Small-scale modeling of ice flow perturbations induced by sudden ice shelf breakup

Corti, Giacomo; Zeoli, Antonio; Iandelli, Irene

doi:10.1016/j.gloplacha.2014.05.002

Cited by 5 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…The simple model set-up allows isolating the effect of the removal of the backstresses that the floating platform exerts on the flowing glaciers, thus offering insights into the influence of this parameter on the flow perturbations resulting from a collapse event. In line with previous modelling [e.g., Corti et al, 2014], the experimental results support a significant increase in glacier velocity close to the grounding line, with post-breakup velocities increasing up to tenfold with respect to the steady, pre-breakup conditions.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…The models were characterised by dimensions (width, length) of 120cm x 70cm; the flowing ice was simulated by using Polydimethilsyloxane (PDMS), a transparent Newtonian silicone with a density of 965 kg m -3 and a viscosity of ~1.5 10 4 [see Weijermars, 1986]. Previous experimental works have shown that the rheology of PDMS well approximates that of natural ice [Corti et al, 2003[Corti et al, , 2008[Corti et al, , 2014.…”

Section: Experimental Procedure Materials and Scalingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As in previous similar experiments [Corti et al, 2014], no seasonal processes were reproduced in the modelling, such that the time progression of flow perturbations must be taken as a proxy only. Also, no ice supply on the ice sheet was modelled, since according to scaling analysis negligible amount of silicone would be added to the evolving models; this allows better isolating the effect of ice sheet collapse on the flow perturbations [Corti et al, 2014]. Similarly, other complex processes (such as basal ice melting induced by upwelling and infiltration of warm water) were not reproduced in this modeling.…”

Section: Limitations and Semplificationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Besides many numerical models, which have been used to investigate the process [e.g., Huybrechts, 1990;Hindmarsh and Le Meur, 2001;Dupont and Alley, 2005;Goldberg et al, 2009;Gudmundsson, 2013], ice shelf breakup has been tested in previous analogue models [Corti et al, 2014], which however applied to ice sheets grounded above sea level (e.g., East Antarc-tic Ice Sheet; Antarctic Peninsula and the Larsen Ice Shelf). In this work we expand these previous results by performing simple small-scale laboratory models that analyse the influence of ice shelf collapse on the flow of ice streams draining an ice sheet grounded below sea level (e.g., the West Antarctic Ice Sheet).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Analogue modelling of the influence of ice shelf collapse on the flow of ice sheets grounded below sea-level

Corti

Zeoli

2018

Annals of Geophysics

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In this work we use analogue modelling to analyse the effect of sudden ice shelf breakup on the flow of ice draining an ice sheet grounded below sea level. Experimental results confirm that the removal of the buttressing effect exerted by the ice shelf results in significant acceleration of inland glaciers: the models show indeed a pronounced increase in ice velocity close to the grounding line. However, this effect does not significantly propagate upstream towards the internal portions of the ice sheet and rapidly decays with time. Therefore, the ice sheet is almost unaffected by flow perturbations induced by the disintegration of the ice shelf.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Experimental Procedure Materials and Scalingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Limitations and Semplificationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Analogue modelling of the influence of ice shelf collapse on the flow of ice sheets grounded below sea-level

Corti

Zeoli

2018

Annals of Geophysics

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“…The similitude concept is also applied to some extent in the field of glaciology: in laboratory glacier experiments dimensionless numbers like the Reynold's, Froude and Ramberg numbers are used to check for (dynamic) similarity between the geometrically scaled model (based on the properties of the analogue ice material) and the real-world system (Burton et al, 2012;Corti et al, 2014). In Halfar (1983) and Bueler et al (2005) the similitude principle is used to derive similarity solutions of the shallow-ice approximation (SIA; Hutter, 1983) of the full Stokes stress balance for the case of an isothermal, radially symmetric ice sheet.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Similitude of ice dynamics against scaling of geometry and physical parameters

Feldmann

Levermann

2016

The Cryosphere

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Abstract. The concept of similitude is commonly employed in the fields of fluid dynamics and engineering but rarely used in cryospheric research. Here we apply this method to the problem of ice flow to examine the dynamic similitude of isothermal ice sheets in shallow-shelf approximation against the scaling of their geometry and physical parameters. Carrying out a dimensional analysis of the stress balance we obtain dimensionless numbers that characterize the flow. Requiring that these numbers remain the same under scaling we obtain conditions that relate the geometric scaling factors, the parameters for the ice softness, surface mass balance and basal friction as well as the ice-sheet intrinsic response time to each other. We demonstrate that these scaling laws are the same for both the (two-dimensional) flow-line case and the three-dimensional case. The theoretically predicted ice-sheet scaling behavior agrees with results from numerical simulations that we conduct in flow-line and three-dimensional conceptual setups. We further investigate analytically the implications of geometric scaling of ice sheets for their response time. With this study we provide a framework which, under several assumptions, allows for a fundamental comparison of the ice-dynamic behavior across different scales. It proves to be useful in the design of conceptual numerical model setups and could also be helpful for designing laboratory glacier experiments. The concept might also be applied to real-world systems, e.g., to examine the response times of glaciers, ice streams or ice sheets to climatic perturbations.

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Outlet glacier response to the 2012 collapse of the Matusevich Ice Shelf, Severnaya Zemlya, Russian Arctic

2015

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The Matusevich Ice Shelf (MIS), located within the Severnaya Zemlya Archipelago in the Russian Arctic, rapidly broke apart between 10 August and 7 September 2012. We examine the response of the outlet glaciers that fed the MIS from local ice caps to the removal of the ice shelf. We use spaceborne laser altimetry and multiple optically derived digital elevation models to track ice surface elevation change rates (dh/dt) between 1984 and 2014. Glacier speeds are measured by pixel‐tracking from optical and RADAR imagery between 2010 and 2014 and interferometric synthetic aperture radar in 1995 to compare precollapse and postcollapse velocities. We find that the three main outlet glaciers that fed the MIS are thinning an order of magnitude more rapidly than most of the rest of Severnaya Zemyla, based upon ICESat data from 2003 to 2009. Recent, 2012 to 2014 thinning rates are three to four times faster than the 30 year average thinning rate, calculated between 1984 and 2014. The springtime speeds of the largest outlet glacier (Issledovateley) have increased more than 200% at the terminus between April 2010 and April 2014. To date, changes in surface elevation (dh/dt) and velocity at the outlet glaciers near MIS are smaller than glacier responses to ice shelf collapse in Antarctica. It is possible that the MIS was already very weak prior to the 2012 collapse and unable to support back stress. Further observations are required to assess whether the thinning and nonmelt season glacier speeds are continuing to accelerate.

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Small-scale modeling of ice flow perturbations induced by sudden ice shelf breakup

Cited by 5 publications

References 16 publications

Analogue modelling of the influence of ice shelf collapse on the flow of ice sheets grounded below sea-level

Analogue modelling of the influence of ice shelf collapse on the flow of ice sheets grounded below sea-level

Similitude of ice dynamics against scaling of geometry and physical parameters

Outlet glacier response to the 2012 collapse of the Matusevich Ice Shelf, Severnaya Zemlya, Russian Arctic

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