Light transmission through a sea ice cover has strong implications for the heat content of the upper ocean, the magnitude of bottom and lateral ice melt, and primary productivity in the ocean. Light transmittance in the vicinity of the Multidisciplinary Drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) Central Observatory was estimated by driving a two-stream radiative transfer model with physical property observations. Data include point and transect observations of snow depth, surface scattering layer thickness, ice thickness, and pond depth. The temporal evolution of light transmittance at specific sites and the spatial variability along transect lines were computed. Ponds transmitted 4–6 times as much solar energy per unit area as bare ice. On July 25, ponds covered about 18% of the area and contributed roughly 50% of the sunlight transmitted through the ice cover. Approximating the transmittance along a transect line using average values for the physical properties will always result in lower light transmittance than finding the average light transmittance using the full distribution of points. Transmitted solar energy calculated using the standard five ice thickness categories and three surface types used in the Los Alamos sea ice model CICE, the sea ice component of many weather and climate models, was only about 1 W m^-2 less than using all the points along the transect. This minor difference suggests that the important processes and resulting feedbacks relating to solar transmittance can be represented in models that use five or more categories of ice thickness distributions.

The microstructure of the uppermost portions of a melting Arctic sea ice cover has a disproportionately large influence on how incident sunlight is reflected and absorbed in the ice/ocean system. The surface scattering layer (SSL) effectively backscatters solar radiation and keeps the surface albedo of melting ice relatively high compared to ice with the SSL manually removed. Measurements of albedo provide information on how incoming shortwave radiation is partitioned by the SSL and have been pivotal to improving climate model parameterizations. However, the relationship between the physical and optical properties of the SSL is still poorly constrained. Until now, radiative transfer models have been the only way to infer the microstructure of the SSL. During the MOSAiC expedition of 2019–2020, we took samples and, for the first time, directly measured the microstructure of the SSL on bare sea ice using X-ray micro-computed tomography. We show that the SSL has a highly anisotropic, coarse, and porous structure, with a small optical diameter and density at the surface, increasing with depth. As the melting surface ablates, the SSL regenerates, maintaining some aspects of its microstructure throughout the melt season. We used the microstructure measurements with a radiative transfer model to improve our understanding of the relationship between physical properties and optical properties at 850 nm wavelength. When the microstructure is used as model input, we see a 10–15% overestimation of the reflectance at 850 nm. This comparison suggests that either a) spatial variability at the meter scale is important for the two in situ optical measurements and therefore a larger sample size is needed to represent the microstructure or b) future work should investigate either i) using a ray-tracing approach instead of explicitly solving the radiative transfer equation or ii) using a more appropriate radiative transfer model.

Many modern sea ice models used in global climate models represent the subgrid-scale heterogeneity in sea ice thickness with an ice thickness distribution (ITD), which improves model realism by representing the significant impact of the high spatial heterogeneity of sea ice thickness on thermodynamic and dynamic processes. Most models default to five thickness categories. However, little has been done to explore the effects of the resolution of this distribution (number of categories) on sea-ice feedbacks in a coupled model framework and resulting representation of the sea ice mean state. Here, we explore this using sensitivity experiments in CESM2 with the standard 5 ice thickness categories and 15 ice thickness categories. Increasing the resolution of the ITD in a run with preindustrial climate forcing results in substantially thicker Arctic sea ice year-round. Analyses show that this is a result of the ITD influence on ice strength. With 15 ITD categories, weaker ice occurs for the same average thickness, resulting in a higher fraction of ridged sea ice. In contrast, the higher resolution of thin ice categories results in enhanced heat conduction and bottom growth and leads to only somewhat increased winter Antarctic sea ice volume. The spatial resolution of the ICESat-2 satellite mission provides a new opportunity to compare model outputs with observations of seasonal evolution of the ITD in the Arctic (ICESat-2; 2018–2021). Comparisons highlight significant differences from the ITD modeled with both runs over this period, likely pointing to underlying issues contributing to the representation of average thickness.

The magnitude, spectral composition, and variability of the Arctic sea ice surface albedo are key to understanding and numerically simulating Earth’s shortwave energy budget. Spectral and broadband albedos of Arctic sea ice were spatially and temporally sampled by on-ice observers along individual survey lines throughout the sunlit season (April–September, 2020) during the Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) expedition. The seasonal evolution of albedo for the MOSAiC year was constructed from spatially averaged broadband albedo values for each line. Specific locations were identified as representative of individual ice surface types, including accumulated dry snow, melting snow, bare and melting ice, melting and refreezing ponded ice, and sediment-laden ice. The area-averaged seasonal progression of total albedo recorded during MOSAiC showed remarkable similarity to that recorded 22 years prior on multiyear sea ice during the Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean (SHEBA) expedition. In accord with these and other previous field efforts, the spectral albedo of relatively thick, snow-free, melting sea ice shows invariance across location, decade, and ice type. In particular, the albedo of snow-free, melting seasonal ice was indistinguishable from that of snow-free, melting second-year ice, suggesting that the highly scattering surface layer that forms on sea ice during the summer is robust and stabilizing. In contrast, the albedo of ponded ice was observed to be highly variable at visible wavelengths. Notable temporal changes in albedo were documented during melt and freeze onset, formation and deepening of melt ponds, and during melt evolution of sediment-laden ice. While model simulations show considerable agreement with the observed seasonal albedo progression, disparities suggest the need to improve how the albedo of both ponded ice and thin, melting ice are simulated.

Novel observations of the seasonal evolution of an ice algal bloom on the Chukchi shelf were collected by two autonomous buoys deployed 180 km apart in first-year drifting sea ice. High attenuation of blue light in the bottom of the ice indicated considerable accumulation of ice algae biomass with derived Chlorophyll-a concentrations (Chl a) up to 184 mg m^-2. Differences in the magnitude and persistence of ice algae biomass under each buoy appear to have been driven by differences in snow thickness, as ice thickness was similar between the sites. Minimal snow cover (0.02 m) around one buoy was associated with algae growth beginning in mid-May and lasting 70 days. The second buoy had notably more snow (0.4 m), causing ice algae production to lag behind the first site by approximately 4 weeks. The delay in growth diminished the peak of ice algae Chl a and duration compared to the first site. Light attenuation through the ice was intense enough at both buoys to have a potentially inhibiting impact on water column phytoplankton Chl a. Modeling ice algae growth with observed light intensities determined that nutrients were the limiting resource at the low snow site. In contrast, the algae at the high snow site were light-limited and never nutrient-limited. These data point toward changes in ice algae phenology with an earlier and longer window for growth; and nutrients rather than light determining the longevity and magnitude of production.

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.

The "surface scattering layer" (SSL) is the highly-scattering, coarse-grained ice layer that forms on the surface of melting, drained sea ice during spring and summer. Ice of sufficient thickness with an SSL has an observed persistent broadband albedo of ~0.65, resulting in a strong influence on the regional solar partitioning. Experiments during the Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of the Arctic Climate expedition showed that the SSL re-forms in approximately 1 day following manual removal. Coincident spectral albedo measurements provide insight into the SSL evolution, where albedo increased on sunny days with higher solar insolation. Comparison with experiments in radiative transfer and global climate models show that the sea ice albedo is greatly impacted by the SSL thickness. The presence of SSL is a significant component of the ice-albedo feedback, with an albedo impact of the same order as melt ponds. Changes in SSL and implications for Arctic sea ice within a warming climate are uncertain.

