Mechanics of Ice Stream Margins

该奖项支持了一个项目，该项目旨在开发一种耦合热力学模型，用于排水南极西部冰盖（WAIS）的冰流边缘。该模型将为解释冰流边缘的速度和冰温测量结果提供一个理论框架，该框架依据的是冰流边缘的基本滑动行为和冰流规律的变化。这项工作将允许对冰流边缘位置的可能控制进行调查，特别强调冻结床和湿床之间边界的稳定性。由于冰流的宽度会影响内陆冰通过冰流流入海洋的流量，因此了解冰流边缘对于了解南极西部冰盖的物质平衡、未来可能发生的变化以及对全球海平面的影响至关重要。

This award supports a project to develop a coupled thermo mechanical model for margins of ice streams of the type draining the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). This model will provide a theoretical framework for interpreting measurements of velocity and ice temperature in ice stream margins in terms of changes in basal sliding behavior and ice flow law across the margin. This work will allow the investigation of the possible controls on the positions of ice stream margins, with particular emphasis on the stability of a boundary between a frozen and a wet bed. Since the width of ice streams affects the discharge of inland ice through the ice streams into the ocean, an understanding of ice stream margins is fundamental to understanding the mass balance of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, how it might change in the future, and what impact it could have on global sea level.