Total-dissolvable iron has been measured in sections of three ice cores from Law Dome, East Antarctica, and the results used to calculate atmospheric iron deposition over this region during the late Holocene and to provide a preliminary estimate of aerosol iron deposition during the Last Glaciol Maximum I LGM). Ice-core sections dating from 56-2730 BP (late Holocene) and ~18000 BP (LGM) were decontaminated using trace-metal clean techniques, and total-dissolvable iron was determined in the acidified meltwatcrs by flow-injection analysis. Our results suggest that the atmospheric iron flux onto the Law Dome region has varied significantly over time-scales ranging from seasonal to Glaciol-interglaciol. The iron concentrations in ice-core sections from the past century suggest (1) a 2 4-fold variation in the atmospheric iron flux over a single annual cycle, with the highest flux occurring during the spring and summer, and (2) a nearly 7-fold variation in the annual maximum atmospheric iron flux over a 14 year period. The average estimated atmospheric iron flux calculated from our late-Holocene samples is 0.056-0.14 mg m a−1, which agrees well with Holocene flux estimates derived from aluminium measurements in inland Antarctic ice cores and a recent order-of-magnitude estimate of present-day atmospheric iron deposition over the Southern Ocean. The iron concentration of an ice-corc section dating from the LGM was more than 50 times higher than in the late-Holocene ice samples. Using a snow-accumulation rate estimate of 130 kg m −2 a−1 for this period, we calculate 0.87 mgm −2 a−1 as a preliminary estimate of atmospheric iron deposition during the LGM, which is 6-16 times greater than our average late-Holocene iron flux. Our data are consistent with the suggestion that there was a significantly greater flux of atmospheric iron onto the Southern Ocean during the LGM than during then Holocene.

High-resolution (>10 samples a−1) glaciochemical analyses covering the last 110 years from a Siplc Dome, Antarctica, ire core reveal limited migration of certain soluble ionic species (methane sulfonic acid, NO3− and Mg2+). The observed chemical migration may be due in part to seasonal alternation between less acidic winter (from high sea-salt concentrations) and more acidic summer (from high marine biogenic acid concentrations) layers, common at coastal siles such as Siplc Dome. Exact mechanisms to expla in the migration are unclear, although simple diffusion and gravitational movement are unlikely since new peaks are formed where none previously existed in each case. Initial migration of each species is both shallower and earlier at Siple Dome than at other sites in Antarctica where similar phenomena have been observed, which may be related to the relatively low accumulation rate at Siple Dome (~13.3 cm ice a−1). Migration appears to be limited to either the preceding or following seasonal layer for each species, suggesting that paleoclimatic interpretations based on dala with lower than annual resolution are not likely to be affected.

During the austral summer of 1993-94 a number of 1-2 m deep snow pits were sampled in connection with firn-coring in western Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica. The traverse went from 800 to about 3000 m a.s.l. upon the high-altitude plateau. Profiles of cations (Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+), anions (Cl−, NO3-, SO42- , CH3SO3−) and stable oxygen isotopes (δ18O) from 11 snow pils are presented here. Close to the coast 2 m of snow accumulates in about 2-3 years, whilst at sites on the high-altitude plateau 2 m of snow accumulates in 10—14 years. The spatial variation in ion concentrations shows that the ions can be divided into two groups, one with sea-salt elements and methane sulfonate and the other with nitrate and sulfate. For the sca-salt elements and methane sulfonate the concentrations decrease with increasing altitude and increasing distance from the coast, as well as with decreasing temperature and decreasing accumulation rate. For nitrate and sulfate the concentrations are constant or increase with respect to these parameters. This pattern suggests that the sources for sca-salt elements and methane sulfonate are local, whereas the sources for nitrate and sulfate are a mixture of local and long-range transport.

