Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Modern Dirty Sea Ice Characteristics And Sources: The Role Of Anchor Ice, Dennis A. Darby, Wesley B. Myers, Martin Jakobsson, Ignatius Rigor

OES Faculty Publications

Extensive dirty ice patches with up to 7 kg m^-2 sediment concentrations in layers of up to 10 cm thickness were encountered in 2005 and 2007 in numerous areas across the central Arctic. The Fe grain fingerprint determination of sources for these sampled dirty ice floes indicated both Russian and Canadian sources, with the latter dominating. The presence of benthic shells and sea weeds along with thick layers (2-10 cm) of sediment covering 5-10 m² indicates an anchor ice entrainment origin as opposed to suspension freezing for some of these floes. The anchor ice origin might explain the …