Melt ponds on sea ice play an important role in the Arctic climate system. Their presence alters the partitioning of solar radiation: decreasing reflection, increasing absorption and transmission to the ice and ocean, and enhancing melt. The spatiotemporal properties of melt ponds thus modify ice albedo feedbacks and the mass balance of Arctic sea ice. The Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) expedition presented a valuable opportunity to investigate the seasonal evolution of melt ponds through a rich array of atmosphere-ice-ocean measurements across spatial and temporal scales. In this study, we characterize the seasonal behavior and variability in the snow, surface scattering layer, and melt ponds from spring melt to autumn freeze-up using in situ surveys and auxiliary observations. We compare the results to satellite retrievals and output from two models: the Community Earth System Model (CESM2) and the Marginal Ice Zone Modeling and Assimilation System (MIZMAS). During the melt season, the maximum pond coverage and depth were 21% and 22 ± 13 cm, respectively, with distribution and depth corresponding to surface roughness and ice thickness. Compared to observations, both models overestimate melt pond coverage in summer, with maximum values of approximately 41% (MIZMAS) and 51% (CESM2). This overestimation has important implications for accurately simulating albedo feedbacks. During the observed freeze-up, weather events, including rain on snow, caused high-frequency variability in snow depth, while pond coverage and depth remained relatively constant until continuous freezing ensued. Both models accurately simulate the abrupt cessation of melt ponds during freeze-up, but the dates of freeze-up differ. MIZMAS accurately simulates the observed date of freeze-up, while CESM2 simulates freeze-up one-to-two weeks earlier. This work demonstrates areas that warrant future observation-model synthesis for improving the representation of sea-ice processes and properties, which can aid accurate simulations of albedo feedbacks in a warming climate.

Sediment-laden sea ice is a ubiquitous phenomenon in the Arctic Ocean and its marginal seas. This study presents a satellite-based approach at quantifying the distribution of sediment-laden ice that allows for more extensive observations in both time and space to monitor spatiotemporal variations in sediment-laden ice. A structural-optical model coupled with a four-stream multilayer discrete ordinates method radiative transfer model was used to examine surface spectral albedo for four surface types: clean ice, sediment-laden ice with 15 different sediment loadings from 25 to 1000 g m^-3, ponded ice, and ice-free open water. Based on the fact that the spectral characteristics of sediment-laden ice differ from those other surface types, fractions of sediment-laden ice were estimated from the remotely-sensed surface reflectance by a spectral unmixing algorithm using a least square method. Sensitivity analyses demonstrated that a combination of sediment loads of 50 and 500 g m^-3 effectively represents the areal fraction of sediment-laden ice with a wide range of sediment loads. The estimated fractions of each surface type and corresponding remotely-sensed surface reflectances were used to train an artificial neural network to speed up processing relative to the least squares method. Comparing the fractions of sediment-laden ice derived from these two approaches yielded good agreements for areal fractions of sediment-laden ice, highlighting the superior performance of the neural network for processing large datasets. Although our approach contains potential uncertainties associated with methodological limitations, spatiotemporal variations in sediment-laden ice exhibited reasonable agreement with spatial patterns and seasonal variations reported in the literature on in situ observations of sediment-laden ice. Systematic satellite-based monitoring of sediment-laden ice distribution can provide extensive, sustained, and cost-effective observations to foster our understanding of the role of sediment-laden ice in a wide variety of research fields including sediment transport and biogeochemical cycling.

Year-round observations of the physical snow and ice properties and processes that govern the ice pack evolution and its interaction with the atmosphere and the ocean were conducted during the Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) expedition of the research vessel Polarstern in the Arctic Ocean from October 2019 to September 2020. This work was embedded into the interdisciplinary design of the 5 MOSAiC teams, studying the atmosphere, the sea ice, the ocean, the ecosystem, and biogeochemical processes. The overall aim of the snow and sea ice observations during MOSAiC was to characterize the physical properties of the snow and ice cover comprehensively in the central Arctic over an entire annual cycle. This objective was achieved by detailed observations of physical properties and of energy and mass balance of snow and ice. By studying snow and sea ice dynamics over nested spatial scales from centimeters to tens of kilometers, the variability across scales can be considered. On-ice observations of in situ and remote sensing properties of the different surface types over all seasons will help to improve numerical process and climate models and to establish and validate novel satellite remote sensing methods; the linkages to accompanying airborne measurements, satellite observations, and results of numerical models are discussed. We found large spatial variabilities of snow metamorphism and thermal regimes impacting sea ice growth. We conclude that the highly variable snow cover needs to be considered in more detail (in observations, remote sensing, and models) to better understand snow-related feedback processes. The ice pack revealed rapid transformations and motions along the drift in all seasons. The number of coupled ice–ocean interface processes observed in detail are expected to guide upcoming research with respect to the changing Arctic sea ice.

The melting of sea ice floes from the edges (lateral melting) results in open-water formation and subsequently increases absorption of solar shortwave energy. However, lateral melt plays a small role in the sea ice mass budget in both hemispheres in most climate models. This is likely influenced by the simple parameterization of lateral melting in sea ice models that are constrained by limited observations. Here we use a coupled climate model (CESM2.0) to assess the sensitivity of modeled sea ice state to the lateral melt parameterization in preindustrial and 2xCO₂ runs. The runs explore the implications of how lateral melting is parameterized and structural changes in how it is applied. The results show that sea ice is sensitive both to the parameters determining the effective lateral melt rate and the nuances in how lateral melting is applied to the ice pack. Increasing the lateral melt rate is largely compensated for by decreases in the basal melt rate but still results in a significant decrease in sea ice concentration and thickness, particularly in the marginal ice zone. Our analysis suggests that this is tied to the increased efficiency of lateral melting at forming open water during the summer melt season, which drives the majority of the ice-albedo feedback. The more seasonal Southern Hemisphere ice cover undergoes larger relative reductions in sea ice concentration and thickness for the same relative increase in lateral melt rate, likely due to the hemispheric differences in the role of the sea-ice-upper-ocean coupling. Additionally, increasing the lateral melt rate under a 2xCO₂ forcing, where sea ice is thinner, results in a smaller relative change in sea ice mean state but suggests that open-water-formation feedbacks are likely to steepen the decline to ice-free summer conditions. Overall, melt processes are more efficient at forming open water in thinner ice scenarios (as we are likely to see in the future), suggesting the importance of accurately representing thermodynamic evolution. Revisiting model parameterizations of lateral melting with observations will require finding new ways to represent salient physical processes.

We assess the influence of snow on sea ice in experiments using the Community Earth System Model version 2 for a preindustrial and a 2xCO2 climate state. In the preindustrial climate, we find that increasing simulated snow accumulation on sea ice results in thicker sea ice and a cooler climate in both hemispheres. The sea ice mass budget response differs fundamentally between the two hemispheres. In the Arctic, increasing snow results in a decrease in both congelation sea ice growth and surface sea ice melt due to the snow's impact on conductive heat transfer and albedo, respectively. These factors dominate in regions of perennial ice but have a smaller influence in seasonal ice areas. Overall, the mass budget changes lead to a reduced amplitude in the annual cycle of ice thickness. In the Antarctic, with increasing snow, ice growth increases due to snow–ice formation and is balanced by larger basal ice melt, which primarily occurs in regions of seasonal ice. In a warmer 2xCO2 climate, the Arctic sea ice sensitivity to snow depth is small and reduced relative to that of the preindustrial climate. In contrast, in the Antarctic, the sensitivity to snow on sea ice in the 2xCO2 climate is qualitatively similar to the sensitivity in the preindustrial climate. These results underscore the importance of accurately representing snow accumulation on sea ice in coupled Earth system models due to its impact on a number of competing processes and feedbacks that affect the melt and growth of sea ice.

