The tensile strength of saline and freshwater ice in field tests

This paper presents the results of meso-scale (~1m) in-situ tests on the tensile strength of saline and freshwater floating ice. These results are directly comparable to previous small scale tests, in which the measured tensile strength of sea ice and fresh ice decreases from 1MPa to 0.2MPa as the temperature increases from -30C to -2C. The new experiments were performed in Svalbard, Norway, from 2013-16, on landfast ice in the Van Mijen Fjord, and on freshwater lake ice near Longyearbyen. Loads were applied in the horizontal direction over the entire ice thickness on pre-cut necks, described below. All meso-scale tests demonstrated brittle and synchronous failure of the necks by tension. Values of meso-scale tensile strength are typically around 0.1MPa.