Physically Based and Stochastic Models for Greenland Moulin Formation, Longevity, and Spatial Distribution

• Main Authors: Andrews, Lauren C., Poinar, Kristin
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: Earth Resources and Remote Sensing; Greenland; Ice Sheet
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20190000701

Nearly all proglacial water discharge from the Greenland Ice Sheet is routed englacially, from the surface to the bed, via moulins. Identification of moulins in high-resolution imagery is a frequent topic of study, but the processes controlling how and where moulins form remain poorly understood. We seek to leverage information gained from the development of a physical model of moulin formation, remotely sensed ice-sheet data products, and an analytic model of ice-flow perturbations to develop a predictive stochastic model of moulin distribution across Greenland. Here we present initial results from the physical model of moulin formation and characterize the sensitivity of moulin geometry to a range of model parameters. This parameterization of moulin formation is the first step in developing a stochastic model that will be a predictive, computationally efficient representation of the englacial hydrologic system.