Determination of the Flow Properties at Dye 3, South Greenland, by Bore-Hole-Tilting Measurements and Perturbation Modelling
Abstract The ice-flow properties at great depths have a strong impact on the depth–age relationship of the strata in the Greenland ice sheet. Previous attempts to calculate this relationship have used Glen′s flow law with a temperature-dependent flow-law parameter. The data from the bore-hole-tiltin...
| Published in: | Journal of Glaciology |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
1985
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000006316 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000006316 |
| Summary: | Abstract The ice-flow properties at great depths have a strong impact on the depth–age relationship of the strata in the Greenland ice sheet. Previous attempts to calculate this relationship have used Glen′s flow law with a temperature-dependent flow-law parameter. The data from the bore-hole-tilting at Dye 3, south Greenland, make it possible to calculate the flow-law parameter versus depth. The flow-law parameter shows a big change at the Holocene/Pleistocene transition with a mean flow enhancement factor of 3 for the ice deposited during the last glaciation. This high enhancement factor is believed to be due to high concentrations of dust and other impurities and small ice-crystal size in the Pleistocene ice. The derived flow-law parameter and the up-stream basal topography are used in a two-dimensional, multi-layer, first-order perturbation model to calculate the surface undulations and strain-rates. The results compare favourably with the observations. The results depend strongly on the flow-law parameter profile, which can therefore be estimated in other areas by perturbation-model calculations along flow lines, if the surface and base topographies are known. |
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