The Dynamics of the Amery Ice Shelf

A general survey of the preliminary results of a three-year program of measurements on the Amery Ice Shelf by A.N.A.R.E. are presented, together with theoretical considerations of the velocity and stress distributions and the mass and energy regimes of the ice shelf. In order to explain the observed...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Glaciology
Main Author: Budd, W.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1966
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000019456
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000019456
Description
Summary:A general survey of the preliminary results of a three-year program of measurements on the Amery Ice Shelf by A.N.A.R.E. are presented, together with theoretical considerations of the velocity and stress distributions and the mass and energy regimes of the ice shelf. In order to explain the observed velocity distribution it has been found necessary to extend Weertman’s theory of ice-shelf creep to an ice shelf bounded at its sides. The resulting theoretical velocity profile applied to the results of the Amery Ice Shelf provides estimates of the average values of the power flow-law parameters for the ice shelf. The energy and mass budget considerations, together with the recorded change in form of the ice front, suggest that the ice-shelf regime is not in a continual state of balance but may fluctuate as the ice shelf changes in form over a period of about forty years.