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Cold Regions Science and Technology 52 (2008) 263 – 277

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Cross-borehole resistivity tomography of sea ice

Malcolm Ingham a,⁎, Daniel Pringle b,c , Hajo Eicken b
a
School of Chemical & Physical Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington, New Zealand
b
Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA
c
Arctic Region Supercomputing Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA
Received 2 February 2007; accepted 3 May 2007

Abstract

The presence of brine inclusions with an alignment that is preferentially vertical means that the bulk resistivity structure of sea
ice is anisotropic. This complicates the interpretation of surface resistivity soundings of sea ice. We show that consideration of the
theory of resistivity measurements in an anisotropic medium suggests that cross-borehole measurements using one current and one
potential electrode in each borehole should allow the determination of the horizontal component of the anisotropic bulk resistivity.
A series of cross-borehole measurements made in first-year sea ice near Barrow, Alaska, as the ice warmed through the spring,
yields 3D models of the resistivity structure which support this prediction. The derived models show an evolution of the resistivity
structure which (1) at temperatures less than −5 °C is broadly consistent with the expected variation with brine volume fraction
predicted by Archie's Law and (2) shows evidence of a percolation transition in the horizontal component of the resistivity when
brine volume fractions exceed 8–10%.
© 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Sea ice; Electrical resistivity; Tomography

1. Introduction associated with brine and meltwater movement (Lytle

and Ackley, 1996; Pringle et al., 2007).
Pockets of brine trapped within sea ice have a In theory the internal structure of sea ice can be
determining influence on its physical (Trodahl et al., studied using any transport property to which the brine
2001; Eicken, 2003) and biological (Krembs et al., 2000) and ice components contribute differently. Fluid trans-
properties, and, through these, on global climate (Saenko port, which requires a direct measurement of brine
et al., 2002; Beckmann and Goosse, 2003) and ecology. permeability, has been studied by several authors using
In particular the bulk properties of sea ice are sensitive to NMR techniques (e.g. Callaghan et al., 1998, 1999;
the degree of connectivity of the brine pockets within the Eicken et al., 2000; Mercier et al., 2005) as well as field-
ice-brine composite. The connectivity permits the flow based methods (e.g. Freitag and Eicken, 2003). Howev-
of brine and, in turn, of nutrients and heat. Thus, for er, there are severe difficulties in making accurate
example, the heat flow in sea ice shows anomalies measurements under the required in situ constraint. An
alternative method to try and resolve the internal
structure of sea ice utilizes the electrical resistivity of
⁎ Corresponding author. the ice, which can, in principle, be measured using the
E-mail address: Malcolm.Ingham@vuw.ac.nz (M. Ingham). direct current (dc) resistivity geophysical technique. DC
0165-232X/$ - see front matter © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.coldregions.2007.05.002
264 M. Ingham et al. / Cold Regions Science and Technology 52 (2008) 263–277

resistivity soundings, made on the surface of the sea ice, In this paper we briefly review the theory behind
have previously been discussed by Fujino and Suzuki resistivity measurements in a medium in which the bulk
(1963), Thyssen et al. (1974), Timco (1979) and Buckley resistivity is anisotropic. We use this to show that, in
et al. (1986). Much of this work focussed on the ability contrast to surface measurements of resistivity, which
of resistivity measurements to determine the total ice are sensitive only to the geometric mean of the principal
thickness, although Timco (1979) attempted to relate the resistivities, cross-borehole resistivity measurements
measured resistivity to the microstructure of the ice by should be able to not only determine an accurate thick-
developing a model for the way in which the bulk resis- ness of sea ice, but also yield measurements of the
tivity depended upon the geometry of brine inclusions. horizontal component of the bulk resistivity. We dem-
However, the observed preferential vertical orientation onstrate this by presenting the results of a series of field
of brine pockets leads to the bulk resistivity being measurements made on first-year sea ice at Barrow,
anisotropic and this causes significant complications in Alaska over the period during which the sea ice under-
the interpretation of surface based resistivity data. went substantial warming during the spring.

