The Impact of Basal Roughness on Inland Thwaites Glacier Sliding
Abstract Swath radar technology enables three‐dimensional mapping of modern glacier beds over large areas at resolutions that are higher than those typically used in ice‐flow models. These data may enable new understanding of processes at the ice‐bed interface. Here, we use two densely surveyed swat...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2022-07-01
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| Series: | Geophysical Research Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL096564 |
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| author | Andrew O. Hoffman Knut Christianson Nicholas Holschuh Elizabeth Case Jonathan Kingslake Robert Arthern |
| author_facet | Andrew O. Hoffman Knut Christianson Nicholas Holschuh Elizabeth Case Jonathan Kingslake Robert Arthern |
| author_sort | Andrew O. Hoffman |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Swath radar technology enables three‐dimensional mapping of modern glacier beds over large areas at resolutions that are higher than those typically used in ice‐flow models. These data may enable new understanding of processes at the ice‐bed interface. Here, we use two densely surveyed swath‐mapped topographies (<50 m2 resolution) of Thwaites Glacier to investigate the sensitivity of inferred basal friction proxies to bed roughness magnitude and orientation. Our work suggests that along‐flow roughness influences inferred friction more than transverse‐flow roughness, which agrees with analytic form‐drag sliding theory. Using our model results, we calculate the slip length (the ratio of internal shear to basal slip). We find excellent agreement between the numerically derived slip lengths and slip lengths predicted by analytic form‐drag sliding theory, which suggests that unresolved short wavelength bed roughness may control sliding in the Thwaites interior. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d9f8eae9bcb943ac840e18c59da24183 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 0094-8276 1944-8007 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geophysical Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-d9f8eae9bcb943ac840e18c59da241832025-08-20T03:14:16ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072022-07-014914n/an/a10.1029/2021GL096564The Impact of Basal Roughness on Inland Thwaites Glacier SlidingAndrew O. Hoffman0Knut Christianson1Nicholas Holschuh2Elizabeth Case3Jonathan Kingslake4Robert Arthern5Department of Earth and Space Sciences University of Washington Seattle WA USADepartment of Earth and Space Sciences University of Washington Seattle WA USADepartment of Geology Amherst College Amherst MA USADepartment of Earth and Environmental Sciences Columbia University New York NY USADepartment of Earth and Environmental Sciences Columbia University New York NY USABritish Antarctic Survey Cambridge UKAbstract Swath radar technology enables three‐dimensional mapping of modern glacier beds over large areas at resolutions that are higher than those typically used in ice‐flow models. These data may enable new understanding of processes at the ice‐bed interface. Here, we use two densely surveyed swath‐mapped topographies (<50 m2 resolution) of Thwaites Glacier to investigate the sensitivity of inferred basal friction proxies to bed roughness magnitude and orientation. Our work suggests that along‐flow roughness influences inferred friction more than transverse‐flow roughness, which agrees with analytic form‐drag sliding theory. Using our model results, we calculate the slip length (the ratio of internal shear to basal slip). We find excellent agreement between the numerically derived slip lengths and slip lengths predicted by analytic form‐drag sliding theory, which suggests that unresolved short wavelength bed roughness may control sliding in the Thwaites interior.https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL096564ice sheetsglacier slidingice sheet modeling |
| spellingShingle | Andrew O. Hoffman Knut Christianson Nicholas Holschuh Elizabeth Case Jonathan Kingslake Robert Arthern The Impact of Basal Roughness on Inland Thwaites Glacier Sliding Geophysical Research Letters ice sheets glacier sliding ice sheet modeling |
| title | The Impact of Basal Roughness on Inland Thwaites Glacier Sliding |
| title_full | The Impact of Basal Roughness on Inland Thwaites Glacier Sliding |
| title_fullStr | The Impact of Basal Roughness on Inland Thwaites Glacier Sliding |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Impact of Basal Roughness on Inland Thwaites Glacier Sliding |
| title_short | The Impact of Basal Roughness on Inland Thwaites Glacier Sliding |
| title_sort | impact of basal roughness on inland thwaites glacier sliding |
| topic | ice sheets glacier sliding ice sheet modeling |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL096564 |
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