Collaborative Research: Pancake Ice Cover Formation

该项目研究的是通过冰晶凝集成小浮冰（“薄煎饼”），小浮冰生长并聚集成较大浮冰，最终形成连续冰盖，从而形成南极海冰覆盖层。 该项目的目的是确定这种薄饼冰的演变是如何由不同的环境条件决定的。 南极薄饼冰的年覆盖面积估计约为600万平方公里，超过冬季海冰面积的三分之一。 该项目将开始进行实地实验，收集现场环境形成条件的综合数据集。 随后将进行实验室工作，包括塑料模拟冰和室外波浪水槽中自然生长的冰。 理论和数值研究将同时进行。 这项研究的结果将提供有关薄煎饼冰盖的物理结构及其在一系列环境条件下的机械作用的定量信息。 这些结果将对卫星图像中煎饼冰的签名，海冰和冷水生物群作为栖息地的利用及其对综合全球气候模型的适当影响产生重大影响。

This project is a study of the formation of an antarctic sea ice cover through the agglutination of ice crystals into small floes ("pancakes") which grow and aggregate into larger floes, ultimately forming a continuous ice cover. The objective of the project is to determine how this evolution of pancake ice is determined by different environmental conditions. The annual areal coverage of antarctic pancake ice is estimated at approximately six million square kilometers, more than a third of the wintertime sea ice area. The project will begin with a field experiment to collect a comprehensive data set of the in situ environmental formation conditions. Laboratory work will be carried out subsequently, both with plastic simulated ice and with naturally grown ice in an outdoor wave tank. Theoretical and numerical studies will be carried out in parallel. Results from this study will provide quantitative information about the physical structure of a pancake ice cover, and its mechanical action under a range of environmental conditions. These results will bear significantly on the signature of pancake ice in satellite imagery, its utilization as a habitat by sea ice and cold water biota, and its proper effect on integrated global climate models.