The stability of grounding lines on retrograde slopes

Gudmundsson, G.H. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4236-5369; Krug, J.; Durand, G.; Favier, L.; Gagliardini, O.. 2012 The stability of grounding lines on retrograde slopes. The Cryosphere, 6 (6). 1497-1505. 10.5194/tc-6-1497-2012

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Abstract/Summary

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.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	10.5194/tc-6-1497-2012
Programmes:	BAS Programmes > Polar Science for Planet Earth (2009 - ) > Ice Sheets
ISSN:	1994-0416
Date made live:	04 Jul 2012 06:58 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/18568

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