Measurement of Conducted Flow of Heat in a Sea Ice Cover

Abstract

IN any micro-meteorological study or heat economy survey, the measurement of the conducted flux of heat at, or below, the Earth's surface is important. The two methods normally used to achieve this either involve measuring the temperature gradient if the thermal conductivity can be accurately established, or insertion of a heat flux meter, the basis of which is the measurement of temperature gradient across a thin slab of material of known conductivity. The accuracy of heat flux meters is limited unless the effective conductivity of the device used matches that of the medium in which the flow of conducted heat is being measured. For example, in using a flux meter with square horizontal surfaces with a width to thickness ratio of 12 : 1, a 20 per cent mismatch in conductivities results in an approximately 5 per cent error in indication.