scholarly journals Inversion of a glacier hydrology model

2016 ◽  
Vol 57 (72) ◽  
pp. 84-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas J. Brinkerhoff ◽  
Colin R. Meyer ◽  
Ed Bueler ◽  
Martin Truffer ◽  
Timothy C. Bartholomaus
Keyword(s):  
Covariance Structure ◽  
Monte Carlo Algorithm ◽  
Surface Velocity ◽  
Stream Discharge ◽  
Ice Surface ◽  
Input Flux ◽  
Outlet Stream ◽  
Hydrologic System ◽  
Parameter Values ◽  
Averaged Model

ABSTRACTThe subglacial hydrologic system exerts strong controls on the dynamics of the overlying ice, yet the parameters that govern the evolution of this system are not widely known or observable. To gain a better understanding of these parameters, we invert a spatially averaged model of subglacial hydrology from observations of ice surface velocity and outlet stream discharge at Kennicott Glacier, Wrangell Mountains, AK, USA. To identify independent parameters, we formally non-dimensionalize the forward model. After specifying suitable prior distributions, we use a Markov-chain Monte Carlo algorithm to sample from the distribution of parameter values conditioned on the available data. This procedure gives us not only the most probable parameter values, but also a rigorous estimate of their covariance structure. We find that the opening of cavities due to sliding over basal topography and turbulent melting are of a similar magnitude during periods of large input flux, though turbulent melting also exhibits the greatest uncertainty. We also find that both the storage of water in the englacial system and the exchange of water between englacial and subglacial systems are necessary in order to explain both surface velocity observations and the relative attenuation in the amplitude of diurnal signals between input and output flux observations.

scholarly journals Modeling the WorldView-derived seasonal velocity evolution of Kennicott Glacier, Alaska

2016 ◽  
Vol 62 (234) ◽  
pp. 763-777 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. H. ARMSTRONG ◽  
R. S. ANDERSON ◽  
JEFFERY ALLEN ◽  
H. RAJARAM
Keyword(s):  
Stress Gradient ◽  
Surface Expression ◽  
Surface Velocity ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Ice Surface ◽  
Hydrologic System ◽  
Glacier Velocity ◽  
Glacier Flow ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Gaining Insight

ABSTRACTGlacier basal motion generates diurnal to multi-annual fluctuations in glacier velocity and mass flux. Understanding these fluctuations is important for prediction of future sea-level rise and for gaining insight into glacier physics and erosion. Here, we derive glacier velocity through cross-correlation of WorldView satellite imagery to document the evolution of ice surface velocity on Kennicott Glacier, Alaska, over the 2013 melt season. The summer speedup is spatially uniform over a ~12 km2 area, over which the spring velocity varies significantly. Velocity increases by 1.4-fold to tenfold across the study domain, with larger values where spring velocities are low. To investigate the cross-glacier distribution of basal motion required to explain the observed surface speedup, we employ a two-dimensional cross-sectional glacier flow model. We find the model is insensitive to the spatial distribution of basal slip because stress gradient ice coupling diffuses the surface expression of the basal velocity field. While the temporal evolution of the subglacial hydrologic system is critical for predicting a glacier's response to meltwater inputs, our work suggests that glacier and ice-sheet models do not require a detailed representation of subglacial hydrology to accurately capture the spatial pattern of glacier speedup.

scholarly journals Spatial and temporal evolution of rapid basal sliding on Bench Glacier, Alaska, USA

2005 ◽  
Vol 51 (172) ◽  
pp. 49-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly R. Macgregor ◽  
Catherine A. Riihimaki ◽  
Robert S. Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Evolution ◽  
Surface Velocity ◽  
Mean Velocity ◽  
Surface Uplift ◽  
Ice Surface ◽  
Velocity Wave ◽  
Basal Sliding ◽  
Hydrologic System ◽  
Speed Up ◽  
Cavity System

