High sensitivity of tidewater outlet glacier dynamics to shape
Variability in tidewater outlet glacier behavior under similar external forcing has been attributed to differences in outlet shape (i.e., bed elevation and width), but this dependence has not been investigated in detail. Here we use a numerical ice flow model to show that the dynamics of tidewater o...
Main Authors: | , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2013
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/84779/ https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/84779/1/2013_VieliA_tc-7-1007-2013.pdf https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-84779 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1007-2013 |
id |
ftunivzuerich:oai:www.zora.uzh.ch:84779 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftunivzuerich:oai:www.zora.uzh.ch:84779 2024-10-06T13:53:08+00:00 High sensitivity of tidewater outlet glacier dynamics to shape Enderlin, Ellyn M Howat, Ian M Vieli, Andreas 2013 application/pdf https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/84779/ https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/84779/1/2013_VieliA_tc-7-1007-2013.pdf https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-84779 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1007-2013 eng eng Copernicus Publications https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/84779/1/2013_VieliA_tc-7-1007-2013.pdf doi:10.5167/uzh-84779 doi:10.5194/tc-7-1007-2013 urn:issn:1994-0416 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Enderlin, Ellyn M; Howat, Ian M; Vieli, Andreas (2013). High sensitivity of tidewater outlet glacier dynamics to shape. The Cryosphere, 7(3):1007-1015. Institute of Geography 910 Geography & travel Earth-Surface Processes Water Science and Technology Journal Article PeerReviewed info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2013 ftunivzuerich https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-8477910.5194/tc-7-1007-2013 2024-09-11T00:49:01Z Variability in tidewater outlet glacier behavior under similar external forcing has been attributed to differences in outlet shape (i.e., bed elevation and width), but this dependence has not been investigated in detail. Here we use a numerical ice flow model to show that the dynamics of tidewater outlet glaciers under external forcing are highly sensitive to width and bed topography. Our sensitivity tests indicate that for glaciers with similar discharge, the trunks of wider glaciers and those grounded over deeper basal depressions tend to be closer to flotation, so that less dynamically induced thinning results in rapid, unstable retreat following a perturbation. The lag time between the onset of the perturbation and unstable retreat varies with outlet shape, which may help explain intra-regional variability in tidewater outlet glacier behavior. Further, because the perturbation response is dependent on the thickness relative to flotation, varying the bed topography within the range of observational uncertainty can result in either stable or unstable retreat due to the same perturbation. Thus, extreme care must be taken when interpreting the future behavior of actual glacier systems using numerical ice flow models that are not accompanied by comprehensive sensitivity analyses. Article in Journal/Newspaper The Cryosphere Tidewater University of Zurich (UZH): ZORA (Zurich Open Repository and Archive |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Zurich (UZH): ZORA (Zurich Open Repository and Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftunivzuerich |
language |
English |
topic |
Institute of Geography 910 Geography & travel Earth-Surface Processes Water Science and Technology |
spellingShingle |
Institute of Geography 910 Geography & travel Earth-Surface Processes Water Science and Technology Enderlin, Ellyn M Howat, Ian M Vieli, Andreas High sensitivity of tidewater outlet glacier dynamics to shape |
topic_facet |
Institute of Geography 910 Geography & travel Earth-Surface Processes Water Science and Technology |
description |
Variability in tidewater outlet glacier behavior under similar external forcing has been attributed to differences in outlet shape (i.e., bed elevation and width), but this dependence has not been investigated in detail. Here we use a numerical ice flow model to show that the dynamics of tidewater outlet glaciers under external forcing are highly sensitive to width and bed topography. Our sensitivity tests indicate that for glaciers with similar discharge, the trunks of wider glaciers and those grounded over deeper basal depressions tend to be closer to flotation, so that less dynamically induced thinning results in rapid, unstable retreat following a perturbation. The lag time between the onset of the perturbation and unstable retreat varies with outlet shape, which may help explain intra-regional variability in tidewater outlet glacier behavior. Further, because the perturbation response is dependent on the thickness relative to flotation, varying the bed topography within the range of observational uncertainty can result in either stable or unstable retreat due to the same perturbation. Thus, extreme care must be taken when interpreting the future behavior of actual glacier systems using numerical ice flow models that are not accompanied by comprehensive sensitivity analyses. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Enderlin, Ellyn M Howat, Ian M Vieli, Andreas |
author_facet |
Enderlin, Ellyn M Howat, Ian M Vieli, Andreas |
author_sort |
Enderlin, Ellyn M |
title |
High sensitivity of tidewater outlet glacier dynamics to shape |
title_short |
High sensitivity of tidewater outlet glacier dynamics to shape |
title_full |
High sensitivity of tidewater outlet glacier dynamics to shape |
title_fullStr |
High sensitivity of tidewater outlet glacier dynamics to shape |
title_full_unstemmed |
High sensitivity of tidewater outlet glacier dynamics to shape |
title_sort |
high sensitivity of tidewater outlet glacier dynamics to shape |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/84779/ https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/84779/1/2013_VieliA_tc-7-1007-2013.pdf https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-84779 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1007-2013 |
genre |
The Cryosphere Tidewater |
genre_facet |
The Cryosphere Tidewater |
op_source |
Enderlin, Ellyn M; Howat, Ian M; Vieli, Andreas (2013). High sensitivity of tidewater outlet glacier dynamics to shape. The Cryosphere, 7(3):1007-1015. |
op_relation |
https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/84779/1/2013_VieliA_tc-7-1007-2013.pdf doi:10.5167/uzh-84779 doi:10.5194/tc-7-1007-2013 urn:issn:1994-0416 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-8477910.5194/tc-7-1007-2013 |
_version_ |
1812181793731772416 |