetation. In another experiment, natural winter floods caused by anchor-ice formation removed plant mimics both in the in-stream and in the riparian zone, further supporting the result that anchor ice maintains dynamic plant communities. With a warmer winter climate, ice-induced winter floods may first increase in frequency because of more frequent shifts between freezing and thawing during winter, but further warming and shortening of the winter might make them less common than today. If ice-induced winter floods become reduced in number because of a warming climate, an important disturbance agent for riparian and in-stream vegetation will be removed, leading to reduced species richness in streams and rivers in cold regions. Given that such regions are expected to have more plant species in the future because of immigration from the south, the distribution of species richness among habitats can be expected to show novel patterns. PMID:25505542
Effects of ice and floods on vegetation in streams in cold regions: implications for climate change.
Lind, Lovisa; Nilsson, Christer; Weber, Christine
2014-11-01
Riparian zones support some of the most dynamic and species-rich plant communities in cold regions. A common conception among plant ecologists is that flooding during the season when plants are dormant generally has little effect on the survival and production of riparian vegetation. We show that winter floods may also be of fundamental importance for the composition of riverine vegetation. We investigated the effects of ice formation on riparian and in-stream vegetation in northern Sweden using a combination of experiments and observations in 25 reaches, spanning a gradient from ice-free to ice-rich reaches. The ice-rich reaches were characterized by high production of frazil and anchor ice. In a couple of experiments, we exposed riparian vegetation to experimentally induced winter flooding, which reduced the dominant dwarf-shrub cover and led to colonization of a species-rich forb-dominated vegetation. In another experiment, natural winter floods caused by anchor-ice formation removed plant mimics both in the in-stream and in the riparian zone, further supporting the result that anchor ice maintains dynamic plant communities. With a warmer winter climate, ice-induced winter floods may first increase in frequency because of more frequent shifts between freezing and thawing during winter, but further warming and shortening of the winter might make them less common than today. If ice-induced winter floods become reduced in number because of a warming climate, an important disturbance agent for riparian and in-stream vegetation will be removed, leading to reduced species richness in streams and rivers in cold regions. Given that such regions are expected to have more plant species in the future because of immigration from the south, the distribution of species richness among habitats can be expected to show novel patterns.
Characterization of Mars' seasonal caps using neutron spectroscopy
Prettyman, T.H.; Feldman, W.C.; Titus, T.N.
2009-01-01
Mars' seasonal caps are characterized during Mars years 26 and 27 (April 2002 to January 2006) using data acquired by the 2001 Mars Odyssey Neutron Spectrometer. Time-dependent maps of the column abundance of seasonal CO 2 surface ice poleward of 60?? latitude in both hemispheres are determined from spatially deconvolved, epithermal neutron counting data. Sources of systematic error are analyzed, including spatial blurring by the spectrometer's broad footprint and the seasonal variations in the abundance of noncondensable gas at high southern latitudes, which are found to be consistent with results reported by Sprague et al. (2004, 2007). Corrections for spatial blurring are found to be important during the recession, when the column abundance of seasonal CO2 ice has the largest latitude gradient. The measured distribution and inventory of seasonal CO2 ice is compared to simulations by a general circulation model (GCM) calibrated using Viking lander pressure data, cap edge functions determined by thermal emission spectroscopy, and other nuclear spectroscopy data sets. On the basis of the amount of CO2 cycled through the caps during years 26 and 27, the gross polar energy balance has not changed significantly since Viking. The distribution of seasonal CO2 ice is longitudinally asymmetric: in the north, deposition rates of CO2 ice are elevated in Acidalia, which is exposed to katabatic winds from Chasma Borealis; in the south, CO2 deposition is highest near the residual cap. During southern recession, CO 2 ice is present longer than calculated by the GCM, which has implications for the local polar energy balance. Copyright 2009 by the American Geophysical Union.
NASA Team 2 Sea Ice Concentration Algorithm Retrieval Uncertainty
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Brucker, Ludovic; Cavalieri, Donald J.; Markus, Thorsten; Ivanoff, Alvaro
2014-01-01
Satellite microwave radiometers are widely used to estimate sea ice cover properties (concentration, extent, and area) through the use of sea ice concentration (IC) algorithms. Rare are the algorithms providing associated IC uncertainty estimates. Algorithm uncertainty estimates are needed to assess accurately global and regional trends in IC (and thus extent and area), and to improve sea ice predictions on seasonal to interannual timescales using data assimilation approaches. This paper presents a method to provide relative IC uncertainty estimates using the enhanced NASA Team (NT2) IC algorithm. The proposed approach takes advantage of the NT2 calculations and solely relies on the brightness temperatures (TBs) used as input. NT2 IC and its associated relative uncertainty are obtained for both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres using the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for the Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) TB. NT2 IC relative uncertainties estimated on a footprint-by-footprint swath-by-swath basis were averaged daily over each 12.5-km grid cell of the polar stereographic grid. For both hemispheres and throughout the year, the NT2 relative uncertainty is less than 5%. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is low in the interior ice pack, and it increases in the marginal ice zone up to 5%. In the Northern Hemisphere, areas with high uncertainties are also found in the high IC area of the Central Arctic. Retrieval uncertainties are greater in areas corresponding to NT2 ice types associated with deep snow and new ice. Seasonal variations in uncertainty show larger values in summer as a result of melt conditions and greater atmospheric contributions. Our analysis also includes an evaluation of the NT2 algorithm sensitivity to AMSR-E sensor noise. There is a 60% probability that the IC does not change (to within the computed retrieval precision of 1%) due to sensor noise, and the cumulated probability shows that there is a 90% chance that the IC varies by less than
Interactions between Antarctic sea ice and large-scale atmospheric modes in CMIP5 models
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Schroeter, Serena; Hobbs, Will; Bindoff, Nathaniel L.
2017-03-01
The response of Antarctic sea ice to large-scale patterns of atmospheric variability varies according to sea ice sector and season. In this study, interannual atmosphere-sea ice interactions were explored using observations and reanalysis data, and compared with simulated interactions by models in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5). Simulated relationships between atmospheric variability and sea ice variability generally reproduced the observed relationships, though more closely during the season of sea ice advance than the season of sea ice retreat. Atmospheric influence on sea ice is known to be strongest during advance, and it appears that models are able to capture the dominance of the atmosphere during advance. Simulations of ocean-atmosphere-sea ice interactions during retreat, however, require further investigation. A large proportion of model ensemble members overestimated the relative importance of the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) compared with other modes of high southern latitude climate, while the influence of tropical forcing was underestimated. This result emerged particularly strongly during the season of sea ice retreat. The zonal patterns of the SAM in many models and its exaggerated influence on sea ice overwhelm the comparatively underestimated meridional influence, suggesting that simulated sea ice variability would become more zonally symmetric as a result. Across the seasons of sea ice advance and retreat, three of the five sectors did not reveal a strong relationship with a pattern of large-scale atmospheric variability in one or both seasons, indicating that sea ice in these sectors may be influenced more strongly by atmospheric variability unexplained by the major atmospheric modes, or by heat exchange in the ocean.
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Drinkwater, Mark R.
1999-01-01
Strong seasonal and interannual signals in Antarctic bottom-water outflow remain unexplained yet are highly correlated with anomalies in net sea-ice growth in coastal polynyas. The mechanisms responsible for driving salination and replenishment and rejuvenation of the dense shelf "source" waters likely also generate pulses of bottom water outflow. The objective of this research is to investigate time-scales of variability in the dynamics of sea-ice in the Southern Ocean in order to determine the primary sites for production of dense shelf waters. We are using a merged satellite/buoy sea-ice motion data set for the period 1978-present day to compute the dynamics of opening and closing of coastal polynyas over the continental shelf. The Ocean Circulation and Climate Advanced Model (OCCAM) ocean general circulation model with coupled sea-ice dynamics is presently forced using National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) data to simulate fluxes and the salination impact of the ocean shelf regions. This work is relevant in the context of measuring the influence of polar sea-ice dynamics upon polar ocean characteristics, and thereby upon global thermohaline ocean circulation. Interannual variability in simulated net freezing rate in the Southern Weddell Sea is shown for the period 1986-1993. There is a pronounced maximum of ice production in 1988 and minimum in 1991 in response to anomalies in equatorward meridional wind velocity. This follows a similar approximate 8-year interannual cycle in Sea Surface Temperature (SST) and satellite-derived ice-edge anomalies reported elsewhere as the "Antarctic Circumpolar Wave." The amplitude of interannual fluctuations in annual net ice production are about 40% of the mean value, implying significant interannual variance in brine rejection and upper ocean heat loss. Southward anomalies in wind stress induce negative anomalies in open water production, which are observed in passive microwave satellite images. Thus, cycles of
The Role of Snow and Ice in the Climate System
Barry, Roger G.
2017-12-09
Global snow and ice cover (the 'cryosphere') plays a major role in global climate and hydrology through a range of complex interactions and feedbacks, the best known of which is the ice - albedo feedback. Snow and ice cover undergo marked seasonal and long term changes in extent and thickness. The perennial elements - the major ice sheets and permafrost - play a role in present-day regional and local climate and hydrology, but the large seasonal variations in snow cover and sea ice are of importance on continental to hemispheric scales. The characteristics of these variations, especially in the Northern Hemisphere, and evidence for recent trends in snow and ice extent are discussed.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Tamelander, Tobias; Reigstad, Marit; Hop, Haakon; Carroll, Michael L.; Wassmann, Paul
2008-10-01
exported from the euphotic zone was derived from pelagic primary production, but at 3 of 11 stations within the marginal ice zone (MIZ), the ice algal signal dominated the isotope composition of sinking material. The δ 13C of settling organic matter was positively related to the vertical flux of particulate organic carbon, with maximum values around -21‰ during the peak bloom phase. Sedimentation of isotopically light copepod faecal pellets (mean δ 13C -25.4‰) was reflected in a depletion of 13C in the sinking material. The results illustrate tight pelagic-benthic coupling in the Barents Sea MIZ through vertical export of fresh phytodetritus during phytoplankton blooms and episodic export of ice algae.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Deweaver, E. T.
2008-12-01
The dramatic sea ice decline of 2007 and lack of recovery in 2008 raise the question of a "tipping point" for Arctic sea ice, beyond which the transition to a seasonal sea ice state becomes abrupt and irreversible. The tipping point is essentially a "memory catastrophe", in which a dramatic loss of sea ice in one summer is "remembered" in reduced ice thickness over the winter season and leads to a comparably dramatic loss the following summer. The dominant contributor to this memory is presumably the sea ice - albedo feedback (SIAF), in which excess insolation absorbed due to low summer ice cover leads to a shorter ice growth season and hence thinner ice. While these dynamics are clearly important, they are difficult to quantify given the lack of long-term observations in the Arctic and the suddenness of the recent loss. Alternatively, we attempt to quantify the contribution of the SIAF to the year-to-year memory of sea ice cover anomalies in simulations of the NCAR Community Climate System Model (CCSM) under 20th century conditions. Lagged autocorrelation plots of sea ice area anomalies show that anomalies in one year tend to "reemerge" in the following year. Further experiments using a slab ocean model (SOM) are used to assess the contribution of oceanic processes to the year-to-year reemergence. This contribution is substantial, particularly in the winter season, and includes memory due to the standard mixed layer reemergence mechanism and low-frequency ocean heat transport anomalies. The contribution of the SIAF to persistence in the SOM experiment is determined through additional experiments in which the SIAF is disabled by fixing surface albedo to its climatological value regardless of sea ice concentration anomalies. SIAF causes a 50% increase in the magnitude of the anomalies but a relatively small increase in their persistence. Persistence is not dramatically increased because the enhancement of shortwave flux anomalies by SIAF is compensated by stronger
Implications of fractured Arctic perennial ice cover on thermodynamic and dynamic sea ice processes
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Asplin, Matthew G.; Scharien, Randall; Else, Brent; Howell, Stephen; Barber, David G.; Papakyriakou, Tim; Prinsenberg, Simon
2014-04-01
Decline of the Arctic summer minimum sea ice extent is characterized by large expanses of open water in the Siberian, Laptev, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas, and introduces large fetch distances in the Arctic Ocean. Long waves can propagate deep into the pack ice, thereby causing flexural swell and failure of the sea ice. This process shifts the floe size diameter distribution smaller, increases floe surface area, and thereby affects sea ice dynamic and thermodynamic processes. The results of Radarsat-2 imagery analysis show that a flexural fracture event which occurred in the Beaufort Sea region on 6 September 2009 affected ˜40,000 km2. Open water fractional area in the area affected initially decreased from 3.7% to 2.7%, but later increased to ˜20% following wind-forced divergence of the ice pack. Energy available for lateral melting was assessed by estimating the change in energy entrainment from longwave and shortwave radiation in the mixed-layer of the ocean following flexural fracture. 11.54 MJ m-2 of additional energy for lateral melting of ice floes was identified in affected areas. The impact of this process in future Arctic sea ice melt seasons was assessed using estimations of earlier occurrences of fracture during the melt season, and is discussed in context with ocean heat fluxes, atmospheric mixing of the ocean mixed layer, and declining sea ice cover. We conclude that this process is an important positive feedback to Arctic sea ice loss, and timing of initiation is critical in how it affects sea ice thermodynamic and dynamic processes.
The role of permafrost and seasonal frost in the hydrology of northern wetlands in North America
Woo, M.-K.; Winter, Thomas C.
1993-01-01
Wetlands are a common landscape feature in the Arctic, Subarctic, and north Temperate zones of North America. In all three-zones, the occurrnce of seasonal frost results in similar surface-water processes in the early spring. For example, surface ice and snow generally melt before the soil frost thaws, causing melt water to flow into depressions, over the land surface and at times, across low topographic divides. However, evapotranspiration and ground-water movement differ among the three climatic zones because they are more affected by permafrost than seasonal frost. The water source for plants in the Arctic is restricted to the small volume of subsurface water lying above the permafrost. Although this is also true in the Subarctic where permafrost exists, where it does not, plants may receive and possibly reflect, more regional ground-water sources. Where permafrost exists, the interaction of wetlands with subsurface water is largely restricted to shallow local flow systems. But where permafrost is absent in parts of the Subarctic and all of the Temperature zone, wetlands may have a complex interaction with ground-water-flow systems of all magnitudes.
Changes in Arctic Melt Season and Implications for Sea Ice Loss
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Stroeve, J. C.; Markus, T.; Boisvert, L.; Miller, J.; Barrett, A.
2014-01-01
The Arctic-wide melt season has lengthened at a rate of 5 days dec-1 from 1979 to 2013, dominated by later autumn freeze-up within the Kara, Laptev, East Siberian, Chukchi and Beaufort seas between 6 and 11 days dec(exp -1). While melt onset trends are generally smaller, the timing of melt onset has a large influence on the total amount of solar energy absorbed during summer. The additional heat stored in the upper ocean of approximately 752MJ m(exp -2) during the last decade, increases sea surface temperatures by 0.5 to 1.5 C and largely explains the observed delays in autumn freeze-up within the Arctic Ocean's adjacent seas. Cumulative anomalies in total absorbed solar radiation from May through September for the most recent pentad locally exceed 300-400 MJ m(exp -2) in the Beaufort, Chukchi and East Siberian seas. This extra solar energy is equivalent to melting 0.97 to 1.3 m of ice during the summer.
