Collaborative Research: Controls on the motion of soft-bedded glaciers from hourly to seasonal observations of force budget and basal conditions at Breidamerkurjokull, Iceland

提供资金支持研究Breiðamerkurjökull冰川基底应力状态的时空变化，该冰川底部有可变形的沉积物（软层冰川）。软层冰块被认为对气候变化特别敏感。然而，人们对软层冰川流动的机制仍然知之甚少。目前用于预测未来海平面上升的冰盖和冰川模型在很大程度上依赖于基底剪切应力和土壤流变的无约束参数化，这导致了结果的高度不确定性。本研究将收集和分析数据，旨在阐明目前对软层冰川运动的理解的弱点，从而提供对控制物理过程的改进的定量描述。利用Breiðamerkurjökull？主要研究人员将收集前所未有的一系列遥感和实地数据。这些数据将解决冰川应力状态和基础条件在一系列空间和时间尺度上的变化。这项研究将开发新的和创新的技术，从地表运动和破冰雷达的观测推断基础条件。

Funds are provided to support a study of the spatial and temporal variability in basal stress regime of Breiðamerkurjökull, a glacier with deformable sediments at its base (a soft-bedded glacier). Soft-bedded ice masses are thought to be particularly sensitive to climate change. Yet, the mechanics of soft-bedded glacier flow remain poorly understood. Current ice sheet and glacier models used to predict future sea level rise rely on largely unconstrained parameterizations of basal shear stress and till rheology, leading to high uncertainties in output. This study will collect and analyze data targeted at elucidating weaknesses in current understanding of soft-bedded glacier motion, thus providing improved quantitative descriptions of the governing physical processes. Taking advantage of Breiðamerkurjökull?s accessibility and long history of observations the principal investigators will assemble an unprecedented array of remote-sensing and field data. These data will resolve variations in the glacier stress regime and basal conditions over a range of spatial and temporal scales. This study will develop new and innovative techniques for inferring basal conditions from observations of surface motion and ice-penetrating radar.