Abstract
AbstractIceberg calving, the detachment of an ice block at the glacier front, is the main process responsible for the dynamic mass loss from the ice sheets to the ocean. Understanding this process is essential to accurately predict ice sheet response to the future climate. We present a transient multiphysics finite‐element model to simulate iceberg break‐off and geometry evolution of a marine‐terminating glacier. The model solves the coupled equations of ice flow, damage mechanics, oceanic melt, and geometry evolution on the same Lagrangian computational grid. A modeling sensitivity analysis shows that the choice of stress measure used for damage evolution strongly influences the resulting calving front geometries. Our analysis suggests that the von Mises stress measures produce the most realistic calving front geometry evolutions for tidewater glaciers. Submarine frontal melt is shown to have a strong impact on the calving front geometry. The presented multiphysics model includes all processes thus far shown to be relevant for the evolution of tidewater glaciers and can be readily adapted for 3‐D and arbitrary bedrock geometries.
Highlights
Iceberg calving, that is, the mechanical loss of ice from glaciers and ice shelves, is one of the main contributors to sea level rise from tidewater glaciers together with surface melt and is expected to further increase in the future (Nick et al, 2013)
Our analysis suggests that the von Mises stress measures produce the most realistic calving front geometry evolutions for tidewater glaciers
Note that for the analysis of the sensitivity experiments, our interest is to obtain calving front geometries that are representative of tidewater glacier geometries observed in nature
Summary
That is, the mechanical loss of ice from glaciers and ice shelves, is one of the main contributors to sea level rise from tidewater glaciers together with surface melt (van den Broeke et al, 2016) and is expected to further increase in the future (Nick et al, 2013). It is crucial to understand the calving process to accurately predict the ice sheets' response to future climates (Benn, Warren, et al, 2007). Iceberg calving is a dynamical process of material failure. When the local stress field near the the calving front reaches the strength threshold of ice, the material begins to weaken and fails. This drives the formation and propagation of microcracks that can coalesce and lead to the formation of crevasses at the surface and the bottom of the ice. Intense crevassing eventually leads to the detachment of blocks of ice from the glacier front, termed iceberg calving. The break-off of chunks of ice can occur above and below the water line, and, if basal and surface crevasses intersect, blocks of the entire thickness of the glacier can detach
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