scholarly journals Subglacial swamps

2014 ◽  
Vol 470 (2171) ◽  
pp. 20140340 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. M. Kyrke-Smith ◽  
A. C. Fowler
Keyword(s):  
Sediment Transport ◽  
Ice Sheets ◽  
Water Film ◽  
Water Layer ◽  
Sediment Layer ◽  
Instability Mechanism ◽  
Ice Streams ◽  
Water And Sediment ◽  
Fundamental Understanding ◽  
Ice Water

The existence of both water and sediment at the bed of ice streams is well documented, but there is a lack of fundamental understanding about the mechanisms of ice, water and sediment interaction. We pose a model to describe subglacial water flow below ice sheets, in the presence of a deformable sediment layer. Water flows in a rough-bedded film; the ice is supported by larger clasts, but there is a millimetric water layer submerging the smaller particles. Partial differential equations describing the water film are derived from a description of the dynamics of ice, water and mobile sediment. We assume that sediment transport is possible, either as fluvial bedload, but more significantly by ice-driven shearing and by internal squeezing. This provides an instability mechanism for rivulet formation; in the model, downstream sediment transport is compensated by lateral squeezing of till towards the incipient streams. We show that the model predicts the formation of shallow, swamp-like streams, with a typical depth of the order of centimetres. The swamps are stable features, typically with a width of the order of tens to hundreds of metres.

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 Numerical simulations of drumlin formation

2017 ◽  
Vol 473 (2204) ◽  
pp. 20170220 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. S. Fannon ◽  
A. C. Fowler ◽  
I. R. Moyles
Keyword(s):  
Film Thickness ◽  
Numerical Simulations ◽  
Numerical Solutions ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Water Film ◽  
Present Form ◽  
Water And Sediment ◽  
Instability Theory ◽  
Ice Water ◽  
Present Summary

We summarize the present form of the instability theory for drumlin formation, which describes the coupled subglacial flow of ice, water and sediment. This model has evolved over the last 20 years, and is now at the point where it can predict instabilities corresponding to ribbed moraine, drumlins and mega-scale glacial lineations, but efforts to provide numerical solutions of the model have been limited. The present summary adds some slight nuances to previously published versions of the theory, notably concerning the constitutive description of the subglacial water film and its flow. A new numerical method is devised to solve the model, and we show that it can be solved for realistic values of most of the parameters, with the exception of that corresponding to the water film thickness. We show that evolved bedforms can be three-dimensional and of the correct sizes, and we explore to some extent the variation of the solutions with the model’s parameters.

scholarly journals Dynamical processes involved in the retreat of marine ice sheets

2001 ◽  
Vol 47 (157) ◽  
pp. 271-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard C.A. Hindmarsh ◽  
E. Le Meur
Keyword(s):  
Ice Sheets ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Ice Streams ◽  
Antarctic Ice Sheet ◽  
West Antarctic Ice Sheet ◽  
West Antarctic ◽  
Grounding Line ◽  
Neutral Equilibrium ◽  
Generally True

AbstractMarine ice sheets with mechanics described by the shallow-ice approximation by definition do not couple mechanically with the shelf. Such ice sheets are known to have neutral equilibria. We consider the implications of this for their dynamics and in particular for mechanisms which promote marine ice-sheet retreat. The removal of ice-shelf buttressing leading to enhanced flow in grounded ice is discounted as a significant influence on mechanical grounds. Sea-level rise leading to reduced effective pressures under ice streams is shown to be a feasible mechanism for producing postglacial West Antarctic ice-sheet retreat but is inconsistent with borehole evidence. Warming thins the ice sheet by reducing the average viscosity but does not lead to grounding-line retreat. Internal oscillations either specified or generated via a MacAyeal–Payne thermal mechanism promote migration. This is a noise-induced drift phenomenon stemming from the neutral equilibrium property of marine ice sheets. This migration occurs at quite slow rates, but these are sufficiently large to have possibly played a role in the dynamics of the West Antarctic ice sheet after the glacial maximum. Numerical experiments suggest that it is generally true that while significant changes in thickness can be caused by spatially uniform changes, spatial variability coupled with dynamical variability is needed to cause margin movement.