2. Electrical resistivity measurements in an anisotropic medium

The preferential vertical elongation of brine inclusions in first-year sea ice means that the bulk electrical resistivity
structure is anisotropic, with the resistivity in the vertical orientation (ρV) being lower than that (ρH) in horizontal
directions. The treatment of electrical resistivity measurements in an anisotropic medium has been discussed in detail
by Bhattacharya and Patra (1968). The principal results (see Appendix) are expressed by Eqs. (1a) and (1b)

Iqm
V ¼ 1=2
ð1aÞ
4kRf1 þ ðk2  1Þcos2 hg

and

Iqm
V ¼ 1=2
: ð1bÞ
2kRf1 þ ðk2  1Þcos2 hg

These expressions give the electric potential (V) observed at a location (distance R, polar angle θ) from an electrode
through which current is injected into a uniformly anisotropic medium in which the principal axes of anisotropy are vertical
and horizontal. Eqs. (1a) and (1b) refer to the situations when the electrode is, respectively, within the medium and at the
surface of the medium. As defined in the Appendix, ρm is the geometric mean of the horizontal and vertical resistivities
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
qm ¼ qV qH

and λ defines the degree of anisotropy

rffiffiffiffiffiffi
qV
k¼
qH

Eqs. (1a) and (1b) may be used to investigate the manner in which resistivity measurements yield information on the
bulk resistivity structure of the anisotropic medium.
Resistivity sounding (Fig. 1a) uses four electrodes, normally collinear, positioned on the surface of the medium.
Current (I) is injected into and taken out of the subsurface through the two outer electrodes and the resulting potential
difference (ΔV) is measured between the other two electrodes. If the electrodes are equally spaced, with a separation a
between adjacent electrodes (the Wenner configuration), the potential difference which would be measured over a
uniform anisotropic medium can be derived from (1b) to be
Iqm
DV ¼ : ð2Þ
2ka
 M. Ingham et al. / Cold Regions Science and Technology 52 (2008) 263–277 265

Fig. 1. (a) Electrode arrangement for a surface Wenner resistivity sounding. Current is injected/removed through electrodes C1 and C2, the potential
difference is measured between P1 and P2. (b) Electrode arrangement for cross-borehole tomography using 2 boreholes.

As bulk resistivity generally varies with depth the measured value of ΔV for a particular current and electrode
separation is used to calculate an apparent resistivity ρa defined by

DV
qa ¼ 2ka : ð3Þ
I

In a resistivity sounding a series of measurements is made with the separation of electrodes increased in increments
to obtain the variation of apparent resistivity with a. In the situation of isotropic bulk resistivity this variation may be
interpreted in terms of the variation with depth of the bulk resistivity. However, it is clear from Eq. (2) that over a
medium with anisotropic resistivity, resistivity soundings are sensitive to the geometric mean resistivity ρm. As sea ice
is underlain by saltwater which has a resistivity of ∼ 0.3 Ωm, significantly lower than that generally observed for ρm,
resistivity soundings might also be expected to yield a method of determining ice thickness. However, in practice, as
has been observed by several authors (e.g. Buckley et al., 1986; Thyssen et al., 1974; Timco, 1979), the ice thickness is
underestimated by such methods. For a uniform thickness of sea ice (i.e. ρV and ρH constant throughout) the true
thickness t is underestimated by the factor λ. As an example of this, Fig. 2 shows the interpretation of a Wenner
sounding made on 1.45 m thick first-year sea ice at Barrow, Alaska. Two derived resistivity models (dashed/dotted
lines and layered structure) are shown. These represent the models with the maximum and minimum values of
resistivity for the second layer which are able to fit the data. Both models suggest a thickness of sea ice, overlying the
low resistivity sea-water, which is substantially less than the true thickness—indicating a mean value of λ of 0.1–0.25.
This is somewhat less than the values of λ found by Timco (1979) at Pond Inlet, N.W.T. or Buckley et al. (1986) in the
Antarctic. The inferred mean resistivity of the sea ice is also shown not be constant—in this example the sea ice is
modelled in terms of 2 layers with different mean resistivity values. Notwithstanding the non-uniqueness of the
interpretation, shown by the differences in models that provide similar fits to the data, the anisotropy of the resistivity
structure can clearly be seen to further complicate the interpretation of resistivity soundings made on sea ice.
An alternative method of measuring the resistivity structure of sea ice is provided by the less common technique of
cross-borehole resistivity tomography. In its simplest form, as shown in Fig. 1b, this technique uses vertical arrays of
electrodes embedded in a medium. As in resistivity sounding, current is injected into and taken from the medium
through 2 electrodes and the resulting potential difference measured between two others. Cross-borehole resistivity
tomography has been used in a number of shallow engineering and hydrological studies (e.g. Daily et al., 1992;
Deceuster et al., 2006; Ramirez et al., 1996; Slater et al., 1997; Turner and Acworth, 2004). To assess the potential of
this type of measurement to investigate the internal resistivity structure of sea ice consider the situation where the
current electrodes are located at (x1, z1) and (x2, z2), and the potential difference is measured between electrodes at (x1, z3)
266 M. Ingham et al. / Cold Regions Science and Technology 52 (2008) 263–277

