Brief communication: Pancake ice floe size distribution during the winter expansion of the Antarctic marginal ice zone
The size distribution of pancake ice floes is calculated from images acquired during a voyage to the Antarctic marginal ice zone in the winter expansion season. Results show that 50 % of the sea ice area is made up of floes with diameters of 2.3–4 m. The floe size distribution shows two distinct slo...
| Published in: | The Cryosphere |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2019
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-41-2019 https://www.the-cryosphere.net/13/41/2019/tc-13-41-2019.pdf https://doaj.org/article/8042f70cc41e40d0a2b5e5343d93f035 |
| Summary: | The size distribution of pancake ice floes is calculated from images acquired during a voyage to the Antarctic marginal ice zone in the winter expansion season. Results show that 50 % of the sea ice area is made up of floes with diameters of 2.3–4 m. The floe size distribution shows two distinct slopes on either side of the 2.3–4 m range, neither of which conforms to a power law. Following a relevant recent study, it is conjectured that the growth of pancakes from frazil forms the distribution of small floes (D<2.3 m), and welding of pancakes forms the distribution of large floes (D>4 m). |
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