Finite-Element Simulation of the Thermal Regime of the Erebus Glacier Tongue, Antarctica

• Published in: Journal of Glaciology
• Main Authors: Stolle, D.F.E., Mirza, F.A.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1986
• Subjects: Earth-Surface Processes; Holdsworth; Erebus Glacier; Erebus Glacier Tongue; Antarc*; Antarctica; Journal of Glaciology
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000012259; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000012259

Abstract Finite-element method is used to determine the temperature distribution within the Erebus Glacier tongue based on information from short-term observations (Holdsworth, 1982). It is shown that, provided the up-stream temperature profile along the depth is known, steady-state assumptions are reliable for computing the temperature field within most of the ice mass at any given time for a glacier tongue. Numerical results from analyses of the Erebus Glacier tongue also indicate that the main transport of heat is through advection as expected and, hence, a realistic estimate of the velocity field becomes important.