Ice nucleation in cold clouds is a decisive step in the formation of rain and snow. Observations and modelling suggest that variations in the concentrations of ice nucleating particles (INPs) affect timing, location and amount of precipitation. A quantitative description of the abundance and variability of INPs is crucial to assess and predict their influence on precipitation. Here we used the ...

Seasonal predictions of Arctic sea ice have typically been based on statistical regression models or on results from ensemble ice model forecasts driven by historical atmospheric forcing. However, in the rapidly changing Arctic environment, the predictability characteristics of summer ice cover could undergo important transformations. Here global coupled climate model simulations are used to as...

Arctic sea ice area has been decreasing for the past two decades. Apart from melting, the southward drift through Fram Strait is the main ice loss mechanism. We present high resolution sea ice drift data across 79 N from 2004 to 2010. Ice drift has been derived from radar satellite data and corresponds well with variability in local geostrophic wind. The underlying East Greenland current contri...

In recent years, much attention has been paid to the behavior of passive microwave sea ice concentration (SIC) products for marginal ice zones. Based on the definition of ice edges from ship observations, we identified pseudo-ship observations (PSO) and generated PSO ice edges from twelve cloud-free moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) images. Two SIC products of the advanced m...

[1] The GISS coupled model is used to investigate the sensitivity of sea ice to each of the following parameterizations: (1) two sea ice dynamics (CF: cavitating fluid; VP: viscousplastic), (2) the specification of oceanic isopycnal mixing coefficients in the Gent and McWillams isopyncal mixing (GM), and (3) the wajsowicz viscosity diffusion (WV). The large-scale sea ice properties are highly s...

[1] High-latitude ground ice on Mars discovered by the Gamma Ray Spectrometer suite is thought to be thermally stable owing to the presence of vapor in the Martian atmosphere. However, local slopes can alter surface and subsurface temperatures substantially, and hence allow ground ice to persist at locations where it would otherwise be unstable. Global statistics of the topography of Mars are c...

A study was conducted to evaluate the microbiological and chemical characteristics of ice collected from a commercial poultry further processing facility. During each of 3 visits, the following ice samples were collected: 1) freshly prepared, unused ice; 2) product-contact ice from ice-packed poultry parts; 3) product-contact ice from ice-packed poultry that had been visibly inspected and conde...

Antarctica’s contribution to global sea-level rise has recently been increasing1. Whether its ice discharge will become unstable and decouple from anthropogenic forcing2–4 or increase linearly with the warming of the surrounding ocean is of fundamental importance5. Under unabated greenhouse-gas emissions, ocean models indicate an abrupt intrusion of warm circumpolar deepwater into the cavity be...

Antarctic snowfall exhibits substantial variability over a range of time scales, with consequent impacts on global sea level and the mass balance of the ice sheets. To assess how snowfall has affected the thickness of the ice sheets in Antarctica and to provide an extended perspective, we derived a 50-year time series of snowfall accumulation over the continent by combining model simulations an...