Thin and transient meltwater layers and false bottoms in the Arctic sea ice pack-Recent insights on these historically overlooked features
The rapid melt of snow and sea ice during the Arctic summer provides a significant source of low-salinity meltwater to the surface ocean on the local scale. The accumulation of this meltwater on, under, and around sea ice floes can result in relatively thin meltwater layers in the upper ocean. Due t...
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ftimr:oai:imr.brage.unit.no:11250/3106471 2024-01-07T09:40:56+01:00 Thin and transient meltwater layers and false bottoms in the Arctic sea ice pack-Recent insights on these historically overlooked features Smith, Madison M. Muilwijk, Morven Chierici, Melissa Fer, Ilker Fransson, Agneta Gardner, Jessie Granskog, Mats Müller, Oliver Salganik, Evgenii 2023 application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3106471 https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.2023.00025 eng eng Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene. 2023, 11 (1), . urn:issn:2325-1026 https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3106471 https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.2023.00025 cristin:2181394 41 11 Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene 1 Polarforskning Polar research Polaroseanografi Polar oceanography Lagdeling Stratification Sjøis Sea ice Arktisk is Arctic ice Polhavet Arctic ocean VDP::Oseanografi: 452 VDP::Oceanography: 452 Peer reviewed Journal article 2023 ftimr https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.2023.00025 2023-12-13T23:47:43Z The rapid melt of snow and sea ice during the Arctic summer provides a significant source of low-salinity meltwater to the surface ocean on the local scale. The accumulation of this meltwater on, under, and around sea ice floes can result in relatively thin meltwater layers in the upper ocean. Due to the small-scale nature of these upper-ocean features, typically on the order of 1 m thick or less, they are rarely detected by standard methods, but are nevertheless pervasive and critically important in Arctic summer. Observations during the Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) expedition in summer 2020 focused on the evolution of such layers and made significant advancements in understanding their role in the coupled Arctic system. Here we provide a review of thin meltwater layers in the Arctic, with emphasis on the new findings from MOSAiC. Both prior and recent observational datasets indicate an intermittent yet long-lasting (weeks to months) meltwater layer in the upper ocean on the order of 0.1 m to 1.0 m in thickness, with a large spatial range. The presence of meltwater layers impacts the physical system by reducing bottom ice melt and allowing new ice formation via false bottom growth. Collectively, the meltwater layer and false bottoms reduce atmosphere-ocean exchanges of momentum, energy, and material. The impacts on the coupled Arctic system are far-reaching, including acting as a barrier for nutrient and gas exchange and impacting ecosystem diversity and productivity. publishedVersion Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic Ocean Arktis* ice pack Polhav* Polhavet Sea ice Institute for Marine Research: Brage IMR Arctic Arctic Ocean Elem Sci Anth 11 1 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Institute for Marine Research: Brage IMR |
op_collection_id |
ftimr |
language |
English |
topic |
Polarforskning Polar research Polaroseanografi Polar oceanography Lagdeling Stratification Sjøis Sea ice Arktisk is Arctic ice Polhavet Arctic ocean VDP::Oseanografi: 452 VDP::Oceanography: 452 |
spellingShingle |
Polarforskning Polar research Polaroseanografi Polar oceanography Lagdeling Stratification Sjøis Sea ice Arktisk is Arctic ice Polhavet Arctic ocean VDP::Oseanografi: 452 VDP::Oceanography: 452 Smith, Madison M. Muilwijk, Morven Chierici, Melissa Fer, Ilker Fransson, Agneta Gardner, Jessie Granskog, Mats Müller, Oliver Salganik, Evgenii Thin and transient meltwater layers and false bottoms in the Arctic sea ice pack-Recent insights on these historically overlooked features |
topic_facet |
Polarforskning Polar research Polaroseanografi Polar oceanography Lagdeling Stratification Sjøis Sea ice Arktisk is Arctic ice Polhavet Arctic ocean VDP::Oseanografi: 452 VDP::Oceanography: 452 |
description |
The rapid melt of snow and sea ice during the Arctic summer provides a significant source of low-salinity meltwater to the surface ocean on the local scale. The accumulation of this meltwater on, under, and around sea ice floes can result in relatively thin meltwater layers in the upper ocean. Due to the small-scale nature of these upper-ocean features, typically on the order of 1 m thick or less, they are rarely detected by standard methods, but are nevertheless pervasive and critically important in Arctic summer. Observations during the Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) expedition in summer 2020 focused on the evolution of such layers and made significant advancements in understanding their role in the coupled Arctic system. Here we provide a review of thin meltwater layers in the Arctic, with emphasis on the new findings from MOSAiC. Both prior and recent observational datasets indicate an intermittent yet long-lasting (weeks to months) meltwater layer in the upper ocean on the order of 0.1 m to 1.0 m in thickness, with a large spatial range. The presence of meltwater layers impacts the physical system by reducing bottom ice melt and allowing new ice formation via false bottom growth. Collectively, the meltwater layer and false bottoms reduce atmosphere-ocean exchanges of momentum, energy, and material. The impacts on the coupled Arctic system are far-reaching, including acting as a barrier for nutrient and gas exchange and impacting ecosystem diversity and productivity. publishedVersion |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Smith, Madison M. Muilwijk, Morven Chierici, Melissa Fer, Ilker Fransson, Agneta Gardner, Jessie Granskog, Mats Müller, Oliver Salganik, Evgenii |
author_facet |
Smith, Madison M. Muilwijk, Morven Chierici, Melissa Fer, Ilker Fransson, Agneta Gardner, Jessie Granskog, Mats Müller, Oliver Salganik, Evgenii |
author_sort |
Smith, Madison M. |
title |
Thin and transient meltwater layers and false bottoms in the Arctic sea ice pack-Recent insights on these historically overlooked features |
title_short |
Thin and transient meltwater layers and false bottoms in the Arctic sea ice pack-Recent insights on these historically overlooked features |
title_full |
Thin and transient meltwater layers and false bottoms in the Arctic sea ice pack-Recent insights on these historically overlooked features |
title_fullStr |
Thin and transient meltwater layers and false bottoms in the Arctic sea ice pack-Recent insights on these historically overlooked features |
title_full_unstemmed |
Thin and transient meltwater layers and false bottoms in the Arctic sea ice pack-Recent insights on these historically overlooked features |
title_sort |
thin and transient meltwater layers and false bottoms in the arctic sea ice pack-recent insights on these historically overlooked features |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3106471 https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.2023.00025 |
geographic |
Arctic Arctic Ocean |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ocean |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Arktis* ice pack Polhav* Polhavet Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Arktis* ice pack Polhav* Polhavet Sea ice |
op_source |
41 11 Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene 1 |
op_relation |
Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene. 2023, 11 (1), . urn:issn:2325-1026 https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3106471 https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.2023.00025 cristin:2181394 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.2023.00025 |
container_title |
Elem Sci Anth |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1787421711736504320 |