Thermal conductivity of ice

Abstract

The thermal conductivity of ice, the low-pressure $\mathrm{I}h$ phase of ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$O, is reviewed and good agreement is found with the theoretical calculations of its absolute value and temperature dependence. Measurements under pressure show an anomalous decrease in conductivity with decreasing molar volume. This is explained by the negative Gr\"uneisen parameter for the transverse acoustic modes which dominate the heat transport. The conductivity behaves predominantly like that of a wurtzite lattice of rigid mass points with an atomic mass of 18. Some traces of the interaction of the lattice phonons with the higher-lying librational modes can be seen. The volume dependence of the conductivity of the higher-pressure phases of ice and of N${\mathrm{H}}_{4}$F is related to that of $\mathrm{I}h$ ice.