ARCTIC ICE DYNAMICS JOINT EXPERIMENT. NUMERICAL MODELING REPORT

A model of the motion of drifting pack ice in the Arctic is presented, treating the growth and melt rates of the ice, the formation of leads and pressure ridges, and a mechanical response which is elastic at low stress levels and plastic at some higher, critical state of stress. The strength of the ice is determined by its thickness distribution, and therefore varies because of both thermal and mechanical effects. To examine the behavior of the model, several artificial calculations were made by specifying the strain rate history of a single element of pack ice and solving for the ice thickness distribution and the states of stress in the ice. This paper, written by the AIDJEX Modeling Group, identifies many details in the model that require further study, but concludes that the underlying physical assumptions will do. Bulletin No. 24 contains, in addition, a paper by A. Thorndike on strain and strain rate calculations based on position measurements made during the 1972 AIDJEX pilot study and a paper by R. Schwaegler on fracture in ice sheets due to isostatic shear imbalance.

• Corporate Authors:

  University of Washington, Seattle

  Division of Marine Sciences
  Seattle, WA  United States  98105
• Publication Date: 1974-5

Media Info

• Pagination: 151 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Ice; Ice formations; Motion; Pack ice; Strength of materials
• Old TRIS Terms: Ice movement; Ice ridge orientation; Ice strength
• Subject Areas: Hydraulics and Hydrology; Marine Transportation; Materials;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00057686
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: AIDEX-Bull-24;74-24
• Contract Numbers: NSF-C625
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Nov 6 1974 12:00AM