Sea ice floes dissipate the energy of steep ocean waves

Abstract

Wave attenuation by ice floes is an important parameter for modelling the Arctic Oceans. At present, attenuation coefficients are extracted from linear models as a function of the incident wave period and floe thickness. Recent explorations in the Antarctic Mixed Ice Zone (MIZ) revealed a further dependence on wave amplitude, suggesting that nonlinear contributions are non-negligible. An experimental model for wave attenuation by a single ice floe in a wave flume is here presented. Observations are compared with linear predictions based on wave scattering. Results indicate that linear models perform well under the effect of gently sloping waves. For more energetic wave fields, however, transmitted wave height is normally over predicted. Deviations from linearity appear to be related to an enhancement of wave dissipation induced by unaccounted wave-ice interaction processes, including the floe over wash.

References in corpus (2)

• The excitation of rogue waves in a variable medium: an experimental study on the interaction of water waves and currents
• An idealised experimental model of ocean surface wave transmission by an ice floe

Cited by in corpus (5)

• Fluid-structure interaction of a large ice sheet in waves
• Physical drivers of ocean wave attenuation in the marginal ice zone
• Interactions between irregular wave fields and sea ice: A physical model for wave attenuation and ice breakup in an ice tank
• Model predictions of wave overwash extent into the marginal ice zone
• Estimates of dissipation of wave energy by sea ice for a field experiment in the Southern Ocean, using model/data inversion