Examination of the physical, electrical, and microwave evolution of sea water into young ice

Knowledge of the relationships between ice thickness, its temperature profile, the distribution of salinity, the dielectric property profile, and roughness of the air-ice interface is important to the understanding of the backscatter response of new and young sea ice. Backscatter, physical property, and electrical property measurements made in the laboratory during the first 120 h of growth aid in describing the evolution of first-year ice, in this case open water to gray ice (14.5 cm thick). Results on the evolution response for the case when the ambient air temperature is about -15 C are given, providing insight into the effects of upper ice sheet temperatures, the accompanying dielectric constant response, and the collection of brine and free water at the air-ice interface on the backscatter response.