Fig. 1: Sea ice and seawater differ in their absorption and scattering properties.
From: Loss of sea ice alters light spectra for aquatic photosynthesis
a Light scattering spectra of sea ice (gray line) and seawater22 (blue line). The scattering coefficient of sea ice (bice) varies depending on the amount of air bubbles and brine inclusions. Here we show a value of bice = 20 m−1, representative for the interior layer of Arctic sea ice31. b Light absorption spectra of pure ice71 (solid gray line) and pure liquid water23,25 (solid blue line). Vertical dashed lines indicate the harmonics of the vibrational modes of H2O molecules, for liquid water (blue) and ice (gray). c, d The two scenarios compared in this paper: irradiance spectra below ice cover versus in open water; note that ice-covered areas have a much higher albedo and show stronger scattering than open water. We assume that the ice cover consists of three layers: SSL surface scattering layer, DL drained layer, IL interior layer.