Ice-Shelf Flexure and Tidal Forcing of Bindschadler Ice Stream, West Antarctica
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Walker, Ryan T.; Parizek, Bryron R.; Alley, Richard B.; Brunt, Kelly M.; Anandakrishnan, Sridhar
2014-01-01
Viscoelastic models of ice-shelf flexure and ice-stream velocity perturbations are combined into a single efficient flowline model to study tidal forcing of grounded ice. The magnitude and timing of icestream response to tidally driven changes in hydrostatic pressure and/or basal drag are found to depend significantly on bed rheology, with only a perfectly plastic bed allowing instantaneous velocity response at the grounding line. The model can reasonably reproduce GPS observations near the grounding zone of Bindschadler Ice Stream (formerly Ice Stream D) on semidiurnal time scales; however, other forcings such as tidally driven ice-shelf slope transverse to the flowline and flexurally driven till deformation must also be considered if diurnal motion is to be matched
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Faulk, Sean P.; Mitchell, Jonathan L.; Bordoni, Simona
2014-11-01
In the Earth’s atmosphere, tropical precipitation zones migrate seasonally but never extend beyond 30N, even in regions of large-scale monsoons. On Titan, however, seasonal, monsoon-like weather patterns regularly pump liquid methane to the poles. In this study, we argue that rotation rate is the main control on the seasonal extent of planetary monsoons, while surface thermal inertia plays a secondary role: i.e. the control is primarily dynamic rather than thermodynamic. Factors controlling the position and the sensitivity to energetic perturbations of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) on Earth, a narrow latitudinal band where tropical precipitation is concentrated, have been widely investigated in the literature. Interestingly, while on Earth the ITCZ is limited to low latitudes, on Mars and Titan the ITCZ can migrate significantly off the equator into the summer hemisphere. Previous explanations for the ITCZ’s larger migration on Mars and Titan compared to Earth emphasize the lower surface thermal inertias of those planets. Here, we study a wide range of atmospheric circulations with an idealized General Circulation Model (GCM), in which an atmospheric model with idealized physics is coupled to an aquaplanet slab ocean of fixed depth and the top-of-atmosphere insolation is varied seasonally. A broad range of circulation regimes is studied by changing the thermal inertia of the slab ocean and the planetary rotation, while keeping the seasonal cycle of insolation fixed and all other parameters Earth-like. We find that for rotation rates 1/8 that of Earth's and slower, essentially Titan-like rotation rates, Earth’s ITCZ reaches the summer pole. At odds with previous explanations, we also find that decreasing the surface thermal inertia, to Titan’s surface thermal inertia and smaller, does little to extend the ITCZ’s summer migration off the equator. These results suggest that the ITCZ may be more controlled by dynamical mechanisms than previously
Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR
2013-07-01
... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Safety Zone; San Diego Symphony Summer POPS Fireworks 2013 Season, San Diego, CA. 165.T11-568 Section 165.T11-568 Navigation and... Areas Eleventh Coast Guard District § 165.T11-568 Safety Zone; San Diego Symphony Summer POPS Fireworks...
Airborne Spectral Measurements of Surface-Atmosphere Anisotropy for Arctic Sea Ice and Tundra
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Arnold, G. Thomas; Tsay, Si-Chee; King, Michael D.; Li, Jason Y.; Soulen, Peter F.
1999-01-01
Angular distributions of spectral reflectance for four common arctic surfaces: snow-covered sea ice, melt-season sea ice, snow-covered tundra, and tundra shortly after snowmelt were measured using an aircraft based, high angular resolution (1-degree) multispectral radiometer. Results indicate bidirectional reflectance is higher for snow-covered sea ice than melt-season sea ice at all wavelengths between 0.47 and 2.3 pm, with the difference increasing with wavelength. Bidirectional reflectance of snow-covered tundra is higher than for snow-free tundra for measurements less than 1.64 pm, with the difference decreasing with wavelength. Bidirectional reflectance patterns of all measured surfaces show maximum reflectance in the forward scattering direction of the principal plane, with identifiable specular reflection for the melt-season sea ice and snow-free tundra cases. The snow-free tundra had the most significant backscatter, and the melt-season sea ice the least. For sea ice, bidirectional reflectance changes due to snowmelt were more significant than differences among the different types of melt-season sea ice. Also the spectral-hemispherical (plane) albedo of each measured arctic surface was computed. Comparing measured nadir reflectance to albedo for sea ice and snow-covered tundra shows albedo underestimated 5-40%, with the largest bias at wavelengths beyond 1 pm. For snow-free tundra, nadir reflectance underestimates plane albedo by about 30-50%.
Ice versus liquid water saturation in simulations of the indian summer monsoon
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Glazer, Russell H.; Misra, Vasubandhu
2018-02-01
At the same temperature, below 0 °C, the saturation vapor pressure (SVP) over ice is slightly less than the SVP over liquid water. Numerical models use the Clausius-Clapeyron relation to calculate the SVP and relative humidity, but there is not a consistent method for the treatment of saturation above the freezing level where ice and mixed-phase clouds may be present. In the context of current challenges presented by cloud microphysics in climate models, we argue that a better understanding of the impact that this treatment has on saturation-related processes like cloud formation and precipitation, is needed. This study explores the importance of the SVP calculation through model simulations of the Indian summer monsoon (ISM) using the regional spectral model (RSM) at 15 km grid spacing. A combination of seasonal and multiyear simulations is conducted with two saturation parameterizations. In one, the SVP over liquid water is prescribed through the entire atmospheric column (woIce), and in another the SVP over ice is used above the freezing level (wIce). When SVP over ice is prescribed, a thermodynamic drying of the middle and upper troposphere above the freezing level occurs due to increased condensation. In the wIce runs, the model responds to the slight decrease in the saturation condition by increasing, relative to the SVP over liquid water only run, grid-scale condensation of water. Increased grid-scale mean seasonal precipitation is noted across the ISM region in the simulation with SVP over ice prescribed. Modification of the middle and upper troposphere moisture results in a decrease in mean seasonal mid-level cloud amount and an increase in high cloud amount when SVP over ice is prescribed. Multiyear simulations strongly corroborate the qualitative results found in the seasonal simulations regarding the impact of ice versus liquid water SVP on the ISM's mean precipitation and moisture field. The mean seasonal rainfall difference over All India between wIce
Contribution of Deformation to Sea Ice Mass Balance: A Case Study From an N-ICE2015 Storm
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Itkin, Polona; Spreen, Gunnar; Hvidegaard, Sine Munk; Skourup, Henriette; Wilkinson, Jeremy; Gerland, Sebastian; Granskog, Mats A.
2018-01-01
The fastest and most efficient process of gaining sea ice volume is through the mechanical redistribution of mass as a consequence of deformation events. During the ice growth season divergent motion produces leads where new ice grows thermodynamically, while convergent motion fractures the ice and either piles the resultant ice blocks into ridges or rafts one floe under the other. Here we present an exceptionally detailed airborne data set from a 9 km2 area of first year and second year ice in the Transpolar Drift north of Svalbard that allowed us to estimate the redistribution of mass from an observed deformation event. To achieve this level of detail we analyzed changes in sea ice freeboard acquired from two airborne laser scanner surveys just before and right after a deformation event brought on by a passing low-pressure system. A linear regression model based on divergence during this storm can explain 64% of freeboard variability. Over the survey region we estimated that about 1.3% of level sea ice volume was pressed together into deformed ice and the new ice formed in leads in a week after the deformation event would increase the sea ice volume by 0.5%. As the region is impacted by about 15 storms each winter, a simple linear extrapolation would result in about 7% volume increase and 20% deformed ice fraction at the end of the season.
Conditions for a steady ice sheet ice shelf junction
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Nowicki, S. M. J.; Wingham, D. J.
2008-01-01
This paper investigates the conditions under which a marine ice sheet may adopt a steady profile. The ice is treated as a linear viscous fluid caused to flow from a rigid base to and over water, treated as a denser but inviscid fluid. The solutions in the region around the point of flotation, or 'transition' zone, are calculated numerically. In-flow and out-flow conditions appropriate to ice sheet and ice shelf flow are applied at the ends of the transition zone and the rigid base is specified; the flow and steady free surfaces are determined as part of the solutions. The basal stress upstream, and the basal deflection downstream, of the flotation point are examined to determine which of these steady solutions satisfy 'contact' conditions that would prevent (i) the steady downstream basal deflection contacting the downstream base, and (ii) the upstream ice commencing to float in the event it was melted at the base. In the case that the upstream bed is allowed to slide, we find only one mass flux that satisfies the contact conditions. When no sliding is allowed at the bed, however, we find a range of mass fluxes satisfy the contact conditions. The effect of 'backpressure' on the solutions is investigated, and is found to have no affect on the qualitative behaviour of the junctions. To the extent that the numerical, linearly viscous treatment may be applied to the case of ice flowing out over the ocean, we conclude that when sliding is present, Weertman's 'instability' hypothesis holds.
Ice Floe Breaking in Contemporary Third Generation Operational Wave Models
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Sévigny, C.; Baudry, J.; Gauthier, J. C.; Dumont, D.
2016-02-01
The dynamical zone observed at the edge of the consolidated ice area where are found the wave-fractured floes (i.e. marginal ice zone or MIZ) has become an important topic in ocean modeling. As both operational and climate ocean models now seek to reproduce the complex atmosphere-ice-ocean system with realistic coupling processes, many theoretical and numerical studies have focused on understanding and modeling this zone. Few attempts have been made to embed wave-ice interactions specific to the MIZ within a two-dimensional model, giving the possibility to calculate both the attenuation of surface waves by sea ice and the concomitant breaking of the sea ice-cover into smaller floes. One of the first challenges consists in improving the parameterization of wave-ice dynamics in contemporary third generation operational wave models. A simple waves-in-ice model (WIM) similar to the one proposed by Williams et al. (2013a,b) was implemented in WAVEWATCH III. This WIM considers ice floes as floating elastic plates and predicts the dimensionless attenuation coefficient by the use of a lookup-table-based, wave scattering scheme. As in Dumont et al. (2011), the different frequencies are treated individually and floe breaking occurs for a particular frequency when the expected wave amplitude exceeds the allowed strain amplitude, which considers ice floes properties and wavelength in ice field. The model is here further refined and tested in idealized two-dimensional cases, giving preliminary results of the performance and sensitivity of the parameterization to initial wave and ice conditions. The effects of the wave-ice coupling over the incident wave spectrum are analyzed as well as the resulting floe size distribution. The model gives prognostic values of the lateral extent of the marginal ice zone with maximum ice floe diameter that progressively increases with distance from the ice edge.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Dvornikov, Anton; Sein, Dmitry; Ryabchenko, Vladimir; Gorchakov, Victor; Pugalova, Svetlana
2015-04-01
This study is aimed at modelling the seasonal and inter-annual variability of sea-ice, ocean circulation and marine ecosystems in the Barents Sea in the modern period. Adequate description of marine ecosystems in the ice-covered seas crucially depends on the accuracy in determining of thicknesses of ice and snow on the sea surface which control penetrating photosynthetically active radiation under the ice. One of the few models of ice able to adequately reproduce the dynamics of sea ice is the sea ice model HELMI [1], containing 7 different categories of ice. This model has been imbedded into the Princeton Ocean Model. With this coupled model 2 runs for the period 1998-2007 were performed under different atmospheric forcing prescribed from NCEP/NCAR and ERA-40 archives. For prescribing conditions at the open boundary, all the necessary information about the horizontal velocity, level, temperature and salinity of the water, ice thickness and compactness was taken from the results of the global ocean general circulation model of the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology (Hamburg, Germany) MPIOM [2]. The resulting solution with NCEP forcing with a high accuracy simulates the seasonal and inter-annual variability of sea surface temperature (SST) estimated from MODIS data. The maximum difference between the calculated and satellite-derived SSTs (averaged over 4 selected areas of the Barents Sea) during the period 2000-2007 does not exceed 1.5 °C. Seasonal and inter-annual variations in the area of ice cover are also in good agreement with satellite-derived estimates. Pelagic ecosystem model developed in [3] has been coupled into the above hydrodynamic model and used to calculate the changes in the characteristics of marine ecosystems under NCEP forcing. Preliminarily the ecosystem model has been improved by introducing a parameterization of detritus deposition on the bottom and through the selection of optimal parameters for photosynthesis and zooplankton grazing
Lampkin, Derrick; Peng, Rui
2008-08-22
Accelerated ice flow near the equilibrium line of west-central Greenland Ice Sheet (GIS) has been attributed to an increase in infiltrated surface melt water as a response to climate warming. The assessment of surface melting events must be more than the detection of melt onset or extent. Retrieval of surface melt magnitude is necessary to improve understanding of ice sheet flow and surface melt coupling. In this paper, we report on a new technique to quantify the magnitude of surface melt. Cloud-free dates of June 10, July 5, 7, 9, and 11, 2001 Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) daily reflectance Band 5 (1.230-1.250μm) and surface temperature images rescaled to 1km over western Greenland were used in the retrieval algorithm. An optical-thermal feature space partitioned as a function of melt magnitude was derived using a one-dimensional thermal snowmelt model (SNTHERM89). SNTHERM89 was forced by hourly meteorological data from the Greenland Climate Network (GC-Net) at reference sites spanning dry snow, percolation, and wet snow zones in the Jakobshavn drainage basin in western GIS. Melt magnitude or effective melt (E-melt) was derived for satellite composite periods covering May, June, and July displaying low fractions (0-1%) at elevations greater than 2500m and fractions at or greater than 15% at elevations lower than 1000m assessed for only the upper 5 cm of the snow surface. Validation of E-melt involved comparison of intensity to dry and wet zones determined from QSCAT backscatter. Higher intensities (> 8%) were distributed in wet snow zones, while lower intensities were grouped in dry zones at a first order accuracy of ~ ±2%.
Allisse, Maxime; Sercia, Pierre; Comtois, Alain-Steve; Leone, Mario
2017-09-01
The purpose of this study was to describe the evolution of morphological, physiological and skating performance profiles of elite age-group ice hockey players based on repeated measures spread over one season. In addition, the results of fitness tests and training programs performed in off-ice conditions and their relationship with skating performance were analyzed. Eighteen high level age-group ice hockey players (13.1 ± 0.6 years) were assessed off and on-ice at the beginning and at the end of the hockey season. A third evaluation was also conducted at the beginning of the following hockey season. The players were taller, heavier, and showed bone breadths and muscle girths above the reference population of the same age. Muscular variables improved significantly during and between the two hockey seasons (p < 0.05). However, maximal aerobic power improved only during the off-season. All skating performance tests exhibited significant enhancements during the hockey season, but not during the off-season where some degradation was observed. Finally, weak observed variances (generally <20% of the explained variance) between physiological variables measured off-ice and on-ice skating performance tests indicated important gaps, both in the choice of the off-ice assessment tools as well as in training methods conventionally used. The reflection on the best way to assess and train hockey players certainly deserves to be continued.
Allisse, Maxime; Sercia, Pierre; Comtois, Alain-Steve; Leone, Mario
2017-01-01
Abstract The purpose of this study was to describe the evolution of morphological, physiological and skating performance profiles of elite age-group ice hockey players based on repeated measures spread over one season. In addition, the results of fitness tests and training programs performed in off-ice conditions and their relationship with skating performance were analyzed. Eighteen high level age-group ice hockey players (13.1 ± 0.6 years) were assessed off and on-ice at the beginning and at the end of the hockey season. A third evaluation was also conducted at the beginning of the following hockey season. The players were taller, heavier, and showed bone breadths and muscle girths above the reference population of the same age. Muscular variables improved significantly during and between the two hockey seasons (p < 0.05). However, maximal aerobic power improved only during the off-season. All skating performance tests exhibited significant enhancements during the hockey season, but not during the off-season where some degradation was observed. Finally, weak observed variances (generally <20% of the explained variance) between physiological variables measured off-ice and on-ice skating performance tests indicated important gaps, both in the choice of the off-ice assessment tools as well as in training methods conventionally used. The reflection on the best way to assess and train hockey players certainly deserves to be continued. PMID:28828080
Possible fossil H2O liquid-ice interfaces in the Martian crust
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Soderblom, L. A.; Wenner, D. B.
1978-01-01
The extensive chaotic and fretted terrains in the equatorial regions of Mars are explained on the basis of the vertical distribution of H2O liquid and ice which once existed in the crust. This account assumes that below the permafrost containing water ice, there was a second zone in which liquid water resided for at least a time. Diagenetic alteration and cementation characterized the material in the subpermafrost zone; above, pristine fragmented material with various ice concentrations was found. Later, the ice-laden zone was stripped away by a number of erosional processes, exposing the former ice-liquid water interface.
