Radiation Diffusion in Antarctic Ice Media

Abstract

THE thermal diffusion equation for solid, homogeneous conductors can usually be solved conveniently using standard Fourier methods¹. These solutions cannot, however, be applied when the medium does not behave as a genuine conductor; that is, when convective and radiative processes create energy sources and sinks within the medium. The effect of absorbed solar radiation on the thermal diffusion in clear ice has been described elsewhere². In the coastal ablation zone of Antarctica, it causes startling changes in the heat storage in the upper 8 m of the ice, strongly modified overall heat transfer patterns in the ice and increases of the effective thermal conductivity of the medium by factors of up to two. Similar effects on the effective thermal parameters have been obtained in the low density permeable snow medium on the Antarctic Plateau³, although, there, convective transfer of heat in the snow must be taken into account also.