A moving-point approach to model shallow ice sheets: a study case with radially symmetrical ice sheets

Predicting the evolution of ice sheets requires numerical models able to accurately track the migration of ice sheet continental margins or grounding lines. We introduce a physically based moving-point approach for the flow of ice sheets based on the conservation of local masses. This allows the ice...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Cryosphere
Main Authors: B. Bonan, M. J. Baines, N. K. Nichols, D. Partridge
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Copernicus Publications 2016
Subjects:
geo
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-1-2016
http://www.the-cryosphere.net/10/1/2016/tc-10-1-2016.pdf
https://doaj.org/article/870f690fe6764a689a0a810e7f77356b
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Summary:Predicting the evolution of ice sheets requires numerical models able to accurately track the migration of ice sheet continental margins or grounding lines. We introduce a physically based moving-point approach for the flow of ice sheets based on the conservation of local masses. This allows the ice sheet margins to be tracked explicitly. Our approach is also well suited to capture waiting-time behaviour efficiently. A finite-difference moving-point scheme is derived and applied in a simplified context (continental radially symmetrical shallow ice approximation). The scheme, which is inexpensive, is verified by comparing the results with steady states obtained from an analytic solution and with exact moving-margin transient solutions. In both cases the scheme is able to track the position of the ice sheet margin with high accuracy.