Transition in the fractal geometry of Arctic melt ponds
During the Arctic melt season, the sea ice surface undergoes a remarkable transformation from vast expanses of snow covered ice to complex mosaics of ice and melt ponds. Sea ice albedo, a key parameter in climate modeling, is determined by the complex evolution of melt pond configurations. In fact,...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:0d944ac4764f40829519f908a3eaddc4 2023-05-15T13:10:36+02:00 Transition in the fractal geometry of Arctic melt ponds C. Hohenegger B. Alali K. R. Steffen D. K. Perovich K. M. Golden 2012-10-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-6-1157-2012 https://doaj.org/article/0d944ac4764f40829519f908a3eaddc4 EN eng Copernicus Publications http://www.the-cryosphere.net/6/1157/2012/tc-6-1157-2012.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-6-1157-2012 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/0d944ac4764f40829519f908a3eaddc4 The Cryosphere, Vol 6, Iss 5, Pp 1157-1162 (2012) Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2012 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-6-1157-2012 2022-12-31T14:36:55Z During the Arctic melt season, the sea ice surface undergoes a remarkable transformation from vast expanses of snow covered ice to complex mosaics of ice and melt ponds. Sea ice albedo, a key parameter in climate modeling, is determined by the complex evolution of melt pond configurations. In fact, ice–albedo feedback has played a major role in the recent declines of the summer Arctic sea ice pack. However, understanding melt pond evolution remains a significant challenge to improving climate projections. By analyzing area–perimeter data from hundreds of thousands of melt ponds, we find here an unexpected separation of scales, where pond fractal dimension D transitions from 1 to 2 around a critical length scale of 100 m 2 in area. Pond complexity increases rapidly through the transition as smaller ponds coalesce to form large connected regions, and reaches a maximum for ponds larger than 1000 m 2 , whose boundaries resemble space-filling curves, with D ≈ 2. These universal features of Arctic melt pond evolution are similar to phase transitions in statistical physics. The results impact sea ice albedo, the transmitted radiation fields under melting sea ice, the heat balance of sea ice and the upper ocean, and biological productivity such as under ice phytoplankton blooms. Article in Journal/Newspaper albedo Arctic ice pack Phytoplankton Sea ice The Cryosphere Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic The Cryosphere 6 5 1157 1162 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
spellingShingle |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 C. Hohenegger B. Alali K. R. Steffen D. K. Perovich K. M. Golden Transition in the fractal geometry of Arctic melt ponds |
topic_facet |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
During the Arctic melt season, the sea ice surface undergoes a remarkable transformation from vast expanses of snow covered ice to complex mosaics of ice and melt ponds. Sea ice albedo, a key parameter in climate modeling, is determined by the complex evolution of melt pond configurations. In fact, ice–albedo feedback has played a major role in the recent declines of the summer Arctic sea ice pack. However, understanding melt pond evolution remains a significant challenge to improving climate projections. By analyzing area–perimeter data from hundreds of thousands of melt ponds, we find here an unexpected separation of scales, where pond fractal dimension D transitions from 1 to 2 around a critical length scale of 100 m 2 in area. Pond complexity increases rapidly through the transition as smaller ponds coalesce to form large connected regions, and reaches a maximum for ponds larger than 1000 m 2 , whose boundaries resemble space-filling curves, with D ≈ 2. These universal features of Arctic melt pond evolution are similar to phase transitions in statistical physics. The results impact sea ice albedo, the transmitted radiation fields under melting sea ice, the heat balance of sea ice and the upper ocean, and biological productivity such as under ice phytoplankton blooms. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
C. Hohenegger B. Alali K. R. Steffen D. K. Perovich K. M. Golden |
author_facet |
C. Hohenegger B. Alali K. R. Steffen D. K. Perovich K. M. Golden |
author_sort |
C. Hohenegger |
title |
Transition in the fractal geometry of Arctic melt ponds |
title_short |
Transition in the fractal geometry of Arctic melt ponds |
title_full |
Transition in the fractal geometry of Arctic melt ponds |
title_fullStr |
Transition in the fractal geometry of Arctic melt ponds |
title_full_unstemmed |
Transition in the fractal geometry of Arctic melt ponds |
title_sort |
transition in the fractal geometry of arctic melt ponds |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-6-1157-2012 https://doaj.org/article/0d944ac4764f40829519f908a3eaddc4 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
albedo Arctic ice pack Phytoplankton Sea ice The Cryosphere |
genre_facet |
albedo Arctic ice pack Phytoplankton Sea ice The Cryosphere |
op_source |
The Cryosphere, Vol 6, Iss 5, Pp 1157-1162 (2012) |
op_relation |
http://www.the-cryosphere.net/6/1157/2012/tc-6-1157-2012.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-6-1157-2012 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/0d944ac4764f40829519f908a3eaddc4 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-6-1157-2012 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
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6 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
1157 |
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1162 |
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