Skip to main content

The Impact of Sediment-Laden Snow and Sea Ice in the Arctic on Climate

Climatic Change volume 37, pages 641–664 (1997)Cite this article

Abstract

Sea ice formed over shallow Arctic shelves often entrains sediments resuspended from the sea floor. Some of this sediment-laden ice advects offshore into the Transpolar Drift Stream and the Beaufort Gyre of the Arctic Basin. Through the processes of seasonal melting at the top surface, and the freezing of clean ice on the bottom surface, these sediments tend, over time, to concentrate at the top of the ice where they can affect the surface albedo, and thus the absorbed solar radiation, when the ice is snow free. Similarly, wind-blown dust can reduce the albedo of snow. The question that is posed by this study is what is the impact of these sediments on the seasonal variation of sea ice, and how does it then affect climate? Experiments were conducted with a coupled energy balance climate-thermodynamic sea ice model to examine the impact of including sediments in the sea ice alone and in the sea ice and overlying snow. The focus of these experiments was the impact of the radiative and not the thermal properties of the sediments. The results suggest that if sea ice contains a significant amount of sediments which are covered by clean snow, there is only a small impact on the climate system. However, if the snow also contains significant sediments the impact on sea ice thickness and surface air temperature is much more significant.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

£ 29.95

Price includes VAT (United Kingdom)

References

  • Berger, A.: 1978, ‘Numerical Values of Mid-Month Insolation from 1,000,000 Ybp to 100,000 Yap’, Institut d'Astronomie et de Géophysique George Lemaine, Université Catholique de Louvain, Contribution 36.

  • Berner, H. and Wefer, G.: 1990, ‘Physiographic and Biological Factors Controlling Surface Sediment Distribution in the Fram Strait’, in Bleil, U. and Thiede, J. (eds.), Geologic History of the Polar Oceans: Arctic versus Antarctic, NATO ASI Series C, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, pp. 317–335.

    Google Scholar 

  • Biscaye, P. E., Grousset, F. E., Revel, M., Van der Gaast, S., Vaars, A., and Zielinski, G. A.: 1996, ‘Asian Source of Dust to Summit, Greenland During the Last Glacial Maximum: GISP’, EOS 77, 57.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, A. D. and Noone, K. J.: 1985, ‘Soot in the Arctic Snowpack: A Cause for Perturbations in Radiative Transfer’, Atmos. Environ. 19, 2045–2053.

    Google Scholar 

  • Colony, R. and Thorndike, A. S.: 1985, ‘Sea Ice Motion as a Drunkards Walk’, J. Geophys. Res. 90, 965–974.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conway, H., Gades, A., and Raymond, C. F.: 1996, ‘Albedo of Dirty Snow During Conditions of Melt’, Water Resour. Res. 32, 1713–1718.

    Google Scholar 

  • Darby, D. A., Burckle, L. H., and Clark, D. L.: 1974, ‘Airborne Dust on the Arctic Pack Ice, Its Composition and Fallout Rate’, Earth Planet. Lett. 24, 166–172.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fisher, D. A.: 1979, ‘Comparison of 105 Years of Oxygen Isotope and Insoluble Impurity Profiles from the Devon Island and Camp Century Ice Cores’, Quatern. Res. 11, 299–305.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldschmidt, P. M., Pfirman, S. L., Wollenburg, I., and Henrich, R.: 1992, ‘Origin of Sediment Pellets on the Arctic Sea Floor: Sea Ice or Icebergs?’, Deep-Sea Res. 39, S539–S565.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grenfell, T. C., Warren, S. G., and Mullen, P. C.: 1994, ‘Reflection of Solar Radiation by the Antarctic Snow Surface at Ultraviolet, Visible, and Near-Infrared Wavelengths’, J. Geophys. Res. 99, 18,669–18,684.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hammer, C. U.: 1977, ‘Dust Studies on Greenland Ice Cores’, in Isotopes and Impurities in Snow and Ice, Proceedings IUGG Symposium, Grenoble, August–September, 1975, IAHS-AISH publ. No. 118, pp. 365–370.

