Affiliation:
1. Dalian Naval Academy, Dalian 116018, China
2. Marine Resources and Environment Research Group on the Maritime Silk Road, Dalian 116018, China
3. Qingdao Innovation and Development Center, Harbin Engineering University, Qingdao 266000, China
4. Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai 519000, China
Abstract
In efforts to fulfill the objectives of taking part in pragmatic cooperation in the Arctic, constructing the “Silk Road on Ice”, and ensuring ships’ safety and risk assessment in the Arctic, the two biggest hazards, which concern ships’ navigation in the Arctic, are wind and sea ice. Sea ice can result in a ship being besieged or crashing into an iceberg, endangering both human and property safety. Meanwhile, light winds can assist ships in breaking free of a sea-ice siege, whereas strong winds can hinder ships’ navigation. In this work, we first calculated the spatial and temporal characteristics of a number of indicators, including Arctic wind speed, sea-ice density, the frequency of different wind directions, the frequency of a sea-ice density of less than 20%, the frequency of strong winds of force six or above, etc. Using the ERA5 wind field and the SSMI/S sea-ice data, and applying statistical techniques, we then conducted a joint analysis to determine the correlation coefficients between the frequencies of various wind directions, the frequency of strong winds and its impact on the density of sea ice, the frequency of a sea-ice concentration (SIC) of less than 20%, and the correlation coefficient between winds and sea-ice density. In doing so, we determined importance of factoring the wind’s contribution into sea-ice analysis.
Funder
the project “Doctoralization for Master Education” of the Marine Resources and Environment Research Group
the open fund project of Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Ocean Engineering, Ocean University of China