The plate spacing of sea ice
Abstract Columnar sea ice grows with an interface of tiny parallel ice plates, the distance of which is known as plate spacing. While it has been proposed as a fundamental microstructure scale of sea ice, the physics behind its formation has not been fully understood. Here the problem is analysed on...
Published in: | Annals of Glaciology |
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Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press (CUP)
2020
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/aog.2020.65 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0260305520000658 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/aog.2020.65 2024-06-09T07:38:28+00:00 The plate spacing of sea ice Maus, Sönke 2020 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/aog.2020.65 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0260305520000658 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ Annals of Glaciology volume 61, issue 83, page 408-425 ISSN 0260-3055 1727-5644 journal-article 2020 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2020.65 2024-05-15T13:11:28Z Abstract Columnar sea ice grows with an interface of tiny parallel ice plates, the distance of which is known as plate spacing. While it has been proposed as a fundamental microstructure scale of sea ice, the physics behind its formation has not been fully understood. Here the problem is analysed on the basis of morphological stability theory to propose a model that results in a physically consistent prediction of the relationship between the plate spacing a 0 and growth velocity V . The relationship may be divided into two regimes. In the diffusive regime, for V above ≈2 × 10 −4 cm s −1 one finds a 0 ~ V −2/3 to first order. In the convective regime, the extent of diffusive boundary layer is controlled by solutal convection near the interface, which leads to the proportionality a 0 ~ V −1/3 . From a comparison to observations it is evident that the plate spacing is predictable over 5 orders of magnitude in the growth velocity, covering the range from fast laboratory ice growth to slow accretion at the bottom of marine ice shelves. The predictability opens new paths towards concise modelling of marine and sea-ice microstructure and physical properties. Article in Journal/Newspaper Annals of Glaciology Ice Shelves Sea ice Cambridge University Press Annals of Glaciology 61 83 408 425 |
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Open Polar |
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Cambridge University Press |
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crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract Columnar sea ice grows with an interface of tiny parallel ice plates, the distance of which is known as plate spacing. While it has been proposed as a fundamental microstructure scale of sea ice, the physics behind its formation has not been fully understood. Here the problem is analysed on the basis of morphological stability theory to propose a model that results in a physically consistent prediction of the relationship between the plate spacing a 0 and growth velocity V . The relationship may be divided into two regimes. In the diffusive regime, for V above ≈2 × 10 −4 cm s −1 one finds a 0 ~ V −2/3 to first order. In the convective regime, the extent of diffusive boundary layer is controlled by solutal convection near the interface, which leads to the proportionality a 0 ~ V −1/3 . From a comparison to observations it is evident that the plate spacing is predictable over 5 orders of magnitude in the growth velocity, covering the range from fast laboratory ice growth to slow accretion at the bottom of marine ice shelves. The predictability opens new paths towards concise modelling of marine and sea-ice microstructure and physical properties. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Maus, Sönke |
spellingShingle |
Maus, Sönke The plate spacing of sea ice |
author_facet |
Maus, Sönke |
author_sort |
Maus, Sönke |
title |
The plate spacing of sea ice |
title_short |
The plate spacing of sea ice |
title_full |
The plate spacing of sea ice |
title_fullStr |
The plate spacing of sea ice |
title_full_unstemmed |
The plate spacing of sea ice |
title_sort |
plate spacing of sea ice |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/aog.2020.65 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0260305520000658 |
genre |
Annals of Glaciology Ice Shelves Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Annals of Glaciology Ice Shelves Sea ice |
op_source |
Annals of Glaciology volume 61, issue 83, page 408-425 ISSN 0260-3055 1727-5644 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2020.65 |
container_title |
Annals of Glaciology |
container_volume |
61 |
container_issue |
83 |
container_start_page |
408 |
op_container_end_page |
425 |
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1801373118740037632 |