  • Hammer, C. U., Clausen, H. B., Dansgaard, W., Neftel, A., Kristinsdottir, P., and Johnson, E.: 1985, ‘Continuous Impurity Analysis along the Dye 3 Deep Core’, in Greenland Ice Core: Geophysics, Geochemistry, and the Environment, Geophysical Monograph 33, American Geophysical Union, Washington, D.C., pp. 90–94.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hansen, J., Fung, I., Lacis, A., Rind, D., Lebedeff, S., Ruedy, R., Russell, G., and Stone, P.: 1988, ‘Global Climate Changes as Forecast by Goddard Institute for Space Studies Three-Dimensional Model’, J. Geophys. Res. 93, 9341–9364.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hansson, M. E.: 1994, ‘The Renland Ice Core, a Northern Hemisphere Record of Aerosol Composition over 120,000 Years’, Tellus 488, 390–418.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harvey, L. D. D.: 1988, ‘Climatic Impact of Ice-Age Aerosols’, Nature 334, 333–335.

    Google Scholar 

  • Houghton, J. T., Jenkins, G. J., and Ephraums, J. J. (eds): 1990, Climate Change, The IPCC Scientific Assessment, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, p. 365.

    Google Scholar 

  • Houghton, J. T., Callander, B. A., and Varney, K. K. (eds): 1992, Climate Change 1992, The Supplementary Report to the IPCC Scientific Assessment, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, p. 200.

    Google Scholar 

  • Konishchev, V. N.: 1987, ‘Origin of Loess-Like Silt in Northern Jakutia’, U.S.S.R., Geojournal 15(2), 135–139.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kutzbach, J. E. and Gallimore, R. G.: 1988, ‘Sensitivity of a Coupled Atmosphere/Mixed Layer Ocean Model to Changes in Orbital Forcing at 9000 Years B.P.’, J. Geophys. Res. 93, 803–821.

    Google Scholar 

  • Larssen, B., Elverhoi, A., and Aagaard, P.: 1987, ‘Study of Particulate Material in Sea Ice in Fram Strait — a Contribution to Paleoclimate Research?’, Polar Res. 5, n.s., 313–315.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lautenschlager, M. and Herterich, K.: 1990, ‘Atmospheric Response to Ice-Age Conditions: Climatology Near the Earth's Surface’, J. Geophys. Res. 95, 22,547–22,557.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ledley, T. S.: 1985a, ‘Sensitivity of a Thermodynamic Sea Ice Model with Leads to Time Step Size’, J. Geophys. Res. 90, 2251–2260.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ledley, T. S.: 1985b, ‘Sea Ice: Multi-Year Cycles and White Ice’, J. Geophys. Res. 90, 5676–5686.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ledley, T. S.: 1987, ‘Development of a New Sea Ice Growth and Lead Parameterization’, Climate Dynamics 2, 91–100.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ledley, T. S.: 1988, ‘A Coupled Energy Balance Climate — Sea Ice Model: Impact of Sea Ice and Leads on Climate’, J. Geophys. Res. 93, 15,919–15,932.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ledley, T. S.: 1990, ‘Meridional Sea Ice Transport and Its Effect on Climate’, Ann. Glaciol. 14, 141–143.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ledley, T. S.: 1991a, ‘The Climatic Response to Meridional Sea Ice Transport’, J. Clim. 4, 147–163.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ledley, T. S.: 1991b, ‘Variations in Snow on Sea Ice: Competing Affects in Shaping Climate’, J. Geophys. Res. 96, 17,195–17,208.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ledley, T. S.: 1993a, ‘Variations in Snow on Sea Ice: A Mechanism for Producing Climate Variations’, J. Geophys. Res. 98, 10,401–10,410.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ledley, T. S.: 1993b, ‘Sea Ice: A Factor in Influencing Climate on Short and Long Time Scales’, in Peltier, W. Richard (ed.), Ice in the Climate System, NATO ASI Series, Vol. I 12, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg, pp. 533–556.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ledley, T. S. and Thompson, S. L.: 1986, ‘Potential Effect of Nuclear War Smokefall on Sea Ice’, Clim. Change 8, 155–171.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayewski, P. A., Meeker, L. D., Whitlow, S., Twickler, M. S., Morrison, M. C., Bloomfield, P., Bond, G. C., Alley, R. B., Gow, A. J., Grootes, P. M., Meese, D. A., Ram, M., Taylor, K. C., and Wumkes, W.: 1994, ‘Changes in Atmospheric Circulation and Ocean Ice Cover over the North Atlantic during the Last 41,000 Years’, Science 263, 1747–1753.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maykut, G. A. and Untersteiner, N.: 1971, ‘Some Results from a Time Dependent Thermodynamic Model of Sea Ice’, J. Geophys. Res. 76, 1550–1575.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mullen, R., Darby, D. A., and Clark, D. L.: 1972, ‘Significance of Atmospheric Dust and Ice Rafting for Arctic Ocean Sediment’, Geol. Soc. Amer. Bull. 83, 205–212.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nürnberg, D., Dethleff, D., Eicken, H., Kassens, H., Letzig, T., Reimnitz, E., Stein, R., Thiede, J., and Wahsner, M.: 1993, ‘Sediment Inclusions in Sea Ice from the Laptev Sea and the Central Arctic Ocean’, Nansen Centennial Symposium, Bergen, Norway, 21–25 June, 1993.

