Subglacial hydrology as a control on emergence, scale, and spacing of ice streams
Observations have long associated ice streams with the presence of meltwater at the bed. More recently, theoretical models have been able to reproduce ice stream behavior as a consequence of the coupled dynamics of ice and subglacial meltwater. In this paper we analyze the properties of ice streams...
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ftunivlimericfig:oai:figshare.com:article/19813762 2023-05-15T13:43:30+02:00 Subglacial hydrology as a control on emergence, scale, and spacing of ice streams T.M. Kyrke-Smith R.F Katz Andrew Fowler 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Subglacial_hydrology_as_a_control_on_emergence_scale_and_spacing_of_ice_streams/19813762 unknown 10344/5037 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Subglacial_hydrology_as_a_control_on_emergence_scale_and_spacing_of_ice_streams/19813762 CC BY-NC-SA 1.0 CC-BY-NC-SA West Antractica East Antarctica layer beneath water piracy sheet flow glacier system onset Text Journal contribution 2015 ftunivlimericfig 2022-12-28T08:32:48Z Observations have long associated ice streams with the presence of meltwater at the bed. More recently, theoretical models have been able to reproduce ice stream behavior as a consequence of the coupled dynamics of ice and subglacial meltwater. In this paper we analyze the properties of ice streams that form in a coupled model of ice flow and subglacial hydrology. We see that there is a natural length scale defining ice stream separation and width. This arises as a result of the balance between effective pressure gradients driving meltwater away from ice streams and the enhanced water production in the streams due to the fast ice flow. We further discuss how the model interacts with topography, and we show that small perturbations to a uniform bed have a strong effect on where ice streams emerge in the model. However, in many cases ice streams then evolve to be closer to the dimensions defined by the natural length scale of the unperturbed system. The nondimensional parameter that defines this length scale is therefore of fundamental importance in the model. Other Non-Article Part of Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctica East Antarctica Research from University of Limerick East Antarctica |
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Open Polar |
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Research from University of Limerick |
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ftunivlimericfig |
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unknown |
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West Antractica East Antarctica layer beneath water piracy sheet flow glacier system onset |
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West Antractica East Antarctica layer beneath water piracy sheet flow glacier system onset T.M. Kyrke-Smith R.F Katz Andrew Fowler Subglacial hydrology as a control on emergence, scale, and spacing of ice streams |
topic_facet |
West Antractica East Antarctica layer beneath water piracy sheet flow glacier system onset |
description |
Observations have long associated ice streams with the presence of meltwater at the bed. More recently, theoretical models have been able to reproduce ice stream behavior as a consequence of the coupled dynamics of ice and subglacial meltwater. In this paper we analyze the properties of ice streams that form in a coupled model of ice flow and subglacial hydrology. We see that there is a natural length scale defining ice stream separation and width. This arises as a result of the balance between effective pressure gradients driving meltwater away from ice streams and the enhanced water production in the streams due to the fast ice flow. We further discuss how the model interacts with topography, and we show that small perturbations to a uniform bed have a strong effect on where ice streams emerge in the model. However, in many cases ice streams then evolve to be closer to the dimensions defined by the natural length scale of the unperturbed system. The nondimensional parameter that defines this length scale is therefore of fundamental importance in the model. |
format |
Other Non-Article Part of Journal/Newspaper |
author |
T.M. Kyrke-Smith R.F Katz Andrew Fowler |
author_facet |
T.M. Kyrke-Smith R.F Katz Andrew Fowler |
author_sort |
T.M. Kyrke-Smith |
title |
Subglacial hydrology as a control on emergence, scale, and spacing of ice streams |
title_short |
Subglacial hydrology as a control on emergence, scale, and spacing of ice streams |
title_full |
Subglacial hydrology as a control on emergence, scale, and spacing of ice streams |
title_fullStr |
Subglacial hydrology as a control on emergence, scale, and spacing of ice streams |
title_full_unstemmed |
Subglacial hydrology as a control on emergence, scale, and spacing of ice streams |
title_sort |
subglacial hydrology as a control on emergence, scale, and spacing of ice streams |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Subglacial_hydrology_as_a_control_on_emergence_scale_and_spacing_of_ice_streams/19813762 |
geographic |
East Antarctica |
geographic_facet |
East Antarctica |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica East Antarctica |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica East Antarctica |
op_relation |
10344/5037 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Subglacial_hydrology_as_a_control_on_emergence_scale_and_spacing_of_ice_streams/19813762 |
op_rights |
CC BY-NC-SA 1.0 |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY-NC-SA |
_version_ |
1766189802154098688 |