2003: Thin and thinner: Sea ice mass balance measurements during

• Main Authors: Donald K. Perovich, Thomas C. Grenfell, Jacqueline A. Richter-menge, Bonnie Light, Walter B. Tucker Iii, Hajo Eicken
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Oceanography; Physical; Ice mechanics and air/sea/ice exchange processes; 4207 Oceanography; General; Arctic and Antarctic oceanography; 3349 Meteorology and Atmospheric Dynamics; Polar meteorology; KEYWORDS; Arctic; Antarctic; Antarc*; Sea ice
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.597.1128; http://www2.gi.alaska.edu/~eicken/he_publ/03PGRL.pdf

Ocean (SHEBA), we installed more than 135 ice thickness gauges to determine the sea ice mass balance. While installing these gauges during the fall of 1997, we found that much of the multiyear ice cover was only 1 m thick, considerably thinner than expected. Over the course of the yearlong field experiment we monitored the mass balance for a wide variety of ice types, including first-year ice, ponded ice, unponded ice, multiyear ice, hummocks, new ridges, and old ridges. Initial ice thicknesses for these sites ranged from 0.3 to 8 m, and snow depths varied from a few centimeters to more than a meter. However, for all of their differences and variety, these thickness gauges sites shared a common trait: at every site, there was a net thinning of the ice during the SHEBA year. The thin ice found in October 1997 was even thinner in October 1998. The annual cycle of ice thickness was also similar at all sites. There was a steady increase in thickness through the winter that gradually tapered off in the spring. This was followed by a steep drop off in thickness during summer melt and another tapering in late summer and early fall as freeze-up began. Maximum surface melting was in July, while bottom ablation peaked in August. Combining results from the sites, we found an average winter growth