scholarly journals Modelling of firn densification in the presence of horizontal strain rates

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Falk M. Oraschewski
Keyword(s):  
Strain Softening ◽  
Accumulation Rate ◽  
Pure Shear ◽  
Greenland Ice Sheet ◽  
Strain Rates ◽  
Ice Streams ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
Horizontal Strain ◽  
Power Law Creep

The densification of polar firn that is subjected to horizontal strain rates is studied. A model for the enhanced densification of the firn by strain softening is developed. Strain softening describes an acceleration of power-law creep in the presence of high horizontal strain rates, which was suggested to explain the occurrence of exceptionally thin firn in the shear margins of ice streams. With the model the effect of strain softening is compared to other strain-driven densification mechanisms, like pure shear and strain heating, and to potential variations of temperature and accumulation rate. Thereby, strain softening is identified to dominate firn densification at high strain rates. A recorded density profile along a cross-section of the North-East Greenland ice stream (NEGIS) is reproduced with the presented model with good agreement in the shear margins. There, the thinning of the firn correlates with the location and magnitude of the shear margin troughs, which indicates that their formation is caused by strain softening. In regions with low strain rates the model overestimates the densification rate. Because of a particularly strong sensitivity of the model to low strain rates and the presence of non-zero strain rates on large parts of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS), it is suggested that empirically tuned densification models already implicitly consider moderate horizontal strain rates. Besides the temperature and the accumulation rate, the effective horizontal strain rate is therefore proposed as a third forcing parameter, that needs to be considered in the development of a physics-based firn densification model.

How to model enhanced firn densification due to strain softening

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Falk Oraschewski ◽  
Aslak Grinsted
Keyword(s):  
Strain Softening ◽  
Accumulation Rate ◽  
Strain Rates ◽  
Ice Streams ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
General Importance ◽  
Model Extension ◽  
Horizontal Strain ◽  
Power Law Creep

<p>Most classical firn densification models merely consider temperature and accumulation rate as variable input parameters. However, in locations with high horizontal strain rates, such as the shear margins of ice streams, a reduced firn thickness can be observed. This is explained by an enhancement of power-law creep due to the effect of strain softening, which is not yet captured by existing firn models. We present a model extension that corrects the densification rate, predicted by any classical, climate-forced firn model, for the effect of strain softening caused by horizontal strain rates. With the presented model firn densities measured along a cross-section of the North-East Greenland ice stream (NEGIS) are reproduced with good agreement, validating the accuracy of the developed model. The results further indicate the general importance of considering strain rates in firn densification modeling and pave the way for the development of a firn model that inherently uses temperature, accumulation rate and horizontal strain rates as forcing parameters.</p>

scholarly journals Modeling enhanced firn densification due to strain softening

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Falk M. Oraschewski ◽  
Aslak Grinsted
Keyword(s):  
Strain Softening ◽  
High Strain ◽  
Accumulation Rate ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Strain Rates ◽  
Overburden Pressure ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
Horizontal Strain ◽  
Power Law Creep

Abstract. In the accumulation zone of glaciers and ice sheets snow is transformed into glacial ice by firn densification. Classically, this processes is assumed to solely depend on temperature and overburden pressure which is controlled by the accumulation rate. However, exceptionally thin firn layers have been observed in the high-strain shear margins of ice streams. Previously, it has been proposed that this firn thinning can be explained by an enhancement of firn densification due to the effect of strain softening inherent to power-law creep. This hypothesis has not been validated, and the greater firn densities in the presence of horizontal strain rates have not yet been reproduced by models. Here, we develop a model that corrects the firn densification rate predicted by classical, climate-forced models for the effect of strain softening. With the model it is confirmed that strain softening dominates the firn densification process when high strain rates are present. Firn densities along a cross section of the North-East Greenland ice stream (NEGIS) are reproduced with good agreement, validating the accuracy of the developed model. Finally, it is shown that strain softening has significant implications for ice core dating and that it considerably affects the firn properties over wide areas of the polar ice sheet, even at low strain rates. Therefore, we suggest that, besides temperature and accumulation rate, horizontal strain rates should generally be considered as a forcing parameter in firn densification modelling.

scholarly journals The effect of the north-east ice stream on the Greenland ice sheet in changing climates

2007 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Greve ◽  
S. Otsu
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Greenland Ice Sheet ◽  
Simulation Code ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
Ice Stream ◽  
Basal Sliding ◽  
Speed Up ◽  
Fast Flow

Abstract. The north-east Greenland ice stream (NEGIS) was discovered as a large fast-flow feature of the Greenland ice sheet by synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaginary of the ERS-1 satellite. In this study, the NEGIS is implemented in the dynamic/thermodynamic, large-scale ice-sheet model SICOPOLIS (Simulation Code for POLythermal Ice Sheets). In the first step, we simulate the evolution of the ice sheet on a 10-km grid for the period from 250 ka ago until today, driven by a climatology reconstructed from a combination of present-day observations and GCM results for the past. We assume that the NEGIS area is characterized by enhanced basal sliding compared to the "normal", slowly-flowing areas of the ice sheet, and find that the misfit between simulated and observed ice thicknesses and surface velocities is minimized for a sliding enhancement by the factor three. In the second step, the consequences of the NEGIS, and also of surface-meltwater-induced acceleration of basal sliding, for the possible decay of the Greenland ice sheet in future warming climates are investigated. It is demonstrated that the ice sheet is generally very susceptible to global warming on time-scales of centuries and that surface-meltwater-induced acceleration of basal sliding can speed up the decay significantly, whereas the NEGIS is not likely to dynamically destabilize the ice sheet as a whole.

