Cross-cutting palaeo-ice streams in NE-Iceland reveal shifting Iceland Ice Sheet dynamics

Geomorphology ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 108009
Author(s):  
Ívar Örn Benediktsson ◽  
Nína Aradóttir ◽  
Ólafur Ingólfsson ◽  
Skafti Brynjólfsson
Keyword(s):  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Ice Streams ◽  
Ice Sheet Dynamics

scholarly journals Subglacial hydrology and the formation of ice streams

2014 ◽  
Vol 470 (2161) ◽  
pp. 20130494 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. M Kyrke-Smith ◽  
R. F Katz ◽  
A. C Fowler
Keyword(s):  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Water System ◽  
Coupled Model ◽  
Water Film ◽  
Mass Conservation ◽  
Ice Streams ◽  
Base Level ◽  
Ice Sheet Dynamics ◽  
Ice Water ◽  
Subglacial Meltwater

Antarctic ice streams are associated with pressurized subglacial meltwater but the role this water plays in the dynamics of the streams is not known. To address this, we present a model of subglacial water flow below ice sheets, and particularly below ice streams. The base-level flow is fed by subglacial melting and is presumed to take the form of a rough-bedded film, in which the ice is supported by larger clasts, but there is a millimetric water film which submerges the smaller particles. A model for the film is given by two coupled partial differential equations, representing mass conservation of water and ice closure. We assume that there is no sediment transport and solve for water film depth and effective pressure. This is coupled to a vertically integrated, higher order model for ice-sheet dynamics. If there is a sufficiently small amount of meltwater produced (e.g. if ice flux is low), the distributed film and ice sheet are stable, whereas for larger amounts of melt the ice–water system can become unstable, and ice streams form spontaneously as a consequence. We show that this can be explained in terms of a multi-valued sliding law, which arises from a simplified, one-dimensional analysis of the coupled model.

scholarly journals The Dynamics of Marine Ice Sheets

1979 ◽  
Vol 24 (90) ◽  
pp. 167-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert H. Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Ice Sheets ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Ice Streams ◽  
Ice Shelves ◽  
The North ◽  
West Antarctic ◽  
Grounding Line ◽  
Ice Sheet Dynamics

AbstractMarine ice sheets rest on land that, for the most part, is below sea-level. Ice that flows across the grounding line, where the ice sheet becomes afloat, either calves into icebergs or forms a floating ice shelf joined to the ice sheet. At the grounding line there is a transition from ice-sheet dynamics to ice-shelf dynamics, and the creep-thinning rate in this region is very sensitive to sea depth; rising sea-level causes increased thinning-rates and grounding-line retreat, falling sea-level has the reverse effect. If the bedrock slopes down towards the centre of the ice sheet there may be only two stable modes: a freely-floating ice shelf or a marine ice sheet that extends to the edge of the continental shelf. Once started, collapse of such an ice sheet to form an ice shelf may take place extremely rapidly. Ice shelves which form in embayments of a marine ice sheet, or which are partially grounded, have a stabilizing influence since ice flowing across the grounding line has to push the ice shelf past its sides. Retreat of the grounding line tends to enlarge the ice shelf, which ultimately may become large enough to prevent excessive outflow from the ice sheet so that a new equilibrium grounding line is established; removal of the ice shelf would allow retreat to continue. During the late-Wisconsin glacial maximum there may have been marine ice sheets in the northern hemisphere but the only current example is the West Antarctic ice sheet. This is buttressed by the Ross and Ronne Ice Shelves, and if climatic warming were to prohibit the existence of these ice shelves then the ice sheet would collapse. Field observations suggest that, at present, the ice sheet may be advancing into parts of the Ross Ice Shelf. Such advance, however, would not ensure the security of the ice sheet since ice streams that drain to the north appear to flow directly into the sea with little or no ice shelf to buttress them. If these ice streams do not flow over a sufficiently high bedrock sill then they provide the most likely avenues for ice-sheet retreat.

scholarly journals Red Sea tectonics unveil the largest known terrestrial ice stream: New constraints on Late Ordovician ice sheet dynamics

