The texture of snow has a great impact on the mechanical and thermal properties of a snowpack. The texture index (TI) is a new concept to quantify the texture of snow at the micro- and mesoscale, a scale at which the properties of snow layers are responsible for the stability of a snowpack. It is calculated by taking the ratio of mean grain-size (mm) of snow to density (kg m−3) of snow in a given layer. It combines a microstructural with a mesostructural parameter. An empirically derived TI is compared with a simulated TI for laboratory experimental snow and natural snow profiles. TheTI was calculated throughout the development of three temperature-gradient snow experiments from laboratory measurements of grain-size and density. In a one-dimensional finite-element snowpack model (SNOWPACK), the development of the mean grain-size and density of these snow samples was simulated. It can be shown that the measured TI can be predicted by the modelled TI. Furthermore, three natural snow profiles from the Weissfluhjoch (Switzerland) test-field are compared with their simulations in terms of TI. This comparison reveals shortcomings in the measurement of fundamental parameters. It also shows the dependency of a good physical model on quantitative process descriptions at the microscale TheTI can be estimated using the force signal of the SnowMicroPen, a new high-resolution snow micropenetrometer. It is suggested that more accurate classical measurements combined with penetrometer measurements in the immediate vicinity of the snow profile will allow better verification of SNOWPACK simulations.

We present regression models to estimate maximum avalanche run-out distances in the western Catalan Pyrenees (northeast Spain). The regression equations have been calculated from topographic parameters of 216 well-known avalanche paths, mapped on avalanche location maps at a scale of 1: 50 000. Historical information about avalanche maximum run-out zones has been available for some avalanche paths hut most of them have been delimited by vegetation and geomorphological indices.

The avalanche profiles, which are representative of avalanche paths, have been classified on the basis of avalanche run-out zone morphology, because this has a considerable influence on avalanche behaviour and run-out. Three classes have been defined and regression equations obtained for each class and also for the total. Finally, some examples have been calculated in order to appreciate the applicability of the models to improving avalanche mapping.

The metamorphism of snow in the absence of a significant temperature gradient was investigated. The first part of the study involved analytical modeling of the exchange of mass between grains of differing surface curvature and the process of intergranular sintering. Physical models were developed to evaluate these two processes. For the first process, it was assumed that mass exchange took place primarily by vapor transport between neighboring grains. The principles of mass balance, momentum balance and energy balance were utilized to evaluate time and spatial variations in temperature, vapor velocity, vapor pressure and mass exchange between the two grains. For the second process, mass exchange was also assumed to be dominated by vapor flow from the grain surface to the neck surface. The same variables were solved for in this second process. Results obtained show that, as expected, the exchange rates between grains of different surface curvature depend upon the radii of curvature, pore size and temperature. The rate of sintering, as determined by the rate of vapor deposition on the neck is determined by temperature, grain curvature, and neck curvature. In addition to the physical modeling, an experimental program was undertaken to measure rates of metamorphism in specially prepared snow consisting of fine-grained spherical particles. This snow was made using specialized instrumentation developed in Japan. The mean grain size was 20 μm, which, while very small, allowed the observation of measurable changes in snow microstructure over short time spans. Test results showed that the grain size increased markedly with time and that the small grains were sacrificed as the large grains acquired mass from the smaller grains.

Breiðamerkurjökull flows from the Vatnajökull ice cap and calves into the Jökulsárlón proglacial lagoon. The lagoon is connected to the North Atlantic Ocean through a 6 m deep narrow channel. Four hydrographic surveys in spring 2012, and a 2011 4-month long temperature and salinity time series of lagoon inflow show that the lake has significantly changed since 1976. Warm saline ocean water enters each tidal cycle and descends below the maximum sampled depths. The lagoon has a surface layer of ice melt, freshwater and Atlantic derived water. Beneath 10 m depth an advective/diffusive balance is responsible for determining the temperature and salinity of the lagoon waters down to ~90 m. To maintain the observed hydrographic structure, we calculate an upwelling of deep water of ~0.2 m d−1. A survey within 30 m of Breiðamerkurjökull showed that the warmest and most saline waters sampled within the lagoon below 10 m depth were adjacent to the glacier face, along with multiple interleaved warm and cold layers. A heat and salt balance model shows that submarine melting along the ice face generates multiple meltwater plumes that are mixed and diluted within 200 m of the ice face.

