Chaotic dynamics of a glaciohydraulic model
A model subglacial drainage system, coupled to an ice-dammed reservoir that receives a time-varying meltwater input, is described and analysed. In numerical experiments an ice-marginal lake drains through a subglacial channel, producing periodic floods, and fills with meltwater at a rate dependent o...
Published in: | Journal of Glaciology |
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Main Author: | |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
International Glaciological Society
2015
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Online Access: | http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/511045/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/511045/1/Kingslake%202015.pdf https://doi.org/10.3189/2015JoG14J208 |
Summary: | A model subglacial drainage system, coupled to an ice-dammed reservoir that receives a time-varying meltwater input, is described and analysed. In numerical experiments an ice-marginal lake drains through a subglacial channel, producing periodic floods, and fills with meltwater at a rate dependent on air temperature, which varies seasonally with a peak value of Tm. The analysis reveals regions of Tm parameter space corresponding to ‘mode locking’, where flood repeat time is independent of Tm; resonance, where decreasing Tm counter-intuitively increases flood size; and chaotic dynamics, where flood cycles are sensitive to initial conditions, never repeat and exhibit phase-space mixing. Bifurcations associated with abrupt changes in flood size and timing within the year separate these regions. This is the first time these complex dynamics have been displayed by a glaciohydraulic model and these findings have implications for our understanding of ice-marginal lakes, moulins and subglacial lakes. |
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