TY - JOUR
T1 - Regular patterns in frictional resistance of ice-stream beds seen by surface data inversion
AU - Sergienko, Olga V.
AU - Hindmarsh, Richard C.A.
PY - 2013
Y1 - 2013
N2 - Fast-flowing glaciers and ice streams are pathways for ice discharge from the interior of the Antarctic Ice Sheet to ice shelves, at rates controlled by conditions at the ice-bed interface. Using recently compiled high-resolution data sets and a standard inverse method, we computed basal shear stress distributions beneath Pine Island and Thwaites Glaciers, which are currently losing mass at an accelerating rate. The inversions reveal the presence of riblike patterns of very high basal shear stress embedded within much larger areas with zero basal shear stress. Their colocation with highs in the gradient of hydraulic potential suggests that subglacial water may control the evolution of these high-shear-stress ribs, potentially causing migration of the grounding line by changes in basal resistance in its vicinity.
AB - Fast-flowing glaciers and ice streams are pathways for ice discharge from the interior of the Antarctic Ice Sheet to ice shelves, at rates controlled by conditions at the ice-bed interface. Using recently compiled high-resolution data sets and a standard inverse method, we computed basal shear stress distributions beneath Pine Island and Thwaites Glaciers, which are currently losing mass at an accelerating rate. The inversions reveal the presence of riblike patterns of very high basal shear stress embedded within much larger areas with zero basal shear stress. Their colocation with highs in the gradient of hydraulic potential suggests that subglacial water may control the evolution of these high-shear-stress ribs, potentially causing migration of the grounding line by changes in basal resistance in its vicinity.
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U2 - 10.1126/science.1243903
DO - 10.1126/science.1243903
M3 - Article
C2 - 24200815
AN - SCOPUS:84888830669
SN - 0036-8075
VL - 342
SP - 1086
EP - 1089
JO - Science
JF - Science
IS - 6162
ER -