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Douglas M. Rearic

Publications and source records attributed to Douglas M. Rearic.

4 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS1988

Ice gouge processes in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea

A generalized picture of ice gouge characteristics from shallow inshore depths to the outer shelf at about 60 m of water is presented. Data from recent studies show that the size and quantity of gouging increases in an offshore direction to depths of about 45 m where this trend then reverses and the features decrease in size and quantity as the shelf break is approached. Ice gouges are oriented east-west and this suggests that most gouging is caused by ice approaching from the east, possibly driven by the Beaufort Sea gyre. The most intense gouging occurs in the stamukhi zone, between 20 and 40 m of water, and is caused by a high rate of ice keel production owing to shearing forces between mobile and stable sea ice. Inshore of the stamukhi zone, ice gouging still presents a significant hazard but their greatly decreased size and number make it possible to design against this hazard.

Technical Council on Cold Regions Engineering Mono↗
USGS1981

Ice-gouge data, Beaufort Sea, Alaska, 1972-1980

The interaction of sea ice with the sea floor is an important factor affecting geologic processes on high latitude shelves. One of the most obvious forms of this interaction is the formation of furrow-like gouges or the sea floor. These gouges are caused by wind- and current-driven ice masses that rake the seabed with their keels. Since the advent of side-scanning sonar about 1970, the morphology and character of these seabed features have been under study. Ice gouges have been reported from the Bering Sea (Thor and Nelson, 1980); from the Chukchi Sea (Rex, 1955; Toimil, 1978); from the Beaufort Sea off Alaska (Brooks, 1974; Carsola, 1954; Reimnitz et al., 1972); from the Beaufort Sea off Canada (Kindle, 1924; Lewis, 1978; Pelletier and Shearer, 1972; Wahlgren, 1979); from the east coast of Canada (Harris, 1974); from the northeast Atlantic (Belderson et al., 1973); and from the Great Lakes (Berkson and Clay, 1973).

Alaska↗