Arctic Sea Ice Classification and Mapping for Surface Albedo Parameterization in Sea Ice Modeling
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Nghiem, S. V.; Clemente-Colón, P.; Perovich, D. K.; Polashenski, C.; Simpson, W. R.; Rigor, I. G.; Woods, J. E.; Nguyen, D. T.; Neumann, G.
2016-12-01
A regime shift of Arctic sea ice from predominantly perennial sea ice (multi-year ice or MYI) to seasonal sea ice (first-year ice or FYI) has occurred in recent decades. This shift has profoundly altered the proportional composition of different sea ice classes and the surface albedo distribution pertaining to each sea ice class. Such changes impacts physical, chemical, and biological processes in the Arctic atmosphere-ice-ocean system. The drastic changes upset the traditional geophysical representation of surface albedo of the Arctic sea ice cover in current models. A critical science issue is that these profound changes must be rigorously and systematically observed and characterized to enable a transformative re-parameterization of key model inputs, such as ice surface albedo, to ice-ocean-atmosphere climate modeling in order to obtain re-analyses that accurately reproduce Arctic changes and also to improve sea ice and weather forecast models. Addressing this challenge is a strategy identified by the National Research Council study on "Seasonal to Decadal Predictions of Arctic Sea Ice - Challenges and Strategies" to replicate the new Arctic reality. We review results of albedo characteristics associated with different sea ice classes such as FYI and MYI. Then we demonstrate the capability for sea ice classification and mapping using algorithms developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and by the U.S. National Ice Center for use with multi-sourced satellite radar data at L, C, and Ku bands. Results obtained with independent algorithms for different radar frequencies consistently identify sea ice classes and thereby cross-verify the sea ice classification methods. Moreover, field observations obtained from buoy webcams and along an extensive trek across Elson Lagoon and a sector of the Beaufort Sea during the BRomine, Ozone, and Mercury EXperiment (BROMEX) in March 2012 are used to validate satellite products of sea ice classes. This research enables the mapping
Nudging the Arctic Ocean to quantify Arctic sea ice feedbacks
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Dekker, Evelien; Severijns, Camiel; Bintanja, Richard
2017-04-01
It is well-established that the Arctic is warming 2 to 3 time faster than rest of the planet. One of the great uncertainties in climate research is related to what extent sea ice feedbacks amplify this (seasonally varying) Arctic warming. Earlier studies have analyzed existing climate model output using correlations and energy budget considerations in order to quantify sea ice feedbacks through indirect methods. From these analyses it is regularly inferred that sea ice likely plays an important role, but details remain obscure. Here we will take a different and a more direct approach: we will keep the sea ice constant in a sensitivity simulation, using a state-of -the-art climate model (EC-Earth), applying a technique that has never been attempted before. This experimental technique involves nudging the temperature and salinity of the ocean surface (and possibly some layers below to maintain the vertical structure and mixing) to a predefined prescribed state. When strongly nudged to existing (seasonally-varying) sea surface temperatures, ocean salinity and temperature, we force the sea ice to remain in regions/seasons where it is located in the prescribed state, despite the changing climate. Once we obtain fixed' sea ice, we will run a future scenario, for instance 2 x CO2 with and without prescribed sea ice, with the difference between these runs providing a measure as to what extent sea ice contributes to Arctic warming, including the seasonal and geographical imprint of the effects.
Inferring Firn Permeability from Pneumatic Testing: A Case Study on the Greenland Ice Sheet
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Sommers, Aleah N.; Rajaram, Harihar; Weber, Eliezer P.; MacFerrin, Michael J.; Colgan, William T.; Stevens, C. Max
2017-03-01
Across the accumulation zone of the Greenland ice sheet, summer temperatures can be sufficiently warm to cause widespread melting, as was the case in July 2012 when the entire ice sheet experienced a brief episode of enhanced surface ablation. The resulting meltwater percolates into the firn and refreezes, to create ice lenses and layers within the firn column. This is an important process to consider when estimating the surface mass balance of the ice sheet. The rate of meltwater percolation depends on the permeability of the firn, a property that is not well constrained in the presence of refrozen ice layers and lenses. We present a novel, inexpensive method for measuring in-situ firn permeability using pneumatic testing, a well-established technique used in environmental engineering and hydrology. To illustrate the capabilities of this method, we estimate both horizontal and vertical permeability from pilot tests at six sites on the Greenland ice sheet: KAN-U, DYE-2, EKT, NASA-SE, Saddle, and EastGRIP. These sites cover a range of conditions from mostly dry firn (EastGRIP), to firn with several ice layers and lenses from refrozen meltwater (Saddle, NASA-SE, EKT), to firn with extensive ice layers (DYE-2 and KAN-U). The estimated permeability in firn without refrozen ice layers at EastGRIP agrees well with the range previously reported using an air permeameter to measure permeability through firn core samples at Summit, Greenland. At sites with ice lenses or layers, we find high degrees of anisotropy, with vertical permeability much lower than horizontal permeability. Pneumatic testing is a promising and low-cost technique for measuring firn permeability, particularly as meltwater production increases in the accumulation zone and ice layers and lenses from refrozen melt layers become more prevalent. In these initial proof-of-concept tests, the estimated permeabilities represent effective permeability at the meter scale. With appropriately higher vacuum pressures
Floating ice-algal aggregates below melting arctic sea ice.
Assmy, Philipp; Ehn, Jens K; Fernández-Méndez, Mar; Hop, Haakon; Katlein, Christian; Sundfjord, Arild; Bluhm, Katrin; Daase, Malin; Engel, Anja; Fransson, Agneta; Granskog, Mats A; Hudson, Stephen R; Kristiansen, Svein; Nicolaus, Marcel; Peeken, Ilka; Renner, Angelika H H; Spreen, Gunnar; Tatarek, Agnieszka; Wiktor, Jozef
2013-01-01
During two consecutive cruises to the Eastern Central Arctic in late summer 2012, we observed floating algal aggregates in the melt-water layer below and between melting ice floes of first-year pack ice. The macroscopic (1-15 cm in diameter) aggregates had a mucous consistency and were dominated by typical ice-associated pennate diatoms embedded within the mucous matrix. Aggregates maintained buoyancy and accumulated just above a strong pycnocline that separated meltwater and seawater layers. We were able, for the first time, to obtain quantitative abundance and biomass estimates of these aggregates. Although their biomass and production on a square metre basis was small compared to ice-algal blooms, the floating ice-algal aggregates supported high levels of biological activity on the scale of the individual aggregate. In addition they constituted a food source for the ice-associated fauna as revealed by pigments indicative of zooplankton grazing, high abundance of naked ciliates, and ice amphipods associated with them. During the Arctic melt season, these floating aggregates likely play an important ecological role in an otherwise impoverished near-surface sea ice environment. Our findings provide important observations and measurements of a unique aggregate-based habitat during the 2012 record sea ice minimum year.
Floating Ice-Algal Aggregates below Melting Arctic Sea Ice
Assmy, Philipp; Ehn, Jens K.; Fernández-Méndez, Mar; Hop, Haakon; Katlein, Christian; Sundfjord, Arild; Bluhm, Katrin; Daase, Malin; Engel, Anja; Fransson, Agneta; Granskog, Mats A.; Hudson, Stephen R.; Kristiansen, Svein; Nicolaus, Marcel; Peeken, Ilka; Renner, Angelika H. H.; Spreen, Gunnar; Tatarek, Agnieszka; Wiktor, Jozef
2013-01-01
During two consecutive cruises to the Eastern Central Arctic in late summer 2012, we observed floating algal aggregates in the melt-water layer below and between melting ice floes of first-year pack ice. The macroscopic (1-15 cm in diameter) aggregates had a mucous consistency and were dominated by typical ice-associated pennate diatoms embedded within the mucous matrix. Aggregates maintained buoyancy and accumulated just above a strong pycnocline that separated meltwater and seawater layers. We were able, for the first time, to obtain quantitative abundance and biomass estimates of these aggregates. Although their biomass and production on a square metre basis was small compared to ice-algal blooms, the floating ice-algal aggregates supported high levels of biological activity on the scale of the individual aggregate. In addition they constituted a food source for the ice-associated fauna as revealed by pigments indicative of zooplankton grazing, high abundance of naked ciliates, and ice amphipods associated with them. During the Arctic melt season, these floating aggregates likely play an important ecological role in an otherwise impoverished near-surface sea ice environment. Our findings provide important observations and measurements of a unique aggregate-based habitat during the 2012 record sea ice minimum year. PMID:24204642
Discharge of New Subglacial Lake on Whillians Ice Stream: Implication for Ice Stream Flow Dynamics.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Sergienko, O. V.; Fricker, H. A.; Bindschadler, R. A.; Vornberger, P. L.; Macayeal, D. R.
2006-12-01
One of the surprise discoveries made possible by the ICESat laser altimeter mission of 2004-2006 is the presence of a large subglacial lake below the grounding zone of Whillians Ice Stream (dubbed here `Lake Helen' after the discoverer, Helen Fricker). What is even more surprising is the fact that this lake discharged a substantial portion of its volume during the ICESat mission, and changes in lake volume and surface elevation of the ice stream are documented in exquisite detail [Fricker et al., in press]. The presence and apparent dynamism of large subglacial lakes in the grounding zone of a major ice stream raises questions about their effects on ice-stream dynamics. Being liquid and movable, water modifies basal friction spatially and temporally. Melting due to shear heating and geothermal flux reduces basal traction, making the ice stream move fast. However, when water collects in a depression to form a lake, it potentially deprives the surrounding bed of lubricating water, and additionally makes the ice surface flat, thereby locally decreasing the ice stream driving stress. We study the effect of formation and discharge of a subglacial lake at the mouth of and ice stream using a two dimensional, vertically integrated, ice-stream model. The model is forced by the basal friction, ice thickness and surface elevation. The basal friction is obtained by inversion of the ice surface velocity, ice thickness and surface elevation come from observations. To simulate the lake formation we introduce zero basal friction and "inflate" the basal elevation of the ice stream at the site of the lake. Sensitivity studies of the response of the surrounding ice stream and ice shelf flow are performed to delineate the influence of near-grounding-line subglacial water storage for ice streams in general.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
White, J. D.; Poulsen, C. J.; Montanez, I. P.; McElwain, J.; Wilson, J. P.; Hren, M. T.
2016-12-01
Variation in atmospheric CO2 concentration and presence or absence of polar ice sheets simulated for 310 mya using the GENESIS model show changes in terrestrial temperature, precipitation, and potential evapotranspiration at mid and lower latitudes. Classifying the data into Holdridge life zones for simulations with 280, 560, and 1120 ppm CO2, in the presence of a southern Gondwanan ice sheet resulted in progressive increase of cool temperate, humid-to-subhumid and tropical subhumid zones. Without the ice sheet, subtropical subhumid to semiarid zones expanded. Simulation results show that approximately 50% of the land area was classified as polar or tundra followed by 35 to 42%, depending on the scenario, classified as sub-tropical semiarid-to-subhumid. Only 5-8% were classified as temperate humid-to-subhumid or tropical humid-to-perhumid. Also, the absence of ice sheets reduced the moister sub-climates, such as within the tropical climate zone. Because different plant assemblages dominated each climate zone, for example cordaitaleans in the subtropical and medullosans and lycophytes in the tropics, physiological differences in these plants may have resulted in unequal CO2 exchange feedbacks to the atmosphere during climate shifts. Previous physiological modeling based on plant foliar traits indicates that late Paleozoic plant species differed in CO2 uptake capacity with highest sensitivity to water availability during periods with low atmospheric CO2 concentration. This implies that vegetation climate feedbacks during this period may have been non-uniform during climate change events. Inference of plant contribution to climate forcing must rely on understanding geographic distribution of affected vegetation, inherent vegetation physiological properties, and antecedent atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Our results indicate that seasonally dry climates prevailed in the low-latitude land area, and that slightly cooler temperatures than today must be considered. This
Accumulation Rates in the Dry Snow Zone of the Greenland Ice Sheet Inferred from L-band InSAR Data
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Chen, A. C.; Zebker, H. A.
2012-12-01
The Greenland ice sheet contains about 2.9 million km3 of ice and would raise global sea levels by about 7.1 m if it melted completely. Two unusually large iceberg calving events at Petermann Glacier in the past several years, along with the unusually large extent of ice sheet melt this summer point to the relevance of understanding the mass balance of the Greenland ice sheet. In this study, we use data from the PALSAR instrument aboard the ALOS satellite to form L-band (23-centimeter carrier wavelength) InSAR images of the dry snow zone of the Greenland ice sheet. We form geocoded differential interferograms, using the ice sheet elevation model produced by Howat et.al. [1]. By applying phase and radiometric calibration, we can examine interferograms formed between any pair of transmit and receive polarization channels. In co-polarized interferograms, the InSAR correlation ranges from about 0.35 at the summit (38.7 deg W, 73.0 deg N) where accumulation is about 20 cm w.e./yr to about 0.70 at the north-eastern part of the dry snow zone (35.1 deg W, 77.1 deg N), where accumulation is about 11.7 cm w.e./yr. Cross-polarized interferograms show similar geographic variation with overall lower correlation. We compare our InSAR data with in-situ measurements published by Bales et.al. [2]. We examine the applicability of dense-medium radiative transfer electromagnetic scattering models for estimating accumulation rates from L-band InSAR data. The large number and broad coverage of ALOS scenes acquired between 2007 and 2009 with good InSAR coherence at 46-day repeat times and 21.5 degree incidence angles gives us the opportunity to examine the empirical relationship between in-situ accumulation rate observations and the polarimetric InSAR correlation and radar brightness at this particular imaging geometry. This helps us quantify the accuracy of accumulation rates estimated from InSAR data. In some regions, 46-day interferograms acquired in the winters of several consecutive
Arctic sea ice decline contributes to thinning lake ice trend in northern Alaska
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.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Orlich, A.; Hutchings, J. K.; Green, T. M.
2013-12-01
The Ice Watch Program is an open source forum to access in situ Arctic sea ice conditions. It provides the research community and additional stakeholders a convenient resource to monitor sea ice and its role in understanding the Arctic as a system by implementing a standardized observation protocol and hosting a multi-service data portal. International vessels use the Arctic Shipborne Sea Ice Standardization Tool (ASSIST) software to report near-real time sea ice conditions while underway. Essential observations of total ice concentration, distribution of multi-year ice and other ice types, as well as their respective stage of melt are reported. These current and historic sea ice conditions are visualized on interactive maps and in a variety of statistical analyses, and with all data sets available to download for further investigation. The summer of 2012 was the debut of the ASSIST software and the Ice Watch campaign, with research vessels from six nations reporting from a wide spatio-temporal scale spanning from the Beaufort Sea, across the North Pole and Arctic Basin, the coast of Greenland and into the Kara and Barents Seas during mid-season melt and into the first stages of freeze-up. The 2013 summer field season sustained the observation and data archiving record, with participation from some of the same cruises as well as other geographic and seasonal realms covered by new users. These results are presented to illustrate the evolution of the program, increased participation and critical statistics of ice regime change and record of melt and freeze processes revealed by the data. As an ongoing effort, Ice Watch/ASSIST aims to standardize observations of Arctic-specific sea ice features and conditions while utilizing nomenclature and coding based on the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) standards and the Antarctic Sea Ice and Processes & Climate (ASPeCt) protocol. Instigated by members of the CliC Sea Ice Working Group, the program has evolved with
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.
78 FR 38584 - Safety Zone; San Diego Symphony Summer POPS Fireworks 2013 Season, San Diego, CA
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
2013-06-27
... 1625-AA00 Safety Zone; San Diego Symphony Summer POPS Fireworks 2013 Season, San Diego, CA AGENCY... on the navigable waters of San Diego Bay in support of the San Diego Symphony Summer POPS Fireworks... Diego, Coast Guard; telephone 619-278-7656, email [email protected] . If you have...
