Timescales of outlet-glacier flow with negligible basal friction: theory, observations and modeling

Feldmann, Johannes; Levermann, Anders

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-327-2023

Articles | Volume 17, issue 1

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-327-2023

© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-327-2023

© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 17, issue 1

Research article

|

24 Jan 2023

Research article |

| 24 Jan 2023

Timescales of outlet-glacier flow with negligible basal friction: theory, observations and modeling

Johannes Feldmann and Anders Levermann

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-327-2023-supplement

Data sets

Idealized simulations of marine ice sheet instability Johannes Feldmann https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7395830

MEaSUREs BedMachine Antarctica, Version 1 M. Morlighem https://doi.org/10.5067/C2GFER6PTOS4

MEaSUREs Phase-Based Antarctica Ice Velocity Map, Version 1 J. Mouginot, E. Rignot, and B. Scheuchl https://doi.org/10.5067/PZ3NJ5RXRH10

Model code and software

PISM code for modeling instability timescales PISM authors https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7395020

Short summary

Here we present a scaling relation that allows the comparison of the timescales of glaciers with geometric similarity. According to the relation, thicker and wider glaciers on a steeper bed slope have a much faster timescale than shallower, narrower glaciers on a flatter bed slope. The relation is supported by observations and simplified numerical simulations. We combine the scaling relation with a statistical analysis of the topography of 13 instability-prone Antarctic outlet glaciers.