Investigations of skeletal layer microstructure in the context of remote sensing of oil in sea ice

ABSTRACT (2017-159) The Arctic Oil Spill Response Technology – Joint Industry Program (JIP) funded a controlled basin experiment in November 2014 to assess the relative capabilities of a variety of oil in ice remote sensing techniques. An 80-cm sheet of level salt-water ice was grown in the Test Basin facility at the US Army Corps of Engineers Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) in Hanover, New Hampshire. The basin ice was representative of natural level sea ice grown under quiescent conditions. This created a controlled baseline environment to compare different sensors with a manageable number of variables. The sensor testing spanned a two-month ice growth phase and a one-month decay/melt period. The detailed physical and electrical properties of the lab-grown ice sheet were monitored over the course of the experiment. Analysis of preliminary sensor data revealed that the skeletal layer--the soft, porous band of new ice crystals at the growing ice water interface--plays a significant...