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Abulaitijiang, Adili; Baltazar Andersen, Ole; Stenseng, Lars
2014-05-01
Cryosat-2 offers the first ever possibility to perform coastal altimetric studies using SAR-Interferometry. This enabled qualified measurements of sea surface height (SST) in the fjords in Greenland. Scoresbysund fjord on the east coast of Greenland is the largest fjord in the world which is also covered by CryoSat-2 SAR-In mask making it a good test region. Also, the tide gauge operated by DTU Space is sitting in Scoresbysund bay, which provides solid ground-based sea level variation records throughout the year. We perform an investigation into sea surface height variation since the start of the Cryosat-2 mission using SAR-In L1B data processed with baseline B processing. We have employed a new develop method for projecting all SAR-In observations in the Fjord onto a centerline up the Fjord. Hereby we can make solid estimates of the annual and (semi-) annual signal in sea level/sea ice freeboard within the Fjord. These seasonal height variations enable us to derive sea ice freeboard changes in the fjord from satellite altimetry. Derived sea level and sea-ice freeboard can be validated by comparison with the tide gauge observations for sea level and output from the Microwave Radiometer derived observations of sea ice freeboard developed at the Danish Meteorological Institute.
46 CFR 42.30-20 - Seasonal Tropical Areas.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR
2014-10-01
... BY SEA Zones, Areas, and Seasonal Periods § 42.30-20 Seasonal Tropical Areas. The following are... continent; on the south and east by the northern boundary of the Tropical Zone. (1) Seasonal periods... coasts of Pakistan and India; on the south by the northern boundary of the Tropical Zone. (1) Seasonal...
46 CFR 42.30-20 - Seasonal Tropical Areas.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR
2013-10-01
... BY SEA Zones, Areas, and Seasonal Periods § 42.30-20 Seasonal Tropical Areas. The following are... continent; on the south and east by the northern boundary of the Tropical Zone. (1) Seasonal periods... coasts of Pakistan and India; on the south by the northern boundary of the Tropical Zone. (1) Seasonal...
46 CFR 42.30-20 - Seasonal Tropical Areas.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR
2012-10-01
... BY SEA Zones, Areas, and Seasonal Periods § 42.30-20 Seasonal Tropical Areas. The following are... continent; on the south and east by the northern boundary of the Tropical Zone. (1) Seasonal periods... coasts of Pakistan and India; on the south by the northern boundary of the Tropical Zone. (1) Seasonal...
Sea-Ice Conditions in the Norwegian, Barents, and White Seas
1976-08-01
pack, aided by relatively warm water from the Murman coast current, would reduce the maximum ice thickness predicted by the equation used for...THICKNESS With the aid of the ice growth model in the appendix, it is pos- sible to relate the maximum ice thickness attained during a winter season to a...inserted merely to aid the reader in discerning differences between individual winter seasons. As was the case for the 12-month mean temperatures
Is Ice-Rafted Sediment in a North Pole Marine Record Evidence for Perennial Sea-ice Cover?
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Tremblay, L.B.; Schmidt, G.A.; Pfirman, S.; Newton, R.; DeRepentigny, P.
2015-01-01
Ice-rafted sediments of Eurasian and North American origin are found consistently in the upper part (13 Ma BP to present) of the Arctic Coring Expedition (ACEX) ocean core from the Lomonosov Ridge, near the North Pole (approximately 88 degrees N). Based on modern sea-ice drift trajectories and speeds, this has been taken as evidence of the presence of a perennial sea-ice cover in the Arctic Ocean from the middle Miocene onwards. However, other high latitude land and marine records indicate a long-term trend towards cooling broken by periods of extensive warming suggestive of a seasonally ice-free Arctic between the Miocene and the present. We use a coupled sea-ice slab-ocean model including sediment transport tracers to map the spatial distribution of ice-rafted deposits in the Arctic Ocean. We use 6 hourly wind forcing and surface heat fluxes for two different climates: one with a perennial sea-ice cover similar to that of the present day and one with seasonally ice-free conditions, similar to that simulated in future projections. Model results confirm that in the present-day climate, sea ice takes more than 1 year to transport sediment from all its peripheral seas to the North Pole. However, in a warmer climate, sea-ice speeds are significantly faster (for the same wind forcing) and can deposit sediments of Laptev, East Siberian and perhaps also Beaufort Sea origin at the North Pole. This is primarily because of the fact that sea-ice interactions are much weaker with a thinner ice cover and there is less resistance to drift. We conclude that the presence of ice-rafted sediment of Eurasian and North American origin at the North Pole does not imply a perennial sea-ice cover in the Arctic Ocean, reconciling the ACEX ocean core data with other land and marine records.
Retention of ice-associated amphipods: possible consequences for an ice-free Arctic Ocean.
Berge, J; Varpe, O; Moline, M A; Wold, A; Renaud, P E; Daase, M; Falk-Petersen, S
2012-12-23
Recent studies predict that the Arctic Ocean will have ice-free summers within the next 30 years. This poses a significant challenge for the marine organisms associated with the Arctic sea ice, such as marine mammals and, not least, the ice-associated crustaceans generally considered to spend their entire life on the underside of the Arctic sea ice. Based upon unique samples collected within the Arctic Ocean during the polar night, we provide a new conceptual understanding of an intimate connection between these under-ice crustaceans and the deep Arctic Ocean currents. We suggest that downwards vertical migrations, followed by polewards transport in deep ocean currents, are an adaptive trait of ice fauna that both increases survival during ice-free periods of the year and enables re-colonization of sea ice when they ascend within the Arctic Ocean. From an evolutionary perspective, this may have been an adaptation allowing success in a seasonally ice-covered Arctic. Our findings may ultimately change the perception of ice fauna as a biota imminently threatened by the predicted disappearance of perennial sea ice.
Space Radar Image of Weddell Sea Ice
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
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Parkinson, Claire L.; Cavalieri, Donald J.
2005-01-01
Sea ice covers vast areas of the polar oceans, with ice extent in the Northern Hemisphere ranging from approximately 7 x 10(exp 6) sq km in September to approximately 15 x 10(exp 6) sq km in March and ice extent in the Southern Hemisphere ranging from approximately 3 x 10(exp 6) sq km in February to approximately 18 x 10(exp 6) sq km in September. These ice covers have major impacts on the atmosphere, oceans, and ecosystems of the polar regions, and so as changes occur in them there are potential widespread consequences. Satellite data reveal considerable interannual variability in both polar sea ice covers, and many studies suggest possible connections between the ice and various oscillations within the climate system, such as the Arctic Oscillation, North Atlantic Oscillation, and Antarctic Oscillation, or Southern Annular Mode. Nonetheless, statistically significant long-term trends are also apparent, including overall trends of decreased ice coverage in the Arctic and increased ice coverage in the Antarctic from late 1978 through the end of 2003, with the Antarctic ice increases following marked decreases in the Antarctic ice during the 1970s. For a detailed picture of the seasonally varying ice cover at the start of the 21st century, this chapter includes ice concentration maps for each month of 2001 for both the Arctic and the Antarctic, as well as an overview of what the satellite record has revealed about the two polar ice covers from the 1970s through 2003.
Lampkin, Derrick; Peng, Rui
2008-01-01
Accelerated ice flow near the equilibrium line of west-central Greenland Ice Sheet (GIS) has been attributed to an increase in infiltrated surface melt water as a response to climate warming. The assessment of surface melting events must be more than the detection of melt onset or extent. Retrieval of surface melt magnitude is necessary to improve understanding of ice sheet flow and surface melt coupling. In this paper, we report on a new technique to quantify the magnitude of surface melt. Cloud-free dates of June 10, July 5, 7, 9, and 11, 2001 Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) daily reflectance Band 5 (1.230-1.250μm) and surface temperature images rescaled to 1km over western Greenland were used in the retrieval algorithm. An optical-thermal feature space partitioned as a function of melt magnitude was derived using a one-dimensional thermal snowmelt model (SNTHERM89). SNTHERM89 was forced by hourly meteorological data from the Greenland Climate Network (GC-Net) at reference sites spanning dry snow, percolation, and wet snow zones in the Jakobshavn drainage basin in western GIS. Melt magnitude or effective melt (E-melt) was derived for satellite composite periods covering May, June, and July displaying low fractions (0-1%) at elevations greater than 2500m and fractions at or greater than 15% at elevations lower than 1000m assessed for only the upper 5 cm of the snow surface. Validation of E-melt involved comparison of intensity to dry and wet zones determined from QSCAT backscatter. Higher intensities (> 8%) were distributed in wet snow zones, while lower intensities were grouped in dry zones at a first order accuracy of ∼ ±2%. PMID:27873793
Boundary condition of grounding lines prior to collapse, Larsen-B Ice Shelf, Antarctica.
Rebesco, M; Domack, E; Zgur, F; Lavoie, C; Leventer, A; Brachfeld, S; Willmott, V; Halverson, G; Truffer, M; Scambos, T; Smith, J; Pettit, E
2014-09-12
Grounding zones, where ice sheets transition between resting on bedrock to full floatation, help regulate ice flow. Exposure of the sea floor by the 2002 Larsen-B Ice Shelf collapse allowed detailed morphologic mapping and sampling of the embayment sea floor. Marine geophysical data collected in 2006 reveal a large, arcuate, complex grounding zone sediment system at the front of Crane Fjord. Radiocarbon-constrained chronologies from marine sediment cores indicate loss of ice contact with the bed at this site about 12,000 years ago. Previous studies and morphologic mapping of the fjord suggest that the Crane Glacier grounding zone was well within the fjord before 2002 and did not retreat further until after the ice shelf collapse. This implies that the 2002 Larsen-B Ice Shelf collapse likely was a response to surface warming rather than to grounding zone instability, strengthening the idea that surface processes controlled the disintegration of the Larsen Ice Shelf. Copyright © 2014, American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Atmospheric river impacts on Greenland Ice Sheet surface melt and mass balance
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Mattingly, K.; Mote, T. L.
2017-12-01
Mass loss from the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) has accelerated during the early part of the 21st Century. Several episodes of widespread GrIS melt in recent years have coincided with intense poleward moisture transport by atmospheric rivers (ARs), suggesting that variability in the frequency and intensity of these events may be an important driver of the surface mass balance (SMB) of the GrIS. ARs may contribute to GrIS surface melt through the greenhouse effect of water vapor, the radiative effects of clouds, condensational latent heating within poleward-advected air masses, and the energy provided by liquid precipitation. However, ARs may also provide significant positive contributions to GrIS SMB through enhanced snow accumulation. Prior research on the role of ARs in Arctic climate has consisted of case studies of ARs associated with major GrIS melt events or examined the effects of poleward moisture flux on Arctic sea ice. In this study, a long-term (1979-2016) record of intense moisture transport events affecting Greenland is compiled using a conventional AR identification algorithm as well as a self-organizing map (SOM) classification applied to integrated water vapor transport (IVT) data from several atmospheric reanalysis datasets. An analysis of AR effects on GrIS melt and SMB is then performed with GrIS surface melt data from passive microwave satellite observations and the Modèle Atmosphérique Régional (MAR) regional climate model. Results show that meltwater production is above normal during and after AR impact days throughout the GrIS during all seasons, with surface melt enhanced most by strong (> 85th percentile IVT) and extreme (> 95th percentile IVT) ARs. This relationship holds at the seasonal scale, as the total amount of water vapor transported to the GrIS by ARs is significantly greater during above-normal melt seasons. ARs exert a more complex influence on SMB. Normal (< 85th percentile IVT) ARs generally do not have a substantial impact on
Exposed water ice discovered near the south pole of Mars
Titus, T.N.; Kieffer, H.H.; Christensen, P.R.
2003-01-01
The Mars Odyssey Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) has discovered water ice exposed near the edge of Mars' southern perennial polar cap. The surface H2O ice was first observed by THEMIS as a region that was cooler than expected for dry soil at that latitude during the summer season. Diurnal and seasonal temperature trends derived from Mars Global Surveyor Thermal Emission Spectrometer observations indicate that there is H2O ice at the surface. Viking observations, and the few other relevant THEMIS observations, indicate that surface H2O ice may be widespread around and under the perennial CO2 cap.
The impact of short-term heat storage on the ice-albedo feedback loop
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Polashenski, C.; Wright, N.; Perovich, D. K.; Song, A.; Deeb, E. J.
2016-12-01
The partitioning of solar energy in the ice-ocean-atmosphere environment is a powerful control over Arctic sea ice mass balance. Ongoing transitions of the sea ice toward a younger, thinner state are enhancing absorption of solar energy and contributing to further declines in sea ice in a classic ice-albedo feedback. Here we investigate the solar energy balance over shorter timescales. In particular, we are concerned with short term delays in the transfer of absorbed solar energy to the ice caused by heat storage in the upper ocean. By delaying the realization of ice melt, and hence albedo decline, heat storage processes effectively retard the intra-season ice-albedo feedback. We seek to quantify the impact and variability of such intra-season storage delays on full season energy absorption. We use in-situ data collected from Arctic Observing Network (AON) sea ice sites, synthesized with the results of imagery processed from high resolution optical satellites, and basin-scale remote sensing products to approach the topic. AON buoys are used to monitor the storage and flux of heat, while satellite imagery allows us to quantify the evolution of surrounding ice conditions and predict the aggregate scale solar absorption. We use several test sites as illustrative cases and demonstrate that temporary heat storage can have substantial impacts on seasonal energy absorption and ice loss. A companion to this work is presented by N. Wright at this meeting.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Lewis, G.; Osterberg, E. C.; Hawley, R. L.; Marshall, H. P.; Birkel, S. D.; Meehan, T. G.; Graeter, K.; Overly, T. B.; McCarthy, F.
2017-12-01
The mass balance of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) in a warming climate is of critical interest to scientists and the general public in the context of future sea-level rise. Increased melting in the GrIS percolation zone over the past several decades has led to increased mass loss at lower elevations due to recent warming. Uncertainties in mass balance are especially large in regions with sparse and/or outdated in situ measurements. This study is the first to calculate in situ accumulation over a large region of western Greenland since the Program for Arctic Regional Climate Assessment campaign during the 1990s. Here we analyze 5000 km of 400 MHz ground penetrating radar data and sixteen 25-33 m-long firn cores in the western GrIS percolation zone to determine snow accumulation over the past 50 years. The cores and radar data were collected as part of the 2016-2017 Greenland Traverse for Accumulation and Climate Studies (GreenTrACS). With the cores and radar profiles we capture spatial accumulation gradients between 1850-2500 m a.s.l and up to Summit Station. We calculate accumulation rates and use them to validate five widely used regional climate models and to compare with IceBridge snow and accumulation radars. Our results indicate that while the models capture most regional spatial climate patterns, they lack the small-scale spatial variability captured by in situ measurements. Additionally, we evaluate temporal trends in accumulation at ice core locations and throughout the traverse. Finally, we use empirical orthogonal function and correlation analyses to investigate the principal drivers of radar-derived accumulation rates across the western GrIS percolation zone, including major North Atlantic climate modes such as the North Atlantic Oscillation, Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, and Greenland Blocking Index.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Carmichael, J. D.; Joughin, I. R.; Behn, M. D.; Das, S. B.; Lizarralde, D.
