| Term: | Ridging |
| Definition: |
Process that occurs when wind, ocean currents, and other forces push sea ice around into piles that rise and form small mountains above the level sea ice surface; ridges are initially thin and transparent with very sharp edges from blocks of ice piling up; also see keels. NSIDCCryosphere
The pressure process by which sea ice is forced into ridges. A ridge is a line or wall of broken ice forced up by pressure. May be fresh or weathered. The submerged volume of broken ice under a ridge, forced downwards by pressure, is termed an ice keel. In the Antarctic, ridges are commonly point features rather than the long linear features observed in the Arctic. A considerable percentage of ice mass is contained within ridged areas of the Antarctic pack. Data from eight voyages into the East Antarctic pack show that by incorporating the ridged ice, the mean thickness increases, on average, by 1.7 times the observed mean undeformed ice thickness. ASPECT2012 Sea ice terminology that describes the pressure process by which ice is forced into ridges. ECCCanada The pressure process by which sea ice is forced into ridges. WMOSeaIce Compression mechanism by which ice cover becomes forced up in ridges. WMOHydrology Pressure process by which floating ice becomes forced up in ridges. SPRI GCW |