Colwellia psychrerythraea is a marine psychrophilic bacterium known for its remarkable ability to maintain activity during long‐term exposure to extreme subzero temperatures and correspondingly high salinities in sea ice. These microorganisms must have adaptations to both high salinity and low temperature to survive, be metabolically active, or grow in the ice. Here, we report on an experimental design that allowed us to monitor culturability, cell abundance, activity and proteomic signatures of C. psychrerythraea strain 34H (Cp34H) in subzero brines and supercooled sea water through long‐term incubations under eight conditions with varying subzero temperatures, salinities and nutrient additions. Shotgun proteomics found novel metabolic strategies used to maintain culturability in response to each independent experimental variable, particularly in pathways regulating carbon, nitrogen and fatty acid metabolism. Statistical analysis of abundances of proteins uniquely identified in isolated conditions provide metabolism‐specific protein biosignatures indicative of growth or survival in either increased salinity, decreased temperature, or nutrient limitation. Additionally, to aid in the search for extant life on other icy worlds, analysis of detected short peptides in –10°C incubations after 4 months identified over 500 potential biosignatures that could indicate the presence of terrestrial‐like cold‐active or halophilic metabolisms on other icy worlds.

Over the past four decades, there has been a substantial thinning of the summer sea ice cover in the Beaufort Sea. Variations in sea ice mass balance reflect these changes and give insight to the environmental forcings which caused them. In this work, the time series results from eight Lagrangian mass balance sites that operated in the Beaufort Sea over the years 1997–2015 are analyzed. Direct measurements from the sites are combined with estimates of ice/ocean heat input to examine the roll of solar heating on ice loss, growth, and melt rates. Comparisons between ice and snow conditions and mass balance event timing, for example, surface and bottom melt onset, melt peak, and melt end, are also made. From the late 1990s to the present, a general increase in bottom melting and solar heat input to the upper ocean was observed. All sites showed a net loss of ice (ranging from 29 to 271 cm), and all but one site saw the majority of this loss from bottom melting. Bottom melt onset occurred within a relatively narrow 13‐day window between 1 and 13 June at all sites. The amount of observed bottom melt was also related to the heat deposited in the ocean available for melting, underscoring the increasingly important role of ocean thermodynamics in determining sea ice mass balance.

Field investigations of the properties of heavily melted "rotten" Arctic sea ice were carried out on shorefast and drifting ice off the coast of Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow), Alaska, during the melt season. While no formal criteria exist to qualify when ice becomes rotten, the objective of this study was to sample melting ice at the point at which its structural and optical properties are sufficiently advanced beyond the peak of the summer season. Baseline data on the physical (temperature, salinity, density, microstructure) and optical (light scattering) properties of shorefast ice were recorded in May and June 2015. In July of both 2015 and 2017, small boats were used to access drifting rotten ice within ~32 km of Utqiagvik. Measurements showed that pore space increased as ice temperature increased (–8 to 0°C), ice salinity decreased (10 to 0 ppt), and bulk density decreased (0.9 to 0.6 g cm^-3). Changes in pore space were characterized with thin-section microphotography and X-ray micro-computed tomography in the laboratory. These analyses yielded changes in average brine inclusion number density (which decreased from 32 to 0.01 mm^-3), mean pore size (which increased from 80 μm to 3 mm), and total porosity (increased from 0% to > 45%) and structural anisotropy (variable, with values of generally less than 0.7). Additionally, light-scattering coefficients of the ice increased from approximately 0.06 to > 0.35 cm^-1 as the ice melt progressed. Together, these findings indicate that the properties of Arctic sea ice at the end of melt season are significantly distinct from those of often-studied summertime ice. If such rotten ice were to become more prevalent in a warmer Arctic with longer melt seasons, this could have implications for the exchange of fluid and heat at the ocean surface.

A melt pond (MP) distribution equation has been developed and incorporated into the Marginal Ice‐Zone Modeling and Assimilation System to simulate Arctic MPs and sea ice over 1979–2016. The equation differs from previous MP models and yet benefits from previous studies for MP parameterizations as well as a range of observations for model calibration. Model results show higher magnitude of MP volume per unit ice area and area fraction in most of the Canada Basin and the East Siberian Sea and lower magnitude in the central Arctic. This is consistent with Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer observations, evaluated with Measurements of Earth Data for Environmental Analysis (MEDEA) data, and closely related to top ice melt per unit ice area. The model simulates a decrease in the total Arctic sea ice volume and area, owing to a strong increase in bottom and lateral ice melt. The sea ice decline leads to a strong decrease in the total MP volume and area. However, the Arctic‐averaged MP volume per unit ice area and area fraction show weak, statistically insignificant downward trends, which is linked to the fact that MP water drainage per unit ice area is increasing. It is also linked to the fact that MP volume and area decrease relatively faster than ice area. This suggests that overall the actual MP conditions on ice have changed little in the past decades as the ice cover is retreating in response to Arctic warming, thus consistent with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer observations that show no clear trend in MP area fraction over 2000–2011.

Observations of the seasonal light field in the upper Arctic Ocean are critical to understanding the impacts of changing Arctic ice conditions on phytoplankton growth in the water column. Here we discuss data from a new sensor system, deployed in seasonal ice cover north‐east of Utqiagvik, Alaska in March 2014. The system was designed to provide observations of light and phytoplankton biomass in the water column during the formation of surface melt ponds and the transition from ice to open water. Hourly observations of downwelling irradiance beneath the ice (at 2.9, 6.9, and 17.9 m depths) and phytoplankton biomass (at 2.9 m depth) were transmitted via Iridium satellite from 9 March to 10 November 2014. Evidence of an under‐ice phytoplankton bloom (Chl a ∼8 mg m^-3) was seen in June and July. Increases in light intensity observed by the buoy likely resulted from the loss of snow cover and development of surface melt ponds. A bio‐optical model of phytoplankton production supported this probable trigger for the rapid onset of under‐ice phytoplankton growth. Once under‐ice light was no longer a limiting factor for photosynthesis, open water exposure almost marginally increased daily phytoplankton production compared to populations that remained under the adjacent ice. As strong effects of climate change continue to be documented in the Arctic, the insight derived from autonomous buoys will play an increasing role in understanding the dynamics of primary productivity where ice and cloud cover limit the utility of ocean color satellite observations.

The ice-albedo feedback mechanism likely contributed to global glaciation during the Snowball Earth events of the Neoproterozoic era (1 Ga to 544 Ma). This feedback results from the albedo contrast between sea ice and open ocean. Little is known about the optical properties of some of the possible surface types that may have been present, including sea ice that is both snow-free and cold enough for salts to precipitate within brine inclusions. A proxy surface for such ice was grown in a freezer laboratory using the single salt NaCl and kept below the eutectic temperature (–21.2°C) of the NaCl – H₂O binary system. The resulting ice cover was composed of ice and precipitated hydrohalite crystals (NaCl ⋅ 2H₂O). As the cold ice sublimated, a thin lag-deposit of salt formed on the surface. To hasten its growth in the laboratory, the deposit was augmented by addition of a salt-enriched surface crust. Measurements of the spectral albedo of this surface were carried out over 90 days as the hydrohalite crust thickened due to sublimation of ice, and subsequently over several hours as the crust warmed and dissolved, finally resulting in a surface with puddled liquid brine. The all-wave solar albedo of the subeutectic crust is 0.93 (in contrast to 0.83 for fresh snow and 0.67 for melting bare sea ice). Incorporation of these processes into a climate model of Snowball Earth will result in a positive salt-albedo feedback operating between –21°C and –36°C.

During the Snowball Earth events of the Neoproterozoic, tropical regions of the ocean could have developed a precipitated salt lag deposit left behind by sublimating sea ice. The major salt would have been hydrohalite, NaCl⋅2H₂O. The crystals in such a deposit can be small and highly scattering, resulting in an allwave albedo similar to that of snow. The snow-free sea ice from which such a crust could develop has a lower albedo, around 0.5, so the development of a crust would substantially increase the albedo of tropical regions on Snowball Earth. Hydrohalite crystals are much less absorptive than ice in the near-infrared part of the solar spectrum, so their presence at the surface would increase the overall albedo as well as altering its spectral distribution.