2012-12-01
We present seismic observations assembled from 3+ years of melt season measurements collected near seasonally-draining supraglacial lakes on the Greenland Ice-sheet (68.7311,-49.5925). On transient time scales (< 1 day), these data include a record of seismic response coincident with at least three documented lake drainage events. During a particular event, drainage is preceded by two hours of impulsive high-energy seismic signals, followed by the onset of continuous broadband signals (2-50Hz) that we interpret as surface-to-bed meltwater transfer. This drainage is followed additional transient icequakes similar in timing and energy to the precursory activity. Over a seasonal time scale (> 1 month), our data records a transition in seismicity between two distinct modes, with one mode characterized by relative quiescence, and the other mode characterized by uniform energy that is observed network-wide as a continuous, repetitive signal. The transition between modes is abrupt (~ 2 hours) and is observed using multiple seismic discriminants. We interpret this rapid transition as reflecting the evolution of the morphology of a basal drainage system as it responds to melt input. This interpretation is tested against additional geophysical observations that include temperature-based melt models, satellite imagery, and GPS measurements. Finally, we outline and advocate a routine for monitoring icesheet seismicity with a focus on distinguishing surface from basal sources.
Towards seasonal Arctic shipping route predictions
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Melia, N.; Haines, K.; Hawkins, E.; Day, J. J.
2017-08-01
The continuing decline in Arctic sea-ice will likely lead to increased human activity and opportunities for shipping in the region, suggesting that seasonal predictions of route openings will become ever more important. Here we present results from a set of ‘perfect model’ experiments to assess the predictability characteristics of the opening of Arctic sea routes. We find skilful predictions of the upcoming summer shipping season can be made from as early as January, although typically forecasts show lower skill before a May ‘predictability barrier’. We demonstrate that in forecasts started from January, predictions of route opening date are twice as uncertain as predicting the closing date and that the Arctic shipping season is becoming longer due to climate change, with later closing dates mostly responsible. We find that predictive skill is state dependent with predictions for high or low ice years exhibiting greater skill than medium ice years. Forecasting the fastest open water route through the Arctic is accurate to within 200 km when predicted from July, a six-fold increase in accuracy compared to forecasts initialised from the previous November, which are typically no better than climatology. Finally we find that initialisation of accurate summer sea-ice thickness information is crucial to obtain skilful forecasts, further motivating investment into sea-ice thickness observations, climate models, and assimilation systems.
Environmental Predictors of Ice Seal Presence in the Bering Sea
Miksis-Olds, Jennifer L.
2014-01-01
Ice seals overwintering in the Bering Sea are challenged with foraging, finding mates, and maintaining breathing holes in a dark and ice covered environment. Due to the difficulty of studying these species in their natural environment, very little is known about how the seals navigate under ice. Here we identify specific environmental parameters, including components of the ambient background sound, that are predictive of ice seal presence in the Bering Sea. Multi-year mooring deployments provided synoptic time series of acoustic and oceanographic parameters from which environmental parameters predictive of species presence were identified through a series of mixed models. Ice cover and 10 kHz sound level were significant predictors of seal presence, with 40 kHz sound and prey presence (combined with ice cover) as potential predictors as well. Ice seal presence showed a strong positive correlation with ice cover and a negative association with 10 kHz environmental sound. On average, there was a 20–30 dB difference between sound levels during solid ice conditions compared to open water or melting conditions, providing a salient acoustic gradient between open water and solid ice conditions by which ice seals could orient. By constantly assessing the acoustic environment associated with the seasonal ice movement in the Bering Sea, it is possible that ice seals could utilize aspects of the soundscape to gauge their safe distance to open water or the ice edge by orienting in the direction of higher sound levels indicative of open water, especially in the frequency range above 1 kHz. In rapidly changing Arctic and sub-Arctic environments, the seasonal ice conditions and soundscapes are likely to change which may impact the ability of animals using ice presence and cues to successfully function during the winter breeding season. PMID:25229453
Hansen, C.J.; Byrne, S.; Portyankina, G.; Bourke, M.; Dundas, C.; McEwen, A.; Mellon, M.; Pommerol, A.; Thomas, N.
2013-01-01
Spring sublimation of the seasonal CO2 northern polar cap is a dynamic process in the current Mars climate. Phenomena include dark fans of dune material propelled out onto the seasonal ice layer, polygonal cracks in the seasonal ice, sand flow down slipfaces, and outbreaks of gas and sand around the dune margins. These phenomena are concentrated on the north polar erg that encircles the northern residual polar cap. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has been in orbit for three Mars years, allowing us to observe three northern spring seasons. Activity is consistent with and well described by the Kieffer model of basal sublimation of the seasonal layer of ice applied originally in the southern hemisphere. Three typical weak spots have been identified on the dunes for escape of gas sublimed from the bottom of the seasonal ice layer: the crest of the dune, the interface of the dune with the interdune substrate, and through polygonal cracks in the ice. Pressurized gas flows through these vents and carries out material entrained from the dune. Furrows in the dunes channel gas to outbreak points and may be the northern equivalent of southern radially-organized channels (“araneiform” terrain), albeit not permanent. Properties of the seasonal CO2 ice layer are derived from timing of seasonal events such as when final sublimation occurs. Modification of dune morphology shows that landscape evolution is occurring on Mars today, driven by seasonal activity associated with sublimation of the seasonal CO2 polar cap.
Spatiotemporal Variability of Meltwater Refreezing in Southwest Greenland Ice Sheet Firn
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Rennermalm, A. K.; Hock, R.; Tedesco, M.; Corti, G.; Covi, F.; Miège, C.; Kingslake, J.; Leidman, S. Z.; Munsell, S.
2017-12-01
A substantial fraction of the summer meltwater formed on the surface of the Greenland ice sheet is retained in firn, while the remaining portion runs to the ocean through surface and subsurface channels. Refreezing of meltwater in firn can create impenetrable ice lenses, hence being a crucial process in the redistribution of surface runoff. To quantify the impact of refreezing on runoff and current and future Greenland surface mass balance, a three year National Science Foundation funded project titled "Refreezing in the firn of the Greenland ice sheet: Spatiotemporal variability and implications for ice sheet mass balance" started this past year. Here we present an overview of the project and some initial results from the first field season in May 2017 conducted in proximity of the DYE-2 site in the percolation zone of the Southwest Greenland ice sheet at elevations between 1963 and 2355 m a.s.l.. During this fieldwork two automatic weather stations were deployed, outfitted with surface energy balance sensors and 16 m long thermistor strings, over 300 km of ground penetrating radar data were collected, and five 20-26 m deep firn cores were extracted and analyzed for density and stratigraphy. Winter snow accumulation was measured along the radar tracks. Preliminary work on the firn-core data reveals increasing frequency and thickness of ice lenses at lower ice-sheet elevations, in agreement with other recent work in the area. Data collected within this project will facilitate advances in our understanding of the spatiotemporal variability of firn refreezing and its role in the hydrology and surface mass balance of the Greenland Ice Sheet.
A basal stress parameterization for modeling landfast ice
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Lemieux, Jean-François; Tremblay, L. Bruno; Dupont, Frédéric; Plante, Mathieu; Smith, Gregory C.; Dumont, Dany
2015-04-01
Current large-scale sea ice models represent very crudely or are unable to simulate the formation, maintenance and decay of coastal landfast ice. We present a simple landfast ice parameterization representing the effect of grounded ice keels. This parameterization is based on bathymetry data and the mean ice thickness in a grid cell. It is easy to implement and can be used for two-thickness and multithickness category models. Two free parameters are used to determine the critical thickness required for large ice keels to reach the bottom and to calculate the basal stress associated with the weight of the ridge above hydrostatic balance. A sensitivity study was conducted and demonstrates that the parameter associated with the critical thickness has the largest influence on the simulated landfast ice area. A 6 year (2001-2007) simulation with a 20 km resolution sea ice model was performed. The simulated landfast ice areas for regions off the coast of Siberia and for the Beaufort Sea were calculated and compared with data from the National Ice Center. With optimal parameters, the basal stress parameterization leads to a slightly shorter landfast ice season but overall provides a realistic seasonal cycle of the landfast ice area in the East Siberian, Laptev and Beaufort Seas. However, in the Kara Sea, where ice arches between islands are key to the stability of the landfast ice, the parameterization consistently leads to an underestimation of the landfast area.
Influence of sea ice on Arctic coasts
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Barnhart, K. R.; Kay, J. E.; Overeem, I.; Anderson, R. S.
2017-12-01
Coasts form the dynamic interface between the terrestrial and oceanic systems. In the Arctic, and in much of the world, the coast is a focal point for population, infrastructure, biodiversity, and ecosystem services. A key difference between Arctic and temperate coasts is the presence of sea ice. Changes in sea ice cover can influence the coast because (1) the length of the sea ice-free season controls the time over which nearshore water can interact with the land, and (2) the location of the sea ice edge controls the fetch over which storm winds can interact with open ocean water, which in turn governs nearshore water level and wave field. We first focus on the interaction of sea ice and ice-rich coasts. We combine satellite records of sea ice with a model for wind-driven storm surge and waves to estimate how changes in the sea ice-free season have impacted the nearshore hydrodynamic environment along Alaska's Beaufort Sea Coast for the period 1979-2012. This region has experienced some of the greatest changes in both sea ice cover and coastal erosion rates in the Arctic: the median length of the open-water season has expanded by 90 percent, while coastal erosion rates have more than doubled from 8.7 to 19 m yr-1. At Drew Point, NW winds increase shoreline water levels that control the incision of a submarine notch, the rate-limiting step of coastal retreat. The maximum water-level setup at Drew Point has increased consistently with increasing fetch. We extend our analysis to the entire Arctic using both satellite-based observations and global coupled climate model output from the Community Earth System Model Large Ensemble (CESM-LE) project. This 30-member ensemble employs a 1-degree version of the CESM-CAM5 historical forcing for the period 1920-2005, and RCP 8.5 forcing from 2005-2100. A control model run with constant pre-industrial (1850) forcing characterizes internal variability in a constant climate. Finally, we compare observations and model results to
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Joubert, W. R.; Swart, S.; Tagliabue, A.; Thomalla, S. J.; Monteiro, P. M. S.
2014-03-01
The seasonal cycle of primary productivity is impacted by seasonal and intra-seasonal dynamics of the mixed layer through the changing balance between mixing and buoyancy forcing, which regulates nutrient supply and light availability. Of particular recent interest is the role of synoptic scale events in supplying nutrients, particularly iron, to the euphotic zone in the Sub Antarctic Zone (SAZ), where phytoplankton blooms occur throughout summer. In this study, we present high resolution measurements of net community production (NCP) constrained by ΔO2/Ar ratios, and mixed layer depth (MLD) in the Atlantic SAZ. We found a non-linear relationship between NCP and MLD, with the highest and most variable NCP observed in shallow MLDs (< 45 m). We propose that NCP variability in the SAZ may be driven by alternating states of synoptic-scale deepening of the mixed layer, leading to the entrainment of iron (dFe), followed by restratification, allowing rapid growth in an iron replete, high light environment. Synoptic iron fluxes into the euphotic zone based on water column dFe profiles and high resolution glider MLD data, reveal a potentially significant contribution of "new iron" which could sustain NCP throughout summer. Future process studies will help elaborate these findings further.
Antartic sea ice, 1973 - 1976: Satellite passive-microwave observations
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Zwally, H. J.; Comiso, J. C.; Parkinson, C. L.; Campbell, W. J.; Carsey, F. D.; Gloersen, P.
1983-01-01
Data from the Electrically Scanning Microwave Radiometer (ESMR) on the Nimbus 5 satellite are used to determine the extent and distribution of Antarctic sea ice. The characteristics of the southern ocean, the mathematical formulas used to obtain quantitative sea ice concentrations, the general characteristics of the seasonal sea ice growth/decay cycle and regional differences, and the observed seasonal growth/decay cycle for individual years and interannual variations of the ice cover are discussed. The sea ice data from the ESMR are presented in the form of color-coded maps of the Antarctic and the southern oceans. The maps show brightness temperatures and concentrations of pack ice averaged for each month, 4-year monthly averages, and month-to-month changes. Graphs summarizing the results, such as areas of sea ice as a function of time in the various sectors of the southern ocean are included. The images demonstrate that satellite microwave data provide unique information on large-scale sea ice conditions for determining climatic conditions in polar regions and possible global climatic changes.
Characterization of Ice Roughness From Simulated Icing Encounters
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Anderson, David N.; Shin, Jaiwon
1997-01-01
Detailed measurements of the size of roughness elements on ice accreted on models in the NASA Lewis Icing Research Tunnel (IRT) were made in a previous study. Only limited data from that study have been published, but included were the roughness element height, diameter and spacing. In the present study, the height and spacing data were found to correlate with the element diameter, and the diameter was found to be a function primarily of the non-dimensional parameters freezing fraction and accumulation parameter. The width of the smooth zone which forms at the leading edge of the model was found to decrease with increasing accumulation parameter. Although preliminary, the success of these correlations suggests that it may be possible to develop simple relationships between ice roughness and icing conditions for use in ice-accretion-prediction codes. These codes now require an ice-roughness estimate to determine convective heat transfer. Studies using a 7.6-cm-diameter cylinder and a 53.3-cm-chord NACA 0012 airfoil were also performed in which a 1/2-min icing spray at an initial set of conditions was followed by a 9-1/2-min spray at a second set of conditions. The resulting ice shape was compared with that from a full 10-min spray at the second set of conditions. The initial ice accumulation appeared to have no effect on the final ice shape. From this result, it would appear the accreting ice is affected very little by the initial roughness or shape features.
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.
Will sea ice thickness initialisation improve Arctic seasonal-to-interannual forecast skill?
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Day, J. J.; Hawkins, E.; Tietsche, S.
2014-12-01
A number of recent studies have suggested that Arctic sea ice thickness is an important predictor of Arctic sea ice extent. However, coupled forecast systems do not currently use sea ice thickness observations in their initialization and are therefore missing a potentially important source of additional skill. A set of ensemble potential predictability experiments, with a global climate model, initialized with and without knowledge of the sea ice thickness initial state, have been run to investigate this. These experiments show that accurate knowledge of the sea ice thickness field is crucially important for sea ice concentration and extent forecasts up to eight months ahead. Perturbing sea ice thickness also has a significant impact on the forecast error in the 2m temperature and surface pressure fields a few months ahead. These results show that advancing capabilities to observe and assimilate sea ice thickness into coupled forecast systems could significantly increase skill.
Recent Greenland Thinning from Operation IceBridge ATM and LVIS Data
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Sutterley, T. C.; Velicogna, I.
2015-12-01
We investigate regional thinning rates in Greenland using two Operation IceBridge lidar instruments, the Airborne Topographic Mapper (ATM) and the Land, Vegetation and Ice Sensor (LVIS). IceBridge and Pre-IceBridge ATM data are available from 1993 to present and IceBridge and Pre-Icebridge LVIS data are available from 2007 to present. We compare different techniques for combining the two datasets: overlapping footprints, triangulated irregular network meshing and radial basis functions. We validate the combination for periods with near term overlap of the two instruments. By combining the two lidar datasets, we are able to investigate intra-annual, annual, interannual surface elevation change. We investigate both the high melt season of 2012 and the low melt season of 2013. In addition, the major 2015 IceBridge Arctic campaign provides new crucial data for determining seasonal ice sheet thinning rates. We compare our LVIS/ATM results with surface mass balance outputs from two regional climate models: the Regional Atmospheric Climate Model (RACMO) and the Modèle Atmosphérique Régional (MAR). We also investigate the thinning rates of major outlet glaciers.
