Articles | Volume 19, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-19-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-19-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
A quasi-one-dimensional ice mélange flow model based on continuum descriptions of granular materials
Department of Natural Sciences, University of Alaska Southeast, Juneau, AK, USA
Alexander A. Robel
School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
Justin C. Burton
Department of Physics, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
Kavinda Nissanka
Department of Physics, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
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Short summary
Some fjords contain dense packs of icebergs referred to as ice mélange. Ice mélange can affect the stability of marine-terminating glaciers by resisting the calving of new icebergs and by modifying fjord currents and water properties. We have developed the first numerical model of ice mélange that captures its granular nature and that is suitable for long-timescale simulations. The model is capable of explaining why some glaciers are more strongly influenced by ice mélange than others.
Some fjords contain dense packs of icebergs referred to as ice mélange. Ice mélange can affect...