[en] The Sea Ice Mass Balance in the Antarctic (SIMBA) experiment was conducted from the RVIB N.B. Palmer in September and October 2007 in the Bellingshausen Sea in an area recently experiencing considerable changes in both climate and sea ice cover. Snow and ice properties were observed at 3 short-term stations and a 27-day drift station (Ice Station Belgica, ISB) during the winter-spring transition. Repeat measurements were performed on sea ice and snow cover at 5 ISB sites, each having different physical characteristics, with mean ice (snow) thicknesses varying from 0.6m (0.1m) to 2.3m (0.7m). Ice cores retrieved every five days from 2 sites and
measured for physical, biological, and chemical properties. Three ice mass-balance buoys (IMBs) provided continuous records of snow and ice thickness and temperature. Meteorological conditions changed from warm fronts with high winds and precipitation followed by cold and calm periods through four cycles during ISB. The snow cover regulated temperature flux and controlled the physical regime in which sea ice morphology changed. Level thin ice areas had little snow accumulation and experienced greater thermal fluctuations resulting in brine salinity and volume changes, and winter maximum thermodynamic growth of ~0.6m in this region. Flooding and snow-ice formation occurred during cold spells in ice and snow of intermediate instead nearly isothermal, highly permeable ice persisted. In spring, short-lived cold air episodes did not effectively penetrate the sea ice nor overcome the effect of ocean heat flux, thus favoring net ice thinning from bottom melt over ice thickening from snow-ice growth, in all cases. These warm ice conditions were consistent with regional remote sensing observations of earlier ice breakup and a shorter sea ice season, more recently observed in the Bellingshausen Sea.
Disciplines :
Earth sciences & physical geography
Author, co-author :
Lewis, M. J.
Tison, Jean-Louis
Weissling
Delille, Bruno ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'astrophys., géophysique et océanographie (AGO) > Océanographie chimique
Ackley, S. F.
Brabant, F.
Xie, H.
Language :
English
Title :
Sea ice and snow cover characteristics during the winter-spring transition in the Bellingshausen Sea: an overview of SIMBA 2007
Publication date :
2011
Journal title :
Deep-Sea Research. Part II, Topical Studies in Oceanography
ISSN :
0967-0645
Publisher :
Pergamon Press - An Imprint of Elsevier Science, Oxford, United Kingdom
Special issue title :
Antarctic Sea Ice Research during the International Polar Year 2007-2009
Volume :
58
Issue :
9-10
Pages :
1019–1038
Peer reviewed :
Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi
Funders :
Southwest Research Institute NSF - National Science Foundation [US-VA] BELSPO - SPP Politique scientifique - Service Public Fédéral de Programmation Politique scientifique F.R.S.-FNRS - Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique [BE]
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