A theory of glacier dynamics and instabilities Part 1: Topographically confined glaciers
Abstract We present a theoretical framework that integrates the dynamics of glaciers with and without the topographic confinement. This Part 1 paper concerns the former, which may exhibit surge cycles when subjected to thermal switches associated with the bed condition. With the topographic trough s...
Published in: | Journal of Glaciology |
---|---|
Main Author: | |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
2021
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jog.2021.20 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143021000204 |
id |
crcambridgeupr:10.1017/jog.2021.20 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
crcambridgeupr:10.1017/jog.2021.20 2024-03-03T08:44:37+00:00 A theory of glacier dynamics and instabilities Part 1: Topographically confined glaciers Ou, Hsien-Wang 2021 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jog.2021.20 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143021000204 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Journal of Glaciology volume 68, issue 267, page 1-12 ISSN 0022-1430 1727-5652 Earth-Surface Processes journal-article 2021 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2021.20 2024-02-08T08:39:25Z Abstract We present a theoretical framework that integrates the dynamics of glaciers with and without the topographic confinement. This Part 1 paper concerns the former, which may exhibit surge cycles when subjected to thermal switches associated with the bed condition. With the topographic trough setting the glacier width and curbing the lateral drainage of the meltwater, the problem falls under the purview of the undrained plastic bed (UPB) formalism. Employing the UPB, we shall examine the external controls of the glacial behavior and test them against observations. Through our non-dimensionalization scheme, we construct a 2-D regime diagram, which allows a ready prognosis of the glacial properties over the full range of the external conditions, both climate- and size-related. We first discern the boundaries separating the glacial regimes of steady-creep, cyclic-surging and steady-sliding. We then apply the regime diagram to observed glaciers for quantitative comparisons. These include the Svalbard glaciers of both normal and surge types, Northeast Greenland Ice Stream characterized by steady-sliding, and Hudson Strait Ice Stream exhibiting cyclic surges. The quantitative validation of our model containing no free parameters suggests that the thermal switch may unify the dynamics of these diverse glaciers. Article in Journal/Newspaper glacier glacier Greenland Hudson Strait Journal of Glaciology Svalbard Cambridge University Press Svalbard Greenland Hudson Hudson Strait ENVELOPE(-70.000,-70.000,62.000,62.000) Journal of Glaciology 1 12 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Cambridge University Press |
op_collection_id |
crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
topic |
Earth-Surface Processes |
spellingShingle |
Earth-Surface Processes Ou, Hsien-Wang A theory of glacier dynamics and instabilities Part 1: Topographically confined glaciers |
topic_facet |
Earth-Surface Processes |
description |
Abstract We present a theoretical framework that integrates the dynamics of glaciers with and without the topographic confinement. This Part 1 paper concerns the former, which may exhibit surge cycles when subjected to thermal switches associated with the bed condition. With the topographic trough setting the glacier width and curbing the lateral drainage of the meltwater, the problem falls under the purview of the undrained plastic bed (UPB) formalism. Employing the UPB, we shall examine the external controls of the glacial behavior and test them against observations. Through our non-dimensionalization scheme, we construct a 2-D regime diagram, which allows a ready prognosis of the glacial properties over the full range of the external conditions, both climate- and size-related. We first discern the boundaries separating the glacial regimes of steady-creep, cyclic-surging and steady-sliding. We then apply the regime diagram to observed glaciers for quantitative comparisons. These include the Svalbard glaciers of both normal and surge types, Northeast Greenland Ice Stream characterized by steady-sliding, and Hudson Strait Ice Stream exhibiting cyclic surges. The quantitative validation of our model containing no free parameters suggests that the thermal switch may unify the dynamics of these diverse glaciers. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ou, Hsien-Wang |
author_facet |
Ou, Hsien-Wang |
author_sort |
Ou, Hsien-Wang |
title |
A theory of glacier dynamics and instabilities Part 1: Topographically confined glaciers |
title_short |
A theory of glacier dynamics and instabilities Part 1: Topographically confined glaciers |
title_full |
A theory of glacier dynamics and instabilities Part 1: Topographically confined glaciers |
title_fullStr |
A theory of glacier dynamics and instabilities Part 1: Topographically confined glaciers |
title_full_unstemmed |
A theory of glacier dynamics and instabilities Part 1: Topographically confined glaciers |
title_sort |
theory of glacier dynamics and instabilities part 1: topographically confined glaciers |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jog.2021.20 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143021000204 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-70.000,-70.000,62.000,62.000) |
geographic |
Svalbard Greenland Hudson Hudson Strait |
geographic_facet |
Svalbard Greenland Hudson Hudson Strait |
genre |
glacier glacier Greenland Hudson Strait Journal of Glaciology Svalbard |
genre_facet |
glacier glacier Greenland Hudson Strait Journal of Glaciology Svalbard |
op_source |
Journal of Glaciology volume 68, issue 267, page 1-12 ISSN 0022-1430 1727-5652 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2021.20 |
container_title |
Journal of Glaciology |
container_start_page |
1 |
op_container_end_page |
12 |
_version_ |
1792500100252041216 |