Discussion on Lake Ice as An Experimental Base on the Development of Polar Sea Ice Technology
Validation of polar sea ice technology requires tests in different environments.The instability of sea ice in the Bohai Sea cannot guarantee repeated long-term experiments.Lakes in cold areas in China can be used as experimental bases to solve the problem of indoor test lacking conditions close to the polar regions.Therefore,the ice development,and physical and mechanical properties of the ice in the HanZhang Lake,Qinghai Lake,Ulansuhai Lake,and Huhenur Lake were investigated,which were then compared with the physical and mechanical properties of Arctic and Antarctic sea ice.The results show that the Hanzhang Lake,Qinghai Lake,Ulansuhai Lake,and Huhenur Lake all have long ice periods.The ice thickness is the largest in the Huhenur Lake,more than 1 m.The ice thickness in the Ulansuhai Lake is more than 50 cm.The ice thickness of the Hanzhang Lake and Qinghai Lake is similar,with the maximum ice thickness exceeding 30 cm.The crystal structures of ice in the Hanzhagn Lake,Qinghai Lake and Ulansuhai Lake are mainly columnar ice,similar to that of first-year ice in the polar regions.The ice salinity and density in the Hanzhang Lake and Qinghai Lake are similar to those of the Arctic summer sea ice.The uniaxial compressive strength of the ice in the Hanzhang Lake is higher than that of the polar summer sea ice.The strength of ice in the Ulansuhai Lake is similar to that of fast ice in the Prydz Bay,east Antarctic.The results show that some lakes in China can be used as experimental bases for the validation of polar sea ice technology.
lake icephysical and mechanical propertiesice thicknesspolar regionsexperimental base