The Movement of Melting Ice Over Rough Surfaces

• Published in: Journal of Glaciology
• Main Authors: Chadbourne, B. D., Cole, R. M., Tootill, S., Walford, M. E. R.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1975
• Subjects: Earth-Surface Processes; Journal of Glaciology
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000021778; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000021778

Laboratory experiments show that pieces of melting ice about one centimetre across, moving under normal loads across roughened glass surfaces, travel much faster than regelation theory predicts. The discrepancy is as much as 40 times for the finest scale surfaces, (prepared by grinding with carborundum particles of 60 μm mean diameter) and increases further if the load is reduced below three bars. On the other hand melting ice moves, under similar conditions, across rough porous glass surfaces at approximately the speed predicted by regelation theory. We suggest the reason is that melt water, produced by the dissipation of frictional energy, accumulates at the interface between ice and ground glass where it promotes sliding, but can easily drain away from a porous surface. Similar effects at the bed of a temperate glacier may cause the contribution of regelation to the bed-slip process to depend sensitively upon the melt-water regime.