Seasonal cycles of the chemical species Na+, Κ+ , Mg2+, Ca2+, CH3SO3 (MSA) Cl− NO3− and NO3− in the Dome Summit South (DSS) ice core from Law Dome were measured for a number of epochs (AD 1809-15, 1821-31 1980-92) span-nine a total of 28 years. These preliminary trace-chemical patterns show that the DSS site is mainly affected by marine air. The main features found in the seasonal pattern of sea-salt concentrations (e.g. Na+, Cl− and Mg2+) were a winter peak and a summer minimum. The variations in sea salts are believed to reflect aerosol production and transport due to the level of storminess, and are less affected by sea-ice extent. The seasonal cycles of marine biogenic compounds, non-sea-salt SO42- and MSA are in good agreement. They show a characteristic summer maximum arid a winter minimum, due to variations in biological activity. While the main sources of nitrate in polar snow remain unclear, the seasonal signal, including sub-seasonal structure, at DSS resembles that found m the atmosphere at coastal Antarctic sites. However, the timing of the nitrate maximum is different in the ice-core record compared with the aerosol records. Overall, the results indicate that the DSS core, with sub-seasonal resolution, contains a sensitive record for investigating climate variability.

An ion chromatographic method for the determination of fluoride and some organic anions (lactate, acetate, glycolate, propionate, formate, methane sulphonate and pyruvate) at sub-μgl−1 concentration levels is applied to a 22 m (63 years) firn core drilled at Hercules Névé, northern Victoria Land, Antarctica. The first effective distribution data of acetate, propionate and formate for this region are reponed here. Mean values of 9.9,7.7 and 2.4 μgl−1 were calculated for acetate, Formate and propionate, respectively, in the absence of particular events (background values).

The temporal (1928-82) concentration/depth profiles of these components showed a probable long-term biomass-burning event in the 1930s that can be related back to processes in the Southern Hemisphere. Such burning events may be demonstrated from the simultaneous concentration increase of carboxylic acid, potassium, ammonium and fluoride and from a very high dust content. Similar increasing trends in the same time period are not shown by other snow components usually considered as source indicators (methane sulphonic acid: biogenic marker; nssSO42- : biogenic and volcanic indicator; Na+ and Cl−: sea-spray contribution; Ca2+ : crustal input), so it was possible to exclude such alternative explanations.

By consideration of model-generated atmospheric data, dominant anomalies in the synoptic circulation patterns are observed under conditions of high Antarctic precipitation. This is associated with strong moisture advection of marine origin. Examining precipitation at individual locations reveals a strong relationship between local surface temperature and precipitation amount. Days with > 5 mm of precipitation (which, on average, corresponds to about 8% of days over Antarctica) have surface temperatures that are around 10°C warmer than the mean. This bias suggest that abnormal conditions are captured in the ice-core record and that interpretation or reconstruction of palaeotemperatures will succeed only under the possibly flawed assumption that similar abnormal conditions existed at the time of deposition. Although isotopic analysis of Antarctic ice cores has been used successfully in palaeoclimate studies, a complete understanding of the underlying processes affecting the deposition of the core remains to be found. It is reasoned that by obtaining such an understanding, it may be possible to reconstruct the synoptic conditions under which accumulation occurred.

In the Antarctic, climate-scale anomalies of surface temperature (Ts) are associated with the atmospheric circulation and also sea-ice conditions. Negative (positive) anomalies of station Ts tend to accompany more (less) extensive sea ice in broadly similar longitudes. However, the relationship between temperature and sea-ice conditions during large interannual variations of the circulation has been little explored, as has its association over longer distances within Antarctica. This study examines the inter-associations between Ts at seven automatic weather stations in East Antarctica and the Ross Sea area, and sea-ice conditions in the sector 30° Ε eastward to 60° W for the three ice-growth seasons (March-October) of 1987-89. Strong between-year differences occur in the intercorrelalions among station Ts, sectoral içe extent and the relationship between the two climate variables, especially for 1988 and 1989. These differences are also expressed in the patterns of cold-air mesoscale cyclogenesis over sub-Antarctic latitudes. The study indicates that the Ts-sea-ice link is modulated strongly in the presence of large-scale interannual anomalies of the atmospheric circulation, including the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO).

Daily A ntarrtir sea-ice concentration, wind and temperature data for the years 1988-94 were analyzed using Fourier techniques to determine their temporal spectra for three equal-length “seasons". The percentage of the total variance explained (VE) by each individual wave (i.e. frequency] was calculated, and spatial averages made over six latitudinal hands surrounding Antarctica. Comparisons of trie sea-ice concentration, wind stress and surface air-temperature spectra showed sea-ice concentration VE has smallest, and wind-stress VE greatest, value in the synoptic time-scales. Conversely, in the 20-25 day window the wind-stress VE is smallest, and sea-ice concentration VE greatest. This “red shift” of the sea-ice concentration suggests it has inertia to the wind slress and temperature Forcing. Resulls show the magnitude of the red shift varies with not only time of year, but also distance from the coast, and is dependent upon the position of the Antarctic circumpolar trough.