  • Nürnberg, D., Wollenburg, I., Dethieff, D., Eichen, H., Kassens, H., Letzig, T., and Reimnitz, E.: 1994, ‘Sediments in Arctic Sea Ice — Entrainment, Transport and Release’, Marine Geol. 119, 185–214.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oglesby, R. J. and Saltzman, B.: 1990, ‘Extending the EBM: The Effect of Deep Ocean Temperatures on Climate with Applications to the Cretaceous’, Glob. Plan. Change 2, 237–259.

    Google Scholar 

  • Overpeck, J., Rind, D., Lacis, A., and Healy, R.: 1996, ‘Possible Role of Dust-Induced Regional Warming in Abrupt Climate Change During the Last Glacial Period’, Nature 384, 447–449.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pfirman, S., Gascard, J.-C., Wollenburg, I., Mudie, P., and Abelmann, A.: 1989a, ‘Particle-Laden Eurasian Arctic Sea Ice: Observations from July and August 1987’, Polar Res. 7, 59–66.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pfirman, S., Wollenburg, I., Thiede, J., and Lange, M. A.: 1989b, ‘Lithogenic Sediment on Arctic Pack Ice: Potential Aeolian Flux and Contribution to Deep Sea Sediments’, in Sarnthein, M. and Leinen, M. (eds.), Paleoclimatology and Paleometeorology: Modern and Past Patterns of Global Atmospheric Transport, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, pp. 463–493.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pfirman, S., Lange, M., Wollenburg, I., and Schlosser, P.: 1990, ‘Sea Ice Characteristics and the Role of Sediment Inclusions in Deep-Sea Deposition: Arctic-Antarctic Comparisons’, in Bleil, U. and Thiede, J. (eds.), Geological History of the Polar Oceans: Arctic Versus Antarctic, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, pp. 187–211.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reimnitz, E., Marincovich, L. Jr., McCormick, M., and Briggs, W. M.: 1992, ‘Suspension Freezing of Bottom Sediment and Biota in the Northwest Passage and Implications for Arctic Ocean Sedimentation’, Can. J. Earth Sci. 29, 693–703.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reimnitz, E., McCormick, M., McDougall, K., and Brouwers, E.: 1993, ‘Sediment Export by Ice Rafting from a Coastal Polynya, Arctic Alaska, U.S.A.’, Arctic Alpine Res. 25(2), 83–98.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roesler, C. S. and Iturriaga, R.: 1994, ‘Absorption Properties of Marine-Derived Particulate and Dissolved Material in Arctic Sea Ice, SPIE Ocean Optics XII 2258, 933–943.

