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Seasonal evolution of an ice-shelf influenced fast-ice regime, derived from an autonomous thermistor chain

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posted on 2023-05-18, 09:36 authored by Hoppmann, M, Nicolaus, M, Hunkeler, PA, Petra HeilPetra Heil, Behrens, L-K, Konig-Langlo, G, Gerdes, R
Ice shelves strongly interact with coastal Antarctic sea ice and the associated ecosystem by creating conditions favorable to the formation of a sub-ice platelet layer. The close investigation of this phenomenon and its seasonal evolution remains a challenge due to logistical constraints and a lack of suitable methodology. In this study, we characterize the seasonal cycle of Antarctic fast ice adjacent to the Ekström Ice Shelf in the eastern Weddell Sea. We used a thermistor chain with the additional ability to record the temperature response induced by cyclic heating of resistors embedded in the chain. Vertical sea-ice temperature and heating profiles obtained daily between November 2012 and February 2014 were analyzed to determine sea-ice and snow evolution, and to calculate the basal energy budget. The residual heat flux translated into an ice-volume fraction in the platelet layer of 0.18 ± 0.09, which we reproduced by a independent model simulation and agrees with earlier results. Manual drillings revealed an average annual platelet-layer thickness increase of at least 4 m, and an annual maximum thickness of 10 m beneath second-year sea ice. The oceanic contribution dominated the total sea-ice production during the study, effectively accounting for up to 70% of second-year sea-ice growth. In summer, an oceanic heat flux of 21 W m−2 led to a partial thinning of the platelet layer. Our results further show that the active heating method, in contrast to the acoustic sounding approach, is well suited to derive the fast-ice mass balance in regions influenced by ocean/ice-shelf interaction, as it allows subdiurnal monitoring of the platelet-layer thickness.

History

Publication title

Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans

Volume

120

Pagination

1703-1724

ISSN

2169-9275

Department/School

Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies

Publisher

Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Inc

Place of publication

United States

Rights statement

Copyright 2015 The Authors

Repository Status

  • Open

Socio-economic Objectives

Expanding knowledge in the earth sciences

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