Use of ice-sheet normal modes for initialization and modelling small changes

Abstract

Linearizations about two horizontal-dimensional ice sheets are proposed as methods of generating normal mode initializations for ice-sheet models and for computing the short-term response. Linearized models can be generated directly from balance-flux calculations without the need for tuning the rate factor.A linearized model is compared with the Eismint Benchmark, and the normal modes for two coarse Antarctic digital elevation models are computed and compared. Volumetric relaxation spectra are presented. The slowest mode has a time constant comparable to that computed from scale theory.