Thursday, June 26, 2014

Anatomy of doomed sea ice

~Optical Effects from atmospheric refraction help reveal thickness of buoy ice

2014b presently has significant temperature variations at top of ice and snow layer now likely water, because thermistors measure above 0 C temperatures:



  Ice Buoy Temperature chart 10 cm apart thermistors,  starting from likely at snow top to 310 centimetres in sea water, Day 25 04:00 12:00 UTC and 26 00:00 UTC. 

    But where is the bottom of ice ?  It is likely where temperatures do not vary at thermistor 18 (180 cm),  since top fresh water starts at thermistor 7 (70 cm depth),  the ice is likely about 110 cm thick.  What I have learned from 
refraction studies serves well,   there is a wide variance of diurnal temperatures caused by solar forcing typical of sea ice (snow as well),  either on very top or at highest ice layers.  On the other hand,  sea water may not vary in temperature as much because it is so insulated by thick layer of ice and snow.  From this reasoning, the bottom melted by 20 cm and top by 40.   Sea ice freezes sea water at -1.6 to -1.8 C,  but the ice column has rejected salt,  so the melting temperature of sea ice becomes higher gradually from bottom to top. 

Healthier sea ice is monitored by nearby 2014C


   2014C is further to the South and East of 2014B by 247 nautical miles.  The said ice thickness may be off by 30 cm,  with about 150 cm thickness given that below thermistor 19, the temperatures are stratified with very little diurnal thermal variances.   


 WD June 26,2014  

20114b interesting cloudy vs sunny thermal variances

  Still of the ice world buoy2004b on day 26 June 2014 appeared to have very little resonance with the temperature diurnal effect from above the ice.  NOAA observations seem to indicate extensive cloudiness. Or partially sunny conditions:

  




  With more sunshine or higher clouds more or less confirmed by 2013f buoy, with a site camera, we can note where resonating thermal effects cross the air snow/ice barrier. Diurnal temperatures in the ice column are more prominent. WD June28,2014   





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