WII

Waves In Ice

Wave monitoring systems designed for Antarctic sea ice, deployed by research groups in several countries, with results published in Nature.

Visit the WII5 Site

Research Background

Research by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) in New Zealand found that large ocean waves, particularly those over 3 metres, travel hundreds of kilometres into Antarctic sea ice and are a major force in breaking up floes. The buoys on this page are the instruments that measured those waves from the ice.

Key Findings

  • Range: large waves from the Southern Ocean can break sea ice 350 to 500 km from the ice edge.
  • The 3-metre threshold: waves under 3 metres lose their energy quickly, while waves over 3 metres keep the ice pack flexing far from the edge.
  • Mechanism: as waves pass through the marginal ice zone they break the ice into smaller floes, which winds and currents then deform and break further.
  • Ice extent: more storms and larger waves in the Southern Ocean are linked to more breakup and retreat of sea ice, particularly near the Antarctic Peninsula.
  • Climate models: wave-driven fracturing helps explain why some areas of sea ice grow while others recede, and had been underestimated in climate models.
  • Method: earlier studies were limited by the conditions. NIWA used autonomous instruments on the ice itself to measure the waves directly, including during and after large storms.

The research was published in Nature in 2014.

Hardware

A board in testing

Embedded full test suite

Deployment

A wave monitoring system built for KOPRI (Korea Polar Research Institute), deployed in Antarctica in 2026.

A wave measurement buoy deployed on Antarctic sea ice.

The Aurora Australis navigating through Antarctic sea ice during buoy deployment.