An atmosphere–sea-ice model is used in combination with results from a coupled atmosphere–ocean–sea-ice model to examine the changes of the Antarctic sea-ice cover influenced by atmospheric circulation associated with the global sea-surface temperature (SST) changes alone over the past century. Using the current climatological SST of Reynolds for forcing, a reasonable seasonal simulation of the Antarctic sea-ice cover for the present climate (including ice concentration, thickness and coverage) is obtained. When global SST anomalies for the past century (derived from the coupled atmosphere–ocean–sea-ice model) are imposed, sea ice becomes more extensive, on the annual average, by 0.7-1.2° of latitude, more compact by about 5-7%, and thicker by 7-13 cm, than at present. These changes are similar to those simulated from changes in greenhouse gases using the coupled atmosphere–ocean–sea-ice model which gave corresponding changes of about 0.8° of latitude in extent, 6% in ice concentration and 12 cm in ice thickness. The simulated change in annual mean global surface temperature by the coupled atmosphere–ocean–sea-ice model was 0.7 Κ (0.6 Κ over the ocean including sea ice) which is similar to the observed change. Over the Antarctic the corresponding simulated change is 1.2 Κ which also appears compatible with observations.

A study of polynya characteristics in East Antarctica was undertaken using ice concentrations derived from special sensor microwave/imager data for the period July 1987-August 1994. The areas of polynyas were defined as having an ice concentration ≤75%. The analysis revealed a total of 28 coastal polynyas within the study region. The spatial and temporal variability in areal extent was quantified. The timing of mean maximum areal extent varied from June to October. The bathymetry and wind regime at each polynya site was examined to gauge the relative importance of these parameters in polynya formation and maintenance. In 20 locations, shallow banks and shoals form grounding zones for icebergs and anchoring sites for fast ice, which form barriers to the predominantly westward drift of the pack ice; elsewhere north-south coastal protrusions or alignments form similar barriers. The subsequent removal of newly formed sea ice from the lee of such barriers by katabatic and synoptic winds maintains areas of reduced ice concentration and open water. Very few coastal polynyas are attributed solely to katabatic outflow. The combined influence of bathymetry, topography and winds is responsible for the characteristics of the majority of polynyas. Many were considered to be marginal, characterised by occasional periods when the ice concentration falls below 75%. An analysis of annual winter totals of areas with ice concentrations < 75% shows no trends in total polynya areal extent over the period 1987-94. Known locations of emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) rookeries were also found to be associated with the locations of coastal polynyas.

The importance of monitoring sea ice for studies of global climate has been well noted for several decades. Observations have shown that sea ice exhibits large seasonal variability in extent, concentration and thickness. These changes have a significant impact on climate, and the potential nature of many of these connections has been revealed in studies with numerical models. An accurate representation of the sea-ice distribution (including ice extent, concentration and thickness) in climate models is therefore important for modelling global climate change. This work presents an overview of the observed sea-ice characteristics in the East Antarctic pack ice (60-150° E) and outlines possible improvements to the simulation of sea ice over this region by modifying the ice-thickness parameterisation in a coupled sea-ice-atmosphere model, using observational data of ice thickness and concentration. Sensitivity studies indicate that the simulation of East Antarctic sea ice can be improved by modifying both the “lead parameterisation” and “rafting scheme” to be ice-thickness dependent. The modelled results are currently out of phase with the observed data, and the addition of a multilevel ice-thickness distribution would improve the simulation significantly.

