Sea Ice Mass Balances influenced by Ice Shelves (SIMBIS)

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Günther Heinemann; Dr. Marcel Nicolaus
• Subject Area: Oceanography
• Term: from 2011 to 2015
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 197696092

The overall goal of this project is to improve our understanding of formation processes and properties of Antarctic sea ice and how these are influenced by snow cover and platelet ice. Platelet ice is ice that is formed from super-cooled water originating from ice shelf cavities. In order to achieve this goal, we will combine in-situ measurements with satellite observations and numerical studies. In-situ observations will focus on Atka Bay close to Neumayer III station, Antarctic, but also include complementary measurements during the Polarstern cruise ANT-XIX/6 into the Weddell Sea, Antarctic. Thickness measurements of sea-ice and the under-ice platelet-ice layer will reveal the role of ice shelves for sea-ice formation and its seasonality. Energy balance and optical measurements will be performed to describe thermodynamic and optical properties of sea ice and its snow cover. In order to upscale the local measurements, we will analyze several data products from satellites and work towards new multi-sensor approaches for sea-ice analyses. Numerical simulations will be used to quantify the mass contributions from snow and from platelet ice on regional and circumpolar scales.

• DFG Programme: Infrastructure Priority Programmes
• Subproject of: SPP 1158: Infrastructure area - Antarctic Research with Comparative Investigations in Arctic Sea Ice Areas
• Participating Persons: Dr. Ralph Timmermann; Dr. Sascha Sebastian Willmes