migration in sea ice: from observations to modelling

• Main Authors: Zhou, Jiayun, Moreau, Sébastien, Vancoppenolle, Martin, Conference SOLAS
• Other Authors: UCL - SST/ELI/ELIC - Earth & Climate
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English
• Published: 2012
• Subjects: Barrow; Sea ice; Alaska
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/122302

Recent studies have shown that sea ice may act as a source or sink for CO2. Our recent study on O2/Ar in landfast sea ice at Barrow (Alaska) has highlighted the biogeochemical controls on the CO2 budget. However, the importance of the biogeochemical controls remains difficult to estimate due to the concomitant physical processes. Indeed, while biogeochemical processes drive gas production and consumption within the ice, physical processes regulate gas incorporation, transport and rejection. We suggest that modelling an inert gas concentration, such as argon (Ar), in sea ice may better constrain the importance of those physical processes. It would then improve our perception of the balance between physical and biogeochemical processes in the CO2 budget. In this contribution, we present how we tackle the problem of gas migration in sea ice: from observations (O2/Ar and Ar profiles) to 1-D modelling (with our first results of modelled Ar profiles).