Observations from sonar data have suggested an enhanced melt rate at the base of ridge keels. Mechanisms which would allow faster melting include the enlarged basal surface area due to the sloping sides of the keel and an increased rate of heat transfer from the ocean. Most ice thickness distribution models approximate ridge keels as an ensemble of one-dimensional ice thicknesses. To examine the effects of this assumption, the annual cycle of heat conduction in one- and two-dimensional ridge keels of varying thicknesses and keel angles is examined. The cross section of the 2-D ridge is taken to be an isosceles triangle with a rounded crest. This is roughly the shape observed and allows a convenient numerical representation in polar coordinates. Temperature profiles within the two ridge types ridges are compared. Calculation of the normal heat fluxes along the base of the ridge will determine how the ridge keel changes shape by growth/melt. Preliminary calculations of the total heat flux conducted through one- and two-dimensional ridges per unit horizontal surface area suggest competing processes: the radiator effect and the temperature homogenization effect. The first increases the heat conduction due to increased surface area. The second decreases the heat conduction due to a reduced temperature gradient. Differences between the thermal properties of the one- and two-dimensional ridge keels and comparison with SHEBA data will determine how these characteristics of ridged ice will be parameterized in ice thickness distribution models. A more difficult task will be to account for mass loss at the base of the keel by the breaking off of loose ice blocks, or mechanical erosion