Fig. 2. (a) Wenner resistivity sounding on 1st year sea ice at Barrow, Alaska. Vertical axis is the apparent resistivity ρa in Ωm, horizontal axis is the
electrode spacing a in m. Dots-data points, dashed and dotted lines-1D layered resistivity models, solid line-fit of the models to the data. (b) Derived
layered structures that fit the data. The base layer of 0.48 Ωm resistivity is the underlying sea-water.

and (x2, z4). Thus one current and one potential electrode is in each of 2 boreholes. In this situation application of Eq. (1a)
leads to an expression for the measured potential difference
I qm
DV ¼ fT1 þ T2 þ T3 þ T4 g ð4Þ
4k k
where
1
T1 ¼ ð5aÞ
jz3  z1 j
1
T2 ¼ ð5bÞ
jz4  z2 j
k
T3 ¼  n o1=2 n  o1=2 ð5cÞ
ðx2  x1 Þ2 þ ðz3  z2 Þ2 1 þ ðk2  1Þsin2 tan1 jxz32 z2
x1 j

and
k
T4 ¼  n o1=2 n  o1=2 ð5dÞ
2
ðx2  x1 Þ þ ðz4  z1 Þ 2
1 þ ðk2  1Þsin2 tan1 jxz42 z1
x1 j

If
k
n  o1=2 ¼ 1 ð6aÞ
1 þ ðk2  1Þsin2 tan1 jxz32 z 2
x1 j
 M. Ingham et al. / Cold Regions Science and Technology 52 (2008) 263–277 267

and

k
n  o1=2 ¼ 1 ð6bÞ
1 þ ðk2  1Þsin2 tan1 jxz42 z 1
x1 j

the expressions for T3 and T4 simplify and Eq. (4) becomes

8 9
>
< >
=
I qm 1 1 1 1
DV ¼ þ n 
o1=2 n o1=2 >: ð7Þ
4k k >:jz3  z1 j jz4  z2 j 2 2 2 2 ;
ðx2  x1 Þ þ ðz3  z2 Þ ðx2  x1 Þ þ ðz4  z1 Þ

This is exactly the relationship which would be obtained for cross-borehole measurements made in a medium with
an isotropic resistivity
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
qm qV qH
¼ pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ¼ qH : ð8Þ
k qV =qH

Thus, in such circumstances the cross-borehole measurements will yield the horizontal component ρH of the
anisotropic resistivity.
z4 z1 z3 z2
Formally, the conditions under which Eqs. (6a) and (6b) hold are either (i) x2 = x1, or (ii) jx2 x1 j ≫ 1 and jx2 x1 j ≫ 1.
The first condition corresponds to that of all the electrodes being in the same borehole. This is essentially the case
discussed by Timco (1979) who used four electrodes aligned vertically in the side of an ice pit. Given a finite thickness
of sea ice and the impracticality of placing the two boreholes very close together, the second condition cannot be
exactly realised. However, for |x2 − x1| ≈ 1 m, with electrodes spaced vertically every 10 cm, and for realistic values of
λ, combinations of current and potential electrodes can be chosen (i.e. values of z1, z2, z3 and z4) for which both
Eqs. (4) and (7) approximate to
 