A model of icicle growth has been developed based on an analytical solution of the differential forms of the conservation of energy and mass. The problem has been formulated using dimensionless variables defined as the ratios of the various heat fluxes which determine the icicle’s growth. The evolution of the dimensionless icicle shape has been expressed as a function of the variation of the convective heat transfer with icicle radius. The time interval needed for the icicle to reach its maximum length and the variation of the icicle mass and drip rate are expressed in dimensionless form.

Although altimeters have been widely used to monitor the spatiotemporal variation of sea-ice thickness, they are unable to separate sea-ice freeboard from snow depth. We use a floating GPS deployed on sea ice to derive the freeboard and snow depth near China's Zhongshan Station. Our results show that the standalone floating GPS can monitor freeboard with a precision of 4.2 cm. If time-varying dynamic ocean topography provided by, for example, a bottom pressure gauge is available, then the precision of GPS-derived freeboard can improve to 1.3 cm. The daily snow depth inverted by GPS interferometric reflectometry captures three precipitation events during our experiment, showing that the floating GPS can monitor the variation in snow depth and observe the freeboard variation at the same time. By studying the relationship between freeboard, snow depth and sea-ice thickness, we find that sea-ice thickness will be greatly underestimated by the negative single-point freeboard under the assumption of hydrostatic equilibrium. As a supplement to existing technologies, the GPS-derived freeboard and snow depth can be used both to evaluate the altimeter observations directly and to improve our understanding of the real-time variation of freeboard and snow depth in the experimental area.

We investigate the possibility of obtaining the mass balance of Vatnajökull, Iceland, from US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) albedo images for the years 1991-2002. De Ruyter de Wildt and others (2002) demonstrated that the mean potential absorbed radiation (〈Qpot,net〉) averaged over the melting season correlates well with the mean specific mass balance and that 〈Qpot,net〉 can be estimated from the evolution of the surface albedo. Here, we improve the retrieval method of de Ruyter de Wildt and others (2002) by introducing the more realistic 6S atmospheric transfer model and by adding the latest narrow-to-broadband (NTB) albedo conversion equations. Bidirectional reflectance distribution functions for both ice and snow are used where appropriate. We show that the choice of the NTB conversion equations greatly influences the calculated 〈Qpot,net〉. Measured mass balance correlates well with 〈Qpot,net〉 if enough cloud-free images can be found through the year and if the spatial variation in measured mass balances is high enough. The correlation coefficient for all drainage basins combined is 0.92, with a residual standard deviation of 0.18 m w.e. We present an estimated mass-balance series for the whole of Vatnajökull based on our findings. Switching between different AVHRR instruments over time may cause serious errors in the calculated mass balance.

Annual and winter (December–April) sea-ice area and extent are calculated for the Greenland Sea (GS) and Barents Sea (BS) from daily ice concentrations obtained from space-borne microwave radiometry for 1979–2003. The ice extent decreases significantly, particularly during winter, by 65 000 km2 (decade)–1 in the GS and by 72 000 km2 (decade)–1 in the BS. Ice-extent fractions (of these total extents) occupied by ice of five different ice-concentration ranges are calculated and analyzed. Changes in these fractions are again significant and most pronounced during winter. In the GS, the fraction of close to very compact ice (65–95%) decreases by 17 000 km2 (decade)–1 and the fraction of very compact ice (>95%) increases by 29 000 km2 (decade)–1, corresponding to a loss of 19% and a gain of 58% relative to the 25 year mean, respectively. In the BS, the fraction of close to compact ice (65–85%) increases by 26 000km2 (decade)–1 and the fraction with compact to very compact ice (>85%) decreases by 66 000 km2 (decade)–1, corresponding to a gain of 30% and a loss of 67% relative to the 25 year mean, respectively. The changing surface wind pattern analyzed from ERA-40 data favours this increasing (decreasing) ice compactness in the GS (BS).