Ribbed bedforms, markers of palaeo-ice stream margins, basal meltwater drainage and ice flow dynamic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean Vérité ◽  
Édouard Ravier ◽  
Olivier Bourgeois ◽  
Stéphane Pochat ◽  
Thomas Lelandais ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Flow Direction ◽  
Local Stress ◽  
Sediment Surface ◽  
Shear Stresses ◽  
Ice Streams ◽  
Ice Flow ◽  
Ice Stream ◽  
Physical Experiments ◽  
Stream Beds ◽  
Ice Water

<p>Over the three last decades, great efforts have been undertaken by the glaciological community to characterize the behaviour of ice streams and better constrain the dynamics of ice sheets. Studies of modern ice stream beds reveal crucial information on ice-meltwater-till-bedrock interactions, but are restricted to punctual observations limiting the understanding of ice stream dynamics as a whole. Consequently, theoretical ice stream landsystems derived from geomorphological and sedimentological observations were developed to provide wider constraints on those interactions on palaeo-ice stream beds. Within these landsystems, the spatial distribution and formation processes of subglacial periodic bedforms transverse to the ice flow direction – ribbed bedforms – remain unclear. The purpose of this study is (i) to explore the conditions under which these ribbed bedforms develop and (ii) to constrain their spatial organisation along ice stream beds.  </p><p>We performed physical experiments with silicon putty (to simulate the ice), water (to simulate the meltwater) and sand (to simulate a soft sedimentary bed) to model the dynamics of ice streams and produce analog subglacial landsystems. We compare the results of these experiments with the distribution of ribbed bedforms on selected examples of palaeo-ice stream beds of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. Based on this comparison, we can draw several conclusions regarding the significance of ribbed bedforms in ice stream contexts:</p><ul><li>Ribbed bedforms tend to form where the ice flow undergoes high velocity gradients and the ice-bed interface is unlubricated. Where the ribs initiate, we hypothesize that high driving stresses generate high basal shear stresses, accommodated through bed deformation of the active uppermost part of the bed.</li> <li>Ribbed bedforms can develop subglacially from a flat sediment surface beneath shear margins (i.e., lateral ribbed bedforms) and stagnant lobes (i.e., submarginal ribbed bedforms) of ice streams, while they do not develop beneath surging lobes.</li> <li>The orientation of ribbed bedforms reflects the local stress state along the ice-bed interface, with transverse bedforms formed by compression beneath ice lobes and oblique bedforms formed by transgression below lateral shear margins.</li> <li>The development of ribbed bedforms where the ice-bed interface is unlubricated reveals distinctive types of discontinuous basal drainage systems below shear and lobe margins: linked-cavities and efficient meltwater channels respectively.</li> </ul><p>Ribbed bedforms could thus constitute convenient geomorphic markers for the reconstruction of palaeo-ice stream margins, palaeo-ice flow dynamics and palaeo-meltwater drainage characteristics.</p>

scholarly journals Coupled ice sheet–climate modeling under glacial and pre-industrial boundary conditions

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 1817-1836 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. A. Ziemen ◽  
C. B. Rodehacke ◽  
U. Mikolajewicz
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Conditions ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Climate Modeling ◽  
Ice Sheets ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
General Circulation Models ◽  
Quasi Equilibrium ◽  
Ice Streams ◽  
Ice Stream ◽  
First Results

