IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcom/v10y2019i1d10.1038_s41467-019-10506-4.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Rate-and-state friction explains glacier surge propagation

Author

Listed:
  • Kjetil Thøgersen

    (University of Oslo
    University of Oslo)

  • Adrien Gilbert

    (University of Oslo)

  • Thomas Vikhamar Schuler

    (University of Oslo)

  • Anders Malthe-Sørenssen

    (University of Oslo
    University of Oslo)

Abstract

The incomplete understanding of glacier dynamics is a major source of uncertainty in assessments of sea-level rise from land-based ice. Through increased ice discharge into the oceans, accelerating glacier flow has the potential to considerably enhance expected sea-level change, well ahead of scenarios considered by the IPCC. Central in our incomplete understanding is the motion at the glacier bed, responsible for flow transients and instabilities involving switches from slow to fast flow. We introduce a rate-and-state framework for the transient evolution of basal shear stress, which we incorporate in glacier simulations. We demonstrate that a velocity-strengthening-weakening transition combined with a characteristic length scale for the opening of subglacial cavities is sufficient to reproduce several previously unexplained features of glacier surges. The rate-and-state framework opens for new ways to analyze, understand and predict transient glacier dynamics as well as to assess the stability of glaciers and ice caps.

Suggested Citation

  • Kjetil Thøgersen & Adrien Gilbert & Thomas Vikhamar Schuler & Anders Malthe-Sørenssen, 2019. "Rate-and-state friction explains glacier surge propagation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 10(1), pages 1-8, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:10:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-019-10506-4
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-10506-4
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-10506-4
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/s41467-019-10506-4?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:10:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-019-10506-4. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.