Wind Effect on Flexural-Gravity Waves
Abstract
The first navigators to encounter the Arctic and Antartic ice margins rapidly became aware the penetration of ocean waves into ice-fields. These waves are termed as flexural-gravity waves (or coupled ice-ocean waves) whose dispersion and energy decay are determined by the character of the ice as well as the water beneath. The ultimate energy source for the flexural-gravity wave is the atmospheric pressure fluctuations generated by winds. However, this wind effect has not been included into the flexural-gravity wave theories (e.g., Squire, 1984; Wadhams et al, 1986; Liu and Mollo-Christensen, 1988). The main purpose of this paper is to show the importance of wind forcing on the flexural-gravity waves. Similar to ice compressive stress, the major wind effect on the flexural-gravity wave is to reduce the group velocity. In the area of low compress stress, the wave energy accumulation occurs in the area of high wind forcing.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 1991
- Accession Number
- ADA530522
Entities
People
- Peter Cheng Chu
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School