A slip law for glaciers on deformable beds
Experimental results in which pressurized ice at its melting temperature is slid over a water-saturated till bed motivate a generalized slip law for glacier-flow models that combines processes of hard-bedded sliding and bed deformation.
Abstract
<jats:title>Slipping on till</jats:title><jats:p>How do glaciers flow over the ground underlying them? We know that friction, ice stream velocity, and water pressure at the ice bed all matter, but we still do not know how to represent the process over both hard beds (which are solid rock) and soft ones (composed of unconsolidated erosion products called till). Zoet and Iverson present experimental results describing how glacial ice moves over watersaturated till (see the Perspective by Minchew and Joughin). These observations should help to solve the long-standing problem of constructing a generalized slip law that combines the processes of hard-bedded sliding and bed deformation.</jats:p><jats:p><jats:italic>Science</jats:italic>, this issue p.<jats:related-article xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" ext-link-type="doi" issue="6486" page="76" related-article-type="in-this-issue" vol="368" xlink:href="10.1126/science.aaz1183">76</jats:related-article>; see also p.<jats:related-article xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" ext-link-type="doi" issue="6486" page="29" related-article-type="in-this-issue" vol="368" xlink:href="10.1126/science.abb3566">29</jats:related-article></jats:p>