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Elhebiry ◽  
Mohamed Sultan ◽  
Abotalib Abotalib ◽  
Alan Kehew ◽  
Peter Voice ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Red Sea ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Late Ordovician ◽  
Ice Streams ◽  
Glacial Origin ◽  
Tectonic Processes ◽  
Ice Stream ◽  
Aeolian Erosion ◽  
Ice Sheet Dynamics

Abstract Mega-streamlined landforms on Earth and Mars have been attributed to aeolian, glaciogenic, fluvial, and tectonic processes. Identifying the forces that shaped these landforms is paramount for understanding landscape evolution and constraining paleo-climate models and ice sheet reconstructions. In Arabia, east-northeast, kilometer-scale streamlined landforms were interpreted to have been formed by Quaternary aeolian erosion. We provide field and satellite-based evidence for a Late Ordovician glacial origin for these streamlined landforms, which were exhumed during the Red Sea–related uplift. Then we use Late Ordovician paleo-topographic data to reconstruct the Late Ordovician ice sheet using identified and previously reported glacial deposits and landforms. Our reconstruction suggests these glacial features are part of a major, topographically controlled, marine-terminating ice stream, twice the length of the largest known terrestrial ice streams. Our results support models that advocate for a single, major, and highly dynamic ice sheet and provide new morphological-based constraints for Late Ordovician climate models.

scholarly journals Thermal convection and the origin of ice streams

2009 ◽  
Vol 55 (191) ◽  
pp. 524-536 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Hughes
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Convection ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Density Inversion ◽  
Ice Streams ◽  
Ice Sheet Dynamics

AbstractIce streams are a fact of ice-sheet dynamics, draining up to 90% of the ice. Thermal convection in ice below the density inversion is a speculation. An attempt is made to meld the two in such a way that the speculation becomes an explanation for the fact.

scholarly journals The Dynamics of Marine Ice Sheets

1979 ◽  
Vol 24 (90) ◽  
pp. 167-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert H. Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Ice Sheets ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Ice Streams ◽  
Ice Shelves ◽  
The North ◽  
West Antarctic ◽  
Grounding Line ◽  
Ice Sheet Dynamics

AbstractMarine ice sheets rest on land that, for the most part, is below sea-level. Ice that flows across the grounding line, where the ice sheet becomes afloat, either calves into icebergs or forms a floating ice shelf joined to the ice sheet. At the grounding line there is a transition from ice-sheet dynamics to ice-shelf dynamics, and the creep-thinning rate in this region is very sensitive to sea depth; rising sea-level causes increased thinning-rates and grounding-line retreat, falling sea-level has the reverse effect. If the bedrock slopes down towards the centre of the ice sheet there may be only two stable modes: a freely-floating ice shelf or a marine ice sheet that extends to the edge of the continental shelf. Once started, collapse of such an ice sheet to form an ice shelf may take place extremely rapidly. Ice shelves which form in embayments of a marine ice sheet, or which are partially grounded, have a stabilizing influence since ice flowing across the grounding line has to push the ice shelf past its sides. Retreat of the grounding line tends to enlarge the ice shelf, which ultimately may become large enough to prevent excessive outflow from the ice sheet so that a new equilibrium grounding line is established; removal of the ice shelf would allow retreat to continue. During the late-Wisconsin glacial maximum there may have been marine ice sheets in the northern hemisphere but the only current example is the West Antarctic ice sheet. This is buttressed by the Ross and Ronne Ice Shelves, and if climatic warming were to prohibit the existence of these ice shelves then the ice sheet would collapse. Field observations suggest that, at present, the ice sheet may be advancing into parts of the Ross Ice Shelf. Such advance, however, would not ensure the security of the ice sheet since ice streams that drain to the north appear to flow directly into the sea with little or no ice shelf to buttress them. If these ice streams do not flow over a sufficiently high bedrock sill then they provide the most likely avenues for ice-sheet retreat.

scholarly journals Palaeo-ice streams in the northern Keewatin sector of the Laurentide ice sheet

