Europe and other nations are developing complex models to investigate the elaborate processes behind climate change in the polar regions and how it influences the oceans and future climate. However the formation process of frazil crystals and its development into pancake ice and other young ice types is one of the least well documented and understood mechanisms of the whole sea ice formation process and represents a major gap in sea ice research. In order to have confidence in the output from these models they must be driven by the correct physics using realistic data, which in turn requires field measurements to understand the processes involved and to validate and refine the models (IPCC, 2001). Whilst this is conceivable in some locations it is rarely possible in the polar regions due a combination of cost, logistics and lack of control over harsh environmental conditions. To overcome these hurdles we propose an integrated programme of multi-disciplinary research (sea ice, oceanography, remote sensing and modelling) to elucidate the impact of a much reduced summer ice cover on sea ice structure and the underlying oceanography by conducting repeatable, small scale experiments in the temperature controlled laboratory at HSVA.

Our bid experiments have three objectives:

1. Quantify the rate of growth of sea ice under both calm and turbulent conditions, the rate of brine drainage under different ice conditions and ages, and the influence different ice formation mechanisms has on the underlying ocean structure and light penetration.
2. Quantify the backscatter and temperature values for different young ice types and thickness in order to obtain improved sea ice type discrimination and detection. This will be applicable to similar satellite mounted sensors.
3. Obtain a wave dispersion relationship for young ice grown at different wave frequencies and relate the relationship to the thickness of the frazil and pancake ice.

RECARO proposal document.