Location
MC 5479
Candidate
Koi McArthur | Applied Mathematics, University of Waterloo
Title
Modeling hydrology and ice flow of the Greenland Ice Sheet
Abstract
The Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) is one of the primary contributors to sea level rise, and is expected to have a significant influence on the evolution of the sea level in the coming centuries. Mass loss from the GrIS comes in the form of surface mass balance and ice dynamic processes, the latter of which, are difficult to estimate. Fast moving regions of the ice sheet are often the result of subglacial conditions – deformation of the sediments underlying the ice sheet, and basal slip. Basal slip is dependent on subglacial water pressure and the subglacial hydrologic system, which obtains water from the supraglacial hydrologic system via moulins. A complicated relationship between basal sliding, the subglacial hydrologic system, and water input from the supraglacial hydrologic system has been observed. Yet, ice dynamic modeling efforts typically neglect these glacial hydrologic effects on ice motion. The goal of this work is to estimate the ice dynamic contribution to sea level rise from the GrIS up to 2300, while accounting for glacial hydrologic effects. This will be accomplished through coupled ice flow, subglacial hydrology and supraglacial hydrology modeling. In this presentation, I will discuss the necessity of including glacial hydrologic effects in ice dynamics modeling, and the barriers that must be overcome to run the aforementioned coupled model to 2300. I will outline the plan and timeline of the research. Finally, I will discuss work to date on development of a supraglacial hydrology model.