Premium
the phase evolution of Young Sea Ice
Author(s) -
Wettlaufer J. S.,
Worster M. Grae,
Huppert Herbert E.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/97gl00877
Subject(s) - buoyancy , geology , sea ice , brine , phase diagram , convection , porous medium , porosity , mechanics , phase (matter) , thermodynamics , oceanography , chemistry , geotechnical engineering , physics , organic chemistry
Sea ice forms as a porous matrix consisting of pure ice crystals in equilibrium with brine. We present an experimental and theoretical study that reveals that the brine expelled by growing sea ice initially remains trapped within the crystalline interstices but that drainage into the underlying water is ultimately triggered abruptly due to the onset of buoyancy‐driven convection. The onset is quantified by a critical porous‐medium Rayleigh number, and we present an empirical marginal stability diagram that defines the transition.