Gypsum and hydrohalite dynamics in sea ice brines

Mineral authigenesis from their dissolved sea salt matrix is an emergent feature of sea ice brines, fuelled by dramatic equilibrium solubility changes in the large sub-zero temperature range of this cryospheric system on the surface of high latitude oceans. The multi-electrolyte composition of seawater results in the potential for several minerals to precipitate in sea ice, each affecting the in-situ geochemical properties of the sea ice brine system, the habitat of sympagic biota. The solubility of two of these minerals, gypsum (CaSO4·2H2O) and hydrohalite (NaCl·2H2O), was investigated in high ionic strength multi-electrolyte solutions at below-zero temperatures to examine their dissolution-precipitation dynamics in the sea ice brine system. The gypsum dynamics in sea ice were found to be highly dependent on the solubilities of mirabilite and hydrohalite between 0.2 and -25.0°C. The hydrohalite solubility between -14.3 and -25.0°C exhibits a sharp change between undersaturated and supersaturated conditions, and, thus, distinct temperature fields of precipitation and dissolution in sea ice, with saturation occurring at -22.9°C. The sharp changes in hydrohalite solubility at temperatures ⩽−22.9 °C result from the formation of an ice-hydrohalite aggregate, which alters the structural properties of brine inclusions in cold sea ice. Favourable conditions for gypsum precipitation in sea ice were determined to occur in the region of hydrohalite precipitation below -22.9°C and in conditions of metastable mirabilite supersaturation above -22.9°C (investigated at -7.1 and -8.2°C here) but gypsum is unlikely to persist once mirabilite forms at these warmer (>−22.9 °C) temperatures. The dynamics of hydrohalite in sea ice brines based on its experimental solubility were consistent with that derived from thermodynamic modelling (FREZCHEM code) but the gypsum dynamics derived from the code were inconsistent with that indicated by its experimental solubility in this system. Incorporation of hydrohalite solubility into a 1D thermodynamic model of the growth of first-year Arctic sea ice showed its precipitation to initiate once the incoming shortwave radiation dropped to 0 W m−2, and that it can reach concentrations of 9.9 g kg−1 within the upper and coldest layers of the ice pack. This suggests a limited effect of hydrohalite on the albedo of sea ice. The insights provided by the solubility measurements into the behaviour of gypsum and hydrohalite in the ice-brine system cannot be gleaned from field investigations at present.