The stability of grounding lines on retrograde slopes

G. H. Gudmundsson; J. Krug; G. Durand; L. Favier; O. Gagliardini

doi:10.5194/tc-6-1497-2012

The stability of grounding lines on retrograde slopes

G. H. Gudmundsson^*, J. Krug, G. Durand, L. Favier, O. Gagliardini

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Abstract

The stability of marine ice sheets grounded on beds that slope upwards in the overall direction of flow is investigated numerically in two horizontal dimensions. We give examples of stable grounding lines on such retrograde slopes illustrating that marine ice sheets are not unconditionally unstable in two horizontal dimensions. Retrograde bed slopes at the grounding lines of marine ice sheets, such as the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS), do not per se imply an instability, nor do they imply that these regions are close to a threshold of instability. We therefore question those estimates of the potential near-future contribution of WAIS to global sea level change based solely on the notion that WAIS, resting on a retrograde slope, must be inherently unstable.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1497-1505
Number of pages	9
Journal	Cryosphere
Volume	6
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-6-1497-2012
Publication status	Published - 18 Dec 2012
Externally published	Yes

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retrograde slopesFinal published version, 3.47 MBLicence: CC BY

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T1 - The stability of grounding lines on retrograde slopes

AU - Gudmundsson, G. H.

AU - Krug, J.

AU - Durand, G.

AU - Favier, L.

AU - Gagliardini, O.

PY - 2012/12/18

Y1 - 2012/12/18

N2 - The stability of marine ice sheets grounded on beds that slope upwards in the overall direction of flow is investigated numerically in two horizontal dimensions. We give examples of stable grounding lines on such retrograde slopes illustrating that marine ice sheets are not unconditionally unstable in two horizontal dimensions. Retrograde bed slopes at the grounding lines of marine ice sheets, such as the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS), do not per se imply an instability, nor do they imply that these regions are close to a threshold of instability. We therefore question those estimates of the potential near-future contribution of WAIS to global sea level change based solely on the notion that WAIS, resting on a retrograde slope, must be inherently unstable.

AB - The stability of marine ice sheets grounded on beds that slope upwards in the overall direction of flow is investigated numerically in two horizontal dimensions. We give examples of stable grounding lines on such retrograde slopes illustrating that marine ice sheets are not unconditionally unstable in two horizontal dimensions. Retrograde bed slopes at the grounding lines of marine ice sheets, such as the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS), do not per se imply an instability, nor do they imply that these regions are close to a threshold of instability. We therefore question those estimates of the potential near-future contribution of WAIS to global sea level change based solely on the notion that WAIS, resting on a retrograde slope, must be inherently unstable.

U2 - 10.5194/tc-6-1497-2012

DO - 10.5194/tc-6-1497-2012

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:84867784497

SN - 1994-0416

VL - 6

SP - 1497

EP - 1505

JO - Cryosphere

JF - Cryosphere

IS - 6

ER -

The stability of grounding lines on retrograde slopes

Abstract

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