Changing Arctic sea-ice extent and melt season duration, and increasing economic interest in the Arctic have prompted the need for enhanced marine ecosystem studies and improvements to dynamical and forecast models. Sea-ice melt pond fraction fp has been shown to be correlated with the September minimum ice extent due to its impact on ice albedo and heat uptake. Ice forecasts should benefit from knowledge of fp as melt ponds form several months in advance of ice retreat. This study goes further back by examining the potential to predict fp during winter using backscatter data from the commonly available Sentinel-1 synthetic aperture radar. An object-based image analysis links the winter and spring thermodynamic states of first-year and multiyear sea-ice types. Strong correlations between winter backscatter and spring fp, detected from high-resolution visible to near infrared imagery, are observed, and models for the retrieval of fp from Sentinel-1 data are provided (r2 ≥ 0.72). The models utilize HH polarization channel backscatter that is routinely acquired over the Arctic from the two-satellite Sentinel-1 constellation mission, as well as other past, current and future SAR missions operating in the same C-band frequency. Predicted fp is generally representative of major ice types first-year ice and multiyear ice during the stage in seasonal melt pond evolution where fp is closely related to spatial variations in ice topography.

All studies and models of air—sea-ice interactions suffer from a paucity of information about the oceanic heat flux, which exerts a controlling influence on the sea-ice energy and mass balance. The role of the oceanic heat flux in the sea-ice energy and mass balance is discussed. The performance of ice-ocean models depends on a satisfactory specification of this rarely measured oceanic parameter. A method for determining the oceanic heat flux by measuring the temperatures and thickness of sea ice is described. The results obtained using this method and the data collected during the fall of 1988 in the eastern Arctic are presented. Values of the oceanic heat flux ranging from 0 to 37 W m−2 were estimated from observations taken in the region north-east of Fram Strait. The oceanic heat flux in this region varied in both time and space.

To make clear the structure and behaviour of a large-scale avalanche, the impact force-data obtained in the avalanche project of 1972–78 were analysed in detail. The wave forms of impact forces are classified into two types. Type 1 is composed of many separate spikes each of which represents the collision of a snow block. Type 2 has wider peaks, caused by collisons of snow blocks mixed with fluidized snow. Most of the type 1 peaks were in the width range corresponding to 0.005–0.01 s duration, and most type 2 peaks fell into the 0.02–0.1 s range.

The internal velocities of an avalanche were estimated by calculating cross-correlation spectra for a time series of impact-force records. It was discovered that these internal velocities varied from 10 to 50 m/s over time. The mean distance between snow blocks was found to be in the range 1.6–5.4 m in a type 1 avalanche, and between 0.7 and 3 m in type 2 avalanches. Sizes of snow blocks or snow clouds of type 1 and type 2 were in ranges 0.26–0.52 and 0.37–1.9 m, respectively.

This paper also reports on the project created to initiate artificial powder-snow avalanches in the Shiai-dani area and to make systematic observations of a variety of physical aspects. Results obtained in 1988 for both artificial and natural avalanches are given.

