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
Lee wave Lee wave In meteorology, lee waves are atmospheric stationary waves. The most common form is mountain waves, which are atmospheric internal gravity waves. These were discovered in 1933 by two German glider pilots, Hans Deutschmann and Wolf Hirth, above the Krkonoše. They are periodic changes of atmospheric pressure, temperature and orthometric height in a current of air caused by vertical displacement, for example orographic lift when the wind blows over a mountain or mountain range. They can also be caused by the surface wind blowing over an escarpment or plateau, or even by upper winds deflected over a thermal updraft