The Cryosphere
The Cryosphere
TC
Articles | Volume 16, issue 2
Articles | Volume 16, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-581-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-581-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Articles | Volume 16, issue 2
Research article
 | 
17 Feb 2022
Research article |  | 17 Feb 2022

Geometric controls of tidewater glacier dynamics

Thomas Frank, Henning Åkesson, Basile de Fleurian, Mathieu Morlighem, and Kerim H. Nisancioglu

Model code and software

Geometric Controls Thomas Frank https://github.com/hahohe1892/GeometricControls

Video supplement

Glacier retreat through a depression Thomas Frank, Henning Åkesson, Basile de Fleurian, Mathieu Morlighem, and Kerim H. Nisancioglu https://doi.org/10.5446/51568

Glacier retreat through an embayment Thomas Frank, Henning Åkesson, Basile de Fleurian, Mathieu Morlighem, and Kerim H. Nisancioglu https://doi.org/10.5446/51567

Glacier retreat over a bump Thomas Frank, Henning Åkesson, Basile de Fleurian, Mathieu Morlighem, and Kerim H. Nisancioglu https://doi.org/10.5446/51566

Glacier retreat through a bottleneck Thomas Frank, Henning Åkesson, Basile de Fleurian, Mathieu Morlighem, and Kerim H. Nisancioglu https://doi.org/10.5446/51565

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Short summary
The shape of a fjord can promote or inhibit glacier retreat in response to climate change. We conduct experiments with a synthetic setup under idealized conditions in a numerical model to study and quantify the processes involved. We find that friction between ice and fjord is the most important factor and that it is possible to directly link ice discharge and grounding line retreat to fjord topography in a quantitative way.
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