Flow of a Valley Glacier with a Solid Friction Law

• Published in: Journal of Glaciology
• Main Author: Reynaud, L.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1973
• Subjects: Earth-Surface Processes; Journal of Glaciology
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000032068; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000032068

Abstract Friction on the bed is assumed to obey Coulomb’s law of solid friction in the presence of interstitial pressure (Lliboutry, 1968). According to this, the friction is a maximum at certain places in the bottom of the valley. Assuming Glen’s non-linear creep law, the steady-state flow of ice along a regular cylindrical channel of parabolic section has been calculated. The results reproduce to high accuracy the distribution of velocity measured on the Athabasca Glacier (Raymond, 1971).