Abstract
It can easily be expected that debris-covered glaciers show a different response on external forcing compared to clean-surface glaciers. The supra-glacial debris cover acts as an additional transfer layer for the energy exchange between atmosphere and ice. The related glacier reaction is the integral of local effects, which changes strongly between enhanced melt for thin debris layers and considerably reduced melt for thicker debris. Therefore, a realistic feedback study can only be performed, if both the ice flow and the debris-influenced melt is treated with a high degree of detail. We couple a full Stokes representation of ice dynamics and the most complete description of energy transfer through the debris layer, in order to describe the long-term glacier reaction in the coupled system. With this setup, we can show that steady-state conditions are highly unlikely for glaciers, in case debris is not unloaded from the surface. For continuous and complete debris removal from the lowermost glacier tongue, however, a balance of the debris budget and the glacier conditions are possible. Depending on displacement and removal processes, our results demonstrate that debris-covered glaciers have an inherent tendency to switch to an oscillating state. Then, glacier mass balance and debris balance are out of phase, such that glacier advance periods end with the separation of the heavily debris-loaded lowermost glacier tongue, at time scales of decades to centuries. As these oscillations are inherent and happen without any variations in climatic forcing, it is difficult to interpret modern observations on the fluctuation of debris-covered glaciers on the basis of a changing climate only.
Highlights
The knowledge about debris-covered glaciers advanced considerably during the last two decades
Since we focus on the effect of debris cover on glacier evolution, we switch off englacial thermodynamical processes and assume constant climate forcing
We present model runs for clean-ice conditions, which we further use as initial state for all subsequent experiments with englacial debris concentrations
Summary
The knowledge about debris-covered glaciers advanced considerably during the last two decades. A first numerical description of a coupled ice/debris glacier system was presented by Konrad and Humphrey (2000) They used a simplified force balance approach with shear stress as the single driver for describing ice dynamics along a two-dimensional (2-D) flow line, assuming parallel ice flow and a constant surface slope of the glacier. The additional effect of the debris load on the shear stress was accounted for Their linear mass balance function was affected by the existence of surface debris, which reduces ice melt exponentially to the respective debris thickness. This model predicts an infinite glacier length for steady-state conditions. The limitations of the model (constant surface slope, simple mass balance parameterisation, singular debris source) only allow very general conclusions
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