Sca-icc drift and deformation were measured with an array of drifting buoys during a 1995 winter experiment off the East Antarctic continental shelf south of the Antarctic Divergence. The buoys were configured so that deformation of the icefield could be monitored on a range of spatial scales from 2 to 130 km. The mean hourly drift rate during the 3 week-long experiment was 0.21 m s−1, and the mean daily translation of the field was 17.3 km. Differential kinematic parameters calculated from the data show a very high short-term variance, indicating that high-frequency processes are dominant. Spectral analysis of the velocity data shows a major peak of the energy spectrum at the frequency of passage of synoptic weather systems, and a second peak at the inertial frequency. A major storm event occurred during the experiment. Net divergence over this phase of the experiment, as measured by a five-buoy array, is small compared to the short-period variance. This alternating divergence and convergence has a marked effect on the net ice growth. Intense freezing and rapid new ice formation occurs in the open water areas formed during divergence, and this is thickened by rafting and ridge-building during the subsequent convergence. New open water areas equivalent to 10% of the total area formed during the first phase of the experiment. A one-dimensional multilayer thermodynamic model of ice growth shows that this led to an increase of 2.8 cm in the area-averaged ice growth over a 7 day interval, which is equivalent to 40-50% of the total estimated ice growth over the region.

The manner in which sea ice breaks up determines its floe-size distribution. This, together with any redistribution due to ocean currents or winds, alters the fluxes between the atmosphere and the underlying ocean. Many materials fail at stresses well below their flexural strength when subject to repeated bending, such processes being termed fatigue. in some materials a stress exists below which the material will maintain its integrity even if subjected to an infinite number of load cycles. This stress is termed the endurance limit. We report a scries of field experiments to investigate the fatigue behaviour of first-year sea ice that subjected in situ cantilever beams to repeated bending with zero mean stress. These tests suggest that an endurance limit exists for sea ice, and that it is approximately 60% of the flexural strength. Using theory and data from wave experiments performed in similar conditions to the fatigue experiments, estimates are made of the conditions under which wave-induced break-up occurs. These indicate that fatigue may be a neglected ingredient of sea-ice failure due to wave-induced motion.

Due to frequent and intense storm systems moving across the Antarctic sea ice, ice drift and deformation fluctuate substantially. Observations of drilling buoys show inertial power to be a substantial component of ice drift and deformation. Because the inertial period at high latitudes is close to tidal periods, this peak can be amplified due to resonance. in practice, the energy dissipation by ice interaction plays a significant role in dampening out this inertial energy. in present sea-ice dynamics models both with and without ice interaction, this inertial motion is overdamped due to the underestimation of coupling to the ocean boundary layer. To develop a more consistent treatment of ice drift under fluctuating wind fields, we consider here a vertically integrated formulation of the ice-ocean boundary-layer system that incorporates a more realistic treatment of the upper ocean. Under steady wind conditions this model reduces to the normal water-drag formulation used in most sea-ice dynamics models. Simulations using this “imbedded” model are analyzed to elucidate the role of ice interaction in the Antarctic ice-pack in modifying the high-frequency motion and inducing deformation which in turn significantly impact ice-thickness characteristics. The simulations demonstrate that in an interacting ice field in the presence of kinematic waves inertial imbedding can lead to oscillations in ice concentration of up to ~10% open water. These variations are similar in magnitude to observed deformation fluctuations in tide-free regions.

Sea-ice extent and concentration are routinely measured using satellite sensors. However, regional estimates of sea-ice thickness cannot be measured directly from space, and largely depend on field observations with in the pack ice. One difficulty is estimating the amount of ice contained in pressure ridges. These ridges can contribute substantially to the total ice volume, yet are highly variable both spatially and temporally. Here we provide estimates of sea-ice ridge height and frequency in the East Antarctic region around 65° S, 140° E. We calculate ridge height distributions using high-resolution (< 1 m) digital aerial photography collected in August 1995. Wc examine the ridge height distribution and ridge concentration from near the coast of Antarctica northwards to the marginal ice zone. The area-averaged volume of ice in ridges contributes 0.06-1.35 m to the undeformed ice thickness in winter. There is a band of less deformed ice centred around 65° S, with more highly deformed ice to the south. Similar features are identified in satellite synthetic aperture radar data collected over the same region in August 1995 and 1996, and in observations of sea-ice characteristics collected during field experiments.

Sea ice is a highly mobile component of the Antarctic environment. Its velocity and deformation are critical processes, important in global climate models. These variables are determined by the balance of atmospheric and oceanic forces on each ice Hoe and variations in these forcings, and can produce regions ofdivcrgence or convergence. Surface drag coefficients relate the forces due to wind or water to the stress applied to the ice floe. This study adds to the limited drag coefficients reported previously for Antarctic data.