2005 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
pp. 135-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hernán De Angelis ◽  
Johan Kleman
Keyword(s):  
Potential Role ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Laurentide Ice Sheet ◽  
Baffin Island ◽  
Ice Streams ◽  
Relative Age ◽  
Ice Stream ◽  
Deep Interior ◽  
Ice Sheet Dynamics ◽  
Streaming Flow

AbstractEvidence for ice streams in the Laurentide ice sheet is widespread. In the region of northern Keewatin and the Boothia Peninsula, Nunavut, Canada, palaeo-ice streams have been recognized, but their location, size and potential role in ice-sheet dynamics are poorly constrained. Based on the interpretation of satellite imagery, we produce a palaeo-ice-stream map of this region. Glacial directional landforms, eskers and moraines were mapped and integrated into landform assemblages using a glacial geological inversion model. Palaeo-frozen bed areas were also identified. Relative age of the geomorphic swarms was assessed by cross-cutting relationships and radiocarbon ages where available. Using this information we obtained a glaciologically plausible picture of ice-stream evolution within the northernmost Laurentide ice sheet. On the M’Clintock Channel corridor, three generations of pure ice streams are found. On Baffin Island and the Gulf of Boothia, glaciation was dominated by frozen-bed zones located on high plateaus and ice streams running along the troughs, i.e. topographic ice streams. A massive convergent pattern at the head of Committee Bay drained ice from both the Keewatin and Foxe sectors and was probably one of the main deglaciation channels of the Laurentide ice sheet. Finally, our results indicate that streaming flow was present in the deep interior of the Laurentide ice sheet, as recently shown for the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets.

scholarly journals Geomorphology and sedimentology of surging glaciers: a land-systems approach

1999 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
pp. 75-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J.A. Evans ◽  
Brice R. Rea
Keyword(s):  
Systems Approach ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
System Model ◽  
Laurentide Ice Sheet ◽  
Ice Streams ◽  
Sedimentary Sequences ◽  
Land System ◽  
Land Systems ◽  
Ice Sheet Dynamics ◽  
Diagnostic Criterion

AbstractThe identification of surging glaciers and ice streams in glaciated landscapes is of major importance to the understanding of ice-sheet dynamics and for reconstructing ice sheets and climate. No single landform or diagnostic criterion has yet been found with which to identify surging glaciers. A surging-glacier land-system model is constructed using observations and measurements from contemporary surging-glacier snouts in Iceland, Svalbard, U.S.A. and Canada for differentiating ancient surging margins from other non-surging palaeoglaciers. This integrates the suite of landforms, sediments and stratigraphy produced at surging-glacier margins. Landforms produced during surging include thrust moraines, concertina eskers and subglacial crevasse-squeeze ridges. Sedimentary sequences are usually characterized by multiple stacked diamictons and stratified interbeds, which display severe glaciotectonic contortion and faulting. Hummocky moraine, comprising interbedded stratified sediments and mass-flow diamictons, has also been associated with surge margins where large quantities of supraglacial and englacial debris entrained during the surge event have melted out in situ. An example of the application of the land-system model is presented for east-central Alberta, Canada. A surging palaeo-ice stream is identified within this part of the southwestern Laurentide ice sheet, where thrust-block moraines, crevasse-squeeze ridges, flutings, hummocky moraine and glaciotectonized sediments are juxtaposed.

scholarly journals PISM-LakeCC: Implementing an adaptive proglacial lake boundary into an ice sheet model

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Hinck ◽  
Evan J. Gowan ◽  
Xu Zhang ◽  
Gerrit Lohmann
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Conditions ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Laurentide Ice Sheet ◽  
Hudson Bay ◽  
Ice Streams ◽  
Ice Flow ◽  
Glacial Retreat ◽  
Proglacial Lakes ◽  
Lake Model ◽  
Ice Sheet Dynamics

