Changes to ocean wave spectra in a marginal ice zone 2

Conference · Sat Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1994

OSTI ID:404180

Squire, V A; Meylan, M ^[1]

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1. Univ. of Otago, Dunedin (New Zealand)

An extension of the theory of Meyland and Squire (1993a,b, 1994a) to model isolated ice floes in a wave field is developed to embrace changes in ocean wave spectra induced by a field of pack ice. The work follows the monochromatic investigation of Meylan and Squire (1994b), where Rayleigh distributed floe lengths are used to represent a marginal ice zone (MIZ). The effect of an ice field on a Pierson-Moskowitz spectrum is treated first, varying the average floe length, distance into the ice cover, and the floe thickness. Floe thickness has a marked effect on wave propagation whereas floe length is less important. Variation with penetration is significant, but again thickness changes dominate. A penetrating directional spectrum is also investigated, both for omni-directional and unimodal seas. It is found that the ice leads to a narrowing of the omni-directional sea, but affects the unimodal sea minimally. The results agree in part with observations, but a fully three-dimensional theory which includes inter-floe collisions as a dissipative mechanism is strictly necessary.

• OSTI ID: 404180
• Report Number(s): CONF-940409--; ISBN 1-880653-10-9
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

42 ENGINEERING
CALCULATION METHODS
FLOW MODELS
ICE
OFFSHORE PLATFORMS
POLAR REGIONS
RESPONSE FUNCTIONS
WATER WAVES
WAVE FORCES