Surface elevation profiles were collected during two ship-based voyages to the Weddell Sea in 1992 and 1994, and were also recorded on Ice Station Weddell in 1992. These data are used to derive surface drag coefficients using an empirical formulation following Banke and others (1980). The eastern and western regions of the Weddell Sea contain primarily first- and second-year ice, respectively. Despite these different ice types, the drag coefficients calculated are similar. The difieren! ice-drifl/wind-speed ratio in the two regions suggests a difference in ocean currents, internal ice stress or water drag. The drag coefficients calculated ranged between 1.2 X 10 −3 and 2.2 X 10 −3 The results compare well with other published Antarctic coefficients, and are generally smaller than those reported for the Arctic.

The snow cover on Antarctic sea iee often depresses the ice below sea level, allowing brine or seawaier to infíltrale, or flood the snowpack. This significantly reduces the thermal insulation properties of the snow cover, and increases the ocean/ atmosphere heat flux. The subsequent refreezing of this saturated snow or slush layer, to form snow-ice, can account for a significant percentage of the total ice mass in some regions. The extent of saturated snow cannot presently be estimated from satellite remote-sensing data and, because it is often hidden by a layer of dry snow, cannot be estimated from visual observations. Here, we use non-parametric statistics to combine sea-ice and snow thickness data from drillhole measurements with routine visual observations of snow and ice characteristics to estimate the extent of brine-infiltrated snow. The data were collected duringjuly-August 1994 from the R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer in the eastern Weddell Sea from 60° to 68° S latitude and from 20° wto 5° E longitude.

This paper presents surface temperature data collected over East Antarctic sea ice by two thermal infrared radiometers mounted on the RSV Aurora Australis in March-May 1993. Operating at wavelengths equivalent to those utilised by channels 4 and 5 of AVHRR and similar channels of ATSR, the radiometers provided high-reso-lution data on surface (skin) temperature along the ship track. Additional information on the sea-ice conditions was obtained from hourly observations made from The ship's bridge, video footage and direct measurements made at ice stations. Following calibration, time series of temperatures from each of the radiometers were compared wi th ice-surface and near-surface air temperatures. Observed changes in the surface temperature are related to different snow and ice conditions. For a given air temperature, the surface temperature depends upon the thickness of ice and its snow cover. While open water areas (leads) have temperatures near -2.0°C, thick ice is characterised by surface temperatures which approximate those of the air. Taken as a whole, the along-track profile of surface temperature provides a proxy estimate of The proportion of open water and thin ice with in the pack. The presence of a snow cover has a significant effect on the surface temperature. It is anticipated that the results will be of use in the validation of sea-ice models and satellite thermal infrared data.

We report the first results from a programme recently set up to directly measure the thermal conductivity of young sea ice.

An array of thermistors frozen into first-year Antarctic sea ice provides temperature vs depth data, which is fitted directly with a partial differential equation for heat conduction. Temperatures are recorded every hour at 20 vertical intervals of 100 mm over a period of 5 months, allowing accurate and direct estimation of the thermal conductivity. Preliminary results indicate that the thermal conductivity is in the expected range, with some evidence of non-linear effects deeper in the ice. A larger variance in data is evident at higher temperature gradients and at greater depths in the ice.

Preliminary modelling of the impact of brine migration on heat transport through first-year sea ice is presented. Diffusion-driven brine pocket migration is too slow to contribute significantly to heat flow, but the convective instability of inclined brine slots or tubes is a promising mechanism.

A high-resolution primitive equation ocean model has been coupled to a dynamic/thermodynamic sea-ice model and applied to a region of the Southern Ocean south of Australia. The model is found to be very sensitive to the surface fresh-water flux! A stable seasonal cycle of sea-ice advance and retreat is simulated only for sufficient surface fresh-water fluxes. For fresh-water fluxes below a threshold value of around 40 cm a−1 the coupled system enters a thermal mode characterised by vertical homogeneity of the oceanic temperature and salinity fields. Such an ocean has a surface temperature that is too warm for a sea-ice cover to develop. Spatial and temporal variability of the oceanic heat llux into the upper model layer iS examined for the stable simulations. High values of this oceanic heat flux (~40Wm−2) occur during the sea-ice formation period (March-June), with values as low as 5 wM−2 occurring in November. The source of this heat is primarily convective, a process induced by brine rejection during ice growth.