2025-09-21 清華大学
Fig 1: Newly-formed porous ice in salty water gradually ages into dense ice.
＜関連情報＞
- https://www.tsinghua.edu.cn/en/info/1245/14492.htm
- https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/mct1-6hbw
拡散駆動型脱塩作用による海氷の老化 Sea Ice Aging by Diffusion-Driven Desalination
Yihong Du, Feng Wang, Enrico Calzavarini, and Chao Sun
Physical Review Letters
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/mct1-6hbw
Abstract
Sea ice is a key component of 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 nonporous 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.
