Density matters: ice compressibility and glacier mass estimation

• Published in: Journal of Glaciology
• Main Author: Lipovsky, Bradley Paul
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2022
• Subjects: Earth-Surface Processes; Ice Sheet; Journal of Glaciology
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jog.2021.132; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143021001325

Ice flow models typically assume that ice is incompressible, a reasonable assumption because ice density changes are indeed small and have a correspondingly small effect on the overall mass balance of glaciers and ice sheets. Given the immense volume of the ice sheets, however, even relatively small changes may influence global mean sea level to a degree that severely impacts humanity (Hauer and others, 2020). Here, we quantify the role of gravitational compression and thermal contraction in estimating ice sheet mass.