  The results of field work on drift ice during wave propagation are analyzed
and presented. The field work was performed in the Barents Sea, and the main
focus of the paper is on wave processes in the MIZ. A model of wave damping in
broken ice is formulated and applied to interpret the field work results. It is
confirmed that waves of higher frequencies are subjected to stronger damping
when they propagate below the ice. This reduces the frequency of most energetic
wave with increasing distance from the ice edge. Difference of wave spectra
measured in two relatively close locations within the MIZ is discussed. The
complicated geometry and dynamics of the MIZ in the North-West Barents Sea
allow waves from the Atlantic Ocean and south regions of the Barents Sea to
penetrate into different locations of the MIZ.
