A thin-plate approximation for ocean wave interactions with an ice shelf

• Published in: Journal of Fluid Mechanics
• Main Authors: Bennetts, Luke G., Williams, Timothy D., Porter, Richard
• Other Authors: Australian Research Council
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2024
• Subjects: Ice Shelf
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jfm.2024.200; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022112024002003

A variational principle is proposed to derive the governing equations for the problem of ocean wave interactions with a floating ice shelf, where the ice shelf is modelled by the full linear equations of elasticity and has an Archimedean draught. The variational principle is used to form a thin-plate approximation for the ice shelf, which includes water–ice coupling at the shelf front and extensional waves in the shelf, in contrast to the benchmark thin-plate approximation for ocean wave interactions with an ice shelf. The thin-plate approximation is combined with a single-mode approximation in the water, where the vertical motion is constrained to the eigenfunction that supports propagating waves. The new terms in the approximation are shown to have a major impact on predictions of ice shelf strains for wave periods in the swell regime.