I qm 1 1
DV c þ : ð9Þ
4k k jz3  z1 j jz4  z2 j

Using only electrode combinations for which this approximation is valid will therefore allow measurements to be
made which are responsive to, and will give a reasonable estimate of, ρH.
To illustrate this Table 1 shows typical magnitudes of the four terms T1, T2, T3 and T4 (given by Eqs. (5a) (5b) (5c)
(5d)) for situations where the anisotropy coefficient λ takes values of 0.1 or 0.3—in line with typical values indicated
not only by Fig. 2 but also by other previous surface resistivity soundings (Buckley et al., 1986; Thyssen et al., 1974;
Timco, 1979). The results show that, for all of the representative electrode combinations listed, the magnitudes of the
first two terms (T1, T2) are significantly larger than those of the third and fourth terms (T3, T4). Eq. (9) may therefore be

Table 1
Typical magnitudes of the terms T1, T2, T3, T4 given by Eqs. (5a)–(5d) for two boreholes spaced 1 m apart
z1 z2 z3 z4 λ T1 T2 T3 T4
0.4 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.3 10 10 0.3 0.3
0.4 0.4 0.7 0.7 0.3 3.33 3.33 0.28 0.28
0.4 0.6 0.5 0.8 0.3 10 5 0.3 0.26
0.4 0.6 0.7 0.9 0.3 3.33 3.33 0.3 0.24
0.4 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.1 10 10 0.1 0.1
0.4 0.4 0.7 0.7 0.1 3.33 3.33 0.09 0.09
0.4 0.6 0.5 0.8 0.1 10 5 0.1 0.09
0.4 0.6 0.7 0.9 0.1 3.33 3.33 0.1 0.08
268 M. Ingham et al. / Cold Regions Science and Technology 52 (2008) 263–277

regarded as a valid approximation to Eq. (4). Note that the smaller the value of the anisotropy coefficient λ, the less
significant are T3 and T4 compared to T1 and T2. For λ b 1 the factors such as

k
n  o1=2
1 þ ðk2  1Þsin2 tan1 jxz32 z 2
x1 j

in Eq. (5c) are less than unity. The approximation of Eqs. (7)–(9) is thus less accurate. This places greater constraints on
the allowable electrode combinations for which the approximation is valid. As the forward calculation used in the
modelling of data is based on Eq. (7) the use of electrode constraints for which the approximation is not good will tend
to lead to an overestimate of ρH.
The preceding derivation shows that, unlike resistivity sounding, and with a careful choice of the combinations of
electrodes used, cross-borehole resistivity tomography is able to be used to derive one of the principal resistivity values
of the anisotropic resistivity structure. Furthermore, assuming that the lowermost electrodes are in the underlying sea-
water, the vertical alignment of electrodes will also be able to accurately determine the boundary between the relatively
resistive sea ice and the highly conducting sea-water.

3. Cross-borehole resistivity measurements Wellington and utilised 185 cm × 5 cm marine-grade

stainless steel washers as electrodes positioned at vertical
In late January 2006 two vertical strings of electrodes intervals of 10 cm and held in place by cable glands.
were installed in boreholes, drilled 1 m apart, in Cross-borehole resistivity measurements were made
approximately 0.8 m thick land-fast first-year sea ice in on three separate occasions as the ice warmed over the
the Chukchi Sea about 300 m offshore from Pt. Barrow period April–June 2006. The first series of measure-
(71° 22′ 03″ N, 156° 31′ 03″ W). The site was also ments was made between 22–25 April at which time the
operated as a University of Alaska Fairbanks sea ice sea ice had thickened to 1.38 m, the second on 10 May
mass balance site continuously recording snow and ice (ice thickness 1.46 m), and the final series on 8 June (ice
thickness, water depth, the air–snow–ice–water tem- thickness 1.54 m). On each occasion ice cores were
perature profile, air temperature and relative humidity at taken from the area adjacent to the electrode installation
2 m above the ice, and developmental sea ice salinity and used to determine the salinity profile within the ice.
measurements using dielectric probes. The electrode Each set of resistivity measurements comprised approx-
strings (Fig. 3) were constructed at Victoria University of imately 500 individual readings, using one current and

Fig. 3. Details of the construction of the vertical electrode strings.

