Salinity Variations in Sea Ice

• Main Authors: Cox, Gordon F., Weeks, Wilford F.
• Other Authors: COLD REGIONS RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING LAB HANOVER NH
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1973
• Subjects: Physical and Dynamic Oceanography; Snow; Ice and Permafrost; *SALINITY; *SEA ICE; ARCTIC REGIONS; TERRAIN; THICKNESS; BEAUFORT SEA; Arctic; Beaufort Sea; Ice; permafrost; Sea ice; Subarctic
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/AD0768170; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=AD0768170

The salinity distribution in multiyear sea ice is dependent on the ice topography and cannot be adequately represented by a single average profile. The cores collected from areas beneath surface hummocks generally showed a systematic increase in salinity with depth. The cores collected from areas beneath surface depressions were much more saline and displayed large salinity fluctuations. Salinity observations from sea ice of varying thicknesses and ages collected at various arctic and subarctic locations revealed a strong correlation between the average salinity of the ice and the ice thickness. An annual cyclic variation of the mean salinity probably exists for multiyear sea ice. The mean salinity should reach a maximum at the end of the growth season and a minimum at the end of the melt season.