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 acoustic wave sensor wave device. The thermoelectric cooler is placed below the surface acoustic wave device. Both are housed in a cavity with an inlet and outlet for gases. By cooling the device, water vapor will tend to condense on the surface of the device, causing a mass-loading. Surface acoustic wave devices can be made sensitive to optical wavelengths through the phenomena known as acoustic charge transport (ACT), which involves the interaction between a surface acoustic wave and photogenerated charge carriers from a photoconducting layer. Ultraviolet radiation sensors employ the use of a thin film layer of zinc oxide across the delay line.