Modelling the reorientation of sea-ice faults as the wind changes direction
A discrete-element model of sea ice is used to study how a 90° change in wind direction alters the pattern of faults generated through mechanical failure of the ice. The sea-ice domain is 400km in size and consists of polygonal floes obtained through a Voronoi tessellation. Initially the floes are f...
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ftunivreading:oai:centaur.reading.ac.uk:34582 2024-05-12T07:53:06+00:00 Modelling the reorientation of sea-ice faults as the wind changes direction Wilchinsky, A. V. Feltham, D. L. Hopkins, M. A. 2011 text https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/34582/ https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/34582/1/Wilchinsky_etal_2011b.pdf en eng International Glaciological Society https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/34582/1/Wilchinsky_etal_2011b.pdf Wilchinsky, A. V., Feltham, D. L. <https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/view/creators/90004991.html> and Hopkins, M. A. (2011) Modelling the reorientation of sea-ice faults as the wind changes direction. Annals of Glaciology, 52 (57). pp. 83-90. ISSN 1727-5644 Article PeerReviewed 2011 ftunivreading 2024-04-17T14:46:07Z A discrete-element model of sea ice is used to study how a 90° change in wind direction alters the pattern of faults generated through mechanical failure of the ice. The sea-ice domain is 400km in size and consists of polygonal floes obtained through a Voronoi tessellation. Initially the floes are frozen together through viscous–elastic joints that can break under sufficient compressive, tensile and shear deformation. A constant wind-stress gradient is applied until the initially frozen ice pack is broken into roughly diamond-shaped aggregates, with crack angles determined by wing-crack formation. Then partial refreezing of the cracks delineating the aggregates is modelled through reduction of their length by a particular fraction, the ice pack deformation is neglected and the wind stress is rotated by 90°. New cracks form, delineating aggregates with a different orientation. Our results show the new crack orientation depends on the refrozen fraction of the initial faults: as this fraction increases, the new cracks gradually rotate to the new wind direction, reaching 90° for fully refrozen faults. Such reorientation is determined by a competition between new cracks forming at a preferential angle determined by the wing-crack theory and at old cracks oriented at a less favourable angle but having higher stresses due to shorter contacts across the joints Article in Journal/Newspaper Annals of Glaciology ice pack Sea ice CentAUR: Central Archive at the University of Reading |
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Open Polar |
collection |
CentAUR: Central Archive at the University of Reading |
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ftunivreading |
language |
English |
description |
A discrete-element model of sea ice is used to study how a 90° change in wind direction alters the pattern of faults generated through mechanical failure of the ice. The sea-ice domain is 400km in size and consists of polygonal floes obtained through a Voronoi tessellation. Initially the floes are frozen together through viscous–elastic joints that can break under sufficient compressive, tensile and shear deformation. A constant wind-stress gradient is applied until the initially frozen ice pack is broken into roughly diamond-shaped aggregates, with crack angles determined by wing-crack formation. Then partial refreezing of the cracks delineating the aggregates is modelled through reduction of their length by a particular fraction, the ice pack deformation is neglected and the wind stress is rotated by 90°. New cracks form, delineating aggregates with a different orientation. Our results show the new crack orientation depends on the refrozen fraction of the initial faults: as this fraction increases, the new cracks gradually rotate to the new wind direction, reaching 90° for fully refrozen faults. Such reorientation is determined by a competition between new cracks forming at a preferential angle determined by the wing-crack theory and at old cracks oriented at a less favourable angle but having higher stresses due to shorter contacts across the joints |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Wilchinsky, A. V. Feltham, D. L. Hopkins, M. A. |
spellingShingle |
Wilchinsky, A. V. Feltham, D. L. Hopkins, M. A. Modelling the reorientation of sea-ice faults as the wind changes direction |
author_facet |
Wilchinsky, A. V. Feltham, D. L. Hopkins, M. A. |
author_sort |
Wilchinsky, A. V. |
title |
Modelling the reorientation of sea-ice faults as the wind changes direction |
title_short |
Modelling the reorientation of sea-ice faults as the wind changes direction |
title_full |
Modelling the reorientation of sea-ice faults as the wind changes direction |
title_fullStr |
Modelling the reorientation of sea-ice faults as the wind changes direction |
title_full_unstemmed |
Modelling the reorientation of sea-ice faults as the wind changes direction |
title_sort |
modelling the reorientation of sea-ice faults as the wind changes direction |
publisher |
International Glaciological Society |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/34582/ https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/34582/1/Wilchinsky_etal_2011b.pdf |
genre |
Annals of Glaciology ice pack Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Annals of Glaciology ice pack Sea ice |
op_relation |
https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/34582/1/Wilchinsky_etal_2011b.pdf Wilchinsky, A. V., Feltham, D. L. <https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/view/creators/90004991.html> and Hopkins, M. A. (2011) Modelling the reorientation of sea-ice faults as the wind changes direction. Annals of Glaciology, 52 (57). pp. 83-90. ISSN 1727-5644 |
_version_ |
1798840950705881088 |