Wind Drift, Breakdown, and Pile Up of the Ice Field

Abstract

This article contains the analytical model of the drift of a separate ice field under the action of wind and current, in which velocities and directions can vary over time. The model takes into account the mass of ice, added mass of seawater, and the effects of the wind and current on the ice field in forming the friction on its upper and underwater surfaces and the frontal resistance on its end (forward and backward) surfaces. Simulation of the wind drift of the ice field showed the drift velocity exceeds the considerable known velocity of a compact ice cover drift. A drifting ice field has a certain kinetic energy that should be released when a collision occurs with an unmovable obstacle, and spent on brittle breakdown of a quantity of the ice field. The volume of formed small ice pieces (fragments of ice field) was estimated by comparison of the specific energy of the sea ice brittle destruction and the kinetic energy of the drifting ice field. The article presents the results of the estimation of the possible volume of the ice pieces and the scales of formed piles as a result of a collision with an obstacle, depending on the initial dimensions of the ice field and wind speed. Developed models and the results of computer modeling can be used to estimate the ice pile sizes near the stationary platforms and terminals on the Arctic seas.