N(7) 

 1-3 POINTS 



NNW(2) 



NNE(4) 



W(46) 



ENE(9) 



E(25) 



ESE(35) 



SW(16) 



SSW(4) 



S(4) 



SCALE 



DRIFT SPEED 



10 20 30 CM/SEC 



Figure 145. Relationship between the force and the direction of the wind, the drift angle 



and the drift speed and the amount of ice concentration in tenths at Mys Schmidt. 

 The figures in parentheses indicate the number of observations. 



With neutral winds (i.e. , winds blowing approximately along the ice edge) the individual floes, 

 which have broken free from the edge, group and form characteristic ice tongues which stretch ap- 

 proximately perpendicular to the edge. If a neutral wind becomes compressive, the seaward end of 

 these ice tongues turns inward and presses against the edge of the pack. When the neutral wind be- 

 comes dispersive, the tongues turn away from the pack and are carried out to sea. Until their final 

 regrouping, they are reminiscent of the dispersed strips of ice, but they differ from the latter by a 

 difference of 90° in orientation as well as in the disposition and size of the floes. 



Equally characteristic phenomena occur during offshore and onshore winds. Every compres- 

 sive (onshore) wind in general causes compression and a massing of ice along the shore. If there is 

 a small amount of ice in a given region, as in summer, and if the waters are highly stratified (as in 

 the case of ice regions) , the upper layer is sometimes completely driven toward the shore and a 

 wind countercurrent forms in it. Along the line of impact of the wind sea current and the wind 

 coastal countercurrent, a line of immersion may be created along which the ice brought from the 

 sea accumulates and forms a special strip along the coast. 



In some cases, the open water along the coast may persist for a long period of time even in 

 presence of powerful compressive winds and large amounts of ice. For this to occur, the coastal 

 waters must be quite fresh (as a result of melting and the influx of coastal waters) and then warmed 



392 