Abstract. Geological records show that vast proglacial lakes existed along the land terminating margins of palaeo ice sheets in Europe and North America. Proglacial lakes impact ice sheet dynamics by imposing marine-like boundary conditions at the ice margin. These lacustrine boundary conditions include changes in the ice sheet’s geometry, stress balance and frontal ablation and therefore affect the entire ice sheet’s mass balance. This interaction, however, has not been rigorously implemented in ice sheet models. In this study, the implementation of an adaptive lake boundary into the Parallel Ice Sheet Model (PISM) is described and applied to the glacial retreat of the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS). The results show that the presence of proglacial lakes locally enhances the ice flow. Along the continental ice margin, ice streams and ice lobes can be observed. Lacustrine terminating ice streams cause immense thinning of the ice sheet’s interior and thus play a significant role in the demise of the LIS. Due to the presence of lakes, a process similar to the marine ice sheet instability causes the collapse of the ice saddle over Hudson Bay, which blocked drainage via the Hudson Strait. In control experiments without a lake model, Hudson Bay is still glaciated at the end of the simulation. Future studies should target the development of parametrizations that better describe the glacial-lacustrine interactions.

scholarly journals The feasibility of imaging subglacial hydrology beneath ice streams with ground-based electromagnetics

2017 ◽  
Vol 63 (241) ◽  
pp. 755-771 ◽  
Author(s):  
KERRY KEY ◽  
MATTHEW R. SIEGFRIED
Keyword(s):  
Geophysical Methods ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Geological Structure ◽  
Ice Thickness ◽  
Ice Streams ◽  
Water Conductivity ◽  
Model Studies ◽  
Seismic Surveying ◽  
Ice Sheet Dynamics ◽  
Ground Penetrating

ABSTRACTSubglacial hydrologic systems in Antarctica and Greenland play a fundamental role in ice-sheet dynamics, yet critical aspects of these systems remain poorly understood due to a lack of observations. Ground-based electromagnetic (EM) geophysical methods are established for mapping groundwater in many environments, but have never been applied to imaging lakes beneath ice sheets. Here, we study the feasibility of passive- and active-source EM imaging for quantifying the nature of subglacial water systems beneath ice streams, with an emphasis on the interfaces between ice and basal meltwater, as well as deeper groundwater in the underlying sediments. We describe a suite of model studies that exam the data sensitivity as a function of ice thickness, water conductivity and hydrologic system geometry for models representative of a subglacial lake and a grounding zone estuary. We show that EM data are directly sensitive to groundwater and can image its lateral and depth extent. By combining the conductivity obtained from EM data with ice thickness and geological structure from conventional geophysical techniques, such as ground-penetrating radar and active seismic surveying, EM data have the potential to provide new insights on the interaction between ice, rock and water at critical ice-sheet boundaries.

scholarly journals Stress balances of ice streams in a vertically integrated, higher-order formulation

2013 ◽  
Vol 59 (215) ◽  
pp. 449-466 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.M. Kyrke-Smith ◽  
R.F. Katz ◽  
A.C. Fowler
Keyword(s):  
Stream Flow ◽  
Numerical Solutions ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Ice Streams ◽  
Margin Width ◽  
Ice Stream ◽  
Internal Deformation ◽  
Slow Moving ◽  
Ice Sheet Dynamics

AbstractOne challenge in improving our understanding of ice-stream dynamics is to develop models of the spatial and temporal transition from ice-sheet to ice-stream flow. We address this with a new, vertically integrated, higher-order formulation for ice-sheet dynamics that captures the leading-order physics of low aspect ratio, viscous fluid flow, regardless of the amount of slip at the bed. The theory introduces a parameter, λ, which approximates the ratio of the basal stress to the shear stress scale, providing a measure of the relative importance of sliding and internal deformation. Our model is able to simultaneously describe the dynamics of both a slow-moving sheet and rapidly flowing ice streams. To test the formulation, we apply a triple-valued sliding law as the basal boundary condition and obtain numerical solutions that can be compared with previous work. We investigate the sensitivity of flow regimes and shear margin width to parameter variation, deriving a scaling for the latter. We also consider a double-valued sliding law, which enforces a constant, low basal stress beneath the ice stream. Comparisons of the resultant stress fields illustrate the different stress balances that can maintain ice-stream flow.

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