Abstract. In the standard Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project (PMIP) experiments, the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) is modeled in quasi-equilibrium with atmosphere–ocean–vegetation general circulation models (AOVGCMs) with prescribed ice sheets. This can lead to inconsistencies between the modeled climate and ice sheets. One way to avoid this problem would be to model the ice sheets explicitly. Here, we present the first results from coupled ice sheet–climate simulations for the pre-industrial times and the LGM. Our setup consists of the AOVGCM ECHAM5/MPIOM/LPJ bidirectionally coupled with the Parallel Ice Sheet Model (PISM) covering the Northern Hemisphere. The results of the pre-industrial and LGM simulations agree reasonably well with reconstructions and observations. This shows that the model system adequately represents large, non-linear climate perturbations. A large part of the drainage of the ice sheets occurs in ice streams. Most modeled ice stream systems show recurring surges as internal oscillations. The Hudson Strait Ice Stream surges with an ice volume equivalent to about 5 m sea level and a recurrence interval of about 7000 yr. This is in agreement with basic expectations for Heinrich events. Under LGM boundary conditions, different ice sheet configurations imply different locations of deep water formation.

scholarly journals Flow-law hypotheses for ice-sheet modeling

1992 ◽  
Vol 38 (129) ◽  
pp. 245-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard B. Alley
Keyword(s):  
Physical Properties ◽  
Ice Sheets ◽  
Diffusion Control ◽  
Ice Streams ◽  
Ice Shelves ◽  
Dislocation Glide ◽  
Ice Sheet Modeling ◽  
Flow Law ◽  
Power Law Creep

AbstractIce-flow modeling requires a flow law relating strain rates to stresses in situ, but a flow law cannot be measured directly in ice sheets. Microscopic processes such as dislocation glide and boundary diffusion control both the flow law for ice and the development of physical properties such as grain-size andc-axis fabric. These microscopic processes can be inferred from observations of the physical properties, and the flow law can then be estimated from the microscopic processes.A review of available literature shows that this approach can be imperfectly successful. Interior regions of large ice sheets probably have depth-varying flow-law “constants”, with the stress exponent,n, for power-law creep less than 3 in upper regions and equal to 3 only in deep ice;nprobably equals 3 through most of the thickness of ice shelves and ice streams.

scholarly journals Exchange Mechanism of the Suspended Sediment at the Mouth of Hangzhou Bay under Coastline Changes

2021 ◽  
Vol 233 ◽  
pp. 03035
Author(s):  
Zhuzhu Yu ◽  
Zhiguo He ◽  
Li Li ◽  
Taoyan Ye ◽  
Yuezhang Xia
Keyword(s):  
Sediment Transport ◽  
Numerical Model ◽  
Exchange Mechanism ◽  
Hangzhou Bay ◽  
The South ◽  
Topographic Data ◽  
The North ◽  
Water And Sediment ◽  
Open Sea ◽  
Inflowing Water

Based on FVCOM hydrodynamic numerical model and coastline topographic data in 2013, a three-dimensional numerical model of fine sediment transport in Hangzhou Bay has been established to explore the water and sediment exchange mechanism between Hangzhou Bay and the open sea at different typical sections. The results of validation with measured and satellite retrieved data show that the model can well simulate the process of water and sediment movement in Hangzhou Bay. Compared with the calculation results of the coastline topographic data of Hangzhou Bay in 1974 and 2020, the influence mechanism of shoreline change on the water and sediment exchange mechanism between Hangzhou Bay and the open sea has been studied. The results show that the sediment transport inside and outside the Hangzhou Bay is generally in the pattern of north-inflow and south-discharge. Compared with the coastline in 1974, the sediment transport from Yangshan port in the north of Hangzhou Bay and Zhoushan Islands in the middle of Hangzhou Bay increases when the coastline is pushed into the bay in 2020, while the outward sediment transport from Jintang Channel in the South decreases. The overall trend features that the sediment transport into the bay increases, with the bay mouth silting. In the three sections extending from Hangzhou Bay to the open sea, the inflowing water and sediment of the horizontal section on the north side is decreasing, while the discharged sediment from the south side and the inflowing water and discharged sediment from the vertical section at the east side are increasing.

scholarly journals On the possible presence of oxygen in the upper sediment layer of the hydrogen sulfide zone in the Black Sea