Ducklow, Hugh W; Stukel, Michael R; Eveleth, Rachel; Doney, Scott C; Jickells, Tim; Schofield, Oscar; Baker, Alex R; Brindle, John; Chance, Rosie; Cassar, Nicolas
2018-06-28
New production (New P, the rate of net primary production (NPP) supported by exogenously supplied limiting nutrients) and net community production (NCP, gross primary production not consumed by community respiration) are closely related but mechanistically distinct processes. They set the carbon balance in the upper ocean and define an upper limit for export from the system. The relationships, relative magnitudes and variability of New P (from 15 NO 3 - uptake), O 2 : argon-based NCP and sinking particle export (based on the 238 U : 234 Th disequilibrium) are increasingly well documented but still not clearly understood. This is especially true in remote regions such as polar marginal ice zones. Here we present a 3-year dataset of simultaneous measurements made at approximately 50 stations along the Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) continental shelf in midsummer (January) 2012-2014. Net seasonal-scale changes in water column inventories (0-150 m) of nitrate and iodide were also estimated at the same stations. The average daily rates based on inventory changes exceeded the shorter-term rate measurements. A major uncertainty in the relative magnitude of the inventory estimates is specifying the start of the growing season following sea-ice retreat. New P and NCP(O 2 ) did not differ significantly. New P and NCP(O 2 ) were significantly greater than sinking particle export from thorium-234. We suggest this is a persistent and systematic imbalance and that other processes such as vertical mixing and advection of suspended particles are important export pathways.This article is part of the theme issue 'The marine system of the west Antarctic Peninsula: status and strategy for progress in a region of rapid change'. © 2018 The Author(s).
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Darelius, E.; Sallée, J. B.
2018-04-01
The ice shelf water (ISW) found in the Filchner Trough, located in the southern Weddell Sea, Antarctica, is climatically important; it descends into the deep Weddell Sea contributing to bottom water formation, and it blocks warm off-shelf waters from accessing the Filchner ice shelf cavity. Yet the circulation of ISW within the Filchner Trough and the processes determining its exchange across the ice shelf front are to a large degree unknown. Here mooring records from the ice shelf front are presented, the longest of which is 4 years long. They show that the coldest (Θ =- 2.3∘C) ISW, which originates from the Ronne Trough in the west, exits the cavity across the western part of the ice shelf front during late austral summer and early autumn. The supercooled ISW escaping the cavity flows northward with a velocity of about 0.03 m/s. During the rest of the year, there is no outflow at the western site: the current is directed eastward, parallel to the ice shelf front, and the temperatures at the mooring site are slightly higher (Θ =- 2.0∘C). The eastern records show a more persistent outflow of ISW.
Mpofu, T J; Ginindza, M M; Siwendu, N A; Nephawe, K A; Mtileni, B J
2017-01-01
The study was conducted to determine the effect of agro-ecological zone, season of birth and sex on Nguni calves' pre-weaning performance. Production indices such as birth weight (BW), weaning weight (WW), pre-weaning average daily gain (P-ADG) and pre-weaning gain (P-WG) were assessed in the different agro-ecological zones. Herd records on performance of 826 Nguni calves' from nine Nguni herds representing different agro-ecological zones: arid zone (n = 217); semi-arid zone (n = 296); dry sub-humid zone (n = 118) and humid zone (n = 195) were used for the analysis of pre-weaning calf performance. General linear model (GLM) procedure of SAS (2013) was used to analyse data, whereas mean separation was conducted using Tukey's HSD test. Agro-ecological zone had a great influence (P < 0.01) on performance levels arising from pasture conditions which were dependent on rain, temperature, topography and soil type. Fluctuations in WW, P-ADG and P-WG performance across agro-ecological zones depicted the sensitivity of Nguni calves' to postnatal stress. Calves' in humid zone had higher performance with 121.21 kg for WW, 96.83 kg for P-WG and 0.477 kg/day for P-ADG. The lowest WW (114.51 kg), P-WG (89.98 kg) and P-ADG (0.438 kg/day) were observed in arid zone. Male calves were heavier at weaning (128.18 kg), P-ADG (0.503 kg/day) and total gain (103.03 kg); however, similar BW of 25 kg was observed for both male and female calves. Season had a significant (P < 0.05) effect on BW, P-ADG and P-WG. The P-ADG was 0.461 kg/day for calves born in summer and 0.449 kg/day for calves born in winter season. Calves born in summer gained 94.69 kg and calves born in winter gained 92.10 kg. Summer calves gained 2.59 kg more than winter calves. Summer heifer calves performed poorly whilst summer male calves outperformed heifer calves in terms of WW, P-WG and P-ADG. Pre-weaned calves in humid zone outperformed all calves in other agro-ecological zones
Investigation of Ice Dynamics in the Marginal Zone.
1983-12-01
Unclassified SECURITV CLASSIFICATIGON OF THIS PAGE (111mon Dole Rntormi) Unclassified MTY CLASMSFICATION OF THIS PA6SS16M POW & 6m " trength rather...modeling work, two points are recognized to need a deep consideration: transient cases and stochastic modeling. It is not certain how the velocity...if the thickness effect is indeed significant. The nature of the ice edge jet should be shown: is it transient or steady, forced or caused by ice
Geological control of flow in the Institute and Möller Ice Streams, West Antarctica
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Jordan, T. A.; Ferraccioli, F.; Ross, N.; Corr, H.; Bingham, R. G.; Rippin, D. M.; Le Brocq, A.; Siegert, M. J.
2012-12-01
The conditions at the base of an ice sheet influence its flow, and reflect the ongoing interaction between moving ice and the underlying geology. Critical influences on ice flow include subglacial topography, bed lithology, and geothermal heat flux. These factors are influenced either directly by local geology, or by the regional tectonic setting. Geophysical methods have been used in many parts of Antarctica, such as the Siple Coast, to reveal the role subglacial geology plays in influencing ice flow. Until recently, however, the Institute and Möller Ice Streams, which drain ~20% of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet into the Weddell Sea, were only covered by sparse airborne radar (~50 km line spacing), and reconnaissance aeromagnetic data, limiting our understanding of the geological template for this sector of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. Here we present our geological interpretation of the first integrated aerogeophysical survey over the catchments of the Institute and Möller Ice Streams, which collected ~25,000 km of new aerogeophysical data during the 2010/11 field season. These new airborne radar, magnetic and gravity data reveals both the subglacial topography, and the subglacial geology. Our maps show the fastest flowing coastal part of the Institute Ice Stream crosses a sedimentary basin underlain by thinned continental crust. Further inland two distinct ice flow provinces are recognised: the Pagano Ice Flow Province, which follows the newly identified, ~75 km wide, sinistral strike-slip Pagano Fault Zone at the boundary between East and West Antarctica; and the Ellsworth Ice Flow Province, which is controlled by the Permo-Triassic structural grain of folded Middle Cambrian-Permian meta-sediments, and Jurassic granitic rocks which form significant subglacial highlands. Our new data highlight the importance of understanding subglacial geology when explaining the complex pattern of ice flow observed in the ice sheet interior.
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2007-01-01
[figure removed for brevity, see original site] Figure 1 Every year seasonal carbon dioxide ice, known to us as 'dry ice,' covers the poles of Mars. In the south polar region this ice is translucent, allowing sunlight to pass through and warm the surface below. The ice then sublimes (evaporates) from the bottom of the ice layer, and carves channels in the surface. The channels take on many forms. In the subimage shown here (figure 1) the gas from the dry ice has etched wide shallow channels. This region is relatively flat, which may be the reason these channels have a different morphology than the 'spiders' seen in more hummocky terrain. Observation Geometry Image PSP_003364_0945 was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on 15-Apr-2007. The complete image is centered at -85.4 degrees latitude, 104.0 degrees East longitude. The range to the target site was 251.5 km (157.2 miles). At this distance the image scale is 25.2 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects 75 cm across are resolved. The image shown here has been map-projected to 25 cm/pixel . The image was taken at a local Mars time of 06:57 PM and the scene is illuminated from the west with a solar incidence angle of 75 degrees, thus the sun was about 15 degrees above the horizon. At a solar longitude of 219.6 degrees, the season on Mars is Northern Autumn.Modeling of Antarctic Sea Ice in a General Circulation Model.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Wu, Xingren; Simmonds, Ian; Budd, W. F.
1997-04-01
A dynamic-thermodynamic sea ice model is developed and coupled with the Melbourne University general circulation model to simulate the seasonal cycle of the Antarctic sea ice distribution. The model is efficient, rapid to compute, and useful for a range of climate studies. The thermodynamic part of the sea ice model is similar to that developed by Parkinson and Washington, the dynamics contain a simplified ice rheology that resists compression. The thermodynamics is based on energy conservation at the top surface of the ice/snow, the ice/water interface, and the open water area to determine the ice formation, accretion, and ablation. A lead parameterization is introduced with an effective partitioning scheme for freezing between and under the ice floes. The dynamic calculation determines the motion of ice, which is forced with the atmospheric wind, taking account of ice resistance and rafting. The simulated sea ice distribution compares reasonably well with observations. The seasonal cycle of ice extent is well simulated in phase as well as in magnitude. Simulated sea ice thickness and concentration are also in good agreement with observations over most regions and serve to indicate the importance of advection and ocean drift in the determination of the sea ice distribution.
Modeling of Antarctic sea ice in a general circulation model
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Wu, Xingren; Budd, W.F.; Simmonds, I.
1997-04-01
A dynamic-thermodynamic sea ice model is developed and coupled with the Melbourne University general circulation model to simulate the seasonal cycle of the Antarctic sea ice distributions The model is efficient, rapid to compute, and useful for a range of climate studies. The thermodynamic part of the sea ice model is similar to that developed by Parkinson and Washington, the dynamics contain a simplified ice rheology that resists compression. The thermodynamics is based on energy conservation at the top surface of the ice/snow, the ice/water interface, and the open water area to determine the ice formation, accretion, and ablation. Amore » lead parameterization is introduced with an effective partitioning scheme for freezing between and under the ice floes. The dynamic calculation determines the motion of ice, which is forced with the atmospheric wind, taking account of ice resistance and rafting. The simulated sea ice distribution compares reasonably well with observations. The seasonal cycle of ice extent is well simulated in phase as well as in magnitude. Simulated sea ice thickness and concentration are also in good agreement with observations over most regions and serve to indicate the importance of advection and ocean drift in the determination of the sea ice distribution. 64 refs., 15 figs., 2 tabs.« less
Nature and History of Cenozoic Polar Ice Covers: The Case of the Greenland Ice Sheet
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Spielhagen, R.; Thiede, J.
2009-04-01
The nature of the modern climate System is characterized by steep temperature gradients between the tropical and polar climatic zones and finds its most spectacular expression in the formation of ice caps in high Northern and Southern latitudes. While polar regions of Planet Earth have been glaciated repeatedly in the long course of their geological history, the Cenozoic transition from a „greenhouse" to an „icehouse" has in fact produced a unique climatic scenario with bipolar glacation, different from all previous glacial events. The Greenland ice sheet is a remainder of the Northern Hemisphere last glacial maximum ice sheets and represents hence a spectacular anomaly. Geological records from Tertiary and Quaternary terrestrial and oceanic sections have documented the presence of ice caps and sea ice covers both on the Southern as well on the Northern hemisphere since Eocene times, aqpprox. 45 Mio. years ago. While this was well known in the case of Antarctica already for some time, previous ideas about the origin of Northern hemisphere glaciation during Pliocene times (approx. 2-3 Mio. years ago) have been superceded by the dramatic findings of coarse, terrigenous ice rafted detritus in Eocene sediments from Lomonosov Ridge (close to the North Pole) apparently slightly older than the oldest Antarctic records of ice rafting.The histories of the onset of Cenozoic glaciation in high Northern and Southern latitudes remain enigmatic and are presently subjects of international geological drilling projects, with prospects to reveal some of their secrets over the coming decades. By virtue of the physical porperties of ice and the processes controlling the dynamics of the turn-over of the ice-sheets only young records of glacial ice caps on Antarctica and on Greemnland have been preserved, on Greenland with ice probably not older than a few hundred thousand years, on Antarctica potentially as old as 1.5-2 Mio. years. Deep-sea cores with their records od ice
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Stanton, T. P.; Shaw, W. J.
2016-02-01
Drainage of surface melt pond water into the top of the ocean mixed layer is seen widely in the Arctic ice pack in later summer (for example Gallaher et al 2015). Under calm conditions, this fresh water forms a thin, stratified layer immediately below the ice which is dynamically decoupled from the thicker, underlying seasonal mixed layer by the density difference between the two layers. The ephemeral surface layer is significantly warmer than the underlying ocean water owing to the higher freezing temperature of the fresh melt water. How the presence of this warm ephemeral layer enhances basal melt rate and speeds the destruction of the floes is investigated. High resolution timeseries measurements of T/S profiles in the 2m of the ocean immediately below the ice, and eddy-correlation fluxes of heat, salt and momentum 2.5m below the ice were made from an Autonomous Ocean Flux Buoy over a 2 month interval in later summer of 2015 as a component of the ONR Marginal Ice Zone project. The stratification and turbulent forcing observations are used with a 1 D turbulence closure model to understand how momentum and incoming radiative energy are stored and redistributed within the ephemeral layer. Under low wind forcing conditions both turbulent mixing energy and the water with high departure from freezing are trapped in the ephemeral layer by the strong density gradient at the base of the layer, resulting in rapid basal melting. This case is contrasted with model runs where the ephemeral layer heat is allowed to mix across the seasonal mixed layer, which results in slower basal melt rates. Consequently, the salinity-trapped warm ephemeral layer results in the formation of more open water earlier in the summer season, in turn resulting in increased cumulative heating of the ocean mixed layer, enhancing ice/ocean albedo feedbacks.
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.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Wadhams, P.; Tucker, W. B.; Krabill, W. B.; Swift, R. N.; Comiso, J. C.; Davis, N. R.
1992-12-01
We have confirmed our earlier finding that the probability density function (pdf) of ice freeboard in the Arctic Ocean can be converted to a pdf of ice draft by applying a simple coordinate transformation based on the measured mean draft and mean elevation. This applies in each of six 50-km sections (north of Greenland) of joint airborne laser and submarine sonar profile obtained along nearly coincident tracks from the Arctic Basin north of Greenland and tested for this study. Detailed differences in the shape of the pdf can be explained on the basis of snow load and can, in principle, be compensated by the use of a more sophisticated freeboard-dependent transformation. The measured "density ratio" R (actually mean draft/mean elevation ratio) for each section was found to be consistent over all sections tested, despite differences in the ice regime, indicating that a single value of R might be used for measurements done in this season of the year. The mean value
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Putman, A.; Feng, X.; Posmentier, E. S.; Bowen, G. J.
2017-12-01
The Arctic is sensitive to climate change, exhibiting increases in sea surface temperatures, coupled with decreased sea ice cover. The potential for increased local evaporative flux may affect the Arctic hydrologic cycle in two ways. The first is the direct effect of increased local vapor supply, which is supported by studies using isotope-enabled atmospheric circulation models. The second is an indirect effect via warming of Arctic associated with decreased sea ice cover. Changes in temperature gradient between the mid-latitudes and Arctic may affect circulation and thus meridional vapor flux. The isotopic observations combined with moisture source conditions may help disentangle the direct and indirect effects of sea ice change on Arctic hydrology and climate. We use two precipitation δ18O datasets, from 1962-1969 and 2009-2013, to investigate the hydrological response to sea ice cover changes on the seasonal scale at Barrow, AK, US, where strong seasonal variability and multi-decadal decrease in local summer/fall sea ice coverage are well documented. Previous research has shown that the vapor supplying June through November precipitation at Barrow originates in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas, while December through May precipitation is supplied by vapor evaporated in the North Pacific and Gulf of Alaska. The seasonal cycle of δ18Op is amplified in the more recent dataset (-9.1‰ to -26.3‰) relative to the historic one (-12.9‰ to -24.9‰), with lower δ18Op during December through May and higher δ18Op during June through November. Deuterium excess tends to be greater during all months except July through September. The decrease in δ18Op during the cold season may indicate a change to water vapor transport to Barrow. May and November exhibited the greatest changes in δ18Op and d-excess. The May decrease in δ18Op of 8.3‰ and deuterium excess increase of 21‰ coupled with MODIS imagery from May 2011 that shows open ocean near Barrow, suggests that
Seasonal variation of water quality in a lateral hyporheic zone with response to dam operations
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Chen, X.; Chen, L.; Zhao, J.
