A Computational Fluid Dynamics Model for the Small-Scale Dynamics of Wave, Ice Floe and Interstitial Grease Ice Interaction

• Published in: Fluids
• Main Authors: Rutger Marquart, Alfred Bogaers, Sebastian Skatulla, Alberto Alberello, Alessandro Toffoli, Carina Schwarz, Marcello Vichi
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2021
• Subjects: sea ice dynamics; wave-ice interaction; marginal ice zone; sea ice rheology; pancake ice; grease ice; Pancake; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3390/fluids6050176

The marginal ice zone is a highly dynamical region where sea ice and ocean waves interact. Large-scale sea ice models only compute domain-averaged responses. As the majority of the marginal ice zone consists of mobile ice floes surrounded by grease ice, finer-scale modelling is needed to resolve variations of its mechanical properties, wave-induced pressure gradients and drag forces acting on the ice floes. A novel computational fluid dynamics approach is presented that considers the heterogeneous sea ice material composition and accounts for the wave-ice interaction dynamics. Results show, after comparing three realistic sea ice layouts with similar concentration and floe diameter, that the discrepancy between the domain-averaged temporal stress and strain rate evolutions increases for decreasing wave period. Furthermore, strain rate and viscosity are mostly affected by the variability of ice floe shape and diameter.