Modeling glacier ice flow: Bridging the gap between lab experiments and real-world ice sheets

What is it about?

The speed of ice movement from the interior of ice sheets to the margins largely dictates how fast ice sheets will lose ice. However, the way we model ice movement is currently simplified, and does not fully capture the physics and variations in ice flow. We present a framework for calculating the viscosity of ice, derived from physics discovered in the laboratory. This framework allows for modeling variations in ice flow in space and time.

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Photo by Agustín Lautaro on Unsplash

Photo by Agustín Lautaro on Unsplash

Why is it important?

The rate of ice flow is a primary control on the rate of mass loss from ice sheets and glaciers. Therefore, the model representation for ice flow is critical to projections of future ice sheet and sea-level change. This framework improves the representation of ice flow in models by bringing models closer to the fundamental physics of ice and, importantly, this method can be readily incorporated into ice sheet models to improve representation of ice flow and estimates of future sea-level rise.