Abstract
Artificial sea ice growth is an emerging field that aims to assist in
understanding the growth conditions and properties of sea ice. The
Meta-Stable Zone Width (MSZW) of a supercooled solution is dependent on
volume. Larger volumes have a higher probability of having a seed
crystal being introduced to the system which halts supercooling and
begins nucleation, hence, small extents of supercooling can be found in
the ocean before freezing. Small MSZW’s are not often reflected in
artificial sea ice set-up, thus many choose to seed to avoid excessive
supercooling. This research focused on determining the MSZW of
artificial sea ice grown in four volumes: 5 L, 30 L, 100 L and 370 L.
The results showed a decreasing average MSZW as tank volume increased as
a decreasing exponential relationship was found between volume and the
MSZW.