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 inversion inversion theory. Since Rayleigh waves are composed of P and S-waves and Love waves are composed of only S waves, Haskell derived the elastic wave equations for both P and S-waves. These equations were modified to show Rayleigh wave motion. After assuming a free surface boundary where no stresses or strains cross, the Rayleigh wave equation is simplified. Inputting different values for layer thicknesses, densities, and elastic parameters in the form of P and S wave velocities into the equation will yield a dispersion curve. Parameters can be modified to fit the derived dispersion curve to actual data (Figure 4).