2015-12-01
Aquatic environment of lateral hyporheic zone in a regulated river were investigated seasonally under fluctuated water levels induced by dam operations. Groundwater levels variations in preassembled wells and changes in electronic conductivity (EC), dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration, water temperature and pH in the hyporheic zone were examined as environmental performance indicators for the water quality. Groundwater tables in wells were highly related to the river water levels that showed a hysteresis pattern, and the lag time is associated with the distances from wells to the river bank. The distribution of DO and EC were strongly related to the water temperature, indicating that the cold water released from up-reservoir could determine the biochemistry process in the hyporheic zone. Results also showed that the hyporheic water was weakly alkaline in the study area but had a more or less uniform spatial distribution. Dam release-storage cycles were the dominant factor in changing lateral hyporheic flow and water quality.
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Drinkwater, Mark R.; Liu, Xiang
2000-01-01
A combination of satellite microwave data sets are used in conjunction with ECMWF (Medium Range Weather Forecasts) and NCEP (National Center for Environment Prediction) meteorological analysis fields to investigate seasonal variability in the circulation and sea-ice dynamics of the Weddell and Ross Seas. Results of sea-ice tracking using SSM/I (Special Sensor Microwave Imager), Scatterometer and SAR images are combined with in-situ data derived from Argos buoys and GPS drifters to validate observed drift patterns. Seasonal 3-month climatologies of ice motion and drift speed variance illustrate the response of the sea-ice system to seasonal forcing. A melt-detection algorithm is used to track the onset of seasonal melt, and to determine the extent and duration of atmospherically-led surface melting during austral summer. Results show that wind-driven drift regulates the seasonal distribution and characteristics of sea-ice and the intensity of the cyclonic Gyre circulation in these two regions.
The future of ice sheets and sea ice: between reversible retreat and unstoppable loss.
Notz, Dirk
2009-12-08
We discuss the existence of cryospheric "tipping points" in the Earth's climate system. Such critical thresholds have been suggested to exist for the disappearance of Arctic sea ice and the retreat of ice sheets: Once these ice masses have shrunk below an anticipated critical extent, the ice-albedo feedback might lead to the irreversible and unstoppable loss of the remaining ice. We here give an overview of our current understanding of such threshold behavior. By using conceptual arguments, we review the recent findings that such a tipping point probably does not exist for the loss of Arctic summer sea ice. Hence, in a cooler climate, sea ice could recover rapidly from the loss it has experienced in recent years. In addition, we discuss why this recent rapid retreat of Arctic summer sea ice might largely be a consequence of a slow shift in ice-thickness distribution, which will lead to strongly increased year-to-year variability of the Arctic summer sea-ice extent. This variability will render seasonal forecasts of the Arctic summer sea-ice extent increasingly difficult. We also discuss why, in contrast to Arctic summer sea ice, a tipping point is more likely to exist for the loss of the Greenland ice sheet and the West Antarctic ice sheet.
Reconstruction of historic sea ice conditions in a sub-Arctic lagoon
Petrich, Chris; Tivy, Adrienne C.; Ward, David H.
2014-01-01
Historical sea ice conditions were reconstructed for Izembek Lagoon, Bering Sea, Alaska. This lagoon is a crucial staging area during migration for numerous species of avian migrants and a major eelgrass (Zostera marina) area important to a variety of marine and terrestrial organisms, especially Pacific Flyway black brant geese (Branta bernicla nigricans). Ice cover is a common feature of the lagoon in winter, but appears to be declining, which has implications for eelgrass distribution and abundance, and its use by wildlife. We evaluated ice conditions from a model based on degree days, calibrated to satellite observations, to estimate distribution and long-term trends in ice conditions in Izembek Lagoon. Model results compared favorably with ground observations and 26 years of satellite data, allowing ice conditions to be reconstructed back to 1943. Specifically, periods of significant (limited access to eelgrass areas) and severe (almost complete ice coverage of the lagoon) ice conditions could be identified. The number of days of severe ice within a single season ranged from 0 (e.g., 2001) to ≥ 67 (e.g., 2000). We detected a slight long-term negative trend in ice conditions, superimposed on high inter-annual variability in seasonal aggregate ice conditions. Based on reconstructed ice conditions, the seasonally cumulative number of significant or severe ice days correlated linearly with mean air temperature from January until March. Further, air temperature at Izembek Lagoon was correlated with wind direction, suggesting that ice conditions in Izembek Lagoon were associated with synoptic-scale weather patterns. Methods employed in this analysis may be transferable to other coastal locations in the Arctic.
Sea ice roughness: the key for predicting Arctic summer ice albedo
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Landy, J.; Ehn, J. K.; Tsamados, M.; Stroeve, J.; Barber, D. G.
2017-12-01
Although melt ponds on Arctic sea ice evolve in stages, ice with smoother surface topography typically allows the pond water to spread over a wider area, reducing the ice-albedo and accelerating further melt. Building on this theory, we simulated the distribution of meltwater on a range of statistically-derived topographies to develop a quantitative relationship between premelt sea ice surface roughness and summer ice albedo. Our method, previously applied to ICESat observations of the end-of-winter sea ice roughness, could account for 85% of the variance in AVHRR observations of the summer ice-albedo [Landy et al., 2015]. Consequently, an Arctic-wide reduction in sea ice roughness over the ICESat operational period (from 2003 to 2008) explained a drop in ice-albedo that resulted in a 16% increase in solar heat input to the sea ice cover. Here we will review this work and present new research linking pre-melt sea ice surface roughness observations from Cryosat-2 to summer sea ice albedo over the past six years, examining the potential of winter roughness as a significant new source of sea ice predictability. We will further evaluate the possibility for high-resolution (kilometre-scale) forecasts of summer sea ice albedo from waveform-level Cryosat-2 roughness data in the landfast sea ice zone of the Canadian Arctic. Landy, J. C., J. K. Ehn, and D. G. Barber (2015), Albedo feedback enhanced by smoother Arctic sea ice, Geophys. Res. Lett., 42, 10,714-10,720, doi:10.1002/2015GL066712.
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Flury, T.; Wu, D. L.; Read, W. G.
2012-01-01
Water vapor in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL) has a local radiative cooling effect. As a source for ice in cirrus clouds, however, it can also indirectly produce infrared heating. Using NASA A-Train satellite measurements of CALIPSO and Aura/MLS we calculated the correlation of water vapor, ice water content and temperature in the TTL. We find that temperature strongly controls water vapor (correlation r =0.94) and cirrus clouds at 100 hPa (r = -0.91). Moreover we observe that the cirrus seasonal cycle is highly (r =-0.9) anticorrelated with the water vapor variation in the TTL, showing higher cloud occurrence during December-January-February. We further investigate the anticorrelation on a regional scale and find that the strong anticorrelation occurs generally in the ITCZ (Intertropical Convergence Zone). The seasonal cycle of the cirrus ice water content is also highly anticorrelated to water vapor (r = -0.91) and our results support the hypothesis that the total water at 100 hPa is roughly constant. Temperature acts as a main regulator for balancing the partition between water vapor and cirrus clouds. Thus, to a large extent, the depleting water vapor in the TTL during DJF is a manifestation of cirrus formation.
Towards an Ice-Free Arctic Ocean in Summertime
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Gascard, Jean Claude
2014-05-01
Dividing the Arctic Ocean in two parts, the so-called Atlantic versus the Pacific sector, two distinct modes of variability appear for characterizing the Arctic sea-ice extent from 70°N up to 80°N in both sectors. The Atlantic sector seasonal sea-ice extent is characterized by a longer time scale than the Pacific sector with a break up melting season starting in May and reaching a peak in June-July, one month earlier than the Pacific sector of the Arctic Ocean revealing a faster time evolution and a larger spatial amplitude than the Atlantic sector. During recent years like 2007, sea-ice extent with sea-ice concentration above 15% retreated from 4 millions km2 to about 1 million km2 in the Arctic Pacific sector between 70° and 80°N except for 2012 when most of sea-ice melted away in this region. That explained most of the differences between the two extreme years 2007 and 2012. In the Atlantic sector, Arctic sea-ice retreated from 2 millions km2 to nearly 0 during recent years including 2007 and 2012. The Atlantic inflow North of Svalbard and Franz Josef Land is more likely responsible for a northward retreat of the ice edge in that region. The important factor is not only that the Arctic summer sea-ice minimum extent decreased by 3 or 4 millions km2 over the past 10 years but also that the melting period was steadily increasing by one to two days every year during that period. An important factor concerns the strength of the freezing that can be quantified in terms of Freezing Degree Days FDD accumulated during the winter-spring season and the strength of the melting (MDD) that can be accumulated during the summer season. FDD and MDD have been calculated for the past 30 years all over the Arctic Ocean using ERA Interim Reanalysis surface temperature at 2m height in the atmosphere. It is clear that FDD decreased significantly by more than 2000 FDD between 1980 and 2012 which is equivalent to the sensible heat flux corresponding to more than a meter of sea-ice
Local response of a glacier to annual filling and drainage of an ice-marginal lake
Walder, J.S.; Trabant, D.C.; Cunico, M.; Fountain, A.G.; Anderson, S.P.; Anderson, R. Scott; Malm, A.
2006-01-01
Ice-marginal Hidden Creek Lake, Alaska, USA, outbursts annually over the course of 2-3 days. As the lake fills, survey targets on the surface of the 'ice dam' (the glacier adjacent to the lake) move obliquely to the ice margin and rise substantially. As the lake drains, ice motion speeds up, becomes nearly perpendicular to the face of the ice dam, and the ice surface drops. Vertical movement of the ice dam probably reflects growth and decay of a wedge of water beneath the ice dam, in line with established ideas about jo??kulhlaup mechanics. However, the distribution of vertical ice movement, with a narrow (50-100 m wide) zone where the uplift rate decreases by 90%, cannot be explained by invoking flexure of the ice dam in a fashion analogous to tidal flexure of a floating glacier tongue or ice shelf. Rather, the zone of large uplift-rate gradient is a fault zone: ice-dam deformation is dominated by movement along high-angle faults that cut the ice dam through its entire thickness, with the sense of fault slip reversing as the lake drains. Survey targets spanning the zone of steep uplift gradient move relative to one another in a nearly reversible fashion as the lake fills and drains. The horizontal strain rate also undergoes a reversal across this zone, being compressional as the lake fills, but extensional as the lake drains. Frictional resistance to fault-block motion probably accounts for the fact that lake level falls measurably before the onset of accelerated horizontal motion and vertical downdrop. As the overall fault pattern is the same from year to year, even though ice is lost by calving, the faults must be regularly regenerated, probably by linkage of surface and bottom crevasses as ice is advected toward the lake basin.
The future of ice sheets and sea ice: Between reversible retreat and unstoppable loss
Notz, Dirk
2009-01-01
We discuss the existence of cryospheric “tipping points” in the Earth's climate system. Such critical thresholds have been suggested to exist for the disappearance of Arctic sea ice and the retreat of ice sheets: Once these ice masses have shrunk below an anticipated critical extent, the ice–albedo feedback might lead to the irreversible and unstoppable loss of the remaining ice. We here give an overview of our current understanding of such threshold behavior. By using conceptual arguments, we review the recent findings that such a tipping point probably does not exist for the loss of Arctic summer sea ice. Hence, in a cooler climate, sea ice could recover rapidly from the loss it has experienced in recent years. In addition, we discuss why this recent rapid retreat of Arctic summer sea ice might largely be a consequence of a slow shift in ice-thickness distribution, which will lead to strongly increased year-to-year variability of the Arctic summer sea-ice extent. This variability will render seasonal forecasts of the Arctic summer sea-ice extent increasingly difficult. We also discuss why, in contrast to Arctic summer sea ice, a tipping point is more likely to exist for the loss of the Greenland ice sheet and the West Antarctic ice sheet. PMID:19884496
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Yasunari, T. J.; Shiraiwa, T.; Kanamori, S.; Fujii, Y.; Igarashi, M.; Yamazaki, K.; Benson, C. S.; Hondoh, T.
2006-12-01
The North Pacific region is subject to various climatic phenomena such as the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), and the Arctic Oscillation (AO), significantly affecting the ocean and the atmosphere. Additionally, material circulation is also very active in this region such as spring dust storms in the desert and arid regions of East Asia and forest fires in Siberia and Alaska. Understanding the complex connections among the climatic phenomena and the material circulation would help in attempts to predict future climate changes. For this subject, we drilled a 50-m ice core at the summit of Mount Wrangell, which is located near the coast of Alaska (62°162'170"162°171'N, 144°162'170"162;°171'W, and 4100-m). We analyzed dust particle number density, tritium concentration, and 171 171 171 171 170 162 171 D in the core. The ice core spanned the years from 1992 to 2002 and we finally divided the years into five parts (early-spring; late-spring; summer; fall; winter). Dust and tritium amounts varied annually and intra-annually. For further understanding of the factors on those variations, we should know the origins of the seasonal dust and tritium. Hence, we examined their origins by the calculation of everyday 10-days backward trajectory analysis from January 1992 to August 2002 with 3-D wind data of the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF). In early spring, the air mass from East Asia increased and it also explained dust increases in springtime, although the air contribution in winter increased too. In late spring, the air mass from the stratosphere increased, and it also corresponded to the stratospheric tritium increase in the ice core. The air masses from Siberia and the North Pacific in the mid-latitude always significantly contributed to Mount Wrangell, although those maximum contributions were fall and summer, respectively. The air mass originating in the interior of Alaska and North America did
Sun, Jin; Lu, Na; Xu, Hongjia; Maruo, Toru; Guo, Shirong
2016-01-01
Root zone high-temperature stress is a major factor limiting hydroponic plant growth during the high-temperature season. The effects of root zone cooling (RZC; at 25°C) and exogenous spermidine (Spd) root-pretreatment (SRP, 0.1 mM) on growth, leaf photosynthetic traits, and chlorophyll fluorescence characteristics of hydroponic Lactuca sativa L. grown in a high-temperature season (average temperature > 30°C) were examined. Both treatments significantly promoted plant growth and photosynthesis in the high-temperature season, but the mechanisms of photosynthesis improvement in the hydroponic grown lettuce plants were different between the RZC and SRP treatments. The former improved plant photosynthesis by increasing stoma conductance (Gs) to enhance CO2 supply, thus promoting photosynthetic electron transport activity and phosphorylation, which improved the level of the photochemical efficiency of photosystem II (PSII), rather than enhancing CO2 assimilation efficiency. The latter improved plant photosynthesis by enhancing CO2 assimilation efficiency, rather than stomatal regulation. Combination of RZC and SRP significantly improved PN of lettuce plants in a high-temperature season by both improvement of Gs to enhance CO2 supply and enhancement of CO2 assimilation. The enhancement of photosynthetic efficiency in both treatments was independent of altering light-harvesting or excessive energy dissipation. PMID:27047532
Sun, Jin; Lu, Na; Xu, Hongjia; Maruo, Toru; Guo, Shirong
2016-01-01
Root zone high-temperature stress is a major factor limiting hydroponic plant growth during the high-temperature season. The effects of root zone cooling (RZC; at 25°C) and exogenous spermidine (Spd) root-pretreatment (SRP, 0.1 mM) on growth, leaf photosynthetic traits, and chlorophyll fluorescence characteristics of hydroponic Lactuca sativa L. grown in a high-temperature season (average temperature > 30°C) were examined. Both treatments significantly promoted plant growth and photosynthesis in the high-temperature season, but the mechanisms of photosynthesis improvement in the hydroponic grown lettuce plants were different between the RZC and SRP treatments. The former improved plant photosynthesis by increasing stoma conductance (G s) to enhance CO2 supply, thus promoting photosynthetic electron transport activity and phosphorylation, which improved the level of the photochemical efficiency of photosystem II (PSII), rather than enhancing CO2 assimilation efficiency. The latter improved plant photosynthesis by enhancing CO2 assimilation efficiency, rather than stomatal regulation. Combination of RZC and SRP significantly improved P N of lettuce plants in a high-temperature season by both improvement of G s to enhance CO2 supply and enhancement of CO2 assimilation. The enhancement of photosynthetic efficiency in both treatments was independent of altering light-harvesting or excessive energy dissipation.
