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Frazil-ice growth rate and dynamics in mixed layers and sub-ice-shelf plumes
The growth of frazil or granular ice is an important mode of ice formation in the cryosphere. Recent advances have improved our understanding of the microphysical processes that control the rate of ice-crystal growth when water is cooled beneath its freezing temperature. These advances suggest that crystals grow much faster than previously thought. In this paper, we consider models of a population of ice crystals with different sizes to provide insight into the treatment of frazil ice in large-scale models. We consider the role of crystal growth alongside the other physical processes that determine the dynamics of frazil ice. We apply our model to a simple mixed layer (such as at the surface of the ocean) and to a buoyant plume under a floating ice shelf. We provide numerical calculations and scaling arguments to predict the occurrence of frazil-ice explosions, which we show are controlled by crystal growth, nucleation, and gravitational removal. Faster crystal growth, higher secondary nucleation, and slower gravitational removal make frazil-ice explosions more likely. We identify steady-state crystal size distributions, which are largely insensitive to crystal growth rate but are affected by the relative importance of secondary nucleation to gravitational removal. Finally, we show that the fate of plumes underneath ice shelves is dramatically affected by frazil-ice dynamics. Differences in the parameterization of crystal growth and nucleation give rise to radically different predictions of basal accretion and plume dynamics, and can even impact whether a plume reaches the end of the ice shelf or intrudes at depth.
arXiv: Physics::Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics Physics::Geophysics Astrophysics::Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
arXiv: Physics::Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics Physics::Geophysics Astrophysics::Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
- University of Oxford United Kingdom
- THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD United Kingdom
- Department of Earth Sciences University of Oxford United Kingdom
- University of Oxford, Department of Physics United Kingdom
- Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics Department of Physics University of Oxford United Kingdom
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Daly, S. F.: Frazil ice dynamics, CRREL Monograph, 84, 46 pp., 1984.
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Fujioka, T. and Sekerka, R. F.: Morphological stability of disc crystals, J. Cryst. Growth, 24-25, 84-93, https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-0248(74)90284-X, 1974. [OpenAIRE]
Galton-Fenzi, B. K., Hunter, J. R., Coleman, R., Marsland, S. J., and Warner, R. C.: Modeling the basal melting and marine ice accretion of the Amery Ice Shelf, J. Geophys. Res., 117, C09031, https://doi.org/10.1029/2012JC008214, 2012.
Godlovitch, D., Illner, R., and Monahan, A.: Smoluchowski coagulation models of sea ice thickness distribution dynamics, J. Geophys. Res., 116, C12005, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JC007125, 2011.
Gough, A., Mahoney, A., Langhorne, P., Williams, M., Robinson, N., and Haskell, T.: Signatures of supercooling: McMurdo Sound platelet ice, J. Glaciol., 58, 38-50, https://doi.org/10.3189/2012JoG10J218, 2012.
Hanley, T. O. and Tsang, G.: Formation and properties of frazil in saline water, Cold Reg. Sci. Technol., 8, 209-221, https://doi.org/10.1016/0165-232X(84)90052-1, 1984.
- University of Oxford United Kingdom
- THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD United Kingdom
- Department of Earth Sciences University of Oxford United Kingdom
- University of Oxford, Department of Physics United Kingdom
- Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics Department of Physics University of Oxford United Kingdom
The growth of frazil or granular ice is an important mode of ice formation in the cryosphere. Recent advances have improved our understanding of the microphysical processes that control the rate of ice-crystal growth when water is cooled beneath its freezing temperature. These advances suggest that crystals grow much faster than previously thought. In this paper, we consider models of a population of ice crystals with different sizes to provide insight into the treatment of frazil ice in large-scale models. We consider the role of crystal growth alongside the other physical processes that determine the dynamics of frazil ice. We apply our model to a simple mixed layer (such as at the surface of the ocean) and to a buoyant plume under a floating ice shelf. We provide numerical calculations and scaling arguments to predict the occurrence of frazil-ice explosions, which we show are controlled by crystal growth, nucleation, and gravitational removal. Faster crystal growth, higher secondary nucleation, and slower gravitational removal make frazil-ice explosions more likely. We identify steady-state crystal size distributions, which are largely insensitive to crystal growth rate but are affected by the relative importance of secondary nucleation to gravitational removal. Finally, we show that the fate of plumes underneath ice shelves is dramatically affected by frazil-ice dynamics. Differences in the parameterization of crystal growth and nucleation give rise to radically different predictions of basal accretion and plume dynamics, and can even impact whether a plume reaches the end of the ice shelf or intrudes at depth.