A numerical study of hydrologically driven glacier dynamics and subglacial flooding

• Published in: Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences
• Main Authors: Pimentel, Sam, Flowers, Gwenn E.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: The Royal Society 2010
• Subjects: Greenland; glacier; Ice Sheet
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspa.2010.0211; https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspa.2010.0211; https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rspa.2010.0211

A hydrologically coupled flowband model of ‘higher order’ ice dynamics is used to explore perturbations in response to supraglacial water drainage and subglacial flooding. The subglacial drainage system includes interacting ‘fast’ and ‘slow’ drainage elements. The fast drainage system is assumed to be composed of ice-walled conduits and the slow system of a macroporous water sheet. Under high subglacial water pressures, flexure of the overlying ice is modelled using elastic beam theory. A regularized Coulomb friction law describes basal boundary conditions that enable hydrologically driven acceleration. We demonstrate the modelled interactions between hydrology and ice dynamics by means of three observationally inspired examples: (i) simulations of meltwater drainage at an Alpine-type glacier produce seasonal and diurnal variability, and exhibit drainage evolution characteristic of the so-called ‘spring transition’; (ii) horizontal and vertical diurnal accelerations are modelled in response to summer meltwater input at a Greenland-type outlet glacier; and (iii) short-lived perturbations to basal water pressure and ice-flow speed are modelled in response to the prescribed drainage of a supraglacial lake. Our model supports the suggestion that a channelized drainage system can form beneath the margins of the Greenland ice sheet, and may contribute to reducing the dynamic impact of floods derived from supraglacial lakes.