Laboratory investigations of the bending rheology of floating saline ice, and physical mechanisms of wave damping, in the HSVA ice tank

TL;DR

This study experimentally investigates how the bending rheology of floating saline ice affects wave damping in a controlled tank environment, revealing that ice drift and crack formation significantly enhance wave attenuation.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the physical mechanisms of wave damping related to ice rheology and crack formation through comprehensive laboratory experiments.

Findings

Ice drift increases wave damping.

Crack formation in ice enhances wave attenuation.

Experimental data supports physical mechanisms of wave damping.

Abstract

An experiment on the propagation of flexural-gravity waves was performed in the HSVA ice tank. Physical characteristics of the water-ice system were measured in different locations in the tank during the tests, with a number of sensors deployed in the water, on the ice and in the air. Water velocity was measured with an acoustic doppler velocimeter (ADV) and an acoustic doppler current profiler (ADCP); wave amplitudes were measured with ultrasonic sensors and the optical system Qualisys; in-plane deformations of the ice and the temperature of the ice and water were measured by fiber optic sensors, and acoustic emissions were recorded with compressional crystal sensors. All together 61 tests were performed, with ice thicknesses of 3 cm and 5 cm. The experimental setup and selected results of the tests are discussed in this paper. We show that cyclic motion of the ice along the tank, imitating ice drift, causes an increase in wave damping. We also show that the formation of non-through cracks in the ice, caused by the action of waves, increases wave damping.