Articles | Volume 10, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-1915-2016
© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-1915-2016
© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Research article
| 
05 Sep 2016
Research article |
| 05 Sep 2016
Sliding of temperate basal ice on a rough, hard bed: creep mechanisms, pressure melting, and implications for ice streaming
Maarten Krabbendam
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
British Geological Survey, Lyell Centre, Research Avenue South, Edinburgh
EH14 4AP, UK
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Cited
15 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Reconciling records of ice streaming and ice margin retreat to produce a palaeogeographic reconstruction of the deglaciation of the Laurentide Ice Sheet M. Margold et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2018.03.013
- Recent Progress in Greenland Ice Sheet Modelling H. Goelzer et al. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40641-017-0073-y
- Quantifying bed roughness beneath contemporary and palaeo-ice streams F. FALCINI et al. https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2018.71
- Acoustic characterization for creep behaviors of marine sandy hydrate-bearing sediment Y. Li et al. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-49523-1
- Linear-viscous flow of temperate ice C. Schohn et al. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adp7708
- Thermodynamics of a fast-moving Greenlandic outlet glacier revealed by fiber-optic distributed temperature sensing R. Law et al. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abe7136
- Drag forces at the ice-sheet bed and resistance of hard-rock obstacles: the physics of glacial ripping M. Krabbendam et al. https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2022.49
- Highly temporally resolved response to seasonal surface melt of the Zachariae and 79N outlet glaciers in northeast Greenland N. Rathmann et al. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL074368
- Basal Melt Rate Over the Subglacial Lake Qilin Derived Through an Optimized 1‐D Steady‐State Thermodynamic Model Z. Li et al. https://doi.org/10.1002/jgo2.70049
- Using a composite flow law to model deformation in the NEEM deep ice core, Greenland – Part 2: The role of grain size and premelting on ice deformation at high homologous temperature E. Kuiper et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2449-2020
- Megaflutes in the Menteith Hills, central Scotland J. Geldard et al. https://doi.org/10.1080/14702541.2024.2432317
- Geothermal flux and basal melt rate in the Dome C region inferred from radar reflectivity and heat modelling O. Passalacqua et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2231-2017
- Numerical reconstructions of the flow and basal conditions of the Rhine glacier, European Central Alps, at the Last Glacial Maximum D. Cohen et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2515-2018
- Folding due to anisotropy in ice, from drill-core-scale cloudy bands to km-scale internal reflection horizons P. Bons et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-5095-2025
- Complex motion of Greenland Ice Sheet outlet glaciers with basal temperate ice R. Law et al. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abq5180
15 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Reconciling records of ice streaming and ice margin retreat to produce a palaeogeographic reconstruction of the deglaciation of the Laurentide Ice Sheet M. Margold et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2018.03.013
- Recent Progress in Greenland Ice Sheet Modelling H. Goelzer et al. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40641-017-0073-y
- Quantifying bed roughness beneath contemporary and palaeo-ice streams F. FALCINI et al. https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2018.71
- Acoustic characterization for creep behaviors of marine sandy hydrate-bearing sediment Y. Li et al. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-49523-1
- Linear-viscous flow of temperate ice C. Schohn et al. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adp7708
- Thermodynamics of a fast-moving Greenlandic outlet glacier revealed by fiber-optic distributed temperature sensing R. Law et al. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abe7136
- Drag forces at the ice-sheet bed and resistance of hard-rock obstacles: the physics of glacial ripping M. Krabbendam et al. https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2022.49
- Highly temporally resolved response to seasonal surface melt of the Zachariae and 79N outlet glaciers in northeast Greenland N. Rathmann et al. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL074368
- Basal Melt Rate Over the Subglacial Lake Qilin Derived Through an Optimized 1‐D Steady‐State Thermodynamic Model Z. Li et al. https://doi.org/10.1002/jgo2.70049
- Using a composite flow law to model deformation in the NEEM deep ice core, Greenland – Part 2: The role of grain size and premelting on ice deformation at high homologous temperature E. Kuiper et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2449-2020
- Megaflutes in the Menteith Hills, central Scotland J. Geldard et al. https://doi.org/10.1080/14702541.2024.2432317
- Geothermal flux and basal melt rate in the Dome C region inferred from radar reflectivity and heat modelling O. Passalacqua et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2231-2017
- Numerical reconstructions of the flow and basal conditions of the Rhine glacier, European Central Alps, at the Last Glacial Maximum D. Cohen et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2515-2018
- Folding due to anisotropy in ice, from drill-core-scale cloudy bands to km-scale internal reflection horizons P. Bons et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-5095-2025
- Complex motion of Greenland Ice Sheet outlet glaciers with basal temperate ice R. Law et al. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abq5180
Saved (final revised paper)
Latest update: 09 Jun 2026
Short summary
The way that ice moves over rough ground at the base of an ice sheet is important to understand and predict the behaviour of ice sheets. Here, I argue that if basal ice is at the melting temperature, as is locally the case below the Greenland Ice Sheet, this basal motion is easier and faster than hitherto thought. A thick (tens of metres) layer of ice at the melting temperature may better explain some ice streams and needs to be taken into account when modelling future ice sheet behaviour.
The way that ice moves over rough ground at the base of an ice sheet is important to understand...
