Force balance along Isunnguata Sermia, west Greenland

• Published in: Frontiers in Earth Science
• Main Authors: Toby Meierbachtol, Joel Harper, Jesse Johnson
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2016
• Subjects: Greenland ice sheet; Force balance; Ice sheet dynamics; Driving stress; Basal Processes; Science; Q; Greenland; Isunnguata Sermia; glacier; Ice Sheet
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2016.00087; https://doaj.org/article/aa8c515ecae848bc934c3b963bd83916

Ice flows when gravity acts on gradients in surface elevation, producing driving stresses. In the Isunnguata Sermia and Russel Glacier catchments of western Greenland, a 50% decline in driving stress along a flow line is juxtaposed with increasing surface flow speed. Here, these circumstances are in...