In this paper, we use laboratory measurements of the spectral albedo of a hydrohalite lag deposit, in combination with a radiative transfer model, to infer the inherent optical properties of hydrohalite as functions of wavelength. Using this result, we model mixtures of hydrohalite and ice representing both artificially created surfaces in the laboratory and surfaces relevant to Snowball Earth. The model is tested against sequences of laboratory measurements taken during the formation and the dissolution of a lag deposit of hydrohalite. We present a parameterization for the broadband albedo of cold, sublimating sea ice as it forms and evolves a hydrohalite crust, for use in climate models of Snowball Earth.

Reactive nitrogen (Nr = NO, NO2, HONO) and volatile organic carbon emissions from oil and gas extraction activities play a major role in wintertime ground-level ozone exceedance events of up to 140 ppb in the Uintah Basin in eastern Utah. Such events occur only when the ground is snow covered, due to the impacts of snow on the stability and depth of the boundary layer and ultraviolet actinic flux at the surface. Recycling of reactive nitrogen from the photolysis of snow nitrate has been observed in polar and mid-latitude snow, but snow-sourced reactive nitrogen fluxes in mid-latitude regions have not yet been quantified in the field. Here we present vertical profiles of snow nitrate concentration and nitrogen isotopes (δ15N) collected during the Uintah Basin Winter Ozone Study 2014 (UBWOS 2014), along with observations of insoluble light-absorbing impurities, radiation equivalent mean ice grain radii, and snow density that determine snow optical properties. We use the snow optical properties and nitrate concentrations to calculate ultraviolet actinic flux in snow and the production of Nr from the photolysis of snow nitrate. The observed δ15N(NO3−) is used to constrain modeled fractional loss of snow nitrate in a snow chemistry column model, and thus the source of snow-sourced Nr to the overlying boundary layer. Snow-surface δ15N(NO3−) measurements range from −5 ‰ to 10 ‰ and suggest that the local nitrate burden in the Uintah Basin is dominated by primary emissions from anthropogenic sources, except during fresh snowfall events, where remote NOx sources from beyond the basin are dominant. Modeled daily-averaged snow-sourced Nr fluxes range from 5.6−71 × 107 molec cm−2 s−1 over the course of the field campaign, with a maximum noon-time value of 3.1 × 109 molec cm−2 s−1. The top-down emission estimate of primary, anthropogenic NOx in the Uintah and Duchesne counties is at least 300 times higher than the estimated snow NOx emissions presented in this study. Our results suggest that snow-sourced reactive nitrogen fluxes are minor contributors to the Nr boundary layer budget in the highly-polluted Uintah Basin boundary layer during winter 2014.

The albedo and transmittance of melting, first-year Arctic sea ice were measured during two cruises of the Impacts of Climate on the Eco-Systems and Chemistry of the Arctic Pacific Environment (ICESCAPE) project during the summers of 2010 and 2011. Spectral measurements were made for both bare and ponded ice types at a total of 19 ice stations in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. These data, along with irradiance profiles taken within boreholes, laboratory measurements of the optical properties of core samples, ice physical property observations, and radiative transfer model simulations are employed to describe representative optical properties for melting first-year Arctic sea ice. Ponded ice was found to transmit roughly 4.4 times more total energy into the ocean, relative to nearby bare ice. The ubiquitous surface-scattering layer and drained layer present on bare, melting sea ice are responsible for its relatively high albedo and relatively low transmittance. Light transmittance through ponded ice depends on the physical thickness of the ice and the magnitude of the scattering coefficient in the ice interior. Bare ice reflects nearly three-quarters of the incident sunlight, enhancing its resiliency to absorption by solar insolation. In contrast, ponded ice absorbs or transmits to the ocean more than three-quarters of the incident sunlight. Characterization of the heat balance of a summertime ice cover is largely dictated by its pond coverage, and light transmittance through ponded ice shows strong contrast between first-year and multiyear Arctic ice covers.

The Wet Chemistry Laboratory (WCL) on the Mars Phoenix Lander measured ions in a soil–water extraction and found Na , K , H (pH), Ca² , Mg² , SO₄^2-,ClO₄^-, and Cl^-. Equilibrium models offer insights into salt phases that were originally present in the Phoenix soil, which dissolved to form the measured WCL solution; however, there are few experimental datasets for single cation perchlorates (ClO₄^-), and none for mixed perchlorates, at low temperatures, which are needed to build models. In this study, we measure ice and salt solubilities in binary and ternary solutions in the Na-Ca-Mg-ClO₄ system, and then use this data, along with existing data, to construct a low-temperature Pitzer model for perchlorate brines. We then apply our model to a nominal WCL solution. Previous studies have modeled either freezing of a WCL solution or evaporation at a single temperature. For the first time, we model evaporation at subzero temperatures, which is relevant for dehydration conditions that might occur at the Phoenix site.

The seasonal evolution of melt ponds has been well documented on multiyear and landfast first-year sea ice, but is critically lacking on drifting, first-year sea ice, which is becoming increasingly prevalent in the Arctic. Using 1 m resolution panchromatic satellite imagery paired with airborne and in situ data, we evaluated melt pond evolution for an entire melt season on drifting first-year and multiyear sea ice near the 2011 Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station (APLIS) site in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas. A new algorithm was developed to classify the imagery into sea ice, thin ice, melt pond, and open water classes on two contrasting ice types: first-year and multiyear sea ice. Surprisingly, melt ponds formed ~3 weeks earlier on multiyear ice. Both ice types had comparable mean snow depths, but multiyear ice had 0–5 cm deep snow covering ~37% of its surveyed area, which may have facilitated earlier melt due to its low surface albedo compared to thicker snow. Maximum pond fractions were 53 ± 3% and 38 ± 3% on first-year and multiyear ice, respectively. APLIS pond fractions were compared with those from the Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean (SHEBA) field campaign. APLIS exhibited earlier melt and double the maximum pond fraction, which was in part due to the greater presence of thin snow and first-year ice at APLIS. These results reveal considerable differences in pond formation between ice types, and underscore the importance of snow depth distributions in the timing and progression of melt pond formation.

A method is presented for accurate measurement of spectral flux-reflectance (albedo) in a laboratory, for media with long optical path lengths, such as snow and ice. The approach uses an acrylic hemispheric dome, which, when placed over the surface being studied, serves two functions: (i) it creates an overcast "sky" to illuminate the target surface from all directions within a hemisphere, and (ii) serves as a platform for measuring incident and backscattered spectral radiances, which can be integrated to obtain fluxes. The fluxes are relative measurements and because their ratio is used to determine flux-reflectance, no absolute radiometric calibrations are required. The dome and surface must meet minimum size requirements based on the scattering properties of the surface. This technique is suited for media with long photon path lengths since the backscattered illumination is collected over a large enough area to include photons that reemerge from the domain far from their point of entry because of multiple scattering and small absorption. Comparison between field and laboratory albedo of a portable test surface demonstrates the viability of this method.

