Indirect measurements of the mass balance of summer Arctic sea ice with an electromagnetic induction technique

• Main Authors: H. Eicken, W. B. Tucker Iii, D. K. Perovich
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Arctic 2001
• Subjects: Arctic; Arctic Ocean; Chukchi Sea; Chukchi; Sea ice; Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.568.5212; http://www2.gi.alaska.edu/~eicken/he_publ/ETP01.pdf

In the framework of the Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean (SHEBA) study indirect, non-invasive ice mass-balance measurements were carried out at a drifting station in the northern Chukchi Sea between May and August of 1998. Ice thickness was derived from electromagnetic-induction (EM) measurements of apparent conductivity along 13 profiles (60 to 900 m long). As shown through sensitivity studies with a 1-D model, the apparent conductivity data from individual points can be inverted to yield estimates of ice thickness and ablation with an accuracy of approximately 0.05 m (for 2 m thick level ice). Ablation rates ranged between 8 and 18 mm d-1, with total ablation amounting to roughly 0.9 to 1.2 m. Measurements of thickness and melt rates along different profiles in undeformed multi-year ice corresponded closely, indicating that the sampling statistics are adequate. The roughness of undeformed ice has been found to increase during the summer due to deepening of melt ponds and enhanced bottom melt. Ice under melt ponds was disproportionately thinner, most likely a result of thicker snow cover reducing winter accretion. 1.