Drumlinization and drumlin-forming instabilities: viscous till mechanisms

Abstract

AbstractGlacially induced flow naturally tends to thin and extended till cover through shock formation, even in the absence of longitudinal gradients in the applied stress. Thicker till cover has an increased effective pressure at its surface and base, a lower sliding velocity or deformation rate and above a critical thickness, a decrease in wave velocity with thickness, leading to reverse-facing shocks moving downstream. For sliding and for some theologies of internal deformation, a decrease in sediment flux with thickness occurs, implying backward-moving kinematic waves and reverse-facing, reverse-moving shock.Downstream-facing shocks are also formed which move upstream if the till is sliding and downstream if the till is deforming internally. Eventually, shocks coalesce, leaving an upstream-lacing shock for sliding and a downstream-facing shock for internal deformation. It is observed that some drumlins have downstream blunt ends only.Fairly realistic three-dimensional drumlin shapes can be produced from symmetric sediment bodies and barchan shapes can be produced from linear forms perpendicular to the ice-sheet flow.The fact that viscous theories produce drumlinoid forms suggests that on this scale till behaves viscously and the the lower length scale for drumlins represents the plastic/viscous transition scale.