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Articles 1 - 10 of 10
Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Variability In The Mass Flux Of The Ross Sea Ice Streams, Antarctica, Over The Last Millennium, Ginny Catania, Christina L. Hulbe, Howard Conway, Ted A. Scambos, C. F. Raymond
Variability In The Mass Flux Of The Ross Sea Ice Streams, Antarctica, Over The Last Millennium, Ginny Catania, Christina L. Hulbe, Howard Conway, Ted A. Scambos, C. F. Raymond
Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations
We synthesize previously published remote-sensing observations, radar data and model output to obtain a ~1000 year ice flow history for the Siple Coast ice-stream system in West Antarctica to investigate the timing and magnitude of changes in mass flux. The synthesized history shows significant short-term variability in ice-stream shear margin and grounding line position due to internal variability of the coupled system. The chronology highlights the interplay between adjacent ice streams, which implies that the behavior of any individual ice stream should not be examined in isolation. Furthermore, individual events cannot be fully interpreted without an understanding of the broad-scale, …
'Sticky Spots' And Subglacial Lakes Under Ice Streams Of The Siple Coast, Antarctica, Olga V. Sergienko, Christina L. Hulbe
'Sticky Spots' And Subglacial Lakes Under Ice Streams Of The Siple Coast, Antarctica, Olga V. Sergienko, Christina L. Hulbe
Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations
Locations of subglacial lakes discovered under fast-moving West Antarctic ice streams tend to be associated with topographic features of the subglacial bed or with areas that have strong variations in basal conditions. Inversion of ice-stream surface velocity indicates that basal conditions under ice streams can be highly variable and that there can be widespread regions where basal traction is high. To seek an explanation for why lakes appear to be sited near areas with high basal traction, we use numerical models to simulate ice-stream dynamics, thermodynamics and subglacial water flow. We demonstrate that the ice flow over high basal traction …
Grounding-Line Basal Melt Rates Determined Using Radar-Derived Internal Stratigraphy, Ginny Catania, Christina L. Hulbe, Howard Conway
Grounding-Line Basal Melt Rates Determined Using Radar-Derived Internal Stratigraphy, Ginny Catania, Christina L. Hulbe, Howard Conway
Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations
We use ice-penetrating radar data across grounding lines of Siple Dome and Roosevelt Island, Antarctica, to measure the spatial pattern, magnitude and duration of sub-ice-shelf melting at these locations. Stratigraphic layers across the grounding line show, in places, a large-amplitude downwarp at, or slightly downstream of, the grounding line due to sub-ice-shelf basal melting. Localized downwarping indicates that melting is transient; melt rates, or the grounding line position, have changed within a few hundred years in order to produce the observed stratigraphy. Elsewhere, no meltrelated stratigraphic signature is preserved. In part, heterogeneity in the amount of sub-ice-shelf melt is due …
West Antarctic Ice Stream Discharge Variability: Mechanism, Controls, And Pattern Of Grounding Line Retreat, Christina L. Hulbe, Mark A. Fahnestock
West Antarctic Ice Stream Discharge Variability: Mechanism, Controls, And Pattern Of Grounding Line Retreat, Christina L. Hulbe, Mark A. Fahnestock
Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations
West Antarctic ice streams show pronounced flow variability in their downstream reaches, with changes stranding formerly fast-flowing ice and redirecting discharge. A simple model, in which the temperature gradient in basal ice provides control of fast sliding in the downstream reach, can explain this behavior. Downstream thinning steepens the temperature gradient near the bed, increasing upward heat flow and the tendency toward basal freezing. The basal temperature gradient is steepest and the tendency toward basal freezing the strongest in ice that has experienced the most rapid downstream thinning, that is, the fastest-flowing ice. The most ?successful? rapid outflows are regions …
The Role Of Lateral And Vertical Shear In Tributary Flow Toward A West Antarctic Ice Stream, Christina L. Hulbe, Weili Wang, Ian R. Joughin, Martin J. Siegert
The Role Of Lateral And Vertical Shear In Tributary Flow Toward A West Antarctic Ice Stream, Christina L. Hulbe, Weili Wang, Ian R. Joughin, Martin J. Siegert
Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations
Narrow lateral shear margins are the most distinctive visual feature of the West Antarctic ice streams. Large shear stresses within these layers support the majority of the gravitational driving stress within a fast-flowing ice stream.The present contribution looks upstream, to the tributaries that feed ice-stream onsets, and considers the effects of both horizontal and vertical shear on their flow. Numerical and direct simulations of vertical and horizontal shear are used.Vertical shear, simulated using an anisotropic flow law, is of particular interest.We conclude that by isolating overlying ice from large-amplitude variations in bed elevation -vertical shear margins - play an important …
