Sea ice flexural rigidity: a comparison of methods

Mechanical properties of sea ice are typically determined from a static test using the physical and chemical properties of small samples. A series of measurements of flexural properties of multi-year sea ice were made recently using both a static and a dynamic geophysical technique. This paper presents the results of a comparison between the ice flexural rigidity determined by the two methods. The dynamic method is shown to yield a very precise determination of the flexural rigidity based upon the propagation of low frequency (1 to 70 Hz) waves. Values determined by the static method are shown to be consistently higher, at a high level of significance.