United States sea ice physics project, 1954–59

In 1954 the Geophysics Research Directorate of the Air Force Cambridge Research Center (AFCRC), at the request of Northeast Air Command, United States Air Force, organized a study of the physical properties, growth, and bearing capacity of sea ice. The object of the study was to gain information abo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polar Record
Main Author: Weeks, W. F.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1959
Subjects:
Ice
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247400066730
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247400066730
Description
Summary:In 1954 the Geophysics Research Directorate of the Air Force Cambridge Research Center (AFCRC), at the request of Northeast Air Command, United States Air Force, organized a study of the physical properties, growth, and bearing capacity of sea ice. The object of the study was to gain information about the conditions under which various aircraft and vehicles could operate on sea ice, for supply and rescue purposes. The Navy Hydrographic Office (NHO) and the Snow, Ice and Permafrost Research Establishment (SIPRE) of the Army Corps of Engineers also took part in the project. The spheres of interest of each organization were as follows: AFCRC, the application of geophysical and crystallographic methods to the study of sea ice; NHO, the details of the relations between meteorological conditions and the growth rate and general physical properties of sea ice; and SIPRE, the variation of the strength of sea ice as determined by small-scale field tests, and the application of this information toward an analysis of the bearing capacity of sea ice.