Subglacial Thermal Balance Permits Ongoing Grounding Line Retreat Along The Siple Coast Of West Antarctica, Byron R. Parizek, Richard B. Alley, Christina L. Hulbe
Subglacial Thermal Balance Permits Ongoing Grounding Line Retreat Along The Siple Coast Of West Antarctica, Byron R. Parizek, Richard B. Alley, Christina L. Hulbe
Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations
Changes in the discharge of West Antarctic ice streams are of potential concern with respect to global sea level. The six relatively thin, fast-flowing Ross ice streams are of interest as low-slope end-members among Antarctic ice streams. Extensive research has demonstrated that these "rivers of ice" have a history of relatively high-frequency (óO(100) years), asynchronous discharge variations with evolving lateral boundaries. Amidst this variability, a ~1300 km grounding-line retreat has occurred since the Last GlacialMaximum. Numerical studies of Ice Stream D (Parizek and others, 2002) indicate that a proposed thermal-regulation mechanism(Clarke and Marshall, 1998; Hulbe and MacAyeal,1999; Tulaczyk and others, …
Anisotropic Ice Flow Leading To The Onset Of Ice Stream D, West Antarctica: Numerical Modelling Based On The Observations From Byrd Station Borehole, Weili Wang, H. Jay Zwally, Christina L. Hulbe, Martin J. Siegert, Ian R. Joughin
Anisotropic Ice Flow Leading To The Onset Of Ice Stream D, West Antarctica: Numerical Modelling Based On The Observations From Byrd Station Borehole, Weili Wang, H. Jay Zwally, Christina L. Hulbe, Martin J. Siegert, Ian R. Joughin
Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations
An ice-sheet flowline model is used to simulate the flow of ice along two particle paths toward the onset to Ice Stream D,West Antarctica. One path is near the centre line of the main tributary to the ice stream, while the second passes by the Byrd Station borehole site. In this paper, we analyze the flow of the moderately fast-flowing tributaries in terms of ice-fabric anisotropy and estimate the steady-state ice-flow regions with the compatible developed crystal orientation fabrics along two particle paths. Comparison between modelled isochrones and internal layers detected from radio-echo sounding surveys in the area is used …
The Link Between Climate Warming And Break-Up Of Ice Shelves In The Antarctic Peninsula, Ted A. Scambos, Christina L. Hulbe, Mark A. Fahnestock, Jennifer Bohlander
The Link Between Climate Warming And Break-Up Of Ice Shelves In The Antarctic Peninsula, Ted A. Scambos, Christina L. Hulbe, Mark A. Fahnestock, Jennifer Bohlander
Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations
A review of in situ and remote-sensing data covering the ice shelves of the Antarctic Peninsula provides a series of characteristics closely associated with rapid shelf retreat: deeply embayed ice fronts; calving of myriad small elongate bergs in punctuated events; increasing flow speed; and the presence of melt ponds on the ice-shelf surface in the vicinity of the break-ups. As climate has warmed in the Antarctic Peninsula region, melt-season duration and the extent of ponding have increased. Most break-up events have occurred during longer melt seasons, suggesting that meltwater itself, not just warming, is responsible. Regions that show melting without …
Tributaries To West Antarctic Ice Streams: Characteristics Deduced From Numerical Modelling Of Ice Flow, Christina L. Hulbe, Ian R. Joughin, David L. Morse, R. A. Bindschadler
Tributaries To West Antarctic Ice Streams: Characteristics Deduced From Numerical Modelling Of Ice Flow, Christina L. Hulbe, Ian R. Joughin, David L. Morse, R. A. Bindschadler
Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations
A network of relatively fast-flowing tributaries in the catchment basins of the West Antarctic ice streams transport ice from the inland reservoir to the heads of the ice streams. Branches of the network follow valleys in basal topography, but not all valleys contain tributaries. We investigate the circumstances favoring tributary flow upstream of Ice Streams D and E, using a combination of observation and numerical modelling. No consistent pattern emerges. The transition from tributary to ice-stream flow occurs smoothly along the main tributary feeding into the onset of Ice Stream D, with ice thickness being relatively more important upstream, and …
An Ice-Shelf Model Test Based On The Ross Ice Shelf, D. R. Macayeal, V. Rommelaere, P. Huybrechts, Christina L. Hulbe, J. Determann, C. Ritz
An Ice-Shelf Model Test Based On The Ross Ice Shelf, D. R. Macayeal, V. Rommelaere, P. Huybrechts, Christina L. Hulbe, J. Determann, C. Ritz
Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations
A standard numerical experiment featuring the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica, is presented as a test package for the development and intercomparison of ice-shelf models. The emphasis of this package is solution of stress-equilibrium equations for an ice-shelf velocity consistent with present observations. As a demonstration, we compare five independently developed ice-shelf models based on finite-difference and finite-element methods. Our results suggest that there is little difference between finite-element and finite-difference methods in capturing the basic, large-scale flow features of the ice shelf. We additionally show that the fit between model and observed velocity depends strongly on the ice-shelf temperature field …