A method to estimate reflection and directional spread using rotary spectra from accelerometers on large ice floes

Abstract

The directional wave spectra in sea ice are an important aspect of wave evolution and can provide insights into the dominant components of wave dissipation, that is, dissipation due to scattering or dissipation due to viscous processes under the ice. A robust method for the measurement of directional wave spectra parameters in sea ice from a three-axis accelerometer—or a heave, pitch, and roll sensor—is proposed. The method takes advantage of certain aspects of sea ice and makes use of rotary spectra techniques to provide model-free estimates for the mean wave direction, directional spread, and reflection coefficient. The method is ideally suited for large ice floes—that is, where the ice floe length scale is much greater than the wavelength—but a framework is provided to expand the parameter space where the method may be effective. The final version of this research as been published in the Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology. © 2017 American Meteorological Society