Reservoir Bank Erosion Caused and Influenced by Ice Cover.
1982-12-01
8 8. Bank sediment deposited on shorefast ice ------------ 9 9. Sediment frozen to the bottom of ice laid down onto the reservoir bed...end of November 1979 during a storm with 45-mph northwesterly winds-- 17 16. Ice and shore sediment uplifted where an ice pres- sure ridge intersects...restarts at breakup when the ice becomes mobile; the ice scrapes, shoves and scours the shore or bank, and transports sediment away. Figure 1. Narrow zone
Marine ice regulates the future stability of a large Antarctic ice shelf
Kulessa, Bernd; Jansen, Daniela; Luckman, Adrian J.; King, Edward C.; Sammonds, Peter R.
2014-01-01
The collapses of the Larsen A and B ice shelves on the Antarctic Peninsula in 1995 and 2002 confirm the impact of southward-propagating climate warming in this region. Recent mass and dynamic changes of Larsen B’s southern neighbour Larsen C, the fourth largest ice shelf in Antarctica, may herald a similar instability. Here, using a validated ice-shelf model run in diagnostic mode, constrained by satellite and in situ geophysical data, we identify the nature of this potential instability. We demonstrate that the present-day spatial distribution and orientation of the principal stresses within Larsen C ice shelf are akin to those within pre-collapse Larsen B. When Larsen B’s stabilizing frontal portion was lost in 1995, the unstable remaining shelf accelerated, crumbled and ultimately collapsed. We hypothesize that Larsen C ice shelf may suffer a similar fate if it were not stabilized by warm and mechanically soft marine ice, entrained within narrow suture zones. PMID:24751641
Applying Agile Methods to the Development of a Community-Based Sea Ice Observations Database
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Pulsifer, P. L.; Collins, J. A.; Kaufman, M.; Eicken, H.; Parsons, M. A.; Gearheard, S.
2011-12-01
Local and traditional knowledge and community-based monitoring programs are increasingly being recognized as an important part of establishing an Arctic observing network, and understanding Arctic environmental change. The Seasonal Ice Zone Observing Network (SIZONet, http://www.sizonet.org) project has implemented an integrated program for observing seasonal ice in Alaska. Observation and analysis by local sea ice experts helps track seasonal and inter-annual variability of the ice cover and its use by coastal communities. The ELOKA project (http://eloka-arctic.org) is collaborating with SIZONet on the development of a community accessible, Web-based application for collecting and distributing local observations. The SIZONet project is dealing with complicated qualitative and quantitative data collected from a growing number of observers in different communities while concurrently working to design a system that will serve a wide range of different end users including Arctic residents, scientists, educators, and other stakeholders with a need for sea ice information. The benefits of linking and integrating knowledge from communities and university-based researchers are clear, however, development of an information system in this multidisciplinary, multi-participant context is challenging. Participants are geographically distributed, have different levels of technical expertise, and have varying goals for how the system will be used. As previously reported (Pulsifer et al. 2010), new technologies have been used to deal with some of the challenges presented in this complex development context. In this paper, we report on the challenges and innovations related to working as a multi-disciplinary software development team. Specifically, we discuss how Agile software development methods have been used in defining and refining user needs, developing prototypes, and releasing a production level application. We provide an overview of the production application that
Observed and Modeled Trends in Southern Ocean Sea Ice
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Parkinson, Claire L.
2003-01-01
Conceptual models and global climate model (GCM) simulations have both indicated the likelihood of an enhanced sensitivity to climate change in the polar regions, derived from the positive feedbacks brought about by the polar abundance of snow and ice surfaces. Some models further indicate that the changes in the polar regions can have a significant impact globally. For instance, 37% of the temperature sensitivity to a doubling of atmospheric CO2 in simulations with the GCM of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) is attributable exclusively to inclusion of sea ice variations in the model calculations. Both sea ice thickness and sea ice extent decrease markedly in the doubled CO, case, thereby allowing the ice feedbacks to occur. Stand-alone sea ice models have shown Southern Ocean hemispherically averaged winter ice-edge retreats of 1.4 deg latitude for each 1 K increase in atmospheric temperatures. Observations, however, show a much more varied Southern Ocean ice cover, both spatially and temporally, than many of the modeled expectations. In fact, the satellite passive-microwave record of Southern Ocean sea ice since late 1978 has revealed overall increases rather than decreases in ice extents, with ice extent trends on the order of 11,000 sq km/year. When broken down spatially, the positive trends are strongest in the Ross Sea, while the trends are negative in the Bellingshausen/Amundsen Seas. Greater spatial detail can be obtained by examining trends in the length of the sea ice season, and those trends show a coherent picture of shortening sea ice seasons throughout almost the entire Bellingshausen and Amundsen Seas to the west of the Antarctic Peninsula and in the far western Weddell Sea immediately to the east of the Peninsula, with lengthening sea ice seasons around much of the rest of the continent. This pattern corresponds well with the spatial pattern of temperature trends, as the Peninsula region is the one region in the Antarctic with a strong
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Wohlleben, Trudy M. H.
Canadian High Arctic terrestrial ice masses and the polar atmosphere evolve codependently, and interactions between the two systems can lead to feedbacks, positive and negative. The two primary positive cryosphere-atmosphere feedbacks are: (1) The snow/ice-albedo feedback (where area changes in snow and/or ice cause changes in surface albedo and surface air temperatures, leading to further area changes in snow/ice); and (2) The elevation - mass balance feedback (where thickness changes in terrestrial ice masses cause changes to atmospheric circulation and precipitation patterns, leading to further ice thickness changes). In this thesis, numerical experiments are performed to: (1) quantify the magnitudes of the two feedbacks for chosen Canadian High Arctic terrestrial ice masses; and (2) to examine the direct and indirect consequences of surface air temperature changes upon englacial temperatures with implications for ice flow, mass flux divergence, and topographic evolution. Model results show that: (a) for John Evans Glacier, Ellesmere Island, the magnitude of the terrestrial snow/ice-albedo feedback can locally exceed that of sea ice on less than decadal timescales, with implications for glacier response times to climate perturbations; (b) although historical air temperature changes might be the direct cause of measured englacial temperature anomalies in various glacier and ice cap accumulation zones, they can also be the indirect cause of their enhanced diffusive loss; (c) while the direct result of past air temperature changes has been to cool the interior of John Evans Glacier, and its bed, the indirect result has been to create and maintain warm (pressure melting point) basal temperatures in the ablation zone; and (d) for Devon Ice Cap, observed mass gains in the northwest sector of the ice cap would be smaller without orographic precipitation and the mass balance---elevation feedback, supporting the hypothesis that this feedback is playing a role in the
2017-12-08
Ice Waves - May 21st, 2001 Description: Along the southeastern coast of Greenland, an intricate network of fjords funnels glacial ice to the Atlantic Ocean. During the summer melting season, newly calved icebergs join slabs of sea ice and older, weathered bergs in an offshore slurry that the southward-flowing East Greenland Current sometimes swirls into stunning shapes. Exposed rock of mountain peaks, tinted red in this image, hints at a hidden landscape. Credit: USGS/NASA/Landsat 7 To learn more about the Landsat satellite go to: landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/ NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Join us on Facebook
Recent sea ice thickness trends in the Arctic Basin from submarine data
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Wadhams, P.; Rodriguez, J. M.; Toberg, N.
2009-04-01
Detailed mapping of the underside of Arctic sea ice in the 21st Century is largely the result of two UK submarine cruises by HMS "Tireless", in April of 2004 and 2007, since the annual US cruises of the SCICEX program ended in 2000. The 2007 cruise reproduced part of the 2004 track, across the north of Greenland and Ellesmere Island, and went on to cover the Beaufort Sea, including a gridded survey of the region of the APLIS-2007 ice camp. Where the 2004 and 2007 tracks matched, the mean thicknesses of the ice cover were essentially identical, with no evidence of significant further thinning between 2004 and 2007. In the Beaufort Sea, there is a direct comparison possible with a cruise covering the same region in the same season (April) of 1976. Here a very significant thinning can be seen, with a much lower mean draft, less multi-year ice and less ridging. In all cases the ridge draft distribution falls away quickly in probability with increasing depth, with no ridges deeper than 30 m anywhere in the submarine profiles, whereas in earlier cruises such ridges were numerous in the multi-year ice zone with some ridges exceeding 40 m. The 2007 cruise had the added advantage of a multibeam sonar fitted to the submarine to give a 3-D view of the underside; the data reinforce the view that active melt and decay of pressure ridges is taking place.
Alam, Sahib; Shah, Hamid Ullah; Khan, Habibullah; Magan, Naresh
2012-10-01
To study the effects of and interactions among feed types, seasons, and agroecological zones on the total fungal viable count and aflatoxins B1 (AFB1), B2 (AFB2), G1 (AFG1), and G2 (AFG2) production in poultry feed, an experiment was conducted using three-factorial design. A total of 216 samples of poultry feed ingredients, viz. maize, wheat, rice, cotton seed meal (CSM), and finished products, that is, starter and finisher broilers' rations, were collected from Peshawar, Swat, and D. I. Khan districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, during the winter, spring, summer, and autumn seasons of the year 2007/2008. Analysis of variance showed that there was a complex interaction among all these factors and that this influenced the total fungal viable count and relative concentrations of the aflatoxins produced. Minimum total culturable fungi (6.43 × 10³ CFUs/g) were counted in CSM from D. I. Khan region in winter season while maximum (26.68 × 10³ CFUs/g) in starter ration from Peshawar region in summer. Maximum concentrations of AFB1 (191.65 ng/g), AFB2 (86.85 ng/g), and AFG2 (89.90 ng/g) were examined during the summer season whereas the concentration of AFG1 was maximum (167.82 ng/g) in autumn in finisher ration from Peshawar region. Minimum aflatoxins were produced in the winter season across all the three agroecological zones.
Changes in the Areal Extent of Arctic Sea Ice: Observations from Satellites
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Parkinson, Claire L.
2000-01-01
Wintertime sea ice covers 15 million square kilometers of the north polar region, an area exceeding one and a half times the area of the U. S. Even at the end of the summer melt season, sea ice still covers 7 million square kilometers. This vast ice cover is an integral component of the climate system, being moved around by winds and waves, restricting heat and other exchanges between the ocean and atmosphere, reflecting most of the solar radiation incident on it, transporting cold, relatively fresh water equatorward, and affecting the overturning of ocean waters underneath, with impacts that can be felt worldwide. Sea ice also is a major factor in the Arctic ecosystem, affecting life forms ranging from minute organisms living within the ice, sometimes to the tune of millions in a single ice floe, to large marine mammals like walruses that rely on sea ice as a platform for resting, foraging, social interaction, and breeding. Since 1978, satellite technology has allowed the monitoring of the vast Arctic sea ice cover on a routine basis. The satellite observations reveal that, overall, the areal extent of Arctic sea ice has been decreasing since 1978, at an average rate of 2.7% per decade through the end of 1998. Through 1998, the greatest rates of decrease occurred in the Seas of Okhotsk and Japan and the Kara and Barents Seas, with most other regions of the Arctic also experiencing ice extent decreases. The two regions experiencing ice extent increases over this time period were the Bering Sea and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Furthermore, the satellite data reveal that the sea ice season shortened by over 25 days per decade in the central Sea of Okhotsk and the eastern Barents Sea, and by lesser amounts throughout much of the rest of the Arctic seasonal sea ice region, although not in the Bering Sea or the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Concern has been raised that if the trends toward shortened sea ice seasons and lesser sea ice coverage continue, this could entail major
The Influence of Sea Ice on Arctic Low Cloud Properties and Radiative Effects
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Taylor, Patrick C.
2015-01-01
The Arctic is one of the most climatically sensitive regions of the Earth. Climate models robustly project the Arctic to warm 2-3 times faster than the global mean surface temperature, termed polar warming amplification (PWA), but also display the widest range of surface temperature projections in this region. The response of the Arctic to increased CO2 modulates the response in tropical and extra-tropical regions through teleconnections in the atmospheric circulation. An increased frequency of extreme precipitation events in the northern mid-latitudes, for example, has been linked to the change in the background equator-to-pole temperature gradient implied by PWA. Understanding the Arctic climate system is therefore important for predicting global climate change. The ice albedo feedback is the primary mechanism driving PWA, however cloud and dynamical feedbacks significantly contribute. These feedback mechanisms, however, do not operate independently. How do clouds respond to variations in sea ice? This critical question is addressed by combining sea ice, cloud, and radiation observations from satellites, including CERES, CloudSAT, CALIPSO, MODIS, and microwave radiometers, to investigate sea ice-cloud interactions at the interannual timescale in the Arctic. Cloud characteristics are strongly tied to the atmospheric dynamic and thermodynamic state. Therefore, the sensitivity of Arctic cloud characteristics, vertical distribution and optical properties, to sea ice anomalies is computed within atmospheric dynamic and thermodynamic regimes. Results indicate that the cloud response to changes in sea ice concentration differs significantly between atmospheric state regimes. This suggests that (1) the atmospheric dynamic and thermodynamic characteristics and (2) the characteristics of the marginal ice zone are important for determining the seasonal forcing by cloud on sea ice variability.
Atmospheric form drag over Arctic sea ice derived from high-resolution IceBridge elevation data
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Petty, A.; Tsamados, M.; Kurtz, N. T.
2016-02-01
Here we present a detailed analysis of atmospheric form drag over Arctic sea ice, using high resolution, three-dimensional surface elevation data from the NASA Operation IceBridge Airborne Topographic Mapper (ATM) laser altimeter. Surface features in the sea ice cover are detected using a novel feature-picking algorithm. We derive information regarding the height, spacing and orientation of unique surface features from 2009-2014 across both first-year and multiyear ice regimes. The topography results are used to explicitly calculate atmospheric form drag coefficients; utilizing existing form drag parameterizations. The atmospheric form drag coefficients show strong regional variability, mainly due to variability in ice type/age. The transition from a perennial to a seasonal ice cover therefore suggest a decrease in the atmospheric form drag coefficients over Arctic sea ice in recent decades. These results are also being used to calibrate a recent form drag parameterization scheme included in the sea ice model CICE, to improve the representation of form drag over Arctic sea ice in global climate models.
Canadian Arctic sea ice reconstructed from bromine in the Greenland NEEM ice core.
Spolaor, Andrea; Vallelonga, Paul; Turetta, Clara; Maffezzoli, Niccolò; Cozzi, Giulio; Gabrieli, Jacopo; Barbante, Carlo; Goto-Azuma, Kumiko; Saiz-Lopez, Alfonso; Cuevas, Carlos A; Dahl-Jensen, Dorthe
2016-09-21
Reconstructing the past variability of Arctic sea ice provides an essential context for recent multi-year sea ice decline, although few quantitative reconstructions cover the Holocene period prior to the earliest historical records 1,200 years ago. Photochemical recycling of bromine is observed over first-year, or seasonal, sea ice in so-called "bromine explosions" and we employ a 1-D chemistry transport model to quantify processes of bromine enrichment over first-year sea ice and depositional transport over multi-year sea ice and land ice. We report bromine enrichment in the Northwest Greenland Eemian NEEM ice core since the end of the Eemian interglacial 120,000 years ago, finding the maximum extension of first-year sea ice occurred approximately 9,000 years ago during the Holocene climate optimum, when Greenland temperatures were 2 to 3 °C above present values. First-year sea ice extent was lowest during the glacial stadials suggesting complete coverage of the Arctic Ocean by multi-year sea ice. These findings demonstrate a clear relationship between temperature and first-year sea ice extent in the Arctic and suggest multi-year sea ice will continue to decline as polar amplification drives Arctic temperatures beyond the 2 °C global average warming target of the recent COP21 Paris climate agreement.
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.