Frazil-ice growth rate and dynamics in mixed layers and sub-ice-shelf plumes
The growth of frazil or granular ice is an important mode of ice formation in the cryosphere. Recent advances have improved our understanding of the microphysical processes that control the rate of ice-crystal growth when water is cooled beneath its freezing temperature. These advances suggest that...
Published in: | The Cryosphere |
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2018
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Online Access: | https://research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk/en/researchoutput/frazilice-growth-rate-and-dynamics-in-mixed-layers-and-subiceshelf-plumes(1045f3f1-8c49-4990-affd-15ec727bd8d5).html https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-25-2018 https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/bitstream/10023/18032/1/Rees_Jones_2018_Frazil_ice_TC_12_25_2018.pdf |
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ftunstandrewcris:oai:research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk:publications/1045f3f1-8c49-4990-affd-15ec727bd8d5 2024-06-23T07:53:51+00:00 Frazil-ice growth rate and dynamics in mixed layers and sub-ice-shelf plumes Rees Jones, David W. Wells, Andrew J. 2018-01-08 application/pdf https://research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk/en/researchoutput/frazilice-growth-rate-and-dynamics-in-mixed-layers-and-subiceshelf-plumes(1045f3f1-8c49-4990-affd-15ec727bd8d5).html https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-25-2018 https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/bitstream/10023/18032/1/Rees_Jones_2018_Frazil_ice_TC_12_25_2018.pdf eng eng https://research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk/en/researchoutput/frazilice-growth-rate-and-dynamics-in-mixed-layers-and-subiceshelf-plumes(1045f3f1-8c49-4990-affd-15ec727bd8d5).html info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Rees Jones , D W & Wells , A J 2018 , ' Frazil-ice growth rate and dynamics in mixed layers and sub-ice-shelf plumes ' , The Cryosphere , vol. 12 , no. 1 , pp. 25-38 . https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-25-2018 article 2018 ftunstandrewcris https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-25-2018 2024-06-13T01:06:44Z The growth of frazil or granular ice is an important mode of ice formation in the cryosphere. Recent advances have improved our understanding of the microphysical processes that control the rate of ice-crystal growth when water is cooled beneath its freezing temperature. These advances suggest that crystals grow much faster than previously thought. In this paper, we consider models of a population of ice crystals with different sizes to provide insight into the treatment of frazil ice in large-scale models. We consider the role of crystal growth alongside the other physical processes that determine the dynamics of frazil ice. We apply our model to a simple mixed layer (such as at the surface of the ocean) and to a buoyant plume under a floating ice shelf. We provide numerical calculations and scaling arguments to predict the occurrence of frazil-ice explosions, which we show are controlled by crystal growth, nucleation, and gravitational removal. Faster crystal growth, higher secondary nucleation, and slower gravitational removal make frazil-ice explosions more likely. We identify steady-state crystal size distributions, which are largely insensitive to crystal growth rate but are affected by the relative importance of secondary nucleation to gravitational removal. Finally, we show that the fate of plumes underneath ice shelves is dramatically affected by frazil-ice dynamics. Differences in the parameterization of crystal growth and nucleation give rise to radically different predictions of basal accretion and plume dynamics, and can even impact whether a plume reaches the end of the ice shelf or intrudes at depth. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ice Shelf Ice Shelves The Cryosphere University of St Andrews: Research Portal The Cryosphere 12 1 25 38 |
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Open Polar |
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University of St Andrews: Research Portal |
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ftunstandrewcris |
language |
English |
description |
The growth of frazil or granular ice is an important mode of ice formation in the cryosphere. Recent advances have improved our understanding of the microphysical processes that control the rate of ice-crystal growth when water is cooled beneath its freezing temperature. These advances suggest that crystals grow much faster than previously thought. In this paper, we consider models of a population of ice crystals with different sizes to provide insight into the treatment of frazil ice in large-scale models. We consider the role of crystal growth alongside the other physical processes that determine the dynamics of frazil ice. We apply our model to a simple mixed layer (such as at the surface of the ocean) and to a buoyant plume under a floating ice shelf. We provide numerical calculations and scaling arguments to predict the occurrence of frazil-ice explosions, which we show are controlled by crystal growth, nucleation, and gravitational removal. Faster crystal growth, higher secondary nucleation, and slower gravitational removal make frazil-ice explosions more likely. We identify steady-state crystal size distributions, which are largely insensitive to crystal growth rate but are affected by the relative importance of secondary nucleation to gravitational removal. Finally, we show that the fate of plumes underneath ice shelves is dramatically affected by frazil-ice dynamics. Differences in the parameterization of crystal growth and nucleation give rise to radically different predictions of basal accretion and plume dynamics, and can even impact whether a plume reaches the end of the ice shelf or intrudes at depth. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Rees Jones, David W. Wells, Andrew J. |
spellingShingle |
Rees Jones, David W. Wells, Andrew J. Frazil-ice growth rate and dynamics in mixed layers and sub-ice-shelf plumes |
author_facet |
Rees Jones, David W. Wells, Andrew J. |
author_sort |
Rees Jones, David W. |
title |
Frazil-ice growth rate and dynamics in mixed layers and sub-ice-shelf plumes |
title_short |
Frazil-ice growth rate and dynamics in mixed layers and sub-ice-shelf plumes |
title_full |
Frazil-ice growth rate and dynamics in mixed layers and sub-ice-shelf plumes |
title_fullStr |
Frazil-ice growth rate and dynamics in mixed layers and sub-ice-shelf plumes |
title_full_unstemmed |
Frazil-ice growth rate and dynamics in mixed layers and sub-ice-shelf plumes |
title_sort |
frazil-ice growth rate and dynamics in mixed layers and sub-ice-shelf plumes |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk/en/researchoutput/frazilice-growth-rate-and-dynamics-in-mixed-layers-and-subiceshelf-plumes(1045f3f1-8c49-4990-affd-15ec727bd8d5).html https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-25-2018 https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/bitstream/10023/18032/1/Rees_Jones_2018_Frazil_ice_TC_12_25_2018.pdf |
genre |
Ice Shelf Ice Shelves The Cryosphere |
genre_facet |
Ice Shelf Ice Shelves The Cryosphere |
op_source |
Rees Jones , D W & Wells , A J 2018 , ' Frazil-ice growth rate and dynamics in mixed layers and sub-ice-shelf plumes ' , The Cryosphere , vol. 12 , no. 1 , pp. 25-38 . https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-25-2018 |
op_relation |
https://research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk/en/researchoutput/frazilice-growth-rate-and-dynamics-in-mixed-layers-and-subiceshelf-plumes(1045f3f1-8c49-4990-affd-15ec727bd8d5).html |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-25-2018 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
12 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
25 |
op_container_end_page |
38 |
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1802645700576542720 |