Bed Ribbing Instability Explanation: testing a numerical model of ribbed moraine formation arising from coupled flow of ice and subglacial sediment
Ribbed moraines are large (up to 16 km long) ridges of sediment produced transverse to ice flow direction that formed widely beneath palaeo-ice sheets. Since ice sheet stability is sensitive to conditions operating at the bed, an understanding of ribbed moraine genesis will provide critical informat...
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American Geophysical Union
2008
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Online Access: | http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/11450/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/11450/1/2007JF000954.pdf |
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ftnerc:oai:nora.nerc.ac.uk:11450 2023-05-15T16:40:40+02:00 Bed Ribbing Instability Explanation: testing a numerical model of ribbed moraine formation arising from coupled flow of ice and subglacial sediment Dunlop, Paul Clark, Chris D. Hindmarsh, Richard C.A. 2008 text http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/11450/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/11450/1/2007JF000954.pdf en eng American Geophysical Union https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/11450/1/2007JF000954.pdf Dunlop, Paul; Clark, Chris D.; Hindmarsh, Richard C.A. orcid:0000-0003-1633-2416 . 2008 Bed Ribbing Instability Explanation: testing a numerical model of ribbed moraine formation arising from coupled flow of ice and subglacial sediment. Journal of Geophysical Research, 113 (F3), F03005. 15, pp. https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JF000954 <https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JF000954> Glaciology Earth Sciences Publication - Article PeerReviewed 2008 ftnerc https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JF000954 2023-02-04T19:27:21Z Ribbed moraines are large (up to 16 km long) ridges of sediment produced transverse to ice flow direction that formed widely beneath palaeo-ice sheets. Since ice sheet stability is sensitive to conditions operating at the bed, an understanding of ribbed moraine genesis will provide critical information on ice sheet dynamics. Currently, there is no consensus on ribbed moraine formation and various competing hypotheses have been presented to account for their genesis. Only one of these theories has been developed into a physically based numerical model that quantitatively describes ribbed moraine formation. This theory, known as the Bed Ribbing Instability Explanation (BRIE), argues that ribbed moraines are produced by a naturally arising instability in the coupled flow of ice and till. BRIE demonstrates that transverse subglacial ridges (i.e., ribbed moraine) spontaneously grow under certain parameter combinations, and it predicts their wavelength (spacing between ridges). The model represents a significant advance because it is the first time a theory of subglacial bedform generation has been developed to make quantitative predictions which can be formally tested. This paper discusses the types of tests that are currently possible and reports the results from the first testing of BRIE. This analysis centers on the ability of BRIE to predict the primary characteristics of ribbed moraine, which are patterning and wavelength. Results show that BRIE successfully predicts the correct ribbed moraine pattern and appropriate wavelengths. The tests fail to falsify the model, and it is concluded that BRIE remains a viable explanation of ribbed moraine formation. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ice Sheet Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive Journal of Geophysical Research 113 F3 |
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Open Polar |
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Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftnerc |
language |
English |
topic |
Glaciology Earth Sciences |
spellingShingle |
Glaciology Earth Sciences Dunlop, Paul Clark, Chris D. Hindmarsh, Richard C.A. Bed Ribbing Instability Explanation: testing a numerical model of ribbed moraine formation arising from coupled flow of ice and subglacial sediment |
topic_facet |
Glaciology Earth Sciences |
description |
Ribbed moraines are large (up to 16 km long) ridges of sediment produced transverse to ice flow direction that formed widely beneath palaeo-ice sheets. Since ice sheet stability is sensitive to conditions operating at the bed, an understanding of ribbed moraine genesis will provide critical information on ice sheet dynamics. Currently, there is no consensus on ribbed moraine formation and various competing hypotheses have been presented to account for their genesis. Only one of these theories has been developed into a physically based numerical model that quantitatively describes ribbed moraine formation. This theory, known as the Bed Ribbing Instability Explanation (BRIE), argues that ribbed moraines are produced by a naturally arising instability in the coupled flow of ice and till. BRIE demonstrates that transverse subglacial ridges (i.e., ribbed moraine) spontaneously grow under certain parameter combinations, and it predicts their wavelength (spacing between ridges). The model represents a significant advance because it is the first time a theory of subglacial bedform generation has been developed to make quantitative predictions which can be formally tested. This paper discusses the types of tests that are currently possible and reports the results from the first testing of BRIE. This analysis centers on the ability of BRIE to predict the primary characteristics of ribbed moraine, which are patterning and wavelength. Results show that BRIE successfully predicts the correct ribbed moraine pattern and appropriate wavelengths. The tests fail to falsify the model, and it is concluded that BRIE remains a viable explanation of ribbed moraine formation. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Dunlop, Paul Clark, Chris D. Hindmarsh, Richard C.A. |
author_facet |
Dunlop, Paul Clark, Chris D. Hindmarsh, Richard C.A. |
author_sort |
Dunlop, Paul |
title |
Bed Ribbing Instability Explanation: testing a numerical model of ribbed moraine formation arising from coupled flow of ice and subglacial sediment |
title_short |
Bed Ribbing Instability Explanation: testing a numerical model of ribbed moraine formation arising from coupled flow of ice and subglacial sediment |
title_full |
Bed Ribbing Instability Explanation: testing a numerical model of ribbed moraine formation arising from coupled flow of ice and subglacial sediment |
title_fullStr |
Bed Ribbing Instability Explanation: testing a numerical model of ribbed moraine formation arising from coupled flow of ice and subglacial sediment |
title_full_unstemmed |
Bed Ribbing Instability Explanation: testing a numerical model of ribbed moraine formation arising from coupled flow of ice and subglacial sediment |
title_sort |
bed ribbing instability explanation: testing a numerical model of ribbed moraine formation arising from coupled flow of ice and subglacial sediment |
publisher |
American Geophysical Union |
publishDate |
2008 |
url |
http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/11450/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/11450/1/2007JF000954.pdf |
genre |
Ice Sheet |
genre_facet |
Ice Sheet |
op_relation |
https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/11450/1/2007JF000954.pdf Dunlop, Paul; Clark, Chris D.; Hindmarsh, Richard C.A. orcid:0000-0003-1633-2416 . 2008 Bed Ribbing Instability Explanation: testing a numerical model of ribbed moraine formation arising from coupled flow of ice and subglacial sediment. Journal of Geophysical Research, 113 (F3), F03005. 15, pp. https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JF000954 <https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JF000954> |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JF000954 |
container_title |
Journal of Geophysical Research |
container_volume |
113 |
container_issue |
F3 |
_version_ |
1766031075428007936 |