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Abstract. Ice-sheet models used to predict sea-level rise often neglect subglacial hydrology. However, theory and observations suggest that ice flow and subglacial water flow are bidirectionally coupled: ice geometry affects hydraulic potential, hydraulic potential modulates basal shear stress via the basal water pressure, and ice flow advects the subglacial drainage system. This coupling could impact rates of ice mass change but remains poorly understood. We develop a coupled ice–subglacial-hydrology model to investigate the effects of coupling on the long-term evolution of marine-terminating ice sheets. We combine a one-dimensional channelized subglacial hydrology model with a depth-integrated marine-ice-sheet model, incorporating each component of the coupling listed above, yielding a set of differential equations that we solve using a finite-difference, implicit time-stepping approach. We conduct a series of experiments with this model, using either bidirectional or unidirectional coupling. These experiments generate profiles of channel cross-sectional area, channel flow rate, channel effective pressure, ice thickness, and ice velocity. We discuss how the profiles shape one another, resulting in the effective pressure reaching a local maximum in a region near the grounding line. We also describe the impact of bidirectional coupling on the transient retreat of ice sheets through a comparison of our coupled model with ice-flow models that have imposed static basal conditions. We find that including coupled subglacial hydrology leads to grounding-line retreat that is virtually absent when static basal conditions are assumed. This work highlights the role time-evolving subglacial drainage may have in ice-sheet change and informs efforts to include it in ice-sheet models. This work also supplies a physical basis for a commonly used parameterization which assumes that the subglacial water pressure is set by the bed's depth beneath the sea surface