Abstract
Ocean waves are a principal agent in the deterioration and ultimate breakup of Antarctic tabular icebergs in the Southern Ocean. We present here some preliminary results from a recent (January 1982) field season on board HMS Endurance during which two tabular icebergs of very different shape were studied in detail. The data augment the results of a similar season of work1,2 which took place in 1981 near the South Sandwich and South Orkney Islands. Instruments to measure rigid body motions and strain gauges to determine wave-induced bending were deployed at the surface centre of the two icebergs visited, while a Waverider buoy simultaneously monitored the ocean wave-energy spectrum. The precise underwater shape of each iceberg was determined by flying a 60-MHz radar (developed for use over land ice)3,4 in a grid pattern across the surface of the iceberg. By this means a complete three-dimensional picture of the iceberg could be inferred. The results show that icebergs tend to act as low-pass filters and inhibit short period waves. Furthermore, they selectively resonate at certain wave periods; the strain data, in particular, indicate unexpectedly large flexure which cannot be explained by simple bending alone. Finally, the geometry of icebergs can be such as to render them unstable and liable to turn over.
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Kristensen, M., Squire, V. & Moore, S. Tabular icebergs in ocean waves. Nature 297, 669–671 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1038/297669a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/297669a0
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