First observations of the interaction of ocean swell with sea ice using satellite radar altimeter data

The action of ocean waves and swell on sea ice in the marginal ice zone (MIZ) controls the size distribution of ice floes and thus affects ice dynamics and the thermodynamics of ice growth and decay. An understanding of ice processes is important because of the influence of the sea-ice cover on high...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature (London) 1984-01, Vol.307 (5947), p.150-152
Main Author: Rapley, C. G
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
External geophysics
Humanities and Social Sciences
letter
Marine
multidisciplinary
Physics of the oceans
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Sea ice
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The action of ocean waves and swell on sea ice in the marginal ice zone (MIZ) controls the size distribution of ice floes and thus affects ice dynamics and the thermodynamics of ice growth and decay. An understanding of ice processes is important because of the influence of the sea-ice cover on high latitude weather and global climate 1 . Also, long-term changes in average sea ice extent could provide a sensitive indication of climatic change if the degree of shorter term variability were better understood 2 . Previous observations of the propagation of swell within the ice pack have been limited in spatial and temporal extent 3–6 . Here we present new results from the US Seasat satellite which suggest that radar altimetry can provide a powerful means of global synoptic monitoring of the interaction between ocean and ice.
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/307150a0