Numerical thermo-mechanical model of an icefield with subglacial lake. A test case in Svalbard, Arctic

Mansutti, Daniela and Bucchignani, Edoardo and Otero, Jaime and Glowacki, Piotr (2013) Numerical thermo-mechanical model of an icefield with subglacial lake. A test case in Svalbard, Arctic. Technical Report. Istituto per le Applicazioni del Calcolo (IAC). (Unpublished)

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Abstract

In this work we present a mathematical model for the description of the dynamical and thermodynamical evolution of a system consisting of an icefield locally underlaid by a subglacial lake occupying a bed depression. The representation of the phase change ice-water is the clue of the model. The numerical solution is based on a finite volume technique. The related computational code is tested to describe a portion of the Amundsenisen Icefield, southern Spitsbergen, Svalbard, where the existence of subglacial lake has been hypothesized. Our numerical simulations yield results consistent with the existence of the conjectured subglacial lake within environmental conditions corresponding to measured data. The contribution of upper layers of firn and snow to the system is shown to be non-negligible in the modelling, as it supports ice to overcome its metastable state, to change into liquid phase and, then, to form the subglacial lake. Consistently with the literature, our numerical simulations pointed out that lake cavity depth (or, better, the bottom surface area) is critical for the formation of the lake, being directly proportional to the amount of geothermal heat coming in. The modelling of ice water content and ice sliding on bedrock are presently object of further investigation.

Item Type: Monograph (Technical Report)
Additional Information: An extract of this monograph will be submitted to Physics of Fluids
Uncontrolled Keywords: Temperate ice, firn, snow, subglacial lake, Arctic, Svalbard, heat transfer, dynamics, moving boundary, finite-volumes, numerical simulation
Subjects: 500 Scienze naturali e Matematica
500 Scienze naturali e Matematica > 550 Scienze della Terra
Depositing User: Dr. D. Mansutti
Date Deposited: 10 Dec 2013 14:52
Last Modified: 11 Dec 2013 14:37
URI: http://eprints.bice.rm.cnr.it/id/eprint/7855

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