Height Variation along Sea Ice Pressure Ridges and the Probability of Finding 'Holes' for Vehicle Crossings

• Main Authors: Hibler, III, W D, Ackley, S F
• Other Authors: COLD REGIONS RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING LAB HANOVER NH
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1973
• Subjects: Physical and Dynamic Oceanography; Surface Effect Vehicles & Amphibious Vehicles; *SEA ICE; *SURFACE EFFECT VEHICLES; *TRAFFICABILITY; AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY; ARCTIC REGIONS; Beaufort Sea; *Ice navigation; Arctic; Sea ice
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/AD0772696; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=AD0772696

Height variations along sea ice pressure ridges were studied to determine whether low spots in the ridges persisted over long enough distances for a wide vehicle such as the surface effect vehicle to pass through them. Heights along eight pressure ridges varying in length from 0.9 km to 2.2 km were measured at 5-m intervals using aerial photographic data obtained over the Beaufort Sea. The probabilities of finding holes at the mean heights of the ridges and 0.67 m above and below the mean heights were calculated as a function of the hole widths using an autocorrelation function obtained from the height data. The curves obtained were in good agreement with passage probabilities calculated directly from the data.