The effect of melt pond geometry on the distribution of solar energy under first-year sea ice

C. Horvat; D. Flocco; D.W. Rees Jones; L. Roach; K.M. Golden

doi:10.1029/2019GL085956

The effect of melt pond geometry on the distribution of solar energy under first-year sea ice

C. Horvat, D. Flocco, D.W. Rees Jones, L. Roach, K.M. Golden

Applied Mathematics

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Sea ice plays a critical role in the climate system through its albedo, which constrains light transmission into the upper ocean. In spring and summer, light transmission through sea ice is influenced by its iconic blue melt ponds, which significantly reduce surface albedo. We show that the geometry of surface melt ponds plays an important role in the partitioning of instantaneous solar radiation under sea ice by modeling the three-dimensional light field under ponded sea ice. We find that aggregate properties of the instantaneous sub-ice light field, such as the enhancement of available solar energy under bare ice regions, can be described using a new parameter closely related to pond fractal geometry. We then explore the influence of pond geometry on the ecological and thermodynamic sea-ice processes that depend on solar radiation.

Original language	English
Article number	e2019GL085956
Journal	Geophysical Research Letters
Volume	47
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL085956
Publication status	Published - 17 Feb 2020

Keywords

Melt ponds
Sea ice
Phytoplankton blooms
Fractal geometry
Arctic

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1029/2019GL085956

Horvat_2020_GRL_Meltpond_FinalPubVersion
Copyright © 2020 American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved. This work has been made available online in accordance with publisher policies or with permission. Permission for further reuse of this content should be sought from the publisher or the rights holder. This is the final published version of the work, which was originally published at https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL085956
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The effect of melt pond geometry on the distribution of solar energy under first-year sea ice (dataset)
Horvat, C. (Creator), Flocco, D. (Creator), Rees Jones, D. W. (Creator), Roach, L. (Creator) & Golden, K. M. (Creator), PANGEA, 2020
DOI: 10.1594/PANGAEA.908124
Dataset

Cite this

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title = "The effect of melt pond geometry on the distribution of solar energy under first-year sea ice",

abstract = "Sea ice plays a critical role in the climate system through its albedo, which constrains light transmission into the upper ocean. In spring and summer, light transmission through sea ice is influenced by its iconic blue melt ponds, which significantly reduce surface albedo. We show that the geometry of surface melt ponds plays an important role in the partitioning of instantaneous solar radiation under sea ice by modeling the three-dimensional light field under ponded sea ice. We find that aggregate properties of the instantaneous sub-ice light field, such as the enhancement of available solar energy under bare ice regions, can be described using a new parameter closely related to pond fractal geometry. We then explore the influence of pond geometry on the ecological and thermodynamic sea-ice processes that depend on solar radiation.",

keywords = "Melt ponds, Sea ice, Phytoplankton blooms, Fractal geometry, Arctic",

author = "C. Horvat and D. Flocco and {Rees Jones}, D.W. and L. Roach and K.M. Golden",

note = "CH was supported by the NOAA Climate and Global Change Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, sponsored in part through cooperative agreement number NA16NWS4620043, Years 2017–2021, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. K.M.G. acknowledges support from the the Applied and Computational Analysis Program and the Arctic and Global Prediction Program at the US Office of Naval Research through grants N00014-13-10291, N00014-15-1-2455, N00014-18-1-2041, and N00014-18-1-2552, as well as support from the Division of Mathematical Sciences and the Division of Polar Programs at the U.S. National Science Foundation through Grants DMS-0940249, DMS-1413454, and DMS-1715680. LR was supported by Marsden contract VUW1408 and the Deep South National Science Challenge.",

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AU - Horvat, C.

AU - Flocco, D.

AU - Rees Jones, D.W.

AU - Roach, L.

AU - Golden, K.M.

N1 - CH was supported by the NOAA Climate and Global Change Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, sponsored in part through cooperative agreement number NA16NWS4620043, Years 2017–2021, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. K.M.G. acknowledges support from the the Applied and Computational Analysis Program and the Arctic and Global Prediction Program at the US Office of Naval Research through grants N00014-13-10291, N00014-15-1-2455, N00014-18-1-2041, and N00014-18-1-2552, as well as support from the Division of Mathematical Sciences and the Division of Polar Programs at the U.S. National Science Foundation through Grants DMS-0940249, DMS-1413454, and DMS-1715680. LR was supported by Marsden contract VUW1408 and the Deep South National Science Challenge.

PY - 2020/2/17

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N2 - Sea ice plays a critical role in the climate system through its albedo, which constrains light transmission into the upper ocean. In spring and summer, light transmission through sea ice is influenced by its iconic blue melt ponds, which significantly reduce surface albedo. We show that the geometry of surface melt ponds plays an important role in the partitioning of instantaneous solar radiation under sea ice by modeling the three-dimensional light field under ponded sea ice. We find that aggregate properties of the instantaneous sub-ice light field, such as the enhancement of available solar energy under bare ice regions, can be described using a new parameter closely related to pond fractal geometry. We then explore the influence of pond geometry on the ecological and thermodynamic sea-ice processes that depend on solar radiation.

AB - Sea ice plays a critical role in the climate system through its albedo, which constrains light transmission into the upper ocean. In spring and summer, light transmission through sea ice is influenced by its iconic blue melt ponds, which significantly reduce surface albedo. We show that the geometry of surface melt ponds plays an important role in the partitioning of instantaneous solar radiation under sea ice by modeling the three-dimensional light field under ponded sea ice. We find that aggregate properties of the instantaneous sub-ice light field, such as the enhancement of available solar energy under bare ice regions, can be described using a new parameter closely related to pond fractal geometry. We then explore the influence of pond geometry on the ecological and thermodynamic sea-ice processes that depend on solar radiation.

KW - Melt ponds

KW - Sea ice

KW - Phytoplankton blooms

KW - Fractal geometry

KW - Arctic

U2 - 10.1029/2019GL085956

DO - 10.1029/2019GL085956

M3 - Article

SN - 0094-8276

VL - 47

JO - Geophysical Research Letters

JF - Geophysical Research Letters

IS - 4

M1 - e2019GL085956

ER -

The effect of melt pond geometry on the distribution of solar energy under first-year sea ice

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

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The effect of melt pond geometry on the distribution of solar energy under first-year sea ice (dataset)

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