SURFACE-WAVE PROPAGATION IN SHALLOW-WATER BENEATH AN INHOMOGENEOUS ICE COVER

The scattering of flexural-gravity waves in a layer of shallow fluid b eneath an ice cover with irregularities is investigated. The irregular ities considered are the ice edges, cracks, areas of finely broken ice , and ice ridges. Even this idealized problem formulation demonstrates that the accumulated effect of a large number of irregularities may l ead to complete dissipation of the energy of wind waves and swells. Th e analysis shows a strong scattering of such waves by periodic linear irregularities in the sea ice cover. The authors employ the shallow-wa ter approximation, which makes the results applicable for ocean shelf areas.