On the rate of heat transfer between a lake and an ice sheet

Abstract

The flux of heat between water and ice is either ignored or set to a constant value in present sea ice models. More accurate treatment of this flux may be desirable in the vicinity of polynyas and ice margins, and for more accurate thermal simulation of lakes and reservoirs. Observations of currents and temperatures under the ice in three large lakes of the headwater region of the Yukon River Basin permit the determination of the coefficient of sensible heat transfer between water and ice by various indirect methods. At a depth of 1 m and an estimated surface roughness of about 0.01 m, the coefficient of sensible heat transfer between water and ice was found to be (0.8±0.3)×10 −3. This value is within the limits of smooth and rough ice conditions found in laboratory investigations and appears to be somewhat less than that found in recent sea ice studies.