 M. Ingham et al. / Cold Regions Science and Technology 52 (2008) 263–277 269

Fig. 4. (a): Horizontal slices through the 3D resistivity model derived from cross-borehole resistivity measurements made between 22–25 April 2006.
(b): Horizontal slices through the 3D resistivity model derived from cross-borehole resistivity measurements made on 11 May 2006. (c): Horizontal
slices through the 3D resistivity model derived from cross-borehole resistivity measurements made on 8 June 2006.
270 M. Ingham et al. / Cold Regions Science and Technology 52 (2008) 263–277

Fig. 4 (continued ).

one potential electrode in each borehole, and with the and (7). For each set of measurements the entire data set
choice of electrodes constrained to satisfy the conditions was inverted, using the Res2Dinv™ and Res3Dinv™
for Eq. (9) to be a valid approximation to both Eqs. (4) codes, to derive both 2 and 3-dimensional models of the
 M. Ingham et al. / Cold Regions Science and Technology 52 (2008) 263–277 271

Fig. 4 (continued ).

sea ice resistivity structure between the boreholes. The each model and also the measured temperature and
results of the 3D inversions of the three separate sets of salinity profiles. In Fig. 4 the boreholes are located at the
measurements are presented in Fig. 4, which shows top left (x = −0.4 m, y = − 0.3 m) and bottom right
horizontal slices through the derived 3D models, and (x = 0.4 m, y = 0.3 m) of each slice. Fig. 5 shows vertical
Fig. 5, which shows a vertical cross-section through sections along the line y = 0 m.
272 M. Ingham et al. / Cold Regions Science and Technology 52 (2008) 263–277
 M. Ingham et al. / Cold Regions Science and Technology 52 (2008) 263–277 273

It is clear from Fig. 4, and from the result of the 2D about 15% and the resistivity decreases sharply to
inversions which are not shown, that a halo of b 10 Ωm. In this depth range the temperature of the
anomalous resistivity structure is caused by the presence ice is above −5 °C and salinity rises to N 6‰.
of the electrode strings. This suggests that as the ice (3) The measurements made on 11 May (Fig. 5b)
reforms around the electrode strings after their insertion, show that a lower resistivity region (~ 200 Ωm)
and subsequently thickens, the microstructure in the has developed between the surface and 0.45 m
immediate vicinity of the strings is significantly affected depth. Compared with the first measurements, the
by their presence. The size of the affected region will salinities in this region remain around 7‰, but
depend upon the dimensions of the holes drilled for with temperatures increased to just above −5 °C,
insertion of the electrode strings and on the dimensions the brine volume has increased to about 6%.
of the electrodes themselves. The apparent size of the (4) Below this lower resistivity layer and down to
affected region in the derived models will also depend about 1 m depth, brine volume fractions are
upon the dimensions of the grid cells defined for the between about 4 and 7% and correlate with
inversion. As is discussed below, away from the significantly higher resistivities (N 500 Ωm). The
immediate vicinity of the electrode strings the derived temperature in this depth range is close to − 5 °C
resistivity structure and its development over time is and the salinity is about 4‰.
inherently reasonable. The existence of the halo around (5) Below 1 m in depth the temperature, salinity
the electrode strings provides a strong argument and brine volume percentage all increase: to about
therefore why it is preferable to use multiple boreholes − 2 °C, N 7‰, and N15%, respectively. The
to determine ρH rather than single borehole measure- resistivity decreases to around 2 Ωm at the base
ments. It can also be noted from Fig. 5 that the of the sea ice.
underlying sea-water is clearly resolved beneath the sea (6) On 8 June (Fig. 5c), there is a clear correlation in
ice as an effective half space with a resistivity of the upper 0.5 m between low salinities, resulting
approximately 0.4 Ωm. from penetration of meltwater, and resistivity
Figs. 4 and 5 show that the resistivity structure of the values of ~ 30 Ωm. At these high temperatures
sea ice varies both spatially and temporally. To aid in an (T N − 2 °C), brine volumes are very sensitive to
understanding of the structure the measured temperature salinity which can be underestimated due to core
and salinity profiles have been used to calculate the drainage (see below also). This correlation of low
brine volume percentage using the relationships pro- resistivity with low salinity and brine volume
posed by Cox and Weeks (1983). The resulting brine fraction in the near surface is somewhat surprising
volume fractions for each of the three sets of measure- and requires further investigation.
ments are also shown in Fig. 5. Note that for the final set (7) Resistivity is also lowered throughout the rest of
of measurements (Fig. 5c) low salinity values over the the ice with brine volume fractions z 10%.
top 40 cm are due to the penetration of fresh meltwater However, uncertainties in the salinity profile
from surface snow. The calculated brine volume fraction mean that variations in this deeper part of the
Vb is here least reliable due to high sensitivity to mea- sea ice are not well resolved.
surement uncertainties in both salinity and temperature.
Considering Fig. 5, the following observations can These observations clearly lead to the general
be made. inference that a decrease in the horizontal component
of the bulk resistivity is associated with an increase in
(1) For the first set of measurements (22–25 April, brine volume fraction. Significant decreases in resistivity
Fig. 5a) ρH is high (500–5000 Ωm) from the appear to occur when the brine volume fraction reaches
surface of the ice down to about 1.25 m depth. somewhere between 5 and 7%. As the resistivity of the
Maximum ρH occurs at about 0.9 m above which brine component is much less than that of the solid ice
ice temperature is less than − 5 °C, and the brine component such a general observation makes sense. The
volume b 5%. variation of bulk resistivity in such a two component
(2) Near the base of the ice (1.25–1.38 m) the system where the resistivity of one component is much
calculated brine volume fraction rises rapidly to higher than that of the other, has traditionally been