    Google Scholar 

  • Romanov, I. P.: 1993, The Ice Cover of the Arctic Ocean, AARI, St. Petersburg, p. 211.

    Google Scholar 

  • Saltzman, B. and Verbitsky, M. Y.: 1993, ‘A Dynamical Theory of the Ice Ages’, in Peltier, W. Richard (ed.), Ice in the Climate System, NATO ASI Series, Vol. I 12, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg, pp. 343–361.

    Google Scholar 

  • Semtner, A. J.: 1976, ‘A Model for the Thermodynamic Growth of Sea Ice in Numerical Investigations of Climate’, J. Phys. Oceanogr. 6, 379–389.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, S. R., McLennan, S. M., and McColloch, M. I.: 1983, ‘Geochemistry of Loess, Continental Composition and Crustal Model Ages’, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 47, 1897–1905.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tomirdiaro, S. V.: 1984, ‘Arctic Loess-Like Plain as a Bridge between America and Asia and Its Thermokarstal Disintegration in the Holocene’, in V. L. Kontrimavichus (ed. in chief), Beringia in the Cenozoic Era, Vladivostok, 1976, U.S. Department of Interior and National Science Foundation translation, Washington, 1984, pp. 87–110.

    Google Scholar 

  • Untersteiner, N., 1961: ‘On the Mass and Heat Budget of Arctic Sea Ice’, Archiv für Met. Geoph. Bilklim. A12, 151–182.

    Google Scholar 

  • Warren, S. G. and Wiscombe, W. J.: 1980, ‘A Model for the Spectral Albedo of Snow ii. Snow Containing Atmospheric Aerosols’, J. Atmos. Sci. 37, 2734–2745.

    Google Scholar 

  • Warren, S. G. and Wiscombe, W. J.: 1985, ‘Dirty Snow After Nuclear War’, Nature 313, 467–470.

    Google Scholar 

  • Washington, W. M. and Meehl, G. A.: 1984, ‘Seasonal Cycle Experiment on the Climate Sensitivity Due to a Doubling of CO2 with an Atmospheric General Circulation Model Coupled to a Simple Mixed-Layer Ocean Model’, J. Geophys. Res. 89, 9475–9503.

    Google Scholar 

  • Washington, W. M. and Meehl, G. A.: 1986, ‘General Circulation Model CO2 Sensitivity Experiments: Snow-Sea Ice Albedo Parameterizations and Globally Averaged Surface Air Temperature’, Clim. Change 8, 231–241.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weeks, W. F.: 1986, ‘The Physical Properties of the Sea Ice Cover’, in Hurdle, B. A. (ed.), The Nordic Seas, Springer-Verlag, New York, pp. 87–100.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wollenburg, I.: 1993, ‘Sediment Transport by Arctic Sea Ice: The Recent Load of Lithogenic and Biogenic Material’, Ber. Polarforsch. 127/93, p. 159.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wright, H. E. Jr.: 1987, ‘Synthesis: The Land South of the Ice Sheets’, in Ruddiman, W. F. and Wright, H. E. Jr. (eds.), Geology of the North America, Vol K-3, North American and Adjacent Oceans During the Last Deglaciation, Geol. Soc. Am., pp. 479–488.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Space Physics and Astronomy and the Earth Systems Division of EESI, Rice University, Houston, Texas, 77251, U.S.A

    Tamara Shapiro Ledley

  2. Barnard College, Columbia University, 3009 Broadway, New York, New York, 10027, U.S.A

    Stephanie Pfirman

Authors
  1. Tamara Shapiro Ledley
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Stephanie Pfirman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Shapiro Ledley, T., Pfirman, S. The Impact of Sediment-Laden Snow and Sea Ice in the Arctic on Climate. Climatic Change 37, 641–664 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005354912379

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005354912379

Keywords

  • Surface Albedo
  • Arctic Basin
  • Arctic Shelf
  • Seasonal Melting
  • Significant Sediment