IMPINGEMENT OF SEA ICE ON THE NORTH COAST OF ALASKA

Observations and predictions of the movement of sea ice in polar oceans have been and still are severely limited because of the size of the areas involved and the obscuration of the ice by clouds and/or darkness during much of the year. Lack of knowledge of the mechanics of the ice and its coupling at the air and water interfaces has been a further impediment. An attempt was made to develop a technique which would overcome some of these problems and facilitate the prediction of ice movement without direct observation. By mathematical conversion, daily atmospheric surface pressures for the period 1948 to 1967 were translated to hypothetical ice drift vectors at 10 points in the Beaufort and Chuckchi seas. Comparisons were made with wind observations on, and drift tracks of, several drifting stations which moved within the study area. Although complete correlation between the hypothetical ice drift and the observed movement of the pack ice boundary was not obtained, this may reflect the quality of the visual observations available for the period rather than weakness of a statistical study. The authors conclude that the technique can improve the understanding of the relationship between wind and ice drift.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Coast and Shelf of the Beaufort Sea, Symposium, Proceedings, San Francisco, California, January 7-9, 1974.
• Corporate Authors:

  Arctic Institute of North America

  3426 North Washington Boulevard
  Arlington, VA  United States  22201
• Authors:
  • Sater, J E
  • Walsh, J E
  • Wittmann, W I
• Conference:
  • Coast and Shelf of the Beaufort Sea, Symposium, Proceedings, San Francisco, California, January 7-9, 1974.
• Publication Date: 1974

Media Info

• Features: References;
• Pagination: p. 85-105

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Drift ice; Ice; Motion; Pack ice
• Old TRIS Terms: Ice movement; Ice reporting; Ice water air interaction; Wind driven ice
• Subject Areas: Hydraulics and Hydrology; Marine Transportation; Materials;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00151970
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Engineering Index
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Apr 13 1977 12:00AM