Towards the Measurement of Sea-Ice Thickness Using a Time-Domain Inductive Measurement System

Hills, Danny ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-2970-0166; Lawless, Becan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4115-5167; Khangerey, Rauan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-0967-7667; Wilkinson, Jeremy ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7166-3042; Marsh, Liam A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4302-7487. 2025 Towards the Measurement of Sea-Ice Thickness Using a Time-Domain Inductive Measurement System [in special issue: Sensor Technologies for Ocean Environments: Impact Assessment, Monitoring and Protection] Sensors, 25 (2), 510. 20, pp. 10.3390/s25020510

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Official URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/2/510

Abstract/Summary

Frequency-domain electromagnetic induction (EMI) is routinely used to detect the presence of seawater due to the inherent electrical conductivity of the seawater. This approach is used to infer sea-ice thickness (SIT). A time-domain EMI sensor is presented, which demonstrates the potential for correlating the spectroscopic properties of the received signal with the distance to the sea surface. This is a novel approach to SIT measurement, which differs from existing methods in that it uses measurements from 10 kHz to 93 kHz rather than a single frequency. The sensor was tested at a tidal pool containing seawater and measured to have a conductivity of 57.3 mS/cm. Measurements were performed at a range of heights between 0.2 m and 1.9 m above the sea surface and for inclinations from 0° to 45°. These measurements were correlated with Finite Element Modeling (FEM) simulations performed in COMSOL. The measured and simulated datasets are presented along with a proposed form of post-processing, which establishes a correlation between the distance to the sea surface and the measured EMI response. This forms a proxy measurement for the absolute distance from the EMI sensor to the sea surface. Because the air gap between the sensor and the seawater is indicative of the properties of sea ice, this study demonstrates a novel approach to non-destructive measurement of sea-ice thickness. The measurements show that this distance to the sea surface can be estimated to within approximately 10% of the known value from 0.2–1.5 m and 15% from 1.5 to 1.9 m.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	10.3390/s25020510
ISSN:	1424-8220
Additional Keywords:	electromagnetic sensing; time-domain metal detection; sea-ice thickness; broadband electromagnetic induction; EMI
Date made live:	20 Jan 2025 12:01 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/538764

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

10.3390/s25020510

ISSN:

1424-8220

Additional Keywords:

electromagnetic sensing; time-domain metal detection; sea-ice thickness; broadband electromagnetic induction; EMI

Date made live:

20 Jan 2025 12:01 +0 (UTC)

URI:

https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/538764