A Full-Stokes 3-D Calving Model Applied to a Large Greenlandic Glacier ...

• Main Authors: Todd, J, Christoffersen, P, Zwinger, T, Råback, P, Chauché, N, Benn, D, Luckman, A, Ryan, J, Toberg, N, Slater, D, Hubbard, A
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: American Geophysical Union (AGU) 2018
• Subjects: calving; Greenland; modeling; Antarctic; Antarc*; glacier; greenlandic
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.17863/cam.21075; https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/273999

AbstractIceberg calving accounts for around half of all mass loss from both the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. The diverse nature of calving and its complex links to both internal dynamics and climate make it challenging to incorporate into models of glaciers and ice sheets. Here we present results from a new open‐source 3‐D full‐Stokes calving model developed in Elmer/Ice. The calving model implements the crevasse depth criterion, which states that calving occurs when surface and basal crevasses penetrate the full thickness of the glacier. The model also implements a new 3‐D rediscretization approach and a time‐evolution scheme which allow the calving front to evolve realistically through time. We test the model in an application to Store Glacier, one of the largest outlet glaciers in West Greenland, and find that it realistically simulates the seasonal advance and retreat when two principal environmental forcings are applied. These forcings are (1) submarine melting in distributed and concentrated ...