Articles | Volume 19, issue 11
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-5531-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-5531-2025
Research article
 | 
11 Nov 2025
Research article |  | 11 Nov 2025

Using observations of surface fracture to address ill-posed ice softness estimation over Pine Island Glacier

Trystan Surawy-Stepney, Stephen L. Cornford, and Anna E. Hogg

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This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Measurement Techniques (AMT).
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Cited articles

Arthern, R. J., Hindmarsh, R. C. A., and Williams, C. R.: Flow speed within the Antarctic ice sheet and its controls inferred from satellite observations, Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 120, 1171–1188, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JF003239, 2015. a
Benn, D. I. and Evans, D. J.: Glaciers & glaciation, Routledge, ISBN 9780340905791, 2014. a
Bevan, S., Cornford, S., Gilbert, L., Otosaka, I., Martin, D., and Surawy-Stepney, T.: Amundsen Sea Embayment ice-sheet mass-loss predictions to 2050 calibrated using observations of velocity and elevation change, Journal of Glaciology, 1–11, https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2023.57, 2023. a
Borstad, C., Khazendar, A., Scheuchl, B., Morlighem, M., Larour, E., and Rignot, E.: A constitutive framework for predicting weakening and reduced buttressing of ice shelves based on observations of the progressive deterioration of the remnant Larsen B Ice Shelf, Geophysical Research Letters, 43, 2027–2035, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GL067365, 2016. a
Borstad, C. P., Rignot, E., Mouginot, J., and Schodlok, M. P.: Creep deformation and buttressing capacity of damaged ice shelves: theory and application to Larsen C ice shelf, The Cryosphere, 7, 1931–1947, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1931-2013, 2013. a
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The speed at which Antarctic ice flows is dependent on its viscosity and the slipperiness of the ice/bedrock interface. Often, these unknown variables are inferred from observations of ice speed. This article presents an attempt to make this difficult procedure easier by making use of additional information in the form of observations of crevasses, which make ice appear less viscous to numerical models. We find in some circumstances that this leads to more appealing solutions to this problem.
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