Pack ice pressure forecasting for arctic and sub-arctic regions

A model was developed to forecast the ice pressure within an ice cover. The model calculates also the global forces on structures deployed in the ice cover. The model is based on research data collected during several field measurement projects including pack ice pressure in the southern Beaufort Sea, ice pressure in the nearshore ice zone in Labrador and from instrumented ice booms placed in Lake Erie, Lac St. Pierre and the St. Lawrence River. The ice cover characteristics and the driving forces applied on the cover are required as input for the model. The ice characteristics include the ice concentration and the ice thinkness distribution of the various types of ice within the ice cover.