Fig. 5. (a) Vertical slice at y = 0 through the 3D resistivity model from cross borehole resistivity measurements made between 22 and 25 April 2006;
profiles of sea ice temperature (from an in-situ thermistor string), salinity (from cores) and calculated brine volume fraction. The dashed line marks the
measured ice–water interface. (b) Same but for measurements made on 11 May 2006. (c): Same but for measurements made on 8 June 2006.
274 M. Ingham et al. / Cold Regions Science and Technology 52 (2008) 263–277

expressed in terms of Archie's Law (Archie, 1942). For a symbols) and also the previous measurements of Morey
situation in which all pore spaces are saturated, this may et al. (1984) and our calculations of FF from the mea-
be expressed as surements of Thyssen et al. (1974) and Buckley et al.
(1986). All measurements are for FY ice, and Vb(S,T)
q ¼ /m qb ð10Þ and ρb(T) were calculated identically for all data.
Therefore larger FF values indicate higher measured
where ϕ is the porosity, m is an empirically determined values of resistivity. Lines indicate Archie’s Law
parameter, and ρb is the resistivity of the more behaviour, FF = ϕ− m, for different m values.
conductive phase. In the present situation ρb therefore Our data are seen to depart from Archie’s Law
represents the resistivity of the brine. For sea ice brine behavior above a brine volume fraction of about
inclusions, the brine inclusion salinity Sb is a function of Vb⁎ ≈ 8–10%, although the precise point of departure
only temperature and ρb can also be calculated as a is not well constrained. As discussed below this
function of only temperature. Morey et al. (1984) give probably indicates the effect of enhanced connectivity
equations to calculate ρb(T) up to − 2.0 °C. We have between brine pockets at high brine volume fractions.
extended this approach to 0 °C using the Sb(T) relation- We note that the vb values from June 8 (stars) are
ship found in Lepparanta and Manninen (1988). Using somewhat sensitive to the uncertainty in salinity
these ρb(T) values we follow the approach of Morey measurements, but with little effect on our overall
et al. (1984) and analyze our results in terms of the conclusions. For such high temperatures (T N − 2.5 °C)
‘formation factor’ FF = ρ/ρb, where ρ here is the mea- vb is increasingly sensitive to salinity, which can be
sured value of ρH, and according to Archie’s Law, underestimated through brine drainage during coring.
FF = ϕ− m. For a maximum salinity underestimate of 20%, Vb
Fig. 6 shows the formation factor as a function values (in units of %) for these points are under-
of porosity for our three sets of measurements (solid estimated by 4.5 ± 2.2, but with only a slight increase in

Fig. 6. Log−log plot of formation factor (FF) as a function of brine volume fraction. Solid symbols are our measurements. Squares – from 22−25
April; triangles − 11 May; stars − 8 June 2006. Open symbols are from the three sets of measurements of Morey et al. (1984) at two different sites.
Crosses are horizontal resistivities from Timco (1979). Asterisks are layer averages from the three measurements of Buckley et al. (1986) at two sites
in McMurdo Sound. All measurements were made in FY ice.
 M. Ingham et al. / Cold Regions Science and Technology 52 (2008) 263–277 275

