Sediments and other particulates are often entrained into sea ice form
ed over shallow shelves in the Arctic, causing significant changes in
the albedo of the ice and in the amount of shortwave radiation absorbe
d and transmitted by the ice. A structural-optical model was used in c
onjunction with a four-stream radiative transfer model to examine the
effects of such particulates on the optical properties of sea ice. Alb
edo data from well-characterized ice with moderate particulate loading
were combined with model calculations to infer a spectral absorption
coefficient and effective size for the particulates. Results indicate
that sediment particles contained in the ice have an effective radius
(R) of similar to 9 mu m, assuming absorption coefficients similar to
those of Saharan dust. With these values, model predictions are in clo
se agreement with spectral albedo observations over a broad range of p
articulate loading. For particle size distributions commonly observed
in sea ice, the calculations indicate that particles with R > 30 mu m
have little effect on the bulk optical properties of the ice. The albe
do data also suggest that even apparently ''clean'' ice contains trace
amounts (5-10 g m(-3)) of particulates that reduce albedos by as much
as 5-10% in the visible part of the spectrum. The calculations show t
hat particulates in sea ice primarily affect radiative transfer at vis
ible wavelengths, whereas apparent optical properties in the near-infr
ared tend to be governed by ice structure rather than by the presence
of particulates. Particle-bearing layers occurring below similar to 20
-30 cm are found to have little effect on albedo, although they can st
ill have a substantial effect on transmission. Estimates of total part
icle loading cannot be obtained from reflectance data without some add
itional information on particle size, vertical distribution, and ice s
tructure.