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 convert an electrical signal into an acoustic wave. The sinusoidal electrical input signal creates alternating polarity between the fingers of the interdigitated transducer. Between two adjacent sets of fingers, polarity of the fingers will be switched (e.g. + - +). As a result, the direction of the electric field between two fingers will alternate between adjacent sets of fingers. This creates alternating regions of tensile and compressive strain between fingers of the electrode by the piezoelectric effect, producing a mechanical wave at the surface known as a surface acoustic wave. As fingers on the same side of the device will