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Write $q=bu$, $\rho ={\rho }_{\infty }$ and $r=\rho -{\rho }_s>0$. The first balance is depth-integrated momentum conservation. Its left side is the downstream increase of horizontal momentum flux. The wind contributes the applied stress $S$; the remaining term is the resultant hydrostatic force associated with the sloping base of the light layer. Because $\overline{\rho }-\rho <0$, that term opposes the wind when $b^{\prime }>0$.

For a strip of unit alongshore width and length $dx$, let $E=q^{\prime }$ be the entrained ocean-volume flux per unit area. Ocean entering the layer carries temperature $T_{\infty }$ and concentration $C_{\infty }$ but no horizontal momentum in this model. Take the reference liquid enthalpy at $T_{\infty }$ to be zero and setThe latent term is negative because ice has lower enthalpy than liquid at the same temperature. The incoming entrained water has zero relative enthalpy, and the outgoing minus incoming horizontal enthalpy flux is $[eq{]}^{\prime }dx$. Atmospheric heat loss therefore gives $[eq{]}^{\prime }=-f$. Similarly, solute conservation givesThese are the second and third balances. Their reference-flux form has already subtracted the heat and solute brought in by entrainment; those fluxes must not be subtracted again.

There is a dimensional normalization to make explicit. With the printed specific $c_p,L$, the physical heat-flux balance is $\rho [eq{]}^{\prime }=-F_{\mathrm{phys}}$. Thus $f=F_{\mathrm{phys}}/\rho$. The displayed exam equation uses its symbol $F$ for $f$, or implicitly works with density-normalized heat flux. The derivation below uses $f$ to keep these two meanings distinct.

With no incoming coastal jet or ice source, the conditions at $x=0$ areThe regular emerging layer also has $T\to T_{\infty }$, $\varphi \to 0$, $\overline{C}\to C_{\infty }$ and $b\to 0$. Prescribed nonzero inlet fluxes would replace these conditions and destroy the coast-origin power law. A zero-thickness coast does not justify independently prescribing an arbitrary nonzero velocity there.

Integration of the solute and enthalpy balances yields $\overline{C}=C_{\infty }$ wherever $q>0$, and $eq=-fx$. Local phase equilibrium now givesFor $\varphi \ll 1$, putTo leading order, $\varphi q=Kx$. The potential-energy closure implies $rg\varphi b{b}^{\prime }=S/4$, and substituting it in the momentum equation givesDividing the ice flux by this last relation gives $\varphi =(K/J)u$. If $b\propto x^p$, $u\propto x^q$, momentum gives $p+2q=1$, while the potential-energy balance gives $2p+q=1$. Thus $p=q=1/3$. Substitution fixes the coefficients:This is the dilute frazil polynya similarity solution. In particular, all three variables grow as $x^{1/3}$, $q$ grows as $x^{2/3}$, and the solution stops being dilute when $\varphi$ is no longer small. Density differences have been retained in buoyancy, but not in inertia or the normalized heat capacity.

To account for upward settling, one must distinguish retained suspension from crystals that leave it. A consistent depth-averaged extension has an upward exported ice-volume flux $R$ and an entrainment flux $E$. If all phases retain the same mean horizontal velocity within the layer, its balances becomeThe last term removes the momentum carried out by the ice; its density may be restored to ${\rho }_s$ outside the Boussinesq approximation. Consequentlyso one may no longer set $\overline{C}=C_{\infty }$. The local equilibrium relations are unchanged, but use the new bulk concentration. The frazil export enthalpy balance also shows why a simple replacement $-f\mapsto -f-LR$ has the wrong sign: exported ice carries negative relative enthalpy.

A slip speed $w$ requires a vertical particle-flux closure, for example $R=w\varphi$ for a well-mixed top boundary. A nonuniform suspension instead requires its surface concentration and buoyancy moment. The potential-energy closure must then include the gravitational energy released by rising light crystals, with scale $rgw\varphi b$, and any energy and buoyancy moment carried through the boundaries. For example, a well-mixed closure that transfers a fraction $\eta$ of this released power to entrainment and neglects additional boundary potential-energy transport would replace the original work balance byThe allocation $\eta$ and exported potential-energy flux are extra closure information, not supplied constants of the original model. The original work balance cannot be retained unchanged while treating settling as an additional loss of suspended ice. Phase-dependent horizontal speeds would also replace $q\varphi$ and $q(1-\varphi )$ by their separate phase fluxes.

It is important to compare total production, not merely the retained ice flux. LetIntegrated solute conservation gives $C(q-I)=C_{\infty }(q+R_{\ast })$, henceIntegrating the heat balance, and neglecting products of the small concentration departure with the exported flux, givesto dilute order, provided the total processed fraction $P/q$, not only the retained fraction $\varphi$, remains small. Thus upward settling reduces retained suspension, but does not increase the leading-order total production at fixed atmospheric heat loss. Beyond that order, efficient removal can reduce the subsequent sensible cooling of crystals and enhance mixing of ocean water; the usual expectation is a larger latent-heat fraction and hence greater production. Its amount, or an unconditional larger/smaller claim, needs the settling, mixing and surface-export closures just identified. At fixed $f$, energy conservation bounds the production by the available heat loss; it must not be inferred simply by observing fewer suspended crystals.