Optical properties of sea ice in Liaodong Bay, China

Many industrial, agricultural, and residential areas surrounding Liaodong Bay are responsible for much of the particulate matter (PM) and colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) found in the sea ice in the bay. Understanding the optical properties of “dirty” sea ice is important for analyzing remote sensing data and calculating energy balances. We designed a hyperspectral radiation instrument to observe the optical properties of sea ice. The results show that albedo peaks ranged from 0.3 to 0.85 and that the peaks shifted to a longer wavelength for high PM and CDOM concentrations. The absorption and scattering coefficients for sea ice were obtained. The bulk absorption coefficient shows that bulk absorption is primarily determined by PM and CDOM at shorter wavelengths, while pure ice and brine pockets become more important at longer wavelengths. Scattering coefficients for sea ice ranged from 197 to 1072 m−1, and showed consistent variations with gas bubble and brine pocket concentrations. The effects of PM and CDOM on the bulk absorption coefficient of sea ice were studied. At 440 nm, particulates accounted for 55–98% and CDOM accounted for 2–37% of the bulk absorption. Ratios between particulate absorption and bulk absorption for sea ice were almost constant from 400 to 550 nm, and began to decrease sharply for wavelengths >550 nm. Ratios between CDOM and bulk absorption decreased almost linearly with increasing wavelength. Key Points Albedo of dirty sea ice A new method to calculate the absorption coefficient of dirty sea ice A new method to calculate the scattering coefficient of dirty sea ice