scholarly journals Mass Balance of the Greenland Ice Sheet at Dye 3

1985 ◽  
Vol 31 (108) ◽  
pp. 198-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niels Reeh ◽  
Niels S. Gundestrup
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Accumulation Rate ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Greenland Ice Sheet ◽  
Bottom Layer ◽  
Surface Strain ◽  
Ice Thickness ◽  
Strain Rates ◽  
Confidence Limits ◽  
Rate Of Increase

AbstractThe mass balance of the Greenland ice sheet at Dye 3 is estimated on the basis of observations of ice thickness, accumulation rate, surface velocities, and surface strain-rates. The calculations indicate a rate of increase of surface elevation of 3 cm/year, with 95% confidence limits of −3 cm/year and +9 cm/year. Previous estimates of the mass balance of the Greenland ice sheet by the same method reported large imbalances; these are most probably due to lack of precise data and the use of quantities measured at the surface as representative of depth-averaged quantities. The most reliable observations indicate that the interior regions of the Greenland ice sheet are at present thickening at a rate of a few centimetres per year; a contributing cause for this may be the slow thinning of a bottom layer of relatively soft Wisconsin ice.

scholarly journals Spatial and temporal variability of water-filled crevasse hydrologic states along the shear margins of Jakobshavn Isbrae, Greenland

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Casey A. Joseph ◽  
Derrick J. Lampkin
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Variability ◽  
Large Strain ◽  
Water Injection ◽  
Greenland Ice Sheet ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variability ◽  
Strain Rates ◽  
Ice Streams ◽  
Lower Elevation ◽  
Melt Water ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. The impact of melt water injection into ice streams over the Greenland Ice Sheet is not well understood. Water-filled crevasses along the shear margins of Jakobshavn Isbræ are known to fill and drain, resulting in weakening of the shear margins due to reduced basal friction. Seasonal variability in the hydrologic dynamics of these features has not been quantified. In this work, we characterize the spatial and temporal variability in the hydrological state (filled or drained) of these water-filled crevasse systems. A fusion of multi-sensor optical satellite imagery was used to examine hydrologic states from 2000 to 2015. The monthly distribution of crevasse systems observed as water filled is unimodal with peak number of filled days during the month of July at 329 days, while May has the least at 15. Over the study period the occurrence of drainage within a given season increases. Inter-seasonal drain frequencies over these systems ranged from 0 to 5. The frequency of multi-drainage events are correlated with warmer seasons and large strain rates. Over the study period, summer temperatures averaged from −1 and 2 °C and tensile strain rates have increased to as high as ~ 1.2 s-1. Intermittent melt water input during hydrofracture drainage responsible for transporting surface water to the bed is largely facilitated by high local tensile stresses. Drainage due to fracture propagation may be increasingly modulated by ocean-induced calving dynamics for the lower elevation ponds. Water-filled crevasses could expand in extent and volume as temperatures increase resulting in regional amplification of ice mass flux into the ice stream system.

scholarly journals Modelling snow accumulation on Greenland in Eemian, glacial inception and modern climates in a GCM

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 1523-1565 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. J. Punge ◽  
H. Gallée ◽  
M. Kageyama ◽  
G. Krinner
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Accumulation Rate ◽  
High Surface ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Greenland Ice Sheet ◽  
Snow Accumulation ◽  
Local Climate ◽  
North East ◽  
Surface Climate

Abstract. Changing climate conditions on Greenland influence the snow accumulation rate and surface mass balance (SMB) on the ice sheet and, ultimately, its shape. This can in turn affect local climate via orography and albedo variations and, potentially, remote areas via changes in ocean circulation triggered by melt water or calving from the ice sheet. Examining these issues in the IPSL global model requires improving the representation of snow at the ice sheet surface. In this paper, we present the new snow scheme implemented in LMDZ, the atmospheric component of the IPSL coupled model. We analyze surface climate and SMB on the Greenland ice sheet under insolation and oceanic boundary conditions for modern, but also for two different past climates, the last glacial inception (115 kyr BP) and the Eemian (126 kyr BP). While being limited by the low resolution of the GCM, present-day SMB is on the same order of magnitude as recent regional model findings. It is affected by a moist bias of the GCM in Western Greenland and a dry bias in the north-east. Under Eemian conditions, the SMB diminishes largely, and melting affects areas with today high surface altitude including recent ice core drilling sites as NEEM. In contrast, glacial inception conditions lead to a higher mass balance overall due to the reduced melting in the colder summer climate. Compared to the widely applied positive degree day (PDD) parameterization of SMB, our direct modelling results suggest a weaker sensitivity of SMB to changing climatic forcing. In addition, significant differences in surface climate and SMB are found between simulations using monthly climatological mean and actual interannually varying monthly mean forcings for the ocean surface temperature and sea ice cover, in particular for the Eemian.