Perchlorates, in mixture with sulfates, chlorides, and carbonates, have been found in relatively high concentrations in Martian soils. To determine probable soil salt assemblages from aqueous chemical data, equilibrium models have been developed to predict salt precipitation sequences during either freezing or evaporation of brines. However, these models have not been validated for multicomponent systems and some model predictions are clearly in error. In this study, we built a Pitzer model in the Na-K-Ca-Mg-Cl-SO4-ClO₄-H₂O system at 298.15 K using compilations of solubility data in ternary and quaternary perchlorate systems. The model is a significant improvement over FREZCHEM, particularly for Na-Mg-Cl-ClO₄, Ca-Cl-ClO₄, and Na-SO₄-ClO₄ mixtures. We applied our model to the evaporation of a nominal Phoenix Lander Wet Chemistry Laboratory (WCL) solution at 298.15 K and compare our results to FREZCHEM. Both models predict the early precipitation of KClO₄, hydromagnesite (3MgCO₃ ∙Mg(OH)₂∙3H₂O), gypsum (CaSO₄∙2H₂O), and epsomite (MgSO₄∙7H₂O), followed by dehydration of epsomite and gypsum to kieserite (MgSO₄∙H₂O) and anhydrite (CaSO₄), respectively. At low residual water contents, our model predicts the precipitation of halite (NaCl), NaClO₄∙H₂O, and Mg(ClO₄)₂∙6H₂O,whereas halite and NaClO₄∙H₂O never precipitate in FREZCHEM. Our model predicts that calcite does not precipitate from evaporating WCL solutions at 298.15 K, which conflicts with other evidence for calcite in Phoenix soils. Previous studies that modeled freezing of WCL solutions found that calcite does form. Furthermore, our model predicts that ~0.3 wt.% H₂O is held in hydrated salts after the WCL solution has completely evaporated at 298.15 K, whereas previous studies have found that ~1.3 wt.% H₂O is held in hydrated salts if WCL solutions freeze. Given minimum water contents in Mars soils of 1.5–2 wt.% H₂O measured from orbital spectra and in situ measurements, our modeling results suggest that salts at the Phoenix site were not formed during evaporation near 298.15 K, whereas formation during freezing remains possible.

The albedo of Arctic sea ice is calculated from summertime output of twentieth century Community Climate System Model v.4 (CCSM4) simulations. This is compared with an empirical record based on the generalized observations of the summer albedo progression along with melt onset dates determined from remote sensing. Only the contributions to albedo from ice, snow, and ponds are analyzed; fractional ice area is not considered in this assessment. Key factors dictating summer albedo evolution are the timing and extent of ponding and accumulation of snow. The CCSM4 summer sea ice albedo decline was found, on average, to be less pronounced than either the empirical record or the CLARA-SAL satellite record. The modeled ice albedo does not go as low as the empirical record, nor does the low summer albedo last as long. In the model, certain summers were found to retain snow on sea ice, thus inhibiting ice surface melt and the formation or retention of melt ponds. These "frozen" summers were generally not the summers with the largest spring snow accumulation, but were instead summers that received at least trace snowfall in June or July. When these frozen summers are omitted from the comparison, the model and empirical records are in much better agreement. This suggests that the representation of summer Arctic snowfall events and/or their influence on the sea ice conditions are not well represented in CCSM4 integrations, providing a target for future model development work.

The Wet Chemistry Laboratory (WCL) on the Phoenix Mars Scout Lander analyzed soils for soluble ions and found Ca² , Mg² , Na , K , Cl^-, SO₄^2-, and ClO₄^-. The salts that gave rise to these ions can be inferred using aqueous equilibrium models; however, model predictions are sensitive to the initial solution composition. This is problematic because the WCL data is noisy and many different ion compositions are possible within error bounds. To better characterize ion concentrations, we reanalyzed WCL data using improvements to original analyses, including Kalman optimal smoothing and ion-pair corrections. Our results for Rosy Red are generally consistent with previous analyses, except that Ca2 and Cl^- concentrations are lower. In contrast, ion concentrations in Sorceress 1 and 2 are significantly different from previous analyses. Using the more robust Rosy Red WCL analysis, we applied equilibrium models to determine salt compositions within the error bounds of the reduced data.

Modeling with FREZCHEM predicts that WCL solutions evolve Ca-Mg-ClO₄-rich compositions at low temperatures. These unusual compositions are likely influenced by limitations in the experimental data used to parameterize FREZCHEM. As an alternative method to evaluate salt assemblages, we employed a chemical divide model based on the eutectic temperatures of salts. Our chemical divide model predicts that the most probable salts in order of mass abundance are MgSO₄ x 11H₂O (meridianiite), MgCO₃ x nH₂O, Mg(ClO₄)₂ x 8H₂O, NaClO₄ x 2H₂O, KClO₄, NaCl x 2H₂O (hydrohalite), and CaCO₃ (calcite). If ClO₃^- is included in the chemical divide model, then NaClO₃ precipitates instead of NaClO₄ x 2H₂O and Mg(ClO₃)₂ x 6H₂O precipitates in addition to Mg(ClO₄)2 x 8H₂O. These salt assemblages imply that at least 1.3 wt.% H₂O is bound in the soil, noting that we cannot account for water in hydrated insoluble salts or deliquescent brines. All WCL solutions within error bounds precipitate Mg(ClO₄)₂ x 8H₂O and Mg(ClO₃)₂ x 6H₂O salts. These salts have low eutectic temperatures and are highly hygroscopic, which suggests that brines will be stable in soils for much of the Martian summer.

Salt solutions on Mars can stabilize liquid water at low temperatures by lowering the freezing point of water. The maximum equilibrium freezing-point depression possible, known as the eutectic temperature, suggests a lower temperature limit for liquid water on Mars; however, salt solutions can supercool below their eutectic before crystallization occurs. To investigate the magnitude of supercooling and its variation with salt composition and concentration, we performed slow cooling and warming experiments on pure salt solutions and saturated soil-solutions of MgSO₄, MgCl₂, NaCl, NaClO₄, Mg(ClO₄)₂, and Ca(ClO₄)₂.

By monitoring solution temperatures, we identified exothermic crystallization events and determined the composition of precipitated phases from the eutectic melting temperature. Our results indicate that supercooling is pervasive. In general, supercooling is greater in more concentrated solutions and with salts of Ca and Mg. Slowly cooled MgSO₄, MgCl₂, NaCl, and NaClO₄ solutions investigated in this study typically supercool 5–15¼C below their eutectic temperature before crystallizing. The addition of soil to these salt solutions has a variable effect on supercooling. Relative to the pure salt solutions, supercooling decreases in MgSO₄ soil-solutions, increases in MgCl₂ soil-solutions, and is similar in NaCl and NaClO₄ soil-solutions. Supercooling in MgSO₄, MgCl₂, NaCl, and NaClO₄ solutions could marginally extend the duration of liquid water during relatively warm daytime temperatures in the Martian summer.

In contrast, we find that Mg(ClO₄)₂ and Ca(ClO₄)₂ solutions do not crystallize during slow cooling, but remain in a supercooled, liquid state until forming an amorphous glass near –120¼C. Even if soil is added to the solutions, a glass still forms during cooling. The large supercooling effect in Mg(ClO₄)₂ and Ca(ClO₄)₂ solutions has the potential to prevent water from freezing over diurnal and possibly annual cycles on Mars. Glasses are also potentially important for astrobiology because of their ability to preserve pristine cellular structures intact compared to solutions that crystallize.

The spatial and seasonal magnitude and variability of primary production in the Arctic Ocean (AO) is quantified with a pan-arctic approach. We synthesize estimates of primary production (PP), focusing on surface waters (0–5 m), using complementary methods that emphasize different spatial and temporal scales. These methods include (1) in situ observations of ¹⁴C uptake mostly and possibly some O₂ production reported in units of carbon (in situ PP), (2) remotely sensed primary production (sat-PP), and (3) an empirical algorithm giving net PP as a function of in situ chlorophyll a (in situ Chl-PP). The work presented herein examines historical data for PP collected in surface waters only, as they form the majority of the values of a larger ensemble of PP data collected over >50 years (ARCSS-PP) by many national and international efforts. This extended set of surface and vertically-resolved data will provide pan-Arctic validation of remotely sensed chlorophyll a and PP, an extremely valuable tool in this environment which is so difficult to sample. To this day, PP data in the AO are scarce and have uneven temporal and spatial coverage which, when added to the AO's regional heterogeneity, its strong seasonal changes, and limited access, have made and continue to make obtaining a comprehensive picture of PP in the AO difficult.

