1 ABSTRACT

A series of optical experiments were performed on sea ice in McMurdo Sound between 16 October and 8 November 1990. These included both a measurement of the spatial spreading of light introduced at a point on the surface and the temporal spreading of a brief pulse of light injected at a point. These experiments will further clarify the details of the interaction of light with this turbid natural material. A number of thermal and physical measurements were also performed on the ice in order to relate the optical behaviour to the physical structure of the ice.