Sea ice aging by diffusion-driven desalination

TL;DR

This paper investigates the aging process of sea ice, revealing that diffusion-driven desalination causes porosity reduction and transition to dense freshwater ice, with experimental and modeling approaches enhancing understanding of phase changes in saline water systems.

Contribution

It introduces a combined experimental and modeling framework to study sea ice aging, highlighting diffusion-driven desalination as a key process and providing insights into phase change physics in saline environments.

Findings

Aging of mushy ice involves porosity reduction due to desalination.

The system transitions into a dense freshwater ice layer.

Numerical simulations accurately capture the asymptotic ice shape.

Abstract

Sea ice is a key component of the Earth's climate system, making its aging process an essential focus of current research. The age of sea ice is closely linked to its thermal and mechanical properties, which govern its interactions with the surrounding environment. In this study, we combine experimental techniques and modeling to explore the full dynamical process of mushy ice growth and spontaneous aging in saline water, within a natural convective flow system. We show that the aging of newly formed mushy ice in the present system, characterized by a gradual long-term reduction in porosity, is controlled by diffusion-driven desalination. Moreover, we observe that the system eventually transits into a dense freshwater ice layer adjacent to a well-mixed saline water region. The shape of the ice layer in this asymptotic state is well captured by numerical simulations of non-porous ice. Our findings improve the understanding of the complex physics governing phase changes in aqueous systems and provide a framework for studying sea ice aging in laboratory settings, with implications spanning diverse natural and industrial applications.