Marine geophysical evidence for former expansion and flow of the Greenland Ice Sheet across the north-east Greenland continental shelf

2009 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 279-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Evans ◽  
Colm Ó Cofaigh ◽  
Julian A. Dowdeswell ◽  
Peter Wadhams
Keyword(s):  
Continental Shelf ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Greenland Ice Sheet ◽  
East Greenland ◽  
North East ◽  
The North

In-situ basal melt rate distribution of the floating tongue of 79°N Glacier, Greenland

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ole Zeising ◽  
Daniel Steinhage ◽  
Niklas Neckel ◽  
Julia Christmann ◽  
Veit Helm ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Greenland Ice Sheet ◽  
Repeated Measurements ◽  
Ultra Wideband ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
Dense Grid ◽  
Phase Sensitive ◽  
Hinge Zone ◽  
Wideband Radar

<p>The 79°N Glacier (79NG) in northeast Greenland, one of the last glaciers in Greenland with a floating ice tongue, plays a crucial role for buttressing the North-East Greenland Ice Stream (NEGIS). Remote-sensing studies indicate high basal melt rates (> 50 m/a) near the grounding line but these methods are limited by the hinge zone, where the floating ice is not in hydrostatic equilibrium. As part of the Greenland Ice Sheet Ocean Interaction (GROCE) project, we have performed a dense grid of repeated measurements with a phase-sensitive radio echo sounder (pRES) accompanied with autonomous pRES (ApRES) stations to estimate basal melt rates focusing on the hinge zone of 79NG. For analysing the pRES measurements, we additionally used ice thickness information derived from AWI’s ultra-wideband radar (UWB) revealing steep channels at the base. The estimated basal melt rates downstream the hinge zone are approximately the same as satellite-derived melt rates. In the hinge zone we found by far larger basal melt rates exceeding 100 m/a next to basal channels.</p>

scholarly journals Quantitative dynamic modelling of basin development in the central and eastern North Sea region – coaxial stretching and strain localization

2002 ◽  
Vol 49 ◽  
pp. 95-108
Author(s):  
Susanne Frederiksen
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Strain Localization ◽  
Strain Softening ◽  
Pure Shear ◽  
Equations Of Motion ◽  
Dynamic Modelling ◽  
Late Carboniferous ◽  
Early Permian ◽  
The North ◽  
Central North Sea

A new two-dimensional dynamic lithosphere model is used to simulate the Late Palaeozoic to end Danian evolution of the Norwegian-Danish Basin and the post Permian evolution of the Central North Sea including the Central Graben. The transient heat equation and the equations of motion are solved using the finite element method. The lithosphere deforms by brittle and ductile processes through an elasto-visco-plastic rheology depending on temperature, pressure, strain-rate and material parameters. Strain softening dependent on accumulated strain is incorporated. Deposition, erosion and compaction of sediments are simulated. Results show that it is possible to satisfy observations of crustal structure, sediment thickness and surface heat flow for both basins taking all major tectonic and thermal events into consideration. The evolution of the Norwegian-Danish Basin is modelled using a Late Carboniferous – Early Permian thermal event, main rift phase in Early Permian and a minor extensional phase in Triassic. For the Central North Sea two thermal and three tectonic events are simulated: Late Carboniferous – Early Permian and Middle Jurassic thermal events, Early Triassic and Late Jurassic extension, and Late Cretaceous compression. Results show that strain softening may lead to strain localization during extension and therefore may explain observations of upper mantle dipping reflectors in the North Sea. A pure shear dominated extensional regime may change into a simple shear system.

scholarly journals Mass Balance of the Greenland Ice Sheet at Dye 3

1985 ◽  
Vol 31 (108) ◽  
pp. 198-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niels Reeh ◽  
Niels S. Gundestrup
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Accumulation Rate ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Greenland Ice Sheet ◽  
Bottom Layer ◽  
Surface Strain ◽  
Ice Thickness ◽  
Strain Rates ◽  
Confidence Limits ◽  
Rate Of Increase

AbstractThe mass balance of the Greenland ice sheet at Dye 3 is estimated on the basis of observations of ice thickness, accumulation rate, surface velocities, and surface strain-rates. The calculations indicate a rate of increase of surface elevation of 3 cm/year, with 95% confidence limits of −3 cm/year and +9 cm/year. Previous estimates of the mass balance of the Greenland ice sheet by the same method reported large imbalances; these are most probably due to lack of precise data and the use of quantities measured at the surface as representative of depth-averaged quantities. The most reliable observations indicate that the interior regions of the Greenland ice sheet are at present thickening at a rate of a few centimetres per year; a contributing cause for this may be the slow thinning of a bottom layer of relatively soft Wisconsin ice.

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