AbstractWe measured the surface velocity field during the summers of 1999 and 2000 on the 7 km long, 185 m thick Bench Glacier, Alaska, USA. In the spring of both years, a short-lived pulse of surface velocity, 2-4 times the annual mean velocity, propagated up-glacier from the terminus at a rate of ~200-250md-1. Displacement attributable to rapid sliding is ~5-10% of the annual surface motion, while the high-velocity event comprised 60-95% of annual basal motion. Sliding during the propagating speed-up event peaked at 6-14 cm d-1, with the highest rates in mid-glacier. Continuous horizontal and vertical GPS measurements at one stake showed divergence and then convergence of the ice surface with the bed as the velocity wave passed, with maximum surface uplift of 8-16 cm. High divergence rates coincided with high horizontal velocities, suggesting rapid sliding on the up-glacier side of bedrock steps. Initiation of the annual speed-up event occurred during the peak in englacial water storage, while the glacier was entirely snow-covered. Basal motion during the propagating speed-up event enlarges cavities and connections among them, driving a transition from a poorly connected hydrologic system to a well-connected linked-cavity system. Sliding is probably halted by the development of a conduit system.

scholarly journals The propagation of a surge front on Bering Glacier, Alaska, 2001–2011

2013 ◽  
Vol 54 (63) ◽  
pp. 221-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Turrin ◽  
Richard R. Forster ◽  
Chris Larsen ◽  
Jeanne Sauber
Keyword(s):  
Feature Tracking ◽  
Average Rate ◽  
Surface Velocity ◽  
Ablation Zone ◽  
Ice Surface ◽  
Glacier Terminus ◽  
Bering Glacier ◽  
Landsat 7 ◽  
Ice Velocity ◽  
Recent Activity

AbstractBering Glacier, Alaska, USA, has a ∼20 year surge cycle, with its most recent surge reaching the terminus in 2011. To study this most recent activity a time series of ice velocity maps was produced by applying optical feature-tracking methods to Landsat-7 ETM+ imagery spanning 2001-11. The velocity maps show a yearly increase in ice surface velocity associated with the down-glacier movement of a surge front. In 2008/09 the maximum ice surface velocity was 1.5 ±0.017 km a-1 in the mid-ablation zone, which decreased to 1.2 ±0.015 km a-1 in 2009/10 in the lower ablation zone, and then increased to nearly 4.4 ± 0.03 km a-1 in summer 2011 when the surge front reached the glacier terminus. The surge front propagated down-glacier as a kinematic wave at an average rate of 4.4 ±2.0 km a-1 between September 2002 and April 2009, then accelerated to 13.9 ± 2.0 km a-1 as it entered the piedmont lobe between April 2009 and September 2010. The wave seems to have initiated near the confluence of Bering Glacier and Bagley Ice Valley as early as 2001, and the surge was triggered in 2008 further down-glacier in the mid-ablation zone after the wave passed an ice reservoir area.

scholarly journals Are longitudinal ice-surface structures on the Antarctic Ice Sheet indicators of long-term ice-flow configuration?

2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 911-933 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. F. Glasser ◽  
S. J. A. Jennings ◽  
M. J. Hambrey ◽  
B. Hubbard
Keyword(s):  
Flow Line ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Surface Structures ◽  
Surface Velocity ◽  
Ice Flow ◽  
Antarctic Ice Sheet ◽  
Ice Surface ◽  
Ice Stream ◽  
The Antarctic

Abstract. Continent-wide mapping of longitudinal ice-surface structures on the Antarctic Ice Sheet reveals that they originate in the interior of the ice sheet and are arranged in arborescent networks fed by multiple tributaries. Longitudinal ice-surface structures can be traced continuously down-ice for distances of up to 1200 km. They are co-located with fast-flowing glaciers and ice streams that are dominated by basal sliding rates above tens of m yr-1 and are strongly guided by subglacial topography. Longitudinal ice-surface structures dominate regions of converging flow, where ice flow is subject to non-coaxial strain and simple shear. Associating these structures with the AIS' surface velocity field reveals (i) ice residence times of ~ 2500 to 18 500 years, and (ii) undeformed flow-line sets for all major flow units analysed except the Kamb Ice Stream and the Institute and Möller Ice Stream areas. Although it is unclear how long it takes for these features to form and decay, we infer that the major ice-flow and ice-velocity configuration of the ice sheet may have remained largely unchanged for several thousand years, and possibly even since the end of the last glacial cycle. This conclusion has implications for our understanding of the long-term landscape evolution of Antarctica, including large-scale patterns of glacial erosion and deposition.

