= Ice dissolution in saline water
Salt lowers the freezing temperature of water. Consequently <ice> can ablate in saline water below the pure-water <melting> temperature if the ocean is warmer than its own <liquidus>. Solute diffusion towards the interface sustains the freezing-point depression. In the <diffusive glacier-ablation interface law>, small compositional <Péclet number> makes interfacial salinity close to ocean salinity and gives $P\simeq[T_\infty-T_m+\Gamma(C_\infty-C_s)]/[LD/(c_p\kappa)+\Gamma(C_\infty-C_s)]$ near the no-ablation threshold. This is diffusion-assisted dissolution rather than a supply of heat above the pure-water melting point; latent heat must still be supplied to complete the phase change.
Back to article page
