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Abstract: This paper investigates the attenuation and directional spreading of large amplitude waves traveling through pancake ice. Directional spectral density is analyzed from in situ wave buoy data collected during a 3‐day storm event in October 2015 in the Beaufort Sea. Two proxy metrics for wave amplitude obtained from energy density spectra, namely, spectral amplitude and significant wave height, are used to track the waves as they propagate along transects through the array of buoys in the predominantly pancake ice field. Two types of wave buoys are used in the analysis and compared, exhibiting significant differences in the wave energy density and directionality estimates. Although exponential decay is observed predominantly, one of the two buoy types indicates a potential positive correlation between wave energy density and the occurrence of linear wave decay, as opposed to exponential decay, in accord with recent observations in the Antarctic marginal ice zone. Factors affecting the validity of this observation are discussed. An empirical power law with exponent 2.2 is also found to hold between the exponential attenuation coefficient and wave frequency. The directional content of the wave spectrum appears to decrease consistently along the wave transects, confirming that wave energy is being dissipated by the pancake ice as opposed to being scattered by ice cakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A model of ice floe break-up under ocean wave forcing in the marginal ice zone (MIZ) is proposed to investigate how floe size distribution (FSD) evolves under repeated wave break-up events. A threedimensional linear model of ocean wave scattering by a finite array of compliant circular ice floes is coupled to a flexural failure model, which breaks a floe into two floes provided the two-dimensional stress field satisfies a break-up criterion. A closedfeedback loop algorithm is devised, which (i) solves the wave-scattering problem for a given FSD under time-harmonic plane wave forcing, (ii) computes the stress field in all the floes, (iii) fractures the floes satisfying the break-up criterion, and (iv) generates an updated FSD, initializing the geometry for the next iteration of the loop. The FSD after 50 breakup events is unimodal and near normal, or bimodal, suggesting waves alone do not govern the power law observed in some field studies. Multiple scattering is found to enhance break-up for long waves and thin ice, but to reduce break-up for short waves and thick ice. A break-up front marches forward in the latter regime, as wave-induced fracture weakens the ice cover, allowing waves to travel deeper into the MIZ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A theoretical model is used to study wave energy attenuation and directional spreading of ocean wave spectra in the marginal ice zone (MIZ). The MIZ is constructed as an array of tens of thousands of compliant circular ice floes, with randomly selected positions and radii determined by an empirical floe size distribution. Linear potential flow and thin elastic plate theories model the coupled water-ice system. A new method is proposed to solve the time-harmonic multiple scattering problem under a multidirectional incident wave forcing with random phases. It provides a natural framework for tracking the evolution of the directional properties of a wave field through the MIZ. The attenuation and directional spreading are extracted from ensembles of the wave field with respect to realizations of the MIZ and incident forcing randomly generated from prescribed distributions. The averaging procedure is shown to converge rapidly so that only a small number of simulations need to be performed. Far-field approximations are investigated, allowing efficiency improvements with negligible loss of accuracy. A case study is conducted for a particular MIZ configuration. The observed exponential attenuation of wave energy through the MIZ is reproduced by the model, while the directional spread is found to grow linearly with distance. The directional spreading is shown to weaken when the wavelength becomes larger than the maximum floe size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]