An Excel (TM) spreadsheet program for reconstructing the surface profile of former mountain glaciers and ice caps

• Published in: Computers & Geosciences
• Main Authors: Benn, Douglas I., Hulton, Nicholas R. J.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: Glacier reconstruction; Ice sheet surface; Shape factor; EQUILIBRIUM-LINE ALTITUDES; BALANCE; CLIMATE; NORWAY; Norway; glacier; Ice Sheet
• Online Access: https://risweb.st-andrews.ac.uk/portal/en/researchoutput/an-excel-tm-spreadsheet-program-for-reconstructing-the-surface-profile-of-former-mountain-glaciers-and-ice-caps(52ea5318-5fc6-476c-b09d-ae13a10791e7).html; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cageo.2009.09.016

A new Excel (TM) spreadsheet program is introduced, which calculates the surface profiles of former glaciers using an exact solution of a 'perfectly plastic' glacier model. Two versions of the model are presented. The basic model requires only bed topography along a flowline and a yield stress for ice as inputs. The latter can be tuned using 'target ice elevations' derived from geomorphological mapping. A more sophisticated form of the model allows the yield stress to vary along the flowline, and incorporates the effect of valley-side drag on the glacier profile. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.