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https://hdl.handle.net/11681/9036| Title: | Physical and structural characteristics of Weddell sea pack ice |
| Authors: | National Science Foundation (U.S.). Division of Polar Programs Gow, A. J. (Anthony Jack) Ackley, Stephen F. Golden, Kenneth M. Buck, Kurt |
| Keywords: | Ice Weddell Sea Ice characteristics Sea ice EPOLAR |
| Publisher: | Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (U.S.) Engineer Research and Development Center (U.S.) |
| Series/Report no.: | CRREL report ; 87-14. |
| Description: | CRREL Report Abstract: During February and March 1980 the physical properties of Weddell Sea pack ice were investigated via core drilling of 66 floes located along a transect of 600 nautical miles from 64°S to 74°S latitude at roughly 40°W longitude. These studies revealed widespread frazil ice in amounts not known to exist in Arctic sea ice of comparable age and thickness. It is estimated from structure studies of 62 of the 66 floes that 54% of the total ice production in the Weddell Sea is generated as frazil. The disposition and exceptional thicknesses of the frazil show that mechanisms other than surface turbulence effects are involved and imply that the circulation and structure of water in the upper levels of the Weddell Sea are significantly different from those in the Arctic basin. Salinities of both first-year and multiyear floes are notably higher than those of their Arctic counterparts because summer surface melting is rare or absent in the Weddell Sea; in the Arctic, downward percolating meltwater flushes through the ice and lowers its salinity. Fluorescence was evaluated as a means of revealing biological activity in Weddell Sea pack ice. It proved useful as an index of combined living and dead material in the ice, but measurements failed to establish any consistent relationship between fluorescence and salinity as sugnested by earlier work in the Weddell Sea. |
| Rights: | Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. |
| URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/11681/9036 |
| Appears in Collections: | CRREL Report |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CRREL-87-14.pdf | 6.53 MB | Adobe PDF |  View/Open |