On the Three‐Dimensional Scattering of Waves by Flexible Marginal Ice Floes

Abstract

AbstractWe reformulate a three‐dimensional theory for wave‐ice interactions for flexible ice floes and present a comparison of this new formulation with selected recent parameterizations for the scattering of ocean surface waves due to individual ice floes. The formulation is based on single flow scattering and a transport equation for energy, which fits with the paradigm used in wave prediction code. These parameterizations are implemented as source terms in the action balance equation for a modern version of the phase‐averaging wave model WAVEWATCH III® (denoted WW3). In this comparison, a simple experiment is performed with regularly distributed ice floes in a marginal ice zone. With the new wave‐ice formulation, results show that attenuation in the direction of propagation is less intense than for the other considered formulations, scattering is more isotropic, and the wave energy is attenuated in the region of the original spectral peak. Thus, a new spectral peak is developed, which is shifted to higher frequencies. The wave scattering and subsequent attenuation are related to the floe response amplitude and the dimensions of the ice floes.