In situ measurements of ice stress were made on a multi-year floe in the
Alaskan Beaufort Sea over a 6 month period, beginning in October 1993. The
data suggest that, in this region of the Arctic during this experiment,
there were two main sources of stress: a thermally induced stress caused by
changes in air temperature, and a stress generated by ice motion. Due to the
natural damping of the snow and ice above the sensor, the thermally-induced
stresses are low frequency (order of days). Stresses associated with periods
of ice motion have both a high-frequency (order of hours), and
low-frequency, content. The relative significance of these sources of stress
is seasonal, reflecting the changes in the strength and continuity of the
pack.