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 dependent on wavelength and are related by the equation formula_1 where V is the group velocity, V is the phase velocity, and λ is the wavelength. When attempting surface wave inversion, phase velocities are used more often than group velocities because it is easier to create a dispersion curve of phase velocities. A dispersion curve is a plot of velocity versus frequency or wavelength. After the dispersion curve has been generated, a surface wave inversion process is performed to calculate the subsurface elastic properties. The accuracy of the dispersion curve is crucial in obtaining the correct subsurface elastic parameters from