Comparison of viscoelastic‐type models for ocean wave attenuation in ice‐covered seas

Continuum-based models that describe the propagation of ocean waves in ice-infested seas are considered, where the surface ocean layer (including ice floes, brash ice, etc.) is modeled by a homogeneous viscoelastic material which causes waves to attenuate as they travel through the medium. Three ice layer models are compared, namely a viscoelastic fluid layer model currently being trialed in the spectral wave model WAVEWATCH III® and two simpler viscoelastic thin beam models. All three models are two dimensional. A comparative analysis shows that one of the beam models provides similar predictions for wave attenuation and wavelength to the viscoelastic fluid model. The three models are calibrated using wave attenuation data recently collected in the Antarctic marginal ice zone as an example. Although agreement with the data is obtained with all three models, several important issues related to the viscoelastic fluid model are identified that raise questions about its suitability to characterize wave attenuation in ice-covered seas. Viscoelastic beam models appear to provide a more robust parameterization of the phenomenon being modeled, but still remain questionable as a valid characterization of wave-ice interactions generally.