scholarly journals Present dynamics and future prognosis of a slowly surging glacier

2011 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 299-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. E. Flowers ◽  
N. Roux ◽  
S. Pimentel ◽  
C. G. Schoof
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Force Balance ◽  
Surface Velocity ◽  
Internal Dynamic ◽  
Ice Dynamics ◽  
Surface Mass ◽  
Ice Surface ◽  
Glacier Ice ◽  
Glacier Flow ◽  
Negative Balance

Abstract. Glacier surges are a well-known example of an internal dynamic oscillation whose occurrence is not a direct response to the external climate forcing, but whose character (i.e. period, amplitude, mechanism) may depend on the glacier's environmental or climate setting. We examine the dynamics of a small (∼5 km2) valley glacier in Yukon, Canada, where two previous surges have been photographically documented and an unusually slow surge is currently underway. To characterize the dynamics of the present surge, and to speculate on the future of this glacier, we employ a higher-order flowband model of ice dynamics with a regularized Coulomb-friction sliding law in both diagnostic and prognostic simulations. Diagnostic (force balance) calculations capture the measured ice-surface velocity profile only when non-zero basal water pressures are prescribed over the central region of the glacier, coincident with where evidence of the surge has been identified. This leads to sliding accounting for 50–100% of the total surface motion in this region. Prognostic simulations, where the glacier geometry evolves in response to a prescribed surface mass balance, reveal a significant role played by a bedrock ridge beneath the current equilibrium line of the glacier. Ice thickening occurs above the ridge in our simulations, until the net mass balance reaches sufficiently negative values. We suggest that the bedrock ridge may contribute to the propensity for surges in this glacier by promoting the development of the reservoir area during quiescence, and may permit surges to occur under more negative balance conditions than would otherwise be possible. Collectively, these results corroborate our interpretation of the current glacier flow regime as indicative of a slow surge that has been ongoing for some time, and support a relationship between surge incidence or character and the net mass balance. Our results also highlight the importance of glacier bed topography in controlling ice dynamics, as observed in many other glacier systems.

scholarly journals On the Uncertainty of the Image Velocimetry Method Parameters

Hydrology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 65
Author(s):  
Evangelos Rozos ◽  
Panayiotis Dimitriadis ◽  
Katerina Mazi ◽  
Spyridon Lykoudis ◽  
Antonis Koussis
Keyword(s):  
Confidence Intervals ◽  
Statistical Approach ◽  
Random Number Generator ◽  
Surface Flow ◽  
Surface Velocity ◽  
A Value ◽  
Image Velocimetry ◽  
Interrogation Area ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Parameter Values

Image velocimetry is a popular remote sensing method mainly because of the very modest cost of the necessary equipment. However, image velocimetry methods employ parameters that require high expertise to select appropriate values in order to obtain accurate surface flow velocity estimations. This introduces considerations regarding the subjectivity introduced in the definition of the parameter values and its impact on the estimated surface velocity. Alternatively, a statistical approach can be employed instead of directly selecting a value for each image velocimetry parameter. First, probability distribution should be defined for each model parameter, and then Monte Carlo simulations should be employed. In this paper, we demonstrate how this statistical approach can be used to simultaneously produce the confidence intervals of the estimated surface velocity, reduce the uncertainty of some parameters (more specifically, the size of the interrogation area), and reduce the subjectivity. Since image velocimetry algorithms are CPU-intensive, an alternative random number generator that allows obtaining the confidence intervals with a limited number of iterations is suggested. The case study indicated that if the statistical approach is applied diligently, one can achieve the previously mentioned threefold objective.

scholarly journals The Flow of a Glacier in a Channel of Rectangular, Elliptic or Parabolic Cross-Section

