Low-salinity meltwater from Arctic sea ice and its snow cover accumulates and creates under-ice meltwater layers below sea ice. These meltwater layers can result in the formation of new ice layers, or false bottoms, at the interface of this low-salinity meltwater and colder seawater. As part of the Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of the Arctic Climate (MOSAiC), we used a combination of sea ice coring, temperature profiles from thermistor strings and underwater multibeam sonar surveys with a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to study the areal coverage and temporal evolution of under-ice meltwater layers and false bottoms during the summer melt season from mid-June until late July. ROV surveys indicated that the areal coverage of false bottoms for a part of the MOSAiC Central Observatory (350 by 200 m2) was 21%. Presence of false bottoms reduced bottom ice melt by 7–8% due to the local decrease in the ocean heat flux, which can be described by a thermodynamic model. Under-ice meltwater layer thickness was larger below first-year ice and thinner below thicker second-year ice. We also found that thick ice and ridge keels confined the areas in which under-ice meltwater accumulated, preventing its mixing with underlying seawater. While a thermodynamic model could reproduce false bottom growth and melt, it could not describe the observed bottom melt rates of the ice above false bottoms. We also show that the evolution of under-ice meltwater-layer salinity below first-year ice is linked to brine flushing from the above sea ice and accumulating in the meltwater layer above the false bottom. The results of this study aid in estimating the contribution of under-ice meltwater layers and false bottoms to the mass balance and salt budget for Arctic summer sea ice.
Quantifying false bottoms and under-ice meltwater layers beneath Arctic summer sea ice with fine-scale observations
During the Arctic melt season, relatively fresh meltwater layers can accumulate under sea ice as a result of snow and ice melt, far from terrestrial freshwater inputs. Such under-ice meltwater layers, sometimes referred to as under-ice melt ponds, have been suggested to play a role in the summer sea ice mass balance both by isolating the sea ice from saltier water below, and by driving formation of ‘false bottoms’ below the sea ice. Such layers form at the interface of the fresher under-ice layer and the colder, saltier seawater below. During the Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of the Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) expedition in the Central Arctic, we observed the presence of under-ice meltwater layers and false bottoms throughout July 2020 at primarily first-year ice locations. Here, we examine the distribution, prevalence, and drivers of under-ice ponds and the resulting false bottoms during this period. The average thickness of observed false bottoms and freshwater equivalent of under-ice meltwater layers was 0.08 m, with false bottom ice comprised of 74–87% FYI melt and 13–26% snow melt. Additionally, we explore these results using a 1D model to understand the role of dynamic influences on decoupling the ice from the seawater below. The model comparison suggests that the ice-ocean friction velocity was likely exceptionally low, with implications for air-ice-ocean momentum transfer. Overall, the prevalence of false bottoms was similar to or higher than noted during other observational campaigns, indicating that these features may in fact be common in the Arctic during the melt season. These results have implications for the broader ice-ocean system, as under-ice meltwater layers and false bottoms provide a source of ice growth during the melt season, potentially reduce fluxes between the ice and the ocean, isolate sea ice primary producers from pelagic nutrient sources, and may alter light transmission to the ocean below.
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- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10389060
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene
- Volume:
- 10
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 2325-1026
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.2021.000116
