The sensitivity of sea-ice brine fraction to the freezing temperature and orientation

The changing conditions in which sea ice forms and exists are likely to affect the properties of sea ice itself, and potential climate feedbacks need to be identified and understood to improve future projections. Here we perform a set of idealised laboratory experiments that model sea-ice growth und...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kial Douglas Stewart, William Palm, Callum James Shakespeare, Noa Kraitzman
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press 2024-01-01
Series:Annals of Glaciology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0260305524000363/type/journal_article
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850188757656928256
author Kial Douglas Stewart
William Palm
Callum James Shakespeare
Noa Kraitzman
author_facet Kial Douglas Stewart
William Palm
Callum James Shakespeare
Noa Kraitzman
author_sort Kial Douglas Stewart
collection DOAJ
description The changing conditions in which sea ice forms and exists are likely to affect the properties of sea ice itself, and potential climate feedbacks need to be identified and understood to improve future projections. Here we perform a set of idealised laboratory experiments that model sea-ice growth under a range of freezing conditions. The results confirm existing theories; sea-ice growth rate is largest for cooler freezing temperatures, fresher ambient salinities and cases with bottom cooling. Our primary metric of interest is the brine fraction (the volume ratio of brine inclusions to the total sea ice), which we quantify and determine its sensitivity with respect to the ambient salinity, freezing temperature and, for the first time, the freezing direction. We find that the brine fraction of our model sea ice is most sensitive to freezing temperature, and increases 2.5% per 1$^\circ$C increase of freezing temperature.
format Article
id doaj-art-e495d306908645f1bac7d0e9ec15c376
institution OA Journals
issn 0260-3055
1727-5644
language English
publishDate 2024-01-01
publisher Cambridge University Press
record_format Article
series Annals of Glaciology
spelling doaj-art-e495d306908645f1bac7d0e9ec15c3762025-08-20T02:15:47ZengCambridge University PressAnnals of Glaciology0260-30551727-56442024-01-016510.1017/aog.2024.36The sensitivity of sea-ice brine fraction to the freezing temperature and orientationKial Douglas Stewart0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9947-1958William Palm1Callum James Shakespeare2Noa Kraitzman3Climate & Fluid Physics Laboratory, Australian National University, Acton, Australia Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes, University of New South Wales, Sydney, AustraliaClimate & Fluid Physics Laboratory, Australian National University, Acton, Australia Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes, University of New South Wales, Sydney, AustraliaClimate & Fluid Physics Laboratory, Australian National University, Acton, Australia Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes, University of New South Wales, Sydney, AustraliaSchool of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, AustraliaThe changing conditions in which sea ice forms and exists are likely to affect the properties of sea ice itself, and potential climate feedbacks need to be identified and understood to improve future projections. Here we perform a set of idealised laboratory experiments that model sea-ice growth under a range of freezing conditions. The results confirm existing theories; sea-ice growth rate is largest for cooler freezing temperatures, fresher ambient salinities and cases with bottom cooling. Our primary metric of interest is the brine fraction (the volume ratio of brine inclusions to the total sea ice), which we quantify and determine its sensitivity with respect to the ambient salinity, freezing temperature and, for the first time, the freezing direction. We find that the brine fraction of our model sea ice is most sensitive to freezing temperature, and increases 2.5% per 1$^\circ$C increase of freezing temperature.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0260305524000363/type/journal_articlesea icesea-ice growth and decaysea-ice modelling
spellingShingle Kial Douglas Stewart
William Palm
Callum James Shakespeare
Noa Kraitzman
The sensitivity of sea-ice brine fraction to the freezing temperature and orientation
Annals of Glaciology
sea ice
sea-ice growth and decay
sea-ice modelling
title The sensitivity of sea-ice brine fraction to the freezing temperature and orientation
title_full The sensitivity of sea-ice brine fraction to the freezing temperature and orientation
title_fullStr The sensitivity of sea-ice brine fraction to the freezing temperature and orientation
title_full_unstemmed The sensitivity of sea-ice brine fraction to the freezing temperature and orientation
title_short The sensitivity of sea-ice brine fraction to the freezing temperature and orientation
title_sort sensitivity of sea ice brine fraction to the freezing temperature and orientation
topic sea ice
sea-ice growth and decay
sea-ice modelling
url https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0260305524000363/type/journal_article
work_keys_str_mv AT kialdouglasstewart thesensitivityofseaicebrinefractiontothefreezingtemperatureandorientation
AT williampalm thesensitivityofseaicebrinefractiontothefreezingtemperatureandorientation
AT callumjamesshakespeare thesensitivityofseaicebrinefractiontothefreezingtemperatureandorientation
AT noakraitzman thesensitivityofseaicebrinefractiontothefreezingtemperatureandorientation
AT kialdouglasstewart sensitivityofseaicebrinefractiontothefreezingtemperatureandorientation
AT williampalm sensitivityofseaicebrinefractiontothefreezingtemperatureandorientation
AT callumjamesshakespeare sensitivityofseaicebrinefractiontothefreezingtemperatureandorientation
AT noakraitzman sensitivityofseaicebrinefractiontothefreezingtemperatureandorientation