Parameter Identification for Salinity in a Quasilinear Thermodynamic System of Sea Ice

Abstract

This study is intended to provide a parameter identification method to determine salinity of sea ice by temperature and salinity observations. A quasilinear thermodynamic system of sea ice with unknown salinity is described and its property is proved. Then, a parameter identification model is established and the existence of its optimal solution is discussed. The salinity profile is calculated by the temperature and salinity data, which were measured at Nella Fjord around Zhongshan Station, Antarctica, during the polar night time by the 22nd Chinese Antarctic Research Expedition. Another simulation for temperature profiles during different measurement periods is operated. Results show that better simulations of the salinity and temperature distribution are possible with the estimated parameters than Eicken’s (Eicken 1992) and THESCI’s (Lv et al. 2009). This method will help people understand the salinity evolution of sea ice more thoroughly.