An Analytical Model of Iceberg Drift
AbstractThe fate of icebergs in the polar oceans plays an important role in Earth’s climate system, yet a detailed understanding of iceberg dynamics has remained elusive. Here, the central physical processes that determine iceberg motion are investigated. This is done through the development and ana...
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ftcdlib:oai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt2bc529ss 2023-05-15T13:58:41+02:00 An Analytical Model of Iceberg Drift Wagner, Till JW Dell, Rebecca W Eisenman, Ian 1605 - 1616 2017-07-01 application/pdf https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2bc529ss unknown eScholarship, University of California qt2bc529ss https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2bc529ss public Journal of Physical Oceanography, vol 47, iss 7 Life Below Water Oceanography Maritime Engineering article 2017 ftcdlib 2023-02-06T18:41:05Z AbstractThe fate of icebergs in the polar oceans plays an important role in Earth’s climate system, yet a detailed understanding of iceberg dynamics has remained elusive. Here, the central physical processes that determine iceberg motion are investigated. This is done through the development and analysis of an idealized model of iceberg drift. The model is forced with high-resolution surface velocity and temperature data from an observational state estimate. It retains much of the most salient physics, while remaining sufficiently simple to allow insight into the details of how icebergs drift. An analytical solution of the model is derived, which highlights how iceberg drift patterns depend on iceberg size, ocean current velocity, and wind velocity. A long-standing rule of thumb for Arctic icebergs estimates their drift velocity to be 2% of the wind velocity relative to the ocean current. Here, this relationship is derived from first principles, and it is shown that the relationship holds in the limit of small icebergs or strong winds, which applies for typical Arctic icebergs. For the opposite limit of large icebergs (length > 12 km) or weak winds, which applies for typical Antarctic tabular icebergs, it is shown that this relationship is not applicable and icebergs move with the ocean current, unaffected by the wind. The latter regime is confirmed through comparisons with observed iceberg trajectories near the Antarctic Peninsula. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Arctic Iceberg* Iceberg* University of California: eScholarship Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Arctic The Antarctic Thumb ENVELOPE(-64.259,-64.259,-65.247,-65.247) |
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Open Polar |
collection |
University of California: eScholarship |
op_collection_id |
ftcdlib |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Life Below Water Oceanography Maritime Engineering |
spellingShingle |
Life Below Water Oceanography Maritime Engineering Wagner, Till JW Dell, Rebecca W Eisenman, Ian An Analytical Model of Iceberg Drift |
topic_facet |
Life Below Water Oceanography Maritime Engineering |
description |
AbstractThe fate of icebergs in the polar oceans plays an important role in Earth’s climate system, yet a detailed understanding of iceberg dynamics has remained elusive. Here, the central physical processes that determine iceberg motion are investigated. This is done through the development and analysis of an idealized model of iceberg drift. The model is forced with high-resolution surface velocity and temperature data from an observational state estimate. It retains much of the most salient physics, while remaining sufficiently simple to allow insight into the details of how icebergs drift. An analytical solution of the model is derived, which highlights how iceberg drift patterns depend on iceberg size, ocean current velocity, and wind velocity. A long-standing rule of thumb for Arctic icebergs estimates their drift velocity to be 2% of the wind velocity relative to the ocean current. Here, this relationship is derived from first principles, and it is shown that the relationship holds in the limit of small icebergs or strong winds, which applies for typical Arctic icebergs. For the opposite limit of large icebergs (length > 12 km) or weak winds, which applies for typical Antarctic tabular icebergs, it is shown that this relationship is not applicable and icebergs move with the ocean current, unaffected by the wind. The latter regime is confirmed through comparisons with observed iceberg trajectories near the Antarctic Peninsula. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Wagner, Till JW Dell, Rebecca W Eisenman, Ian |
author_facet |
Wagner, Till JW Dell, Rebecca W Eisenman, Ian |
author_sort |
Wagner, Till JW |
title |
An Analytical Model of Iceberg Drift |
title_short |
An Analytical Model of Iceberg Drift |
title_full |
An Analytical Model of Iceberg Drift |
title_fullStr |
An Analytical Model of Iceberg Drift |
title_full_unstemmed |
An Analytical Model of Iceberg Drift |
title_sort |
analytical model of iceberg drift |
publisher |
eScholarship, University of California |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2bc529ss |
op_coverage |
1605 - 1616 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-64.259,-64.259,-65.247,-65.247) |
geographic |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Arctic The Antarctic Thumb |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Arctic The Antarctic Thumb |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Arctic Iceberg* Iceberg* |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Arctic Iceberg* Iceberg* |
op_source |
Journal of Physical Oceanography, vol 47, iss 7 |
op_relation |
qt2bc529ss https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2bc529ss |
op_rights |
public |
_version_ |
1766267027152961536 |