Cryofouling avoidance in the Antarctic scallop Adamussium colbecki

Abstract

The presence of supercooled water in polar regions causes anchor ice to grow on submerged objects, generating costly problems for engineered materials and life-endangering risks for benthic communities. The factors driving underwater ice accretion are poorly understood, and passive prevention mechanisms remain unknown. Here we report that the Antarctic scallop Adamussium colbecki appears to remain ice-free in shallow Antarctic marine environments where underwater ice growth is prevalent. In contrast, scallops colonized by bush sponges in the same microhabitat grow ice and are removed from the population. Characterization of the Antarctic scallop shells revealed a hierarchical micro-ridge structure with sub-micron nano-ridges which promotes directed icing. This concentrates the formation of ice on the growth rings while leaving the regions in between free of ice, and appears to reduce ice-to-shell adhesion when compared to temperate species that do not possess highly ordered surface structures. The ability to control the formation of ice may enable passive underwater anti-icing protection, with the removal of ice possibly facilitated by ocean currents or scallop movements. We term this behavior cryofouling avoidance. We posit that the evolution of natural anti-icing structures is a key trait for the survival of Antarctic scallops in anchor ice zones.

Leveraging Solidification Dynamics to Design Robust Ice-Shedding Surfaces

“…Figure B shows schematically that the continued growth of the ice phase requires continued transfer of the heat of fusion away from the growth front . The latent heat generated is removed more quickly from the ridges formed by the weft wires than in the valleys between. − As such, even though nucleation will begin in the pores, the rate of growth will be highest from the weft wires on the face of the wire cloth. A cap of ice would be expected to form across the face of the cloth before complete icing of the volume between weft wires or within pores .…”

“…The latent heat generated is removed more quickly from the ridges formed by the weft wires than in the valleys between. − As such, even though nucleation will begin in the pores, the rate of growth will be highest from the weft wires on the face of the wire cloth. A cap of ice would be expected to form across the face of the cloth before complete icing of the volume between weft wires or within pores . We expect that the water within the re-entrant pores will be the last to freeze, as the latent heat of fusion generated within them is slowly removed once the pore openings freeze closed.…”

“…A cap of ice would be expected to form across the face of the cloth before complete icing of the volume between weft wires or within pores. 39 We expect that the water within the re-entrant pores will be the last to freeze, as the latent heat of fusion generated within them is slowly removed once the pore openings freeze closed.…”

Hyper-anti-freezing bionic functional surface to −90°C

“…Generally, bionic superhydrophobic surfaces (i.e. water contact angle (CA) >150° and sliding angle less than 10°) inspired by lotus leaf ( 26–28 ), butterfly wing ( 29 , 30 ), and antarctic scallop ( 31 ) are commonly used in those anti-icing phenomena ( 32 ).…”

Study on the Origin and Evolution of Femtosecond Laser-Induced Surface Structures: LIPSS, Quasi-Periodic Grooves, and Aperiodic Micro-Ridges

“…These laser-induced structures are very important for producing functional surfaces of technological interest. The LISS have been realized in sub-diffraction limit processing [ 4 ], optics and photonics [ 4 , 7 , 8 , 9 ], modification of electronic properties and band structure engineering [ 10 ], energy conversion and storage [ 11 ], photovoltaics [ 3 ], sensors and actuators [ 11 , 12 , 13 ], medical implants and other biological applications [ 14 , 15 ], wettability transition [ 3 , 16 ], cryofouling avoidance [ 17 ], micropumps [ 18 ], and others. Although LISS are important in the drive for technological advancement, the knowledge of how these structures evolve and how to manipulate them is still limited.…”