Sheet, stream, and shelf flow as progressive ice-bed uncoupling: Byrd Glacier, Antarctica and Jakobshavn Isbrae, Greenland

• Published in: The Cryosphere
• Main Authors: T. Hughes, A. Sargent, J. Fastook, K. Purdon, J. Li, J.-B. Yan, S. Gogineni
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Copernicus Publications 2016
• Subjects: Environmental sciences; GE1-350; Geology; QE1-996.5; Byrd; Byrd Glacier; Greenland; Antarc*; Antarctica; glacier; Ice Shelf; Jakobshavn; The Cryosphere
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-193-2016; https://doaj.org/article/a50a7a59a89a42f5a431ad96b0921199

The first-order control of ice thickness and height above sea level is linked to the decreasing strength of ice-bed coupling along flowlines from an interior ice divide to the calving front of an ice shelf. Uncoupling progresses as a frozen bed progressively thaws for sheet flow, as a thawed bed is progressively drowned for stream flow, and as lateral and/or local grounding vanish for shelf flow. This can reduce ice thicknesses by 90 % and ice elevations by 99 % along flowlines. Original work presented here includes (1) replacing flow and sliding laws for sheet flow with upper and lower yield stresses for creep in cold overlying ice and basal ice sliding over deforming till, respectively, (2) replacing integrating the Navier–Stokes equations for stream flow with geometrical solutions to the force balance, and (3) including resistance to shelf flow caused by lateral confinement in a fjord and local grounding at ice rumples and ice rises. A comparison is made between our approach and two approaches based on continuum mechanics. Applications are made to Byrd Glacier in Antarctica and Jakobshavn Isbrae in Greenland.