The yearly paired process of slow growth and rapid melt of some 15 million square kilometers of Antarctic sea ice takes place with a regular asymmetry; the process has been linked to the relationship of the position of the ice edge with the band of low pressure that circles the continent between 60° and 70°S. In autumn, winds to the north of the low-pressure band slow the advancing ice edge. In summer, Ekman divergence created by opposing winds on either side of the low-pressure band opens up warm water regions that rapidly melt sea ice. We use the 40 ensemble members from the CESM-LENS historical run (1920–2005) to examine the relationship between the asymmetry in the annual cycle and the position and intensity of the low-pressure band. CESM-LENS reproduces the magnitude of the annual cycle of Antarctic sea ice extent with a short lag (2 weeks). Melt rate is the characteristic of the annual cycle that varies the most. Our results provide evidence that lower pressure leads to increased melt rates, which supports the importance of the role of divergence in increasing the melt rate of Antarctic sea ice. The role of winds during the growing season remains unquantified.

A snow-pit and hand-drilled core have been sampled at Spaatz Island in the Antarctic Peninsula to obtain evidence on the importance of short-term fluctuations of heavy metal (Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn) concentrations. A programme of air sampling was undertaken at the same time to investigate directly the link between concentrations in air and in snow. The snow samples and air filters have been analysed by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) following preconcentration on tungsten wires and by differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV). One sequence of snow samples was preconcentrated in the field and analysed later for Cd in the laboratory.

The snow analyses confirm that year-to-year variations in heavy metal concentrations may be comparable with changes due to long-term variations in global emission rates to the atmosphere from industrial sources. The importance of understanding these apparently meteorologically controlled processes is underlined. Averaged data from the combined air/snow sampling programme show a satisfactory linear relationship between concentrations in air and in snow for both the heavy metals and for the cation component of the marine aerosol. The results, considered in the light of Junge's model for static rainout, give a ratio for concentration in air (ng m−3)/concentration in snow (ng g−1) of 0.6±0.3.

Water-filled boreholes in cold ice refreeze in hours to days, and prior attempts to keep them open with antifreeze resulted in a plug of slush effectively freezing the hole even faster. Thus, antifreeze as a method to stabilize hot-water boreholes has largely been abandoned. In the hot-point drilling case, no external water is added to the hole during drilling, so earlier antifreeze injection is possible while the drill continues melting downward. Here, we use a cylindrical Stefan model to explore slush formation within the parameter space representative of hot-point drilling. We find that earlier injection timing creates an opportunity to avoid slush entirely by injecting sufficient antifreeze to dissolve the hole past the drilled radius. As in the case of hot-water drilling, the alternative is to force mixing in the hole after antifreeze injection to ensure that ice refreezes onto the borehole wall instead of within the solution as slush.

Accurately measuring and monitoring the thickness distribution of thin ice is crucial for accurate estimation of ocean–atmosphere heat fluxes and rates of ice production and salt flux in ice-affected oceans. Here we present results from helicopter-borne brightness temperature (TB) measurements in the Southern Ocean in October 2012 and in the Sea of Okhotsk in February 2009 carried out with a portable passive microwave (PMW) radiometer operating at a frequency of 36 GHz. The goal of these measurements is to aid evaluation of a satellite thin-ice thickness algorithm which uses data from the spaceborne Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer–Earth Observing System AMSR-E) or the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-II (AMSR-II). AMSR-E and AMSR-II TB agree with the spatially collocated mean TB from the helicopter-borne measurements within the radiometers’ precision. In the Sea of Okhotsk in February 2009, the AMSR-E 36GHz TB values are closer to the mean than the modal TB values measured by the helicopter-borne radiometer. In an Antarctic coastal polynya in October 2012, the polarization ratio of 36GHz vertical and horizontal TB is estimated to be 0.137 on average. Our measurements of the TB at 36 GHz over an iceberg tongue suggest a way to discriminate it from sea ice by its unique PMW signature.

A method to detect sub-pixel-scale polynyas with passive microwave data has been developed. Models for the brightness temperature transition from sea ice to shelf ice, with and without a coastal polynya, are generated by simulating the satellite overflight across the coast. The models are compared with image data along transects across the coast; correlation coefficients are used to determine the best-fit model and thereby detect the influence of open water. Polynya areas derived from a single SSM/I overpass compare well with coincident AVHRR data showing a mean difference of 156 km2. A longer time series based on daily averaged SSM/I data over a study area adjacent to research station Halley indicates that the opening and closing of polynyas are highly correlated with station wind data.

