A parallel high-order accurate finite element nonlinear Stokes ice sheet model and benchmark experiments: A PARALLEL FEM STOKES ICE SHEET MODEL

The numerical modeling of glacier and ice sheet evolution is a subject of growing interest, in part because of the potential for models to inform estimates of global sea level change. This paper focuses on the development of a numerical model that determines the velocity and pressure fields within a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface
Main Authors: Leng, Wei, Ju, Lili, Gunzburger, Max, Price, Stephen, Ringler, Todd
Language:unknown
Published: 2017
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1090851
https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1090851
https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JF001962
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Summary:The numerical modeling of glacier and ice sheet evolution is a subject of growing interest, in part because of the potential for models to inform estimates of global sea level change. This paper focuses on the development of a numerical model that determines the velocity and pressure fields within an ice sheet. Our numerical model features a high-fidelity mathematical model involving the nonlinear Stokes system and combinations of no-sliding and sliding basal boundary conditions, high-order accurate finite element discretizations based on variable resolution grids, and highly scalable parallel solution strategies, all of which contribute to a numerical model that can achieve accurate velocity and pressure approximations in a highly efficient manner. We demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of our model by analytical solution tests, established ice sheet benchmark experiments, and comparisons with other well-established ice sheet models.