Drift and deterioration of Petermann ice islands ...

• Main Author: Zeinali Torbati, Reza
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Memorial University of Newfoundland 2024
• Subjects: Sea ice
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.48336/9tjw-gg65; https://research.library.mun.ca/16339/

The eastern Canadian waters is an important part of Canadian shipping lanes and subjected to occasional ice island presence, which could pose serious hazards to offshore and shipping activities in this region. It is, therefore, important to better characterize the dynamics of glacial ice features for safe and cost-effective activities in the region. This thesis presents advanced predictive models to provide a better understanding of how atmospheric and oceanic variables influence ice island drift and deterioration. To understand how ice islands drift under the influence of atmospheric and oceanic forces, a deterministic model was presented, where the relative contribution of various forces governing the drift of four tracked ice islands was quantified. The results showed that in low sea ice concentrations and ice island speeds, ocean current and sea surface tilt forces dominated ice island force balance (63% on average). Wind, however, played a minor role (< 5%), and Coriolis and sea ice forces were ...