Journal
JOURNAL OF GLACIOLOGY
Volume 61, Issue 230, Pages 1194-1206Publisher
INT GLACIOL SOC
DOI: 10.3189/2015JoG15J116
Keywords
Antarctic glaciology; ice dynamics; ice rheology; ice shelves; ice velocity
Funding
- British Antarctic Survey - Natural Environment Research Council [NE/K50094X/1]
- NERC [NE/J008087/1, NE/F01550X/1, NE/J008095/1, bas0100034, NE/F015526/1] Funding Source: UKRI
- Natural Environment Research Council [NE/J008095/1, NE/F01550X/1, 1246240, bas0100034, NE/J008087/1, NE/F015526/1] Funding Source: researchfish
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We investigate the relationship between four ice-shelf characteristics in the area close to the calving front: ice flow speed, strain rate, ice thickness and shelf width. Data are compiled for these glaciological parameters at the calving fronts of 22 Antarctic ice shelves. Clarification concerning the viscous supply of ice to the calving front is sought following the empirical calving law of Alley and others (2008), derived from a similar but smaller dataset, and the scaling analysis of Hindmarsh (2012). The dataset is analysed and good agreement is observed between the expected theoretical scaling and geophysical data for the flow of ice near the calving front in the case of ice shelves that are laterally confined and have uniform rheology. The lateral confinement ensures flow is aligned in the along-shelf direction, and uniform rheological parameters mean resistance to flow is provided by near-stationary ice in the grounded margins. In other cases, the velocity is greater than predicted, which we attribute to marginal weakening or the presence of ice tongues.
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