2019 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 166-169
Author(s):  
P. A. Stunzhas ◽  
M. B. Gulin ◽  
A. G. Zatsepin ◽  
E. A. Ivanova
Keyword(s):  
Black Sea ◽  
Benthic Fauna ◽  
Water Layer ◽  
Bottom Layer ◽  
The Black Sea ◽  
Depth Range ◽  
Sediment Layer ◽  
Bottom Water Layer ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Eukaryotic Organisms

In the northeastern Black Sea the search was performed for living eukaryotic organisms (micro- and meiobenthos) in hypoxic and anoxic conditions as well as measurement of O2 in the bottom water layer and in the upper layer of sediments. The results have shown the presence of a deep maximum abundance of zoobenthos in a depth range of 215–244 m. This aggregation of benthic fauna occupies a layer of 30 m along the vertical. In general, the proportion of active meiobenthos was no greater than 1.5% of the total number of organisms recorded from the sample.The presence of aerobic benthos near the upper boundary of the H2S zone can be explained by: sliding down of sediments from a higher depth; quasi-periodic O2 supply due to fluctuations in the position of the isopycna and/or sinking of waters downslope in the bottom Ekman layer. Also, in the case of physical entry of oxygen into the bottom layer, it can remain for a relatively long time in the upper part of the H2S zone due to the lack of deep Mn+2 flux and reaction with it.

Self-consistency of the regolith hypothesis for the mid-Pleistocene Transition

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Drew ◽  
Lev Tarasov
Keyword(s):  
Sediment Transport ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Flow Line ◽  
Ice Sheets ◽  
Balance Model ◽  
Clear Understanding ◽  
Ice Dynamics ◽  
Ice Volume ◽  
Systems Model ◽  
Fully Coupled

<p>Is the regolith hypothesis consistent with the physics of glacial removal of mechanically weak surface material? </p><p> </p><p>The  mid-Pleistocene transition (MPT) from small 40 kyr glacial cycles to large, abruptly terminating 100 kyr ones represents a major climate system reorganization for which a clear understanding is lacking. A leading mechanism for this transition is a stabilization of ice sheets due to a shift to higher friction substrate. The Pleistocene saw the removal of deformable regolith -- laying bare hard higher-friction bedrock that would help preserve regional ice during warm interstadials. This is the regolith hypothesis. </p><p> </p><p>The removal of regolith by Pleistocene ice sheets remains poorly constrained. To date, only models with a forced change in area of regolith cover or 1D flow line models with simplistic sediment transport have been used to probe the role of regolith in the MPT. It is therefore unclear if the appropriate amount of regolith removal can occur within the time-frame of the MPT.</p><p> </p><p>To properly test the hypothesis, at least three components are required: capable model, observational constraint, and a probe of uncertainties. A capable model must explicitly represent relevant processes in a fully coupled self-consistent manner. We have therefore configured a state of the art 3D glacial systems model (GSM). The GSM incorporates a state-of-the-art fully coupled sediment production/transport model, subglacial hydrology, visco-elastic glacial isostatic adjustment, 3D thermomechanically coupled hybrid shallow ice/shallow shelf ice dynamics, and internal climate solution from an energy balance model. The model generates sediment by quarrying and abrasion, and both subglacial and englacial sediment transport. The subglacial hydrology model employs a linked-cavity system with a flux based switch to tunnel drainage, giving dynamic effective pressure needed for realistic sediment and sliding processes. The coupled model is driven only by prescribed atmospheric CO2 and orbitally derived insolation.</p><p> </p><p>The required observational constraints include present-day regolith distribution and inferred Pleistocene ice volume from proxy records.</p><p> </p><p>The final component is  a large ensemble of full Pleistocene simulations that probe both initial regolith distribution uncertainties and model parametric uncertainties. We present the results of such an ensemble, examining both rates of computed regolith removal and changes in ice volume cycling across the MPT interval.</p>

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