Internal wave generation by sea ice moving in stratified water: An analytical and experimental study

Internal wave generation has been shown to be a primary contributor to the ice-water drag coefficient of sea ice moving in sharply stratified water, such as is found in the Marginal Ice Zone during the spring melt season. This study examines the effect of internal wave generation on the ice-water drag of ice floes moving in stratified water through analytical methods in conjunction with further analysis of existing experimental data from model tests performed at Davidson Laboratory. Two different analytical methods are used, one is an analytical solution to the problem of a body, modeled as a system of sources moving over two-layer, stratified water, obtained with the use of Green's functions. The second method is an adaptation of a quasi-analytical larger-scale ice movement model. Each model is shown to provide reasonable to good correlation with the experimental data. A discussion of the impact of this study on present and future ice floe numerical models is discussed. The errors resulting from non-inclusion of internal wave effects is shown to severely hinder the predictions of ice floe free drift in the Marginal Ice Zone.