Wave processes in the drifting ice of the Arctic Ocean in the MOSAiC expedition. Winter period

Abstract

One of the main directions of theoretical and applied research in the Arctic is the study of physical and mechanical processes in the atmosphere — ice — ocean system. For this purpose, theoretical and experimental problems are solved. The paper employs the method of monitoring the state of drifting ice by means of autonomous seismic stations in the MOSAiC international expedition in 2019–2020. The method of remote registration of ice information with a discreteness of 100 Hz made it possible to obtain data on the processes of compression and crushing of ice of various temporal and spatial scales. The paper presents early findings on the development of physico-mechanical processes in the ice cover under the influence of wind, oceanic gravitational waves, compression and crushing phenomena during large-scale deformations in drifting ice. The amplitude-frequency spectra of surface gravitational waves obtained in this work provide sufficient reason for attributing the phenomena described to swell waves and infra-gravity waves that occur in the stormy areas of the oceans. New data have been obtained on low-frequency horizontally polarized waves caused by the compression of ice and movements along breaks in the cohesive ice cover. The article considers the possibilities of using instrumental monitoring of the occurrence and development of tidal compression and crushing in the drifting ice of the Arctic Ocean. The results obtained can be used to develop methods for predicting the state of ice in real time both in engineering tasks and for improving weather and climate forecasting models.