Observations of brine drainage networks and microstructure of first-year sea ice

Brine drainage networks and the microstructure of first-year sea ice have been examined at two locations near Barrow, northern Alaska. A method for obtaining full-depth sections of ice sheets up to 1.8 m thick is presented and shown to provide information on the spatial distribution and geometry of brine drainage networks on a scale of meters. A number of such sections from the two test sites are presented which reveal a greater variety of main channel and side branch configurations than is typically observed in ice grown in the laboratory. Vertical and horizontal micrographs and thin section photographs were obtained in November 1993, and March and May 1994 at a test site in the relatively protected Elson Lagoon. The resulting time series of photographic records provide detailed information on the size, shape, and spatial distribution of the brine- and gas-filled inclusions and a means to quantify their size and shape changes with time. An example of the changes with time in inclusion sizes and aspect ratios in the vertical and horizontal directions for a depth of 0.2 m, with a given thermal history is also presented.