A new theory, in which friction is interpreted as the energy flux required to form surface at contact asperities, is applied to sliding on ice and snow. The results of this theoretical investigation show that in dry friction the relevant contact areas are of almost molecular scale. The properties of the interface layer in ice and snow friction arc poorly known, so that the implications of this new theory are somewhat speculative. However, qualitative agreement with experimental data is good, and the theory provides explanations to the success of some empirically developed methods of improving the frictional properties of skis and sledges.

The Seal Nunataks ice shelf (SNIS, ~743 km2 in 2013) is an unofficial name for a remnant area between the former Larsen A and Larsen B ice shelves off the northeastern Antarctic Peninsula. Analyses using Landsat 7 ETM+ and Terra ASTER images from 2001 to 13 and ICESat altimetry from 2003 to 09 show it has retreated and thinned following the Larsen A (1995) and Larsen B (2002) disintegrations. Despite some regional cooling and more fast ice since 2008, SNIS continues to lose ice along its margins and may be losing contact with some nunataks. Detailed analysis of data from four ICESat tracks indicates that ice shelf thinning rates range between 1.9 and 2.7 m a−1, and generally increase from west to east. An ICESat repeat track crossing the adjacent Robertson Island shows a mean elevation loss of 1.8 m a−1. Two tracks crossing the SNIS's remaining tributary, Rogosh Glacier, show sub-meter elevation losses. Comparing shelf remnant and grounded ice thinning rates implies that basal ocean melting augments SNIS thinning by ~1 m a−1, a rate that is consistent with other estimates of ocean-driven shelf thinning in the region.

Ice thickness measurements have been carried out at the mouths of ice streams D and E, West Antarctica using a surface-based impulse radar. These studies have been undertaken as a part of the continuing effort to understand the state of the West Antarctica ice sheet and its response to climate change. Thickness measurements will be used in the mass balance calculation currently in progress and to better understand features in the surface topography seen at low angle sun illumination in the satellite imagery. Results show that the discharge areas of ice streams D and E are thickening by approximately 1 m per year, and thus that these ice streams are probably loosing mass. Aperiodic wavelike features in the surface topography are described which pose interesting questions about migration of the grounding line and ice-stream dynamics.

About 1200 km of surface-based radio-echo sounding (RES) profiles were measured during the German Antarctic field season 1989-90 on the Filchner Ronne Ice Shelf (FRIS), Antarctica, with a 40 MHz monopulse sounder developed in Münster. In the area investigated, downstream of Doake Ice Rumples and Henry Ice Rise, a basal layer of marine ice up to 400 m thick was found below the meteoric ice, which is less than 100 m thick in some places. High absorption losses and low bottom reflectivity of the basal layer prevented sounding of the total ice thickness, except for areas near the ice edge with strong melting.

From common mid-point (CMP) measurements, the velocities of electromagnetic waves in the ice shelf were determined, to obtain precise depths from travel times for airborne and surface-based soundings.

The continuous profiling yielded the total ice thickness in the northern part and a variety of internal structures, including lavers in the meteoric and the marine ice, remnants of crevasses, varying reflections of the meteoric-marine interface reflection (MMR). From these data, it is shown that the most-disturbed MMR signatures originate at grounding zones at Doake lee Rumples and at both sides of Henry Ice Rise. The status of the meteoric ice bottom is preserved by the formation of marine ice. Hence, structures remain widely unchanged over 400 km of flow. Internal features that can be correlated on parallel profiles perpendicular to the flow provide an independent means for the construction of flow lines. Even in areas with a smooth MMR, reflection amplitudes show variations by a factor of 2. Their spatial frequency is maximal on profiles prependicular to the now direction. A possible explanation for the amplitude variations is the varying salinity of the top of the marine ice.