57A180
Ion fractionation and pore-space geometry in young sea ice
from Kongsfjorden, Svalbard
Sönke Maus, Susann Haase, Juliane Büttner, Thomas
Huthwelcker, Margit Schwikowski, Anssi Vähätalo
Corresponding author: Sönke Maus –
sonke.maus@gfi.uib.no
Localized fractionation of sea salts, i.e. a change in
their relative concentration from the standard sea-water ratios, may occur in
sea ice due to precipitation of solid salts and due to differential diffusion of
ions in temperature gradients. Fluid flow in complex pore networks and thin
boundary layers then determines to what degree some ions are more rapidly
released to the sea water underneath, leading to ion fractionation in the bulk
ice. Previous studies have mainly studied bulk sea-ice samples to conclude that
ion fractionation strongly depends on the thermal history of the ice (and
presumably the details of pore networks). Here we document both brine and bulk
ice fractionation signatures of the major sea-water ions in young sea ice from
Kongsfjorden, Svalbard. Temperature-controlled sampling and centrifugation at in
situ temperatures let us identify the centrifugable (interconnected) and
entrapped (likely disconnected) contributions to the bulk ice salinity. We
analyse how brine and bulk ion fractionation vary with the entrapped pore
fraction and with bulk properties like ice salinity, temperature and porosity.
The variability is further discussed with respect to detailed pore-space
observations obtained by synchrotron-based X-ray microtomography.
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