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Main Authors: Arash Rafat, Chris Spence, Homa Kheyrollah Pour
Format: Artículo Open Access
Published: Wiley 2026
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Online Access:https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hyp.70430
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author Arash Rafat
Chris Spence
Homa Kheyrollah Pour
author_facet Arash Rafat
Chris Spence
Homa Kheyrollah Pour
Arash Rafat
Chris Spence
Homa Kheyrollah Pour
collection Wiley Open Access
contents Field Observations of Ice Melt and Decay to Constrain Lake Ice Model Parameterizations Arash Rafat Chris Spence Homa Kheyrollah Pour Hydrological Processes ABSTRACT Field measurements within ice covers during the melting period are scarce, often constrained by safety concerns leading to uncertainty in model parameterizations of ice melt. To address these limitations, a Floating Research Station (FRS) was constructed in a small subarctic lake near Yellowknife, Canada to monitor ice processes year‐round. Using the FRS, the objective of this study was to delineate key processes influencing ice melt and decay through evaluating heat budget components over three melt seasons: April 1–May 31 of 2023, 2024, and 2025. Our results show that the decay process was both thermally and mechanically driven, with mechanical decay from ice collapse occurring at internal ice porosities of 0.31–0.35 and accounting for 24%–48% of total ice loss. Thermal melt at the surface (0.6–2.1 cm d −1 ) was driven by surface heat absorption (13–160 W m −2 ) and losses via net longwave fluxes (−95.2 to −6.6 W m −2 ). Bottom melt (0.1–0.6 cm d −1 ) was caused by modest mean daily water‐to‐ice heat fluxes (< 15 W m −2 ). Melt season lengths varied between 35 and 49 days, and break‐up dates up to 16 days, and were dependent on air temperatures, albedo, and net insolation. Results from this study can be used to improve and constrain melt period parameterizations in ice models while providing needed validation and calibration data in northern, high‐latitude environments. 10.1002/hyp.70430 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
doi_str_mv 10.1002/hyp.70430
format Artículo Open Access
id wiley_oa_10_1002_hyp_70430
institution Wiley Open Access
license_str_mv http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
publishDate 2026
publisher Wiley
record_format wiley_oa
spellingShingle Field Observations of Ice Melt and Decay to Constrain Lake Ice Model Parameterizations
Arash Rafat
Chris Spence
Homa Kheyrollah Pour
Hydrological Processes
Field Observations of Ice Melt and Decay to Constrain Lake Ice Model Parameterizations Arash Rafat Chris Spence Homa Kheyrollah Pour Hydrological Processes ABSTRACT Field measurements within ice covers during the melting period are scarce, often constrained by safety concerns leading to uncertainty in model parameterizations of ice melt. To address these limitations, a Floating Research Station (FRS) was constructed in a small subarctic lake near Yellowknife, Canada to monitor ice processes year‐round. Using the FRS, the objective of this study was to delineate key processes influencing ice melt and decay through evaluating heat budget components over three melt seasons: April 1–May 31 of 2023, 2024, and 2025. Our results show that the decay process was both thermally and mechanically driven, with mechanical decay from ice collapse occurring at internal ice porosities of 0.31–0.35 and accounting for 24%–48% of total ice loss. Thermal melt at the surface (0.6–2.1 cm d −1 ) was driven by surface heat absorption (13–160 W m −2 ) and losses via net longwave fluxes (−95.2 to −6.6 W m −2 ). Bottom melt (0.1–0.6 cm d −1 ) was caused by modest mean daily water‐to‐ice heat fluxes (< 15 W m −2 ). Melt season lengths varied between 35 and 49 days, and break‐up dates up to 16 days, and were dependent on air temperatures, albedo, and net insolation. Results from this study can be used to improve and constrain melt period parameterizations in ice models while providing needed validation and calibration data in northern, high‐latitude environments. 10.1002/hyp.70430 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
title Field Observations of Ice Melt and Decay to Constrain Lake Ice Model Parameterizations
topic Hydrological Processes
url https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hyp.70430