Combining nitrate, nitrite and phosphate data from several sources with additional quality control produced a database that eliminates many questionable values. This database, in turn, facilitated estimation of net community production (NCP) in the Arctic Marine System (AMS). In some regions, the new database enabled quantitative calculation of NCP over the vegetative season from changes in nutrient concentrations. In others, useful inferences were possible based on nutrient concentration patterns. This analysis demonstrates that it is possible to estimate NCP from seasonal changes in nutrients in many parts of the Arctic, however, the data were so sparse that most of our estimates for 14 sub-regions of the AMS are attended by uncertainties >50%. Nevertheless, the wide regional variation of NCP within the AMS (~two orders of magnitude) may make the results useful.

The presence of light-absorbing aerosol particles deposited on arctic snow and sea ice influences the surface albedo, causing greater shortwave absorption, warming, and loss of snow and sea ice, lowering the albedo further. The Community Earth System Model version 1 (CESM1) now includes the radiative effects of light-absorbing particles in snow on land and sea ice and in sea ice itself. We investigate the model response to the deposition of black carbon and dust to both snow and sea ice. For these purposes we employ a slab ocean version of CESM1, using the Community Atmosphere Model version 4 (CAM4), run to equilibrium for year 2000 levels of CO₂ and fixed aerosol deposition. We construct experiments with and without aerosol deposition, with dust or black carbon deposition alone, and with varying quantities of black carbon and dust to approximate year 1850 and 2000 deposition fluxes. The year 2000 deposition fluxes of both dust and black carbon cause 1–2°C of surface warming over large areas of the Arctic Ocean and sub-Arctic seas in autumn and winter and in patches of Northern land in every season. Atmospheric circulation changes are a key component of the surface-warming pattern. Arctic sea ice thins by on average about 30 cm. Simulations with year 1850 aerosol deposition are not substantially different from those with year 2000 deposition, given constant levels of CO₂. The climatic impact of particulate impurities deposited over land exceeds that of particles deposited over sea ice. Even the surface warming over the sea ice and sea ice thinning depends more upon light-absorbing particles deposited over land. For CO₂ doubled relative to year 2000 levels, the climate impact of particulate impurities in snow and sea ice is substantially lower than for the year 2000 equilibrium simulation.

The Community Climate System Model, version 4 has revisions across all components. For sea ice, the most notable improvements are the incorporation of a new shortwave radiative transfer scheme and the capabilities that this enables. This scheme uses inherent optical properties to define scattering and absorption characteristics of snow, ice, and included shortwave absorbers and explicitly allows for melt ponds and aerosols. The deposition and cycling of aerosols in sea ice is now included, and a new parameterization derives ponded water from the surface meltwater flux. Taken together, this provides a more sophisticated, accurate, and complete treatment of sea ice radiative transfer. In preindustrial CO2 simulations, the radiative impact of ponds and aerosols on Arctic sea ice is 1.1 W m^-2 annually, with aerosols accounting for up to 8 W m^-2 of enhanced June shortwave absorption in the Barents and Kara Seas and with ponds accounting for over 10 W m^-2 in shelf regions in July. In double CO₂ (2XCO₂) simulations with the same aerosol deposition, ponds have a larger effect, whereas aerosol effects are reduced, thereby modifying the surface albedo feedback. Although the direct forcing is modest, because aerosols and ponds influence the albedo, the response is amplified. In simulations with no ponds or aerosols in sea ice, the Arctic ice is over 1 m thicker and retains more summer ice cover. Diagnosis of a twentieth-century simulation indicates an increased radiative forcing from aerosols and melt ponds, which could play a role in twentieth-century Arctic sea ice reductions. In contrast, ponds and aerosol deposition have little effect on Antarctic sea ice for all climates considered.

There has been a marked decline in the summer extent of Arctic sea ice over the past few
decades. Data from autonomous ice mass-balance buoys can enhance our understanding of this decline. These buoys monitor changes in snow deposition and ablation, ice growth, and ice surface and bottom melt. Results from the summer of 2008 showed considerable large-scale spatial variability in the amount of surface and bottom melt. Small amounts of melting were observed north of Greenland, while melting in the southern Beaufort Sea was quite large. Comparison of net solar heat input to the ice and heat required for surface ablation showed only modest correlation. However, there was a strong correlation between solar heat input to the ocean and bottom melting. As the ice concentration in the Beaufort Sea region decreased, there was an increase in solar heat to the ocean and an increase
in bottom melting.

The summer extent of the Arctic sea-ice cover has decreased in recent decades and there have been alterations in the timing and duration of the summer melt season. These changes in ice conditions have affected the partitioning of solar radiation in the Arctic atmosphere-ice-ocean system. The impact of sea-ice changes on solar partitioning is examined on a pan-Arctic scale using a 25 km x 25 km Equal-Area Scalable Earth Grid for the years 1979-2007. Daily values of incident solar irradiance are obtained from NCEP reanalysis products adjusted by ERA-40, and ice concentrations are determined from passive microwave satellite data. The albedo of the ice is parameterized by a five-stage process that includes dry snow, melting snow, melt pond formation, melt pond evolution, and freeze-up. The timing of these stages is governed by the onset dates of summer melt and fall freeze-up, which are determined from satellite observations. Trends of solar heat input to the ice were mixed, with increases due to longer melt seasons and decreases due to reduced ice concentration. Results indicate a general trend of increasing solar heat input to the Arctic ice-ocean system due to declines in albedo induced by decreases in ice concentration and longer melt seasons. The evolution of sea-ice albedo, and hence the total solar heating of the ice-ocean system, is more sensitive to the date of melt onset than the date of fall freeze-up. The largest increases in total annual solar heat input from 1979 to 2007, averaging as much as 4%a^-1, occurred in the Chukchi Sea region. The contribution of solar heat to the ocean is increasing faster than the contribution to the ice due to the loss of sea ice.

To help characterize the albedo of "sea glaciers" on Snowball Earth, a study of the migration rates of air bubbles in freshwater ice under a temperature gradient was carried out in the laboratory. The migration rates of air bubbles in both natural glacier ice and laboratory-grown ice were measured for temperatures between -36 deg C and -4 deg C and for bubble diameters of 23–2000 micrometers. The glacier ice was sampled from a depth near close-off (74 m) in the JEMS2 ice core from Summit, Greenland. Migration rates were measured by positioning thick sections of ice on a temperature gradient stage mounted on a microscope inside a freezer laboratory.

The maximum and minimum migration rates were 5.45 micrometers h^-1 (K cm^-1)^-1 at -4 deg C and 0.03 micrometers h^-1 (K cm^-1)^-1 at -36 deg C. Besides a strong dependence on temperature, migration rates were found to be proportional to bubble size. We think that this is due to the internal air pressure within the bubbles, which may correlate with time since close-off and therefore with bubble size. Migration rates show no significant dependence on bubble shape. Estimates of migration rates computed as a function of bubble depth within sea glaciers indicate that the rates would be low relative to the predicted sublimation rates, such that the ice surface would not lose its air bubbles to net downward migration. It is therefore unlikely that air bubble migration could outrun the advancing sublimation front, transforming glacial ice to a nearly bubble-free ice type, analogous to low-albedo marine ice.

When NaCl precipitates out of a saturated solution, it forms anhydrous crystals of halite at temperatures above 0.11°C, but at temperatures below this threshold it instead precipitates as the dihydrate "hydrohalite," NaCl x 2H₂O. When sea ice is cooled, hydrohalite begins to precipitate within brine inclusions at about –23°C.

