An overview of Antarctic polynyas: sea ice production, forcing mechanisms, temporal variability and water mass formation

Polynyas are irregular open water bodies within the sea ice cover in polar regions under freezing weather conditions.In this study,we reviewed the progress of research work on dynamical forcing,sea ice production(SIP),and water mass formation for both coastal polynyas and open-ocean polynyas in the Southern Ocean,as well as the variability and controlling mechanisms of polynya processes on different time scales.Polynyas play an irreplaceable role in the regulation of global ocean circulation and biological processes in regional ocean ecosystems.The coastal polynyas(latent heat polynyas)are mainly located in the Weddell Sea,the Ross Sea and on the west side of protruding topographic features in East Antarctica.During the formation of coastal polynyas,which are mainly forced by offshore winds or ocean currents,brine rejection triggered by high SIP results in the formation of high salinity shelf water,which is the predecessor of the Antarctic bottom water-the lower limb of the global thermohaline circulation.The open-ocean polynyas(sensible heat polynyas)are mainly found in the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean,which are formed by ocean convection processes generated by topography and negative wind stress curl.The convection processes bring nutrients into the upper ocean,which supports biological production and makes the polynya regions an important sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide.The limitations and challenges in polynya research are also discussed.

Formation and Transportation of High-Salinity Water Produced in Polynyas South of the St.Lawrence Island

The authors studied variations of temperature and salinity in seawater under sea ice using hydrologic data collected from polynyas south of the St.Lawrence Island during March of 2008 and 2009.The results indicate that the high-salinity water found during the cruises of 2008 and 2009 was due to the formation of polynyas.The salinity observed in 2008 was higher than that in 2009 as a result of higher salt production in 2008.The spatial distributions of high-salinity cores differed between the two cruises.In March 2008, a southeastward flow was formed under the persistent northerly wind in the observation region, which transported the high-salinity water produced by the polynyas to the southeast.The similar flow, however, did not exist in March 2009 because the northerly wind over the study area was interrupted by a southerly wind.Accordingly, the polynyas and the high-salinity water pro-duced by them existed for a short time.As a result, the high-salinity water in 2009 did not spread very far, and stayed within the polynyas.In addition, during the 2009 cruise, two stages of observations in the polynyas showed the core of high-salinity water was shifted to the southwest of the St.Lawrence Island.This result suggested that a southwestward flow might have existed in the area at the onset of the northerly wind, which was consistent with the alongshore and/or offshore flows caused by the northerly wind.

Modelling of heat transfer for progressive freeze concentration process by spiral finned crystallizer

This study presents a novel design for a spiral finned crystallizer which is the primary element of progressive freeze concentration(PFC) system, which simplifies the setup of the conventional system. After the crystallizer has been designed, the research experiments have been conducted and evaluated through a thorough analysis of its performance by developing a mathematical model that can be used to predict the productivity of ice crystal at a range of coolant temperature. The model is developed based on the basic heat transfer equation, and by considering the solution's and the coolant's convective heat transfer coefficient(h) under the forced flow condition.The model's accuracy is verified by making comparison between the ice crystal mass' experimental value and the values predicted by the model. Consequently, the study found that the model helps in enhancing the PFC system.

Integration of evacuated solar collectors with an adsorptive ice maker for hot climate region

This research study compares the steady-state and dynamic behaviour of a solar-powered activated carbon-35(AC35)/methanol-based vapour adsorption refrigeration system for production of ice at hot climate region.Ther-modynamic comparisons are made with the coefficient of performance(COP),system COP(SCOP),specific refrig-eration capacity(SRC)and critical parameters such as cycle time and ice production rate are quantified.Further,the sustainability of the proposed ice maker has proven by integrating economic and environmental perceptions.The minimum solar flux required to ensure continuous ice production was found 800 W/m^(2).Moreover,the max-imum ice production rate and COP were decreased by 32.36%and 37.63%respectively when the system was operated under real ambient conditions.The proposed solar adsorptive ice maker achieved maximum SRC of 61.6 g m^(−2)during April month and reduced the CO_(2)emissions by 12.82 ton annually.