Wave Attenuation by Sea Ice in the Arctic Marginal Ice Zone Observed by Spaceborne SAR

Abstract Attenuation of ocean waves by ice is a crucial process of the interaction between waves and sea ice in marginal ice zone (MIZ), while such interaction can contribute to the retreating of sea ice in the Arctic. Based on the retrieved two‐dimensional ocean wave spectra by spaceborne Synthetic...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geophysical Research Letters
Main Authors: Bing Qing Huang, Xiao‐Ming Li
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2023
Subjects:
SAR
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL105059
https://doaj.org/article/b0a49e9397904ec09dffd0e3059e70eb
Description
Summary:Abstract Attenuation of ocean waves by ice is a crucial process of the interaction between waves and sea ice in marginal ice zone (MIZ), while such interaction can contribute to the retreating of sea ice in the Arctic. Based on the retrieved two‐dimensional ocean wave spectra by spaceborne Synthetic Aperture Radar, we investigated the attenuation of ocean waves in the MIZ in Svalbard and Greenland. The results show that the energy attenuation rate ranges from 0.126 × 10−4/m to 0.618 × 10−4/m. Quantitative analysis suggests that the attenuation rate is significantly related to wave height and peak wave period of coming waves. It is further found that the waves decay faster in the area with ice thickness exceeding 0.5 m. We compared the derived wave attenuation rates in the present study with those in previous studies based on in situ measurements, which reveals that waves are becoming less attenuated by sea ice in the Arctic.