Understanding marine ice stream retreat using numerical modelling and geophysical data

使用数值模型和地球物理数据了解海洋冰流消退

基本信息

批准号：
NE/G015430/1
负责人：
Colm O'Cofaigh
金额：
$ 41.06万
依托单位：
Durham University
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Research Grant
财政年份：
2010
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2010 至无数据
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=NE%2FG015430%2F1
关键词：
Understanding marine ice stream retreat

项目摘要

Currently there is major uncertainty surrounding the contributions of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets to future sea level rise. The majority of the ice discharged by these ice sheets into the surrounding oceans is by drainage of fast flowing 'marine ice streams' which have their bases below present sea level and which flow at speeds of a few hundred metres to several kilometres per year. Recent satellite observations show that some of these marine ice streams are experiencing rapid change in the form of thinning and retreat of their margins. These ice streams are a major focus for current glaciological research, but up until now this research has mostly concentrated on either theoretical studies of ice stream retreat and/or observations of modern ice streams. Such studies typically only provide a snapshot of an ice stream's life-cycle, limited to the last few decades. Current attempts to determine what controls the retreat of these ice streams remain inconclusive. This problem is compounded by the fact that existing large-scale ice sheet models, used for future sea level predictions in the 'Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change' 2007 report, are not able to incorporate such rapid changes in ice streams. Understanding the controls of ice stream retreat and predicting their future behaviour will be crucial, if the scientific community intends to quantify future sea level rise with any degree of certainty. This study aims to determine the controlling factors on marine ice stream retreat by combining numerical modelling with marine-geophysical observations of ice stream retreat. We will use observations from three well documented palaeo-ice streams in Antarctica (i.e. ancient ice streams recorded by geological and geophysical evidence) that underwent contrasting styles and rates of retreat following the last glacial maximum and ranging from rapid through episodic to slow. The numerical model that we will use is specifically developed to allow us to simulate ice stream retreat. The marine geophysical and geological observations will provide the physical setting for the numerical model and, crucially, the retreat history of the different ice streams for comparison to the model simulations. To our knowledge, a robust comparison and validation of a numerical marine ice stream model using such data has never before been attempted. The inter-disciplinary approach taken in this project provides the urgently needed link between observational records of ice stream retreat and numerical modelling. It will advance our understanding of the factors that control such retreat and also provide crucial insights for developing ice sheet models, and thus contribute to improving the ability of the scientific community to predict future sea level rise.

目前，格陵兰岛和南极冰盖对未来海平面上升的贡献存在重大不确定性。这些冰盖将其排放到周围海洋中的大部分冰是通过流动的快速“海洋冰流”的排水，这些冰流的基部在当前的海平面以下，每年几百米到几公里的速度流动。最近的卫星观测表明，其中一些海洋冰流正在经历稀疏和撤退的形式变化。这些冰流是当前冰科研究的主要重点，但是到目前为止，这项研究主要集中在冰流静修的理论研究和/或现代冰流的观察结果上。这样的研究通常只提供了冰流的生命周期的快照，仅限于过去几十年。当前的尝试确定什么控制这些冰流的撤退的尝试仍然尚无定论。这一事实使这个问题更加复杂：在“ 2007年政府间气候变化”报告中，用于未来海平面预测的现有大型冰盖模型无法在冰流中纳入这种快速变化。如果科学界打算以任何确定性来量化未来的海平面上升，那么了解冰流的控制并预测其未来行为将是至关重要的。这项研究旨在通过将数值建模与冰流撤退的海洋地球物理观测结合在一起来确定海洋冰流撤退的控制因素。我们将使用来自南极洲的三个有据可查的古冰流的观察结果（即，通过地质和地球物理证据记录的古代冰流），在最后一次冰川最大值之后，经历了对比鲜明的样式和撤退率，从快速到快速到发作的速度。我们将要使用的数值模型是专门开发的，以使我们能够模拟冰流撤退。海洋地球物理和地质观察结果将为数值模型提供物理设置，并至关重要的是，不同的冰流的撤退历史与模型模拟进行了比较。据我们所知，使用此类数据对数值海洋冰流模型进行了强大的比较和验证。该项目中采用的跨学科方法提供了冰流撤退和数值建模的观察记录之间的急需联系。它将促进我们对控制这种务虚会的因素的理解，并为开发冰盖模型提供关键见解，从而有助于提高科学界预测未来海平面上升的能力。

项目成果

期刊论文数量（8）

专著数量（0）

科研奖励数量（0）

会议论文数量（0）

专利数量（0）

Subglacial processes on an Antarctic ice stream bed. 2: Can modelled ice dynamics explain the morphology of mega-scale glacial lineations?

南极冰河床上的冰下过程。

DOI：
10.1017/jog.2016.19
发表时间：
2016
期刊：
Journal of Glaciology
影响因子：
3.4
作者：
JAMIESON S
通讯作者：
JAMIESON S

Ice-stream stability on a reverse bed slope

DOI：
10.1038/ngeo1600
发表时间：
2012-11
期刊：
Nature Geoscience
影响因子：
18.3
作者：
S. Jamieson;A. Vieli;S. Livingstone;C. Ó. Cofaigh;C. Stokes;C. Hillenbrand;J. Dowdeswell
通讯作者：
S. Jamieson;A. Vieli;S. Livingstone;C. Ó. Cofaigh;C. Stokes;C. Hillenbrand;J. Dowdeswell

Glacial geomorphology of Marguerite Bay Palaeo-Ice stream, western Antarctic Peninsula

南极半岛西部玛格丽特湾古冰流的冰川地貌