The role of incoming waves in ice-edge dynamics

The radiation stress at an ice edge due to incident sea and swell is reconsidered in the light of new theoretical results concerned with the calculation of the reflection and transmission coefficients at the edge of a thin elastic sheet. Both monochromatic seas and seas made up of a spectrum of periods are discussed, the latter invoking the Pierson-Moskowitz spectral model. It is found that the force per unit length due to radiation stress is comparable in magnitude with other driving mechanisms at the edge, i.e. with winds and currents.