Abstract
The attenuation of lateral propagating light (LPL) in sea ice was measured using an artificial light source in the Canadian Arctic during the 2007/2008 winter. The apparent attenuation coefficient µ(λ) for lateral propagating light was obtained from the measured logarithmic relative variation rate. In this study an analytical solution based on the strict optical theories is developed to validate the measured result. There is a good consistency between theoretical solution and measured data, by which a quite simple but very rigorous relationship among the light source, measurement geometry, and measured irradiance is established. The attenuation coefficients acquired by measurement and theory are the diffusion attenuation as an apparent optical property of ice, independent of the light source and shining condition. The attenuation ability of sea ice should be caused by the microstructure of sea ice, such as crystal size, ice density, brine volume, air inclusion, etc. It also includes the leak from both interfaces by directional scattering. It is verified that the measuring approach is operational and accurate to measure the attenuation of the LPL. The solution from this study did not tell the connection among the extinction and the inclusions of sea ice theoretically because of insufficient understanding.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arrigo, K R, Perovich D K, Pickart R S, et al. 2012. Massive phytoplankton blooms under Arctic sea ice. Science (Brevia), 336: 6087, doi:10.1126/science.1215065
Barber D G, Massom R A. 2007. The role of sea ice in Arctic and Antarctic Polynyas. In: Smith W O, Barber D G, eds. Polynyas: Windows to the World. Elsevier Oceanography Series, 74: 1–54
Buckley R G, Trodahl H J. 1987a. Scattering and absorption of visible light by sea ice. Nature, 326: 867–869, doi:10.1038/326867a0
Buckley R G, Trodahl H J. 1987b. Thermally driven changes in the optical properties of sea ice. Cold Regions Science and Technology, 14: 201–204
Dickson D R, Hales J V. 1963. Computation of visual range in fog and low clouds. Journal of Applied Meteorology, 2(2): 281–285
Ehn J K, Mundy C J, Barber D G. 2008a. Bio-optical and structural properties inferred from irradiance measurements within the bottommost layers in an Arctic landfast sea ice cover. J Geophys Res, 113: C03S03, doi:10.1029/2007JC004194
Ehn J K, Papakyriakou T N, Barber D G. 2008b. Inference of optical properties from radiation profiles within melting landfast sea ice. J Geophys Res, 113: C09024, doi:10.1029/2007JC004656
Gilbert G D, Schoonmaker J. 1990. Measurements of beam spread in new ice. In: Proceedings of SPIE Ocean Optics VIII, 1302: 545–555
Grenfell T C, Perovich D K. 1981. Radiation absorption coefficients of poly crystalline ice from 400–1 400 nm. J Geophys Res, 86(C8): 7447–7450
Haines E M, Buckley R G, Trodahl H J. 1997. Determination of the depth dependent scattering coefficient in sea ice. J Geophys Res, 102(C1):1141–1151
Hanesiak J M, Barber D G, Abreu R A, et al. 2001. Local and regional albedo observations of Arctic first-year sea ice during melt ponding. J Geophys Res, 106(C1): 1005–1016
Holland M M, Bitz C M, Hunke E C, et al. 2006. Influence of the sea ice thickness distribution on polar climate in CCSM3. Journal of Climate, 19(11): 2398–2414
Light B, Maykut G A, Grenfell T C. 2004. A temperature-dependent, structural-optical model of first-year sea ice. J Geophys Res, 109, C06013, doi: 10.1029/2003JC002164
Lindsay R W, Zhang J. 2005. The thinning of Arctic sea ice, 1988–2003: have we passed a tipping point?. Journal of Climate, 18(22): 4879–4894
Maffione R A, Voss J M, Mobley C D. 1998. Theory and measurements of the complete beam spread function in sea ice. Limnol Oceanogr, 43: 34–43
Maykut G, Grenfell T C. 1975. The spectral distribution of light beneath first-year sea ice in the Arctic Ocean. Limnol Oceanogr, 20(4): 554–563
Mobley C D. 1994. Light and Water: Radiative Transfer in Natural Waters. San Diego: Academic Press, 592
Mundy, C J, Gosselin M, Ehn J K, et al. 2009. Contribution of under-ice primary production to an ice-edge upwelling phytoplankton bloom in the Canadian Beaufort Sea. Geophysical Research Letters, 36: L17601, doi:10.1029/2009GL038837
Parkinson C L, Cavalieri D J, Gloersen P, et al. 1999. Arctic sea ice extents, areas and trends, 1978–1996. J Geophys Res, 104(C9): 20837–20856
Parkinson C L, Comiso J C. 2013. On the 2012 record low Arctic sea ice cover: Combined impact of preconditioning and an August storm. Geophysical Research Letters, 40(7): 1356–1361
Pegau W S, Zaneveld J R V. 2000. Field measurements of in-ice radiance. Cold Regions Science and Technology, 31: 33–46
Perovich D K. 1996. The Optical Properties of Sea Ice. US: US Army Corps of Engineers, 12–13
Perovich D K, Longacre J, Barber D G, et al. 1998. Field observations of the electromagnetic properties of first-year sea ice. Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 36(5): 1705–1715
Rothrock D A, Yu Y, Maykut G A. 1999. Thinning of the Arctic sea-ice cover. Geophys Res Lett, 26(23): 3469–3472
Schoonmaker J S, Voss K J, Gilbert G D. 1989. Laboratory measurements of optical beams in young sea ice. Limnol Oceanogr, 34(S): 1606–1613
Trodahl H J, Buckley R G, Brown S. 1987. Diffusive transport of light in sea ice. Applied Optics 26: 3005–3011
Trodahl H J, Buckley R G, Vignaux M. 1989. Anisotropic light-radiance in and under sea ice. Cold Regions Science and Technology, 16: 305–308
Tucker W B III, Weatherly J W, Eppler D T, et al. 2001. Evidence for rapid thinning of sea ice in the western Arctic Ocean at the end of the 1980s. Geophys Res Lett, 28: 2851–2854
Voss K J, Schoonmaker J S. 1992. Temperature dependence of beam scattering in young sea ice. Applied Optics, 31: 3388–3389
Zhang Jinlun, Lindsay R, Schweiger A, et al. 2013. The impact of an intense summer cyclone on 2012 Arctic sea ice retreat. Geophysical Research Letters, 40(4): 720–726
Zhao Jinping, Barber D, Li Tao, et al. 2008. Radiation of lamp and optimized experiment using artificial light in the Arctic Ocean. Chinese Journal of Polar Science, 19(2): 249–260
Zhao Jinping, Li Tao, Barber D, et al. 2010. Attenuation of artificial lateral propagating light in winter Arctic sea ice. Cold Regions Science and Technology, 61: 6–12
Zhao Jinping, Li Tao, Zhang Shugang. 2009, The shortwave solar radiation energy absorbed by packed sea ice in the central Arctic. Advances in Earth Sciences (in Chinese), 24(1): 35–41
Zhao Jinping, Li Tao. 2010. Solar radiation penetrating through sea ice under very low solar altitude. Journal of Ocean University of China, 9(2): 116–122, doi:10.1007/s11802-010-0116-7
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Foundation item: The Global Change Research Program of China under contract No. 2015CB953900; the Key Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China under contract No. 41330960.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zhao, J., Li, T., Ehn, J. et al. An analytical validation for the attenuation of lateral propagating light in sea ice. Acta Oceanol. Sin. 34, 1–8 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-015-0628-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-015-0628-5