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Modelling wave-induced sea ice break-up in the marginal ice zone.
1Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Proceedings. Mathematical, Physical, and Engineering Sciences
|November 10, 2017
Summary
Ocean waves breaking up ice floes in the marginal ice zone (MIZ) create a unimodal or bimodal ice floe size distribution (FSD), not the power law seen in field studies. Multiple scattering effects vary with wave and ice properties.
Area of Science:
- * Oceanography
- * Sea Ice Physics
- * Wave Mechanics
Background:
- * The marginal ice zone (MIZ) is a dynamic region where sea ice interacts with ocean waves.
- * Understanding ice floe size distribution (FSD) evolution is crucial for climate and oceanographic models.
- * Previous studies often lack detailed models of wave-ice interactions and floe fragmentation.
Purpose of the Study:
- * To model the evolution of ice floe size distribution (FSD) under repeated ocean wave forcing in the MIZ.
- * To investigate the role of wave-ice interactions and floe break-up on FSD.
- * To compare model-generated FSD with field observations, particularly power-law distributions.
Main Methods:
- * Development of a 3D linear wave scattering model for compliant circular ice floes.
- * Coupling the wave model with a flexural failure model to simulate floe break-up.
- * Implementation of a closed-feedback loop algorithm for iterative simulation of wave forcing and FSD evolution.
Main Results:
- * Simulations show that 50 wave break-up events result in a unimodal, near-normal, or bimodal FSD.
- * The model suggests ocean waves alone do not produce the power-law FSD observed in some field studies.
- * Multiple scattering enhances break-up for long waves/thin ice but reduces it for short waves/thick ice, leading to a 'break-up front'.
Conclusions:
- * Ocean wave forcing alone may not explain the observed power-law FSD in the MIZ.
- * The interplay between wave characteristics, ice properties, and multiple scattering significantly influences floe break-up dynamics.
- * Wave-induced fracture can create a propagating break-up front, altering ice cover integrity and wave penetration into the MIZ.
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