2014/05/01 by Silke Thoms, Thoms, Silke, Bernd Kutschan +3
Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Arctic and Antarctic ice dynamics #Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics (physics.ao-ph) #Climate change and permafrost #Cryospheric studies and observations #FOS: Physical sciences #Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1405.0304
openalex publication_date 2014/05/01 · openalex created_date 2022/09/30 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We analyze the early phase of brine entrapment in sea ice, using a phase\nfield model. This model for a first-order phase transition couples\nnon-conserved order parameter kinetics to salt diffusion. The evolution\nequations are derived from a Landau-Ginzburg order parameter gradient dynamics\ntogether with salinity conservation. The numerical solution of model equations\nby an exponential time differencing scheme describes the time evolution of\nphase separation between liquid water with high salinity and the ice phase with\nlow salinity. The numerical solution in one and two dimensions indicates the\nformation of one dominant wavelength which sets the length scale of short-time\nfrozen structures. A stability analysis provides the phase diagram in terms of\ntwo Landau parameters. It is distinguished an uniform ice phase, a homogeneous\nliquid saline water solution and a phase where solidification structures can be\nformed. The Landau parameters are extracted from the supercooling and\nsuperheating as well as the freezing point temperature of water. With the help\nof realistic parameters the distribution of brine inclusions is calculated and\nfound in agreement with the measured samples. The size of the ice domains\nseparating regions of concentrated seawater depends on salinity and temperature\nand corresponds to the size of sea ice platelets obtained from a morphological\nstability analysis for the solidification of salt water.\n