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The Chemical And Structural Properties Of Sea Ice In The Southern Beaufort Sea, Debra A. Meese

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to provide a detailed chemical and structural profile of first-year and multiyear Arctic sea ice. Ice cores were collected during April-May 1986 and 1987 near Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. Concentrations of Cl, Br, SO$\sb4$, Na, Ca, K, Mg, PO$\sb4$, SiO$\sb4$, NO$\sb3$, NO$\sb2$ and NH$\sb4$ were determined for samples chosen on the basis of structural ice type.

Chemical and statistical analyses indicate that finer-grained structures incorporate more impurities and that major ion chemistry is controlled almost entirely by salinity. Mg is enriched in the ice indicating precipitation is occurring at temperatures higher than previously reported. K …