Assessment and application of electromagnetic induction method to measure Arctic sea ice thickness

The electromagnetic induction method is widely used to measure sea ice thickness. Based on the electrical properties of sea ice and seawater, the method measures the apparent conductivity, which represents the conductivity of the half-space, and calculates the thickness of the sea ice. During the fourth Chinese National Arctic Research Expedition in summer 2010, an integrated electromagnetic induction system was set up on the icebreaker R/V XUE LONG to measure sea ice thickness along the ship’s tracks to the north of the Chukchi Sea. The conductivities of sea ice, seawater, and brine were measured and a simple forward model was used to explain the effect of changes in those conductivities on the apparent conductivity over a horizontal layered structure. The results of this analysis indicated that when using the electromagnetic induction method to measure sea ice thickness, the conductivity of sea ice could be neglected and the conductivity of seawater could be treated as a constant. The ice distribution results derived from the electromagnetic induction method showed that the typical sea ice thickness was 160 cm and 90 cm during the outbound and the return legs of the voyage, respectively.