Development of a Higher-Order Ice Sheet Model Using a Rescaled Coordinate System

• Main Authors: James Michael Fishbaugh, Dr. David, A. Strobel, Chairperson Dr. Jesse Johnson
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antarctic; Antarctic Peninsula; Greenland; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Ice Sheet
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.569.8061; http://etd.lib.umt.edu/theses/available/etd-05302008-101724/unrestricted/fishbaughthesis.pdf

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has estimated between 9 and 88 cm of sea level rise over the next hundred years. Of this, only negative 19 to 11 cm is attributed to the largest ice masses on the planet, the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets. Over the last decade, dramatic activity in the outlet glaciers of Greenland and the Antarctic Peninsula raise the possibility that these large ice sheets will have a much greater contribution to sea level rise over the next century than was predicted by the IPCC. Recent studies have shown these areas are exhibiting decadal scale changes in response to climate forcings, whereas IPCC models show that ice is not responsive to climate change over such short periods of time. Many believe the IPCC type models fail to show short term climate responses due to the simplifications they make to ice sheet mechanics. Here, we develop a higher-order model – a new ice sheet model which contains all relevant flow physics. In order to gauge our progress, we perform a verification of our model around a structured set of experiments. The analysis reveals our model is performing well over a range of different scenarios. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the people who have been influential in my development as a scientist and a person during my time at the University of Montana. First, I’d like to thank Dr. Jesse Johnson for his unwavering support and for his countless explanations. Furthermore, he always treated me as a peer even when it was clear I was not. To Dr. Joel Henry, who has served as my mentor for the last several years. All my major life decisions have been influenced by his recommendations. Finally, to my peers, for all the collaboration and laughs we have shared. iii