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Platelet ice attachment to instrument strings beneath the Amery Ice Shelf, East Antarctica

Platelet ice attachment to instrument strings beneath the Amery Ice Shelf, East Antarctica
Platelet ice attachment to instrument strings beneath the Amery Ice Shelf, East Antarctica
Oceanographic instruments suspended beneath the Amery Ice Shelf, East Antarctica, have recorded sporadic pressure decreases of 10–20 dbar over a few days at three sites where basal marine ice growth is expected. We attribute these events to flotation due to platelet ice accretion on the instrument moorings. Some events were transient, rapidly returning to pre-event pressures, probably through dislodgement of loosely attached crystals. Driven by these pressure changes, temperatures recorded by the shallowest instruments (within 20 m of the shelf base) tracked in situ freezing temperatures during the events. These observations provide indirect evidence for the presence of frazil ice in the sub-ice-shelf mixed layer and for active marine ice accretion. At one site we infer that a dense layer of platelet ice ?1.5 m thick was accreted to the ice shelf over a 50 day period. Following some permanent abrupt pressure decreases (which we interpret as due to the lodgement of the uppermost instrument at the ice-shelf base), altered background trends in pressure suggest compaction rates of 3–4 m a–1 for the accreted basal platelet layer. Attachment of platelet ice and resulting displacement of moorings has ramifications for project design and instrument deployment, and implications for interpretation of oceanographic data from sub-ice-shelf environments.
383-393
Craven, M.
92add309-7bcd-4d4e-9706-f21e37505fae
Galton-Fenzi, B.K.
f868dd52-854e-4139-8224-661eaed26929
Herraiz-Borreguero, L.
1ede25b2-c156-48cf-8bf6-83592b37d8f8
Vogel, S.W.
afcfaf3d-7402-4f01-905f-b2039bbbb7e4
Allison, I.
86ffece2-2873-4ae4-8bb0-ff0ee391c2af
Craven, M.
92add309-7bcd-4d4e-9706-f21e37505fae
Galton-Fenzi, B.K.
f868dd52-854e-4139-8224-661eaed26929
Herraiz-Borreguero, L.
1ede25b2-c156-48cf-8bf6-83592b37d8f8
Vogel, S.W.
afcfaf3d-7402-4f01-905f-b2039bbbb7e4
Allison, I.
86ffece2-2873-4ae4-8bb0-ff0ee391c2af

Craven, M., Galton-Fenzi, B.K., Herraiz-Borreguero, L., Vogel, S.W. and Allison, I. (2014) Platelet ice attachment to instrument strings beneath the Amery Ice Shelf, East Antarctica. Journal of Glaciology, 60 (220), 383-393. (doi:10.3189/2014JoG13J082).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Oceanographic instruments suspended beneath the Amery Ice Shelf, East Antarctica, have recorded sporadic pressure decreases of 10–20 dbar over a few days at three sites where basal marine ice growth is expected. We attribute these events to flotation due to platelet ice accretion on the instrument moorings. Some events were transient, rapidly returning to pre-event pressures, probably through dislodgement of loosely attached crystals. Driven by these pressure changes, temperatures recorded by the shallowest instruments (within 20 m of the shelf base) tracked in situ freezing temperatures during the events. These observations provide indirect evidence for the presence of frazil ice in the sub-ice-shelf mixed layer and for active marine ice accretion. At one site we infer that a dense layer of platelet ice ?1.5 m thick was accreted to the ice shelf over a 50 day period. Following some permanent abrupt pressure decreases (which we interpret as due to the lodgement of the uppermost instrument at the ice-shelf base), altered background trends in pressure suggest compaction rates of 3–4 m a–1 for the accreted basal platelet layer. Attachment of platelet ice and resulting displacement of moorings has ramifications for project design and instrument deployment, and implications for interpretation of oceanographic data from sub-ice-shelf environments.

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Published date: 1 April 2014
Organisations: Physical Oceanography

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Local EPrints ID: 398660
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/398660
PURE UUID: 838a2960-3073-49a6-b5ec-555bb90fe5db

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Date deposited: 28 Jul 2016 15:09
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 01:38

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Contributors

Author: M. Craven
Author: B.K. Galton-Fenzi
Author: L. Herraiz-Borreguero
Author: S.W. Vogel
Author: I. Allison

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