The influence of firn-layer material properties on surface crevasse propagation in glaciers and ice shelves
Linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) models have been used to estimate crevasse depths in glaciers and to represent iceberg calving in ice sheet models. However, existing LEFM models assume glacier ice to be homogeneous and utilise the mechanical properties of fully consolidated ice. Using depth...
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Copernicus Publications
2024
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ftnonlinearchiv:oai:noa.gwlb.de:cop_mods_00072613 2024-04-28T08:25:03+00:00 The influence of firn-layer material properties on surface crevasse propagation in glaciers and ice shelves Clayton, Theo Duddu, Ravindra Hageman, Tim Martinez-Paneda, Emilio 2024-03 electronic https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-660 https://noa.gwlb.de/receive/cop_mods_00072613 https://noa.gwlb.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/cop_derivate_00070816/egusphere-2024-660.pdf https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2024/egusphere-2024-660/egusphere-2024-660.pdf eng eng Copernicus Publications https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-660 https://noa.gwlb.de/receive/cop_mods_00072613 https://noa.gwlb.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/cop_derivate_00070816/egusphere-2024-660.pdf https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2024/egusphere-2024-660/egusphere-2024-660.pdf https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ uneingeschränkt info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess article Verlagsveröffentlichung article Text doc-type:article 2024 ftnonlinearchiv https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-660 2024-04-02T16:51:04Z Linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) models have been used to estimate crevasse depths in glaciers and to represent iceberg calving in ice sheet models. However, existing LEFM models assume glacier ice to be homogeneous and utilise the mechanical properties of fully consolidated ice. Using depth-invariant properties is not realistic, as the process of compaction from unconsolidated snow to firn to glacial ice is dependent on several environmental factors, typically leading to a lesser density and Young's modulus in upper surface strata. New analytical solutions for longitudinal stress profiles are derived, using depth-varying properties based on borehole data from the Ronne ice shelf, and used in an LEFM model to determine the maximum penetration depths of an isolated crevasse in grounded glaciers and floating ice shelves. These maximum crevasse depths are compared to those obtained for homogeneous glacial ice, showing the importance of including the effect of the upper unconsolidated firn layers on crevasse propagation. The largest reductions in penetration depth ratio were observed for shallow grounded glaciers, with variations in Young's modulus being more influential than firn density (a maximum difference in crevasse depth of 46 % and 20 % respectively); whereas, firn density changes resulted in an increase in penetration depth for thinner floating ice shelves (95 %–188 % difference in crevasse depth between constant and depth-varying properties). Thus, our study shows that the firn layer can increase the vulnerability of ice shelves to fracture and calving, highlighting the importance of considering depth-dependent firn-layer material properties in LEFM models for estimating crevasse penetration depths and predicting rift propagation. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ice Sheet Ice Shelf Ice Shelves Ronne Ice Shelf Niedersächsisches Online-Archiv NOA |
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ftnonlinearchiv |
language |
English |
topic |
article Verlagsveröffentlichung |
spellingShingle |
article Verlagsveröffentlichung Clayton, Theo Duddu, Ravindra Hageman, Tim Martinez-Paneda, Emilio The influence of firn-layer material properties on surface crevasse propagation in glaciers and ice shelves |
topic_facet |
article Verlagsveröffentlichung |
description |
Linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) models have been used to estimate crevasse depths in glaciers and to represent iceberg calving in ice sheet models. However, existing LEFM models assume glacier ice to be homogeneous and utilise the mechanical properties of fully consolidated ice. Using depth-invariant properties is not realistic, as the process of compaction from unconsolidated snow to firn to glacial ice is dependent on several environmental factors, typically leading to a lesser density and Young's modulus in upper surface strata. New analytical solutions for longitudinal stress profiles are derived, using depth-varying properties based on borehole data from the Ronne ice shelf, and used in an LEFM model to determine the maximum penetration depths of an isolated crevasse in grounded glaciers and floating ice shelves. These maximum crevasse depths are compared to those obtained for homogeneous glacial ice, showing the importance of including the effect of the upper unconsolidated firn layers on crevasse propagation. The largest reductions in penetration depth ratio were observed for shallow grounded glaciers, with variations in Young's modulus being more influential than firn density (a maximum difference in crevasse depth of 46 % and 20 % respectively); whereas, firn density changes resulted in an increase in penetration depth for thinner floating ice shelves (95 %–188 % difference in crevasse depth between constant and depth-varying properties). Thus, our study shows that the firn layer can increase the vulnerability of ice shelves to fracture and calving, highlighting the importance of considering depth-dependent firn-layer material properties in LEFM models for estimating crevasse penetration depths and predicting rift propagation. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Clayton, Theo Duddu, Ravindra Hageman, Tim Martinez-Paneda, Emilio |
author_facet |
Clayton, Theo Duddu, Ravindra Hageman, Tim Martinez-Paneda, Emilio |
author_sort |
Clayton, Theo |
title |
The influence of firn-layer material properties on surface crevasse propagation in glaciers and ice shelves |
title_short |
The influence of firn-layer material properties on surface crevasse propagation in glaciers and ice shelves |
title_full |
The influence of firn-layer material properties on surface crevasse propagation in glaciers and ice shelves |
title_fullStr |
The influence of firn-layer material properties on surface crevasse propagation in glaciers and ice shelves |
title_full_unstemmed |
The influence of firn-layer material properties on surface crevasse propagation in glaciers and ice shelves |
title_sort |
influence of firn-layer material properties on surface crevasse propagation in glaciers and ice shelves |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-660 https://noa.gwlb.de/receive/cop_mods_00072613 https://noa.gwlb.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/cop_derivate_00070816/egusphere-2024-660.pdf https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2024/egusphere-2024-660/egusphere-2024-660.pdf |
genre |
Ice Sheet Ice Shelf Ice Shelves Ronne Ice Shelf |
genre_facet |
Ice Sheet Ice Shelf Ice Shelves Ronne Ice Shelf |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-660 https://noa.gwlb.de/receive/cop_mods_00072613 https://noa.gwlb.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/cop_derivate_00070816/egusphere-2024-660.pdf https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2024/egusphere-2024-660/egusphere-2024-660.pdf |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ uneingeschränkt info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-660 |
_version_ |
1797585001939730432 |