Articles | Volume 10, issue 6
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2541-2016
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2541-2016
Research article
 | 
02 Nov 2016
Research article |  | 02 Nov 2016

Reflective properties of white sea ice and snow

Aleksey Malinka, Eleonora Zege, Georg Heygster, and Larysa Istomina

Abstract. White ice (ice with a highly scattering granular layer on top of its surface) and snow-covered ice occupy a large part of the sea ice area in the Arctic, the former in summer, the latter in the cold period. The inherent optical properties (IOPs) and the reflectance of these types of ice are considered from the point of view of the light scattering and radiative transfer theories. The IOPs – the extinction and absorption coefficients and the scattering phase function – are derived with the assumption that both the snow cover and the scattering layer of white ice are random mixtures of air and ice with the characteristic grain size significantly larger than the wavelength of incident light. Simple analytical formulas are put forward to calculate the bidirectional reflectance factor (BRF), albedo at direct incidence (the directional–hemispherical reflectance), and albedo at diffuse incidence (the bihemispherical reflectance). The optical model developed is verified with the data of the in situ measurements made during the R/V Polarstern expedition ARK-XXVII/3 in 2012.

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Short summary
The number of melt ponds on Arctic summer sea ice and its reflectance are required for better climate modeling and weather prediction. In order to derive these quantities from optical satellite observations, simple analytical formulas for the bidirectional reflectance factor and albedo at direct and diffuse incidence are derived from basic assumptions and verified with in situ measurements made during the expedition ARK-XXVII/3 of research vessel Polarstern in 2012.