Sastrugi sea ice than on multiyear ice. First-year ice is smoother than multiyear ice, which allows the wind to pass uniformly over the surface without topographic obstructions. Except during the melt season, snow is dry and light in climates cold enough for sea ice, allowing the snow to be easily blown and create sastrugi parallel to the wind direction. The locations of sastrugi are fixed by March in the northern hemisphere and may be linked to the formation of melt ponds. Melt ponds are more likely to form in the depressions between zastrugi on first-year ice. Sastrugi Sastrugi, or zastrugi, are
Surface wave "ground wave" is a guided wave that propagates close to the surface of the Earth. In seismology, several types of surface waves are encountered. Surface waves, in this mechanical sense, are commonly known as either "Love waves" (L waves) or "Rayleigh waves". A seismic wave is a wave that "travels through the Earth, often as the result of an earthquake or explosion." Love waves have transverse motion (movement is perpendicular to the direction of travel, like light waves), whereas Rayleigh waves have both longitudinal (movement parallel to the direction of travel, like sound waves) and transverse motion. Seismic waves are