Brief communication: Pancake ice floe size distribution during the winter expansion of the Antarctic marginal ice zone

摘要

The size distribution of pancake ice floes is calculated from images acquired during a voyage to the Antarctic marginal ice zone in the winter expansion season. Results show that 50?% of the sea ice area is made up of floes with diameters of 2.3–4?m. The floe size distribution shows two distinct slopes on either side of the 2.3–4?m range, neither of which conforms to a power law. Following a relevant recent study, it is conjectured that the growth of pancakes from frazil forms the distribution of small floes ( D 4 ?m).