A theory of glacier dynamics and instabilities Part 1: Topographically confined glaciers
We present a theoretical framework that integrates the dynamics of glaciers with and without the topographic confinement. This Part 1 paper concerns the former, which may exhibit surge cycles when subjected to thermal switches associated with the bed condition. With the topographic trough setting th...
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ftcolumbiauniv:oai:academiccommons.columbia.edu:10.7916/d8-0xpp-qa06 2023-05-15T16:21:26+02:00 A theory of glacier dynamics and instabilities Part 1: Topographically confined glaciers Ou, Hsien Wang 2021 https://doi.org/10.7916/d8-0xpp-qa06 English eng https://doi.org/10.7916/d8-0xpp-qa06 Ice--Dynamics Glaciers Glaciers--Mathematical models Glaciology Articles 2021 ftcolumbiauniv https://doi.org/10.7916/d8-0xpp-qa06 2021-12-04T23:21:16Z We present a theoretical framework that integrates the dynamics of glaciers with and without the topographic confinement. This Part 1 paper concerns the former, which may exhibit surge cycles when subjected to thermal switches associated with the bed condition. With the topographic trough setting the glacier width and curbing the lateral drainage of the meltwater, the problem falls under the purview of the undrained plastic bed (UPB) formalism. Employing the UPB, we shall examine the external controls of the glacial behavior and test them against observations. Through our non-dimensionalization scheme, we construct a 2-D regime diagram, which allows a ready prognosis of the glacial properties over the full range of the external conditions, both climate- and size-related. We first discern the boundaries separating the glacial regimes of steadycreep, cyclic-surging and steady-sliding. We then apply the regime diagram to observed glaciers for quantitative comparisons. These include the Svalbard glaciers of both normal and surge types, Northeast Greenland Ice Stream characterized by steady-sliding, and Hudson Strait Ice Stream exhibiting cyclic surges. The quantitative validation of our model containing no free parameters suggests that the thermal switch may unify the dynamics of these diverse glaciers. Article in Journal/Newspaper glacier glacier Greenland Hudson Strait Svalbard Columbia University: Academic Commons Svalbard Greenland Hudson Hudson Strait ENVELOPE(-70.000,-70.000,62.000,62.000) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Columbia University: Academic Commons |
op_collection_id |
ftcolumbiauniv |
language |
English |
topic |
Ice--Dynamics Glaciers Glaciers--Mathematical models Glaciology |
spellingShingle |
Ice--Dynamics Glaciers Glaciers--Mathematical models Glaciology Ou, Hsien Wang A theory of glacier dynamics and instabilities Part 1: Topographically confined glaciers |
topic_facet |
Ice--Dynamics Glaciers Glaciers--Mathematical models Glaciology |
description |
We present a theoretical framework that integrates the dynamics of glaciers with and without the topographic confinement. This Part 1 paper concerns the former, which may exhibit surge cycles when subjected to thermal switches associated with the bed condition. With the topographic trough setting the glacier width and curbing the lateral drainage of the meltwater, the problem falls under the purview of the undrained plastic bed (UPB) formalism. Employing the UPB, we shall examine the external controls of the glacial behavior and test them against observations. Through our non-dimensionalization scheme, we construct a 2-D regime diagram, which allows a ready prognosis of the glacial properties over the full range of the external conditions, both climate- and size-related. We first discern the boundaries separating the glacial regimes of steadycreep, cyclic-surging and steady-sliding. We then apply the regime diagram to observed glaciers for quantitative comparisons. These include the Svalbard glaciers of both normal and surge types, Northeast Greenland Ice Stream characterized by steady-sliding, and Hudson Strait Ice Stream exhibiting cyclic surges. The quantitative validation of our model containing no free parameters suggests that the thermal switch may unify the dynamics of these diverse glaciers. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ou, Hsien Wang |
author_facet |
Ou, Hsien Wang |
author_sort |
Ou, Hsien Wang |
title |
A theory of glacier dynamics and instabilities Part 1: Topographically confined glaciers |
title_short |
A theory of glacier dynamics and instabilities Part 1: Topographically confined glaciers |
title_full |
A theory of glacier dynamics and instabilities Part 1: Topographically confined glaciers |
title_fullStr |
A theory of glacier dynamics and instabilities Part 1: Topographically confined glaciers |
title_full_unstemmed |
A theory of glacier dynamics and instabilities Part 1: Topographically confined glaciers |
title_sort |
theory of glacier dynamics and instabilities part 1: topographically confined glaciers |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.7916/d8-0xpp-qa06 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-70.000,-70.000,62.000,62.000) |
geographic |
Svalbard Greenland Hudson Hudson Strait |
geographic_facet |
Svalbard Greenland Hudson Hudson Strait |
genre |
glacier glacier Greenland Hudson Strait Svalbard |
genre_facet |
glacier glacier Greenland Hudson Strait Svalbard |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.7916/d8-0xpp-qa06 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.7916/d8-0xpp-qa06 |
_version_ |
1766009433142329344 |