Onshore ice pile-up: a comparison between experiments and simulations

Abstract

Recently computer models have been used to simulate the Arctic pressure ridging process. The results of these simulations have led to revised estimates of the energy dissipated in pressure ridging. This is important in large-scale ice ocean modeling, where the internal strength of the ice pack depends on the energy expended in pressure ridging. However, there has been no experimental data available to establish the accuracy of the simulations. This lack of data is due to the difficulty of modeling the pressure ridging process in the laboratory and of measuring ridge formation in the field. In this work the results of computer simulations of the closely related process of ice pile-up on an inclined ramp are directly compared with the results of a similar series of physical experiments conducted in an ice basin. In the experiments and simulations an inclined ramp is pushed against a long, stationary strip of intact, floating ice. The forces exerted on the ramp, the total energy expended, and the increase in the potential energy of the ice piled on the ramp are measured.