The spatial distribution of solar radiation under a melting Arctic sea ice cover
The sea ice cover of the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas is currently undergoing a fundamental shift from multiyear ice to first-year ice. Field observations of sea ice physical and optical properties were collected in this region during June-July 2010, revealing unexpectedly complex spatial distributions...
Published in: | Geophysical Research Letters |
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2011
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ftclarkuniv:oai:commons.clarku.edu:faculty_geography-1234 2023-09-05T13:17:36+02:00 The spatial distribution of solar radiation under a melting Arctic sea ice cover Frey, Karen E. Perovich, Donald K. Light, Bonnie 2011-01-01T08:00:00Z application/pdf https://commons.clarku.edu/faculty_geography/235 https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GL049421 https://commons.clarku.edu/context/faculty_geography/article/1234/viewcontent/GeoFacWorks_Frey_SpatialDist_2011.pdf unknown Clark Digital Commons https://commons.clarku.edu/faculty_geography/235 doi:10.1029/2011GL049421 https://commons.clarku.edu/context/faculty_geography/article/1234/viewcontent/GeoFacWorks_Frey_SpatialDist_2011.pdf Geography heat balance heterogeneity ice cover melting sea ice solar radiation spatial distribution wavelength Geophysics and Seismology Oceanography text 2011 ftclarkuniv https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GL049421 2023-08-14T06:16:39Z The sea ice cover of the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas is currently undergoing a fundamental shift from multiyear ice to first-year ice. Field observations of sea ice physical and optical properties were collected in this region during June-July 2010, revealing unexpectedly complex spatial distributions of solar radiation under the melt-season ice cover. Based on our optical measurements of first-year ice, we found the under-ice light field in the upper ocean to be spatially heterogeneous and dependent on wavelength, ice thickness, and the areal and geometric distribution of melt ponded and bare ice surfaces. Much of the observed complexity in radiation fields arose because the transmission of light through ponded ice was generally an order of magnitude greater than through bare, unponded ice. Furthermore, while many sites exhibited a consistent, exponential decay in light transmission through both ponded and bare ice surfaces, light transmission under bare ice was also observed to increase with depth (reaching maximum values ∼5-10 m below the bottom of the ice). A simple geometric model shows these transmission peaks are a result of scattering in the ice and the interspersion of bare and ponded sea ice surfaces. These new observations of complex radiation fields beneath melt-season first-year sea ice have significant implications for biological production, biogeochemical processes, and the heat balance of sea ice and under-ice ocean waters and should be carefully considered when modeling these sea ice-related phenomena. Copyright 2011 by the American Geophysical Union. Text Arctic Chukchi Sea ice Clark University: Clark Digital Commons Arctic Geophysical Research Letters 38 22 n/a n/a |
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Open Polar |
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Clark University: Clark Digital Commons |
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ftclarkuniv |
language |
unknown |
topic |
heat balance heterogeneity ice cover melting sea ice solar radiation spatial distribution wavelength Geophysics and Seismology Oceanography |
spellingShingle |
heat balance heterogeneity ice cover melting sea ice solar radiation spatial distribution wavelength Geophysics and Seismology Oceanography Frey, Karen E. Perovich, Donald K. Light, Bonnie The spatial distribution of solar radiation under a melting Arctic sea ice cover |
topic_facet |
heat balance heterogeneity ice cover melting sea ice solar radiation spatial distribution wavelength Geophysics and Seismology Oceanography |
description |
The sea ice cover of the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas is currently undergoing a fundamental shift from multiyear ice to first-year ice. Field observations of sea ice physical and optical properties were collected in this region during June-July 2010, revealing unexpectedly complex spatial distributions of solar radiation under the melt-season ice cover. Based on our optical measurements of first-year ice, we found the under-ice light field in the upper ocean to be spatially heterogeneous and dependent on wavelength, ice thickness, and the areal and geometric distribution of melt ponded and bare ice surfaces. Much of the observed complexity in radiation fields arose because the transmission of light through ponded ice was generally an order of magnitude greater than through bare, unponded ice. Furthermore, while many sites exhibited a consistent, exponential decay in light transmission through both ponded and bare ice surfaces, light transmission under bare ice was also observed to increase with depth (reaching maximum values ∼5-10 m below the bottom of the ice). A simple geometric model shows these transmission peaks are a result of scattering in the ice and the interspersion of bare and ponded sea ice surfaces. These new observations of complex radiation fields beneath melt-season first-year sea ice have significant implications for biological production, biogeochemical processes, and the heat balance of sea ice and under-ice ocean waters and should be carefully considered when modeling these sea ice-related phenomena. Copyright 2011 by the American Geophysical Union. |
format |
Text |
author |
Frey, Karen E. Perovich, Donald K. Light, Bonnie |
author_facet |
Frey, Karen E. Perovich, Donald K. Light, Bonnie |
author_sort |
Frey, Karen E. |
title |
The spatial distribution of solar radiation under a melting Arctic sea ice cover |
title_short |
The spatial distribution of solar radiation under a melting Arctic sea ice cover |
title_full |
The spatial distribution of solar radiation under a melting Arctic sea ice cover |
title_fullStr |
The spatial distribution of solar radiation under a melting Arctic sea ice cover |
title_full_unstemmed |
The spatial distribution of solar radiation under a melting Arctic sea ice cover |
title_sort |
spatial distribution of solar radiation under a melting arctic sea ice cover |
publisher |
Clark Digital Commons |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
https://commons.clarku.edu/faculty_geography/235 https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GL049421 https://commons.clarku.edu/context/faculty_geography/article/1234/viewcontent/GeoFacWorks_Frey_SpatialDist_2011.pdf |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Chukchi Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Arctic Chukchi Sea ice |
op_source |
Geography |
op_relation |
https://commons.clarku.edu/faculty_geography/235 doi:10.1029/2011GL049421 https://commons.clarku.edu/context/faculty_geography/article/1234/viewcontent/GeoFacWorks_Frey_SpatialDist_2011.pdf |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GL049421 |
container_title |
Geophysical Research Letters |
container_volume |
38 |
container_issue |
22 |
container_start_page |
n/a |
op_container_end_page |
n/a |
_version_ |
1776198713129041920 |