Journal
COMMUNICATIONS EARTH & ENVIRONMENT
Volume 3, Issue 1, Pages -Publisher
SPRINGERNATURE
DOI: 10.1038/s43247-022-00385-x
Keywords
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Funding
- NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
- NSF-NERC award [1853918, 1739031]
- Office of Polar Programs (OPP)
- Directorate For Geosciences [1739031] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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Accurately representing the viscous flow of ice is crucial for understanding glacier dynamics and predicting sea-level rise. Glen's Flow Law, a constitutive relation often used to describe ice viscosity, is typically represented by a constant value of n=3, but observations and experiments support a range of values across different stresses and temperatures. This study utilizes remote sensing data of Antarctic ice shelves to show that the viscous flow of ice in fast-flowing areas can be approximated by Glen's Flow Law with n=4.1±0.4, indicating that the viscosity and flow rate of ice are more sensitive to changes in stress than commonly assumed in ice-flow models.
Accurate representation of the viscous flow of ice is fundamental to understanding glacier dynamics and projecting sea-level rise. Ice viscosity is often described by a simple but largely untested and uncalibrated constitutive relation, Glen's Flow Law, wherein the rate of deformation is proportional to stress raised to the power n. The value n = 3 is commonly prescribed in ice-flow models, though observations and experiments support a range of values across stresses and temperatures found on Earth. Here, we leverage recent remotely-sensed observations of Antarctic ice shelves to show that Glen's Flow Law approximates the viscous flow of ice with n = 4.1 +/- 0.4 in fast-flowing areas. The viscosity and flow rate of ice are therefore more sensitive to changes in stress than most ice-flow models allow. By calibrating the governing equation of ice deformation, our result is a pathway towards improving projections of future glacier change. The rate of deformation in Antarctic ice shelves is proportional to stress to the power of 4, not 3 as often used in models, according to a calibration of Glen's Flow Law with satellite remote sensing data from Antarctic ice shelves.
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