The objective of this research in the winter antarctic pack ice is to understand the role of seawater flooding and snow ice formation in antarctic sea ice growth and their effects on the heat and mass balance of the ice. During a cruise of the R.V. Nathaniel B. Palmer in the Amundsen and Ross Seas in September and October 1994 activities included (1) documentation of the physical and structural characteristics of the snow cover, (2) determination of the snow and ice thickness and freeboard distributions, and (3) ice salinity and temperature measurements, investigation of the structural and isotopic variability of the ice and identification of the processes responsible for ice growth. Further field research will be undertaken in the Ross, Amundsen and Bellinghshausen seas in 1995. Field observations and measurements will be used to develop and validate an antarctic sea ice growth model.

NSF Grant OPOP93-16767: Scientific personnel, M. O. Jeffries, K. Morris, S. Cushing, E. Maksym, M. Sturm (CRREL), R. Massom (Australian Antarctic CRC).