Global thermodynamics of a polar ice sheet

In this paper, the global characteristics of a polar ice sheet are investigated. When looking at a drainage system as a whole, conservation of heat yields a very simple functional relation. Coupling this relation to an equation describing the large-scale dynamics of a drainage system makes it possib...

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Main Authors: Veen, C.J. van der, Oerlemans, J.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 1984
Subjects:
Online Access:https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/22117
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spelling ftunivutrecht:oai:dspace.library.uu.nl:1874/22117 2023-07-23T04:15:28+02:00 Global thermodynamics of a polar ice sheet Veen, C.J. van der Oerlemans, J. 1984 image/pdf https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/22117 en eng https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/22117 info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess Natuur- en Sterrenkunde Article 1984 ftunivutrecht 2023-07-01T23:20:17Z In this paper, the global characteristics of a polar ice sheet are investigated. When looking at a drainage system as a whole, conservation of heat yields a very simple functional relation. Coupling this relation to an equation describing the large-scale dynamics of a drainage system makes it possible to study the feedback of thermodynamics on the ice-mass discharge. It is found that the temperature-ice flow feedback (including the effect of basal meltwater) can give rise to bifurcation. For certain combinations of air temperature and mass balance, two stable flow regimes are possible for a polar ice sheet: fast flow, with high basal temperatures and slow flow, with low basal temperatures. Basal melting is strongly reduced when the accumulation rate increases. Thus a polar drainage system can be brought into the fast flow regime (with meltwater present) by reducing the mass balance, or by increasing the air temperature. The calculation of the global heat budget is also applied to flow lines of the antarctic ice sheet. For the flow line into the Ross Sea we find that at present a large imbalance exists. It seems that the ice sheet is cooling here, and consequently, building up. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Ice Sheet Ross Sea Utrecht University Repository Antarctic Ross Sea The Antarctic
institution Open Polar
collection Utrecht University Repository
op_collection_id ftunivutrecht
language English
topic Natuur- en Sterrenkunde
spellingShingle Natuur- en Sterrenkunde
Veen, C.J. van der
Oerlemans, J.
Global thermodynamics of a polar ice sheet
topic_facet Natuur- en Sterrenkunde
description In this paper, the global characteristics of a polar ice sheet are investigated. When looking at a drainage system as a whole, conservation of heat yields a very simple functional relation. Coupling this relation to an equation describing the large-scale dynamics of a drainage system makes it possible to study the feedback of thermodynamics on the ice-mass discharge. It is found that the temperature-ice flow feedback (including the effect of basal meltwater) can give rise to bifurcation. For certain combinations of air temperature and mass balance, two stable flow regimes are possible for a polar ice sheet: fast flow, with high basal temperatures and slow flow, with low basal temperatures. Basal melting is strongly reduced when the accumulation rate increases. Thus a polar drainage system can be brought into the fast flow regime (with meltwater present) by reducing the mass balance, or by increasing the air temperature. The calculation of the global heat budget is also applied to flow lines of the antarctic ice sheet. For the flow line into the Ross Sea we find that at present a large imbalance exists. It seems that the ice sheet is cooling here, and consequently, building up.
format Article in Journal/Newspaper
author Veen, C.J. van der
Oerlemans, J.
author_facet Veen, C.J. van der
Oerlemans, J.
author_sort Veen, C.J. van der
title Global thermodynamics of a polar ice sheet
title_short Global thermodynamics of a polar ice sheet
title_full Global thermodynamics of a polar ice sheet
title_fullStr Global thermodynamics of a polar ice sheet
title_full_unstemmed Global thermodynamics of a polar ice sheet
title_sort global thermodynamics of a polar ice sheet
publishDate 1984
url https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/22117
geographic Antarctic
Ross Sea
The Antarctic
geographic_facet Antarctic
Ross Sea
The Antarctic
genre Antarc*
Antarctic
Ice Sheet
Ross Sea
genre_facet Antarc*
Antarctic
Ice Sheet
Ross Sea
op_relation https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/22117
op_rights info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess
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