POINT BARROW TRIALS - FY 1962; ABLATION AND CRYSTAL STUDIES OF SEA ICE

• Main Author: Stehle, N. S.
• Other Authors: NAVAL CIVIL ENGINEERING LAB PORT HUENEME CA
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1963
• Subjects: Snow; Ice and Permafrost; *CONSTRUCTION; *ICE; THICKNESS; MELTING; SALINITY; OCEANS; CRYSTAL STRUCTURE; PHYSICAL PROPERTIES; Barrow; Ice; Ice Sheet; permafrost; Point Barrow; Sea ice; Alaska
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/AD0402839; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=AD0402839

Trials were conducted at Point Barrow, Alaska on the deterioration, ablation and some physical characteristics of natural and constructed sea ice. Although deterioration occurred throughout the ice sheet, ablation occurred only at the surface. Observations on temperature, salinity, density and crystal orientation of these two ice types showed that the average ice temperature for the total ice thickness was about the same for an undisturbed natural ice area as for a constructed ice area. It was found that the high salinity of constructed ice did not greatly affect the salinity of the underlying natural ice and that with time the salinity and density of the constructed ice approached that of natural ice. Also it was observed that the preferred C-axis orientation of sea ice is towards the horizontal, although snow and wind influence a random orientation and crystal size. It was concluded that prevention and reduction of ablation during thaw should improve the characteristics of sea ice, but further knowledge is needed to determine the influence and effect of the size and C-axis orientation of the ice crystals. Improved field sampling and testing techniques are needed to obtain more accurate knowledge of the properties of ice.