In this work, hydrohalite crystals are examined in laboratory experiments: their formation, their shape, and their response to warming and desiccation. Sublimation of a sea ice surface at low temperature leaves a lag deposit of hydrohalite, which has the character of a fine powder. The precipitation of hydrohalite in brine inclusions raises the albedo of sea ice, and the subsequent formation of a surface accumulation further raises the albedo. Although these processes have limited climatic importance on the modern Earth, they would have been important in determining the surface types present in regions of net sublimation on the tropical ocean in the cold phase of a Snowball Earth event. However, brine inclusions in sea ice migrate downward to warmer ice, so whether salt can accumulate on the surface depends on the relative rates of sublimation and migration. The migration rates are measured in a laboratory experiment at temperatures from –2°C to –32°C; the migration appears to be too slow to prevent formation of a salt crust on Snowball Earth.

During the 5 August to 30 September 2005 Healy Oden Trans-Arctic Expedition a trans-Arctic survey of the physical properties of the polar ice pack was conducted. The observational program consisted of four broad classes of snow and ice characterization activities: observations made while the ship was in transit, ice station measurements, helicopter survey flights, and the deployment of autonomous ice mass balance buoys. Ice conditions, including ice thicknesses, classes, and concentrations of primary, secondary, and tertiary categories were reported at 2-hour intervals.

Pond fractions were large early in the cruise at the southern edge of the ice pack, reaching peak values of 0.5 and averaging 0.25. Ice concentrations ranged from 0.8 to 1.0 north of 79°N, save for an area between 88°30'N and 89°30'N, where polynyas and thin ice were observed. Surveys of snow depth, ice thickness, and ice properties were conducted at ice stations. Thickness observations suggest a general latitudinal trend of increasing ice thickness moving northward, with considerable variability from floe to floe and within a single floe. Average floe thicknesses varied from 1.0 to >2.8 m, and the standard deviation of thickness on an individual floe was as large as 1 m. Ice crystallography showed a large amount of granular ice. The average optical-equivalent soot content was 4 ng C g^-1 for new snow, 8 ng C g^-1 for the surface granular layer of multiyear ice, and 18 ng C g^-1 for the interior of multiyear ice, indicating a tendency of the particulates to concentrate at the surface with melting.

The summer extent of the Arctic sea ice cover, widely recognized as an indicator of climate change, has been declining for the past few decades reaching a record minimum in September 2007. The causes of the dramatic loss have implications for the future trajectory of the Arctic sea ice cover. Ice mass balance observations demonstrate that there was an extraordinarily large amount of melting on the bottom of the ice in the Beaufort Sea in the summer of 2007. Calculations indicate that solar heating of the upper ocean was the primary source of heat for this observed enhanced Beaufort Sea bottom melting. An increase in the open water fraction resulted in a 500% positive anomaly in solar heat input to the upper ocean, triggering an ice–albedo feedback and contributing to the accelerating ice retreat.

The partitioning of incident solar radiation between sea ice, ocean, and atmosphere strongly affects the Arctic energy balance during summer. In addition to spectral albedo of the ice surface, transmission of solar radiation through the ice is critical for assessing heat and mass balances of sea ice. Observations of spectral irradiance profiles within and transmittance through ice in the Beaufort Sea during the summer of 1998 during the Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean (SHEBA) are presented. Sites representative of melting multiyear and first-year ice, along with ponded ice were measured. Observed spectral irradiance extinction coefficients (K_λ) show broad minima near 500 nm and strong increases at near-infrared wavelengths. The median K_λ at 600 nm for the bare ice cases is close to 0.8 m^-1 and about 0.6 m^-1 for ponded ice. Values are considerably smaller than the previously accepted value of 1.5 m^-1. Radiative transfer models were used to analyze the observations and obtain inherent optical properties of the ice. Derived scattering coefficients range from 500 m^-1 to 1100 m^-1 in the surface layer and 8 to 30 m^-1 in the ice interior. While ponded ice is known to transmit a significant amount of shortwave radiation to the ocean, the irradiance transmitted through bare, melting ice is also shown to be significant. The findings of this study predict 3–10 times more solar radiation penetrating the ice cover than predicted by a current GCM (CCSM3) parameterization, depending on ice thickness, pond coverage, stage of the melt season, and specific vertical scattering coefficient profile.

Over the past few decades the Arctic sea ice cover has decreased in areal extent. This has altered the solar radiation forcing on the Arctic atmosphere-ice-ocean system by decreasing the surface albedo and allowing more solar heating of the upper ocean. This study addresses how the amount of solar energy absorbed in areas of open water in the Arctic Basin has varied spatially and temporally over the past few decades. A synthetic approach was taken, combining satellite-derived ice concentrations, incident irradiances determined from reanalysis products, and field observations of ocean albedo over the Arctic Ocean and the adjacent seas. Results indicate an increase in the solar energy deposited in the upper ocean over the past few decades in 89% of the region studied. The largest increases in total yearly solar heat input, as much as 4% per year, occurred in the Chukchi Sea and adjacent areas.

Exploiting the fact that the spectral characteristics of light backscattered from sediment-laden ice differ substantially from those of clean ice and that sediment tends to accumulate at the ice surface during the first melt season, remote-sensing techniques provide a valuable tool for mapping the extent of particle-laden ice in the Arctic basin and assessing its particulate loading. This study considers two fundamental problems that still need to be addressed in order to make full use of satellite observations for this type of assessment: (i) the effects of the atmosphere on surface reflectances derived from radiances measured by the satellite sensor need to be quantified and ultimately corrected for, and (ii) the spectral reflectance of the ice surface as a function of particle loading and sub-pixel distribution needs to be determined in order to derive quantitative estimates from the at-sensor satellite signal. Here, spectral albedos have been computed for different ice surfaces of variable sediment load with a radiative transfer model for sea ice coupled with an optical model for particulates included in sea ice. In a second step, the role of the atmosphere in modulating the surface reflectance signal is assessed with the aid of an atmospheric radiative transfer model applied to a "standard" Arctic atmosphere and surface boundary conditions as prescribed by the sea ice radiative transfer model. A series of sensitivity studies helps assess differences between top-of-the-atmosphere and true surface reflectance and has been utilized to derive a look-up table for atmospheric correction of Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) data over sediment-laden sea ice surfaces. In particular, the effects of solar elevation, viewing geometry, and atmospheric properties are considered. The atmospheric corrections are necessary for certain geometries and surface types. Large discrepancies between raw and corrected data are particularly evident in the derived coverage of clean ice and ice with small sediment loading.

Many climate model predictions of future climate change due to increasing greenhouse gases indicate polar warming two to three times the global mean. One important factor in this enhanced polar warming is thought to be the snow and sea ice albedo feedback. The essence of this feedback is the strong contrast in how open water and snow-covered or bare sea ice reflect, absorb, and transmit incoming solar radiation. Snow and sea ice have high albedo; open water has low albedo. The high albedo of snow and sea ice is caused by multiple scattering attributed to individual snow grains and inclusions of gas, brine and precipitated salt crystals embedded in sea ice. An accurate representation of solar radiation transfer in the snow/sea ice system requires a multiple scattering parameterization.

Interactions between snow and sea ice and solar radiation in the present version of the Community Climate System Model (Version 3) are not based on a multiple scattering calculation. Rather, these interactions are based on empirical parameterizations which depend solely on the depth of snow (if any) overlying sea ice, sea ice thickness and its surface temperature. Considerable arbitrariness and inconsistency are inherent in these parameterizations since it is possible to alter one part of this parameterization independent of other parts, which is often done when tuning sea ice albedo to achieve acceptable CCSM present-day simulations. Because of this arbitrariness and inconsistency, it is likely that the solar radiation parameterization for snow and sea ice in the present CCSM may not adequately represent the radiation physics necessary for an accurate estimate of the snow and sea ice albedo feedback.