1965 ◽  
Vol 5 (41) ◽  
pp. 661-690 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. F. Nye
Keyword(s):  
Cross Section ◽  
Numerical Solutions ◽  
Maximum Shear Stress ◽  
Surface Velocity ◽  
Channel Section ◽  
Ice Surface ◽  
Centre Line ◽  
Symmetry Principles ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Flow Law

AbstractNumerical solutions are found for the steady rectilinear flow of ice, obeying Glen’s non-linear flow law, down uniform cylindrical channels of rectangular, semi-elliptic and parabolic cross-section. The results are also directly applicable to the pumping of a non-Newtonian fluid down a pipe. There is assumed to be no slip of the ice on the channel surface. Certain results on the centre-line velocity in symmetrical channels may be derived purely from dimensional and symmetry principles. An analytical solution due to Dr. W. Chester is given for a semi-elliptic channel section which departs only slightly from a semi-circle. Contrary to a view sometimes held, the maximum shear stress at the ice surface in a parabolic channel and in some elliptical channels does not always occur at the edge. With the flow law, strain-rate proportional to (stress)3, the velocity averaged across the ice surface, which is easily measured with a line of stakes, is close to the average velocity over the whole section for a wide range of parabolic sections; the hydrological importance of this result is that the discharge may be inferred without the need to measure the velocity at depth. Arguments are given to show that the result still holds when there is slipping on the bed and when the power in the flow law differs somewhat from 3, Depending on the amount of bed slip and the shape of the channel section, the kinematic wave velocity for a range of parabolic channels is between 2.0 and 2.3 times the centre-line velocity of the ice, and between 2.0 and 3.5 times the mean surface velocity of the ice.

scholarly journals A Combined Approach for Filtering Ice Surface Velocity Fields Derived from Remote Sensing Methods

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 1062 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Lüttig ◽  
Niklas Neckel ◽  
Angelika Humbert
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Velocity Fields ◽  
Surface Velocity ◽  
Combined Approach ◽  
Ice Surface ◽  
Remote Sensing Methods

scholarly journals Fluctuation analysis in the dynamic characteristics of continental glacier based on Full-Stokes model

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhen Wu ◽  
Huiwen Zhang ◽  
Shiyin Liu ◽  
Dong Ren ◽  
Xuejian Bai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Characteristics ◽  
Dynamic Process ◽  
Great Influence ◽  
Force Balance ◽  
Surface Velocity ◽  
Viscous Force ◽  
Fluctuation Analysis ◽  
Temperature Changes ◽  
Ice Surface ◽  
Gravity Component

AbstractIce thickness has a great influence on glacial movement and ablation. Over the course of the change in thickness, area and external climate, the dynamic process of how glaciers change and whether a glacier’s changes in melting tend to be stable or irregular is a problem that needs to be studied in depth. In our study, the changes in the dynamic process of the No. 8 Glacier in Hei Valley (H8) under the conditions of different thicknesses in 1969 and 2009 were simulated based on the Full-Stokes code Elmer/Ice (http://www.csc.fi/elmer/). The results were as follows: (1) The thickness reduction in glaciers would lead to a decrease in ice surface tension and basal pressure and friction at the bottom, and the resulting extensional and compressional flow played an important role in the variations in glacial velocity. (2) The force at the bottom of the glacier was key to maintaining the overall stress balance, and the glaciers that often melted and collapsed in bedrock were more easily destroyed by the overall force balance and increased change rate of glacial thaw. (3) Temperature changes at different altitudes affected the ice viscous force. The closer the ice surface temperature was to the melting point, the greater the influence of temperature changes on the ice viscous force and ice surface velocity. Finally, we used the RCP 4.8 and 8.5 climate models to simulate the changes in H8 over the next 40 years. The results showed that with some decreases in ice surface compression and tension, the gravity component changes caused by local topography begin to control the ice flow movement on the surface of glacier, and melting of the glacial surface will appear as an irregular change. The simulation results further confirmed that the fluctuation in glacial dynamic characteristics could be attributed to the change in the gravity component caused by ablation.

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