Sea ice rheology from in-situ, satellite and laboratory observations: Fracture and friction

• Published in: Earth and Planetary Science Letters
• Main Authors: Weiss, Jérôme, Schulson, E.M., Stern, H. L.
• Other Authors: Laboratoire de glaciologie et géophysique de l'environnement (LGGE), Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG), Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College Hanover, Polar Science Center Seattle, Applied Physics Laboratory Seattle (APL-UW), University of Washington Seattle -University of Washington Seattle
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2007
• Subjects: sea ice; rheology; fracture; friction; deformation; [SDU.STU.GL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Glaciology; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://insu.hal.science/insu-00377787; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2006.11.033

International audience On the basis of an analysis of in-situ ice stresses and of satellite-derived ice strain rates, as well as of a comparison between field and laboratory behaviour, we describe an alternative viewpoint for modelling sea ice deformation during winter. We propose that fracture and frictional sliding govern inelastic deformation over all spatial and temporal scales, even under small stresses. Consequently, winter and/or perennial sea ice does not behave as a viscous material, even at large scales, the normal flow rule is not obeyed (as observed during laboratory tests on sea ice samples harvested from the field), and stresses are highly intermittent and poorly correlated spatially.