A Delta-Eddington multiple scattering radiative transfer model is presented here as an alternative treatment for the interactions between solar radiation and snow and sea ice. Optical properties for snow and sea ice are prescribed based on physical measurements. These optical properties are then used in the radiative transfer model to compute the albedo, absorption within snow and sea ice and transmission to the underlying ocean. Snow and sea ice surface albedos and transmissions in this parameterization agree well with observations made during SHEBA. The effects of absorption due to impurities such as carbon soot can be included without loss of consistency. This parameterization also provides opportunities for further improvements in the CCSM treatment of snow and sea ice physics, such as snow aging, vertical gradients in snow pack properties, and the effects of surface melt ponds. Employing the Delta-Eddington solar radiation parameterization for sea ice in CCSM will afford more consistent tuning for present climate, more accurate simulation of control climate annual cycle and variability, and provide increased confidence in simulations of future climate change.

We present a new set of values for the spectral extinction coefficients for the interior of first-year (FY) and multi-year (MY) Arctic sea ice during the summer melt season measured during SHEBA (Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean program) and at Barrow, Alaska, USA. Results for FY ice are consistent with previously reported values, and differences can be understood in terms of variations in the concentration of biological and suspended particulate material. The values for the interior of MY ice are lower than previously reported for both bare and ponded ice. For bare MY ice the new spectral extinction coefficient values predict a substantial increase in the solar radiation transmitted through the ice into the upper mixed layer. Ponded MY ice is only slightly more transparent than previously reported, and FY ice values are generally consistent with previously reported values. Assuming an asymmetry parameter of 0.94, the extinction coefficients are consistent with a volume-scattering coefficient of 77 m^-1 that is constant from 400 to at least 720 nm.

A model has been developed that relates the structural properties of first-year sea ice to its inherent optical properties, quantities needed by detailed radiative transfer models. The structural-optical model makes it possible to calculate absorption coefficients, scattering coefficients, and phase functions for the ice from information about its physical properties. The model takes into account scattering by brine inclusions in the ice, gas bubbles in both brine and ice, and precipitated salt crystals. The model was developed using concurrent laboratory measurements of the microstructure and apparent optical properties of first-year, interior sea ice between temperatures of –33°C and –1°C. Results show that the structural-optical properties of sea ice can be divided into three distinct thermal regimes: cold (T < –23°C), moderate (–23°C < T < –8°C), and warm (T > –8°C). Relationships between structural and optical properties in each regime involve different sets of physical processes, of which most are strongly tied to freezing equilibrium of the brine and ice. Volume scattering in cold ice is dominated by the size and number distribution of precipitated hydrohalite crystals. Scattering at intermediate temperatures is controlled by changes in the distribution of brine inclusions, gas bubbles, and mirabilite crystals. Total volume scattering in this regime is approximately independent of temperature because of a balance between increasing and decreasing scattering related to the thermal evolution of these inclusions and scattering by drained inclusions. In warm ice, scattering is controlled principally by temperature-dependent changes in the real refractive index of brine and by the escape of gas bubbles from the ice. Model predictions indicate that scattering coefficients can exceed 3000 m^-1 for cold ice, averaging ~450 m^-1 for moderate and warm ice and reaching a minimum of ~340 m^-1 at –8°C. Scattering in all three regimes is very strongly forward peaked, with values of the asymmetry parameter g generally falling between 0.975 (T = –8°C) and 0.995 (T = –33°C).

A two-dimensional, Monte Carlo radiative transfer model was developed for the analysis of optical data from cylindrical samples of sea ice. The backward Monte Carlo method was used to solve the radiative transfer equation in a cylindrical, azimuthally symmetric domain. Horizontal layers between two depths and vertical shells between two radii can be used to simulate spatial gradients in scattering, absorption, and refractive index in the model. The top of the cylinder can be illuminated by either normally incident, collimated radiation or by diffuse radiation. Irradiance and radiance detectors can be located anywhere within or on the cylindrical domain. The model was tested by comparing predicted apparent optical properties with solutions from existing one-dimensional and two-dimensional radiative transfer models. Domains with the largest optical depths and smallest radii were found to be impacted most by the horizontally finite geometry. The model was used to interpret backscattered and transmitted spectral radiance data taken in the laboratory from cylindrical core samples of first-year sea ice at ~15°C. Use of a similarity parameter facilitated comparison between observations and model predictions by reducing the number of independent variables by one. Concurrent observations of ice microstructure indicated that light scattering due to inclusions of brine, gas, and precipitated salts should result in a scattering coefficient of ~4.6 cm^-1 in our samples. Combining this value with the inferred similarity parameter yielded an asymmetry parameter of 0.98 for first-year sea ice at ~15°C. Agreement between observed and predicted spectral radiances demonstrates the viability of this model as a tool for analyzing the optical properties of samples with finite geometry.

While the apparent optical properties of sea ice vary with ice type and temperature throughout the annual cycle, they depend more fundamentally on how inclusions of brine, gas, precipitated salts, and other impurities are distributed within the ice. Since little is known about these distributions or about how they evolve with temperature, experiments were designed to collect detailed information on the microstructure of Arctic sea ice over a wide range of temperatures. An imaging system, capable of resolving inclusion sizes of less than 0.01 mm in diameter, was used to examine the microstructure of first-year ice in a temperature-controlled laboratory. Experiments were initially carried out at -15°C to obtain size distributions for brine inclusions and gas bubbles in cold ice. Brine inclusion dimensions were found to range from less than 0.01 mm to nearly 10 mm, with number densities averaging about 24 pockets per mm³. This is an order of magnitude larger than number densities previously reported. Gas bubbles in the samples were generally smaller than 0.2 mm and had number densities of approximately 1 per mm³, also an order of magnitude larger than previously reported. Large changes in microstructure were observed as samples were cooled to -30°C and subsequently warmed to -2°C. Observational results document the thermal evolution of the ice, as well as interactions between brine inclusions, gas bubbles, and precipitated salts. The link between the structural and optical properties of sea ice is closely tied to the total cross-sectional area of the inclusions. We show that this quantity increases dramatically when the ice cools below -23°C or warms above -5°C, but because changes in brine inclusions offset changes in precipitated salts, it remains surprisingly constant between these temperatures.

Soot observations around the periphery of the Arctic Ocean indicate snowpack concentrations ranging from about 1 to more than 200 ng carbon/g snow (ngC/g), with typical values being near 40–50 ngC/g. Values of this magnitude would significantly affect not only the albedo and transmissivity of the ice cover but also surface melt rates and internal heat storage in the ice. During the Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean (SHEBA) drift, there was concern that soot emitted from the ship could adversely impact the heat and mass balance measurements, producing results that would not be representative of the region as a whole. To investigate this possibility, a series of soot measurements was carried out starting in the spring of 1998 during the time of maximum snowpack thickness. On the upwind side of the ship, where the heat and mass balance program was carried out, soot concentrations averaged over the depth of the snowpack spanned a range from 1 to 7 ngC/g, with average values of 4–5 ngC/g. On the downwind side, concentrations increased to 35 ngC/g and above. Measurements made up to 16 km from the ship yielded average background soot levels of approximately 4.4 ngC/g, with a standard deviation of 2.9 ngC/g evenly distributed throughout the different snow layers. These concentrations were not statistically distinguishable from the values measured in the observing areas on the upwind side of the ship. This indicates that soot concentrations in the central Arctic Basin are substantially lower than those reported for the coastal regions and are not sufficient to produce a significant decrease in the albedo. Although measurements of sea ice samples gave similarly low values, parameter studies show that the snow soot levels could be significant if the summer melt caused all the soot to be concentrated at the ice surface.