Vb⁎ ≈ 9−10%. These measurements overlap with the We have demonstrated that cross-borehole resistivity
results from Thyssen et al. (1974) and Buckley et al. tomography is able to resolve the spatial variation in the
(1986), but are significantly higher than those of Morey horizontal component of the anisotropic resistivity of sea
et al. (1984). The reason for this discrepancy is not ice. Repeat measurements made over the period during
known, but we consider it unlikely that our measure- which the ice warmed during spring have shown temporal
ments have significantly overestimated the resistivity. variations in ρH which correlate with changes in the brine
For Vb b 10%, a regression on Eq: (8) gives a best-fit volume fraction and, at lower temperatures and brine
value of m = 2.88. Some care should be taken in volume fractions, are broadly consistent with Archie's
interpreting this value however, as relaxing the con- Law. At temperatures above −5 °C there is evidence of a
straint of FF = 1 at Vb = 100% leads to higher m values. percolation transition. Further measurements planned
using 4 electrode strings are aimed at producing improved
4. Discussion and conclusions resolution of the resistivity structure and its variation with
time. Improved resolution will also be aided by redesign
Numerous observations suggest that the brine compo- of the electrode strings to reduce the size of the “halo”
nent of sea ice undergoes a percolation transition, such region around the strings, and by use of smaller and more
that upon warming the brine pockets in cold ice become closely spaced electrodes. Correlation of cross-borehole
interconnected over larger scales as the temperature measurements with surface resistivity soundings may also
increases. At this point the bulk physical properties of sea allow more complete information to be extracted con-
ice become dominated by the physical properties of the cerning the spatial and temporal evolution of the aniso-
brine component. Such a transition is common in many 2- tropic resistivity structure as a whole, and its relation to the
phase systems. Within sea ice it has been suggested that microstructure of sea ice.
the percolation transition occurs at a brine volume fraction
of about 5% (Golden et al., 1998; Golden, 2000, 2003) Acknowledgements
and as the volume fraction of brine is a function of
temperature, the transition is expected to be approached in This work was partly supported by a Royal Society
a continuous manner (Light et al., 2003). In sea ice with a of New Zealand ISAT award to MI. Support by the
typical salinity of 5–6 psu this should occur at a National Science Foundation and the Barrow Arctic
temperature of about −5 °C. Science Consortium is also gratefully acknowledged.
The derived behaviour of the horizontal component of
the bulk resistivity is entirely consistent with these Appendix A. Electric current and potential in an
expectations. Through the bulk of the sea ice there is a anisotropic medium (Bhattacharya and Patra, 1968)
general decrease in resistivity with increasing salinity and
brine volume fraction. The analysis in section 3 suggests In an anisotropic medium in which there is an
that this behavior can be considered to be generally well- electric current the current density is related to electric
described by Archie's Law below about 10% brine field by
volume fraction, for which we find a best fit of m = 2.88.
However, close to the ice–water interface, where the Jx ¼ rxx Ex þ rxy Ey þ rxz Ez
derived resistivity drops rapidly from 100 or 1000 Ωm to Jy ¼ ryx Ex þ ryy Ey þ ryz Ez ðA1Þ
less than 10 Ωm, ρH decreases faster than expected by Jz ¼ rzx Ex þ rzy Ey þ rzz Ez
Archie's Law with the implication of an important change
in microstructural geometry and the suggestion that ρH where it can be demonstrated that σjk = σkj.
may have crossed a percolation threshold. At these depths When the axial system is oriented parallel to the
within the sea ice the temperature is above −5 °C and the principal axes of anisotropy (A1) reduces to
brine volume fractions exceed 8−10%.
As brine inclusions are preferentially oriented verti- 1
Jx ¼ rxx Ex ¼ Ex
cally it is likely that as the sea ice warms, and the brine qx
volume expands, connectivity of brine will be initially 1
Jy ¼ ryy Ey ¼ Ey ðA2Þ
established in the vertical direction. Thus it is reasonable qy
to assume that the vertical component of the anisotropic 1
Jz ¼ rzz Ez ¼ Ez
resistivity, ρV, will not only also cross a percolation qz
threshold, but may do so at slightly lower brine volume
fractions than ρH. where the ρ's are now the principal resistivities.
276 M. Ingham et al. / Cold Regions Science and Technology 52 (2008) 263–277

Continuity of electric current (div J = 0) now gives In most geological situations bedding exists. In the
  !   bedding plane the resistivity is generally isotropic and
∂ Ex ∂ Ey ∂ Ez we refer to it as ρS. Perpendicular to the bedding the
þ þ ¼0 ðA3Þ
∂x qx ∂y qy ∂z qz transverse resistivity is ρT. In the case of sea ice, with
brine inclusions oriented vertically, the bedding plane
and if the medium is homogeneously anisotropic, then may be considered to be horizontal and we identify ρS
expressing the electric field as the gradient of a scalar with the horizontal resistivity and ρT with the vertical
potential V reduces (A3) to resistivity. For a horizontal bedding Eq. (A4) becomes
 
1 ∂2 V 1 ∂2 V 1 ∂2 V 1 ∂2 V ∂2 V 1 ∂2 V
þ þ ¼ 0: ðA4Þ þ þ ¼0 ðA7Þ
qx ∂x 2 qy ∂y 2 qz ∂z2 qS ∂x 2 ∂y 2 qT ∂z2

If we now redefine the co-ordinate system by and the equipotential surfaces

q
pffiffiffiffiffi pffiffiffiffiffi pffiffiffiffiffi x2 þ y2 þ T z 2 ¼ K 2
a ¼ x qx b ¼ y qy g ¼ z qz qS
are ellipsoids of revolution about the vertical axis.
then Eq. (A4) reduces to Laplace's equation If we now define the coefficient of anisotropy (λ) and
the mean resistivity (ρm) as
∂2 V ∂2 V ∂2 V rffiffiffiffiffi
þ þ ¼0 qT
∂a2 ∂b2 ∂g2 k¼
qS
which has a solution pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
qm ¼ qT qS
C
V ¼
ða2 þ b2 þ g2 Þ1=2 the solution for V (A5) can be written as
C
¼ ðA5Þ C
ðqx x2 þ qy y2 þ qz z2 Þ1=2 V ¼ 1=2
ðA8Þ
qS ðx2 þ y2 þ k2 z2 Þ1=2
where C is a constant of integration. and the current densities as
The equipotential surfaces, defined by,
Cx
Jx ¼
qx x þ qy y þ qz z ¼ K
2 2 2 2 3=2
qS ðx2 þ y2 þ k2 z2 Þ3=2
Cy
are ellipsoids with axes coinciding with the principal Jy ¼ 3=2 :
qS ðx2 þ y2 þ k2 z2 Þ3=2
axes of anisotropy. The current densities are given by: Cz
Jz ¼
1 ∂V Cx 3=2
qS ðx2 þ y2 þ k2 z2 Þ3=2
Jx ¼  ¼
qx ∂x ðqx x2 þ qy y2 þ qz z2 Þ3=2
1 ∂V Cy The total current density is
Jy ¼  ¼ ðA6Þ
qy ∂y ðqx x þ qy y2 þ qz z2 Þ3=2
2 Cðx2 þ y2 þ z2 Þ1=2
J¼ ðA9Þ
1 ∂V Cz 3=2
qS ðx2 þ y2 þ k2 z2 Þ3=2
Jz ¼  ¼
qz ∂z ðqx x2 þ qy y2 þ qz z2 Þ3=2
Suppose now that a current I is passed into the ground
which shows that through a single electrode embedded in the anisotropic
Jx Jy Jz medium. The current must subsequently pass through a
¼ ¼ sphere of radius R centred on the electrode. Namely
x y z
Z Z 2k Z p
This implies that current lines spread out radially I ¼ J :ds ¼ J :R2 sinh:dh:du
0 0
from the source as they do in an isotropic medium. The s
electric field only coincides with the current lines along where θ and ϕ are the polar and azimuthal angles,
the principal axes. respectively.
 M. Ingham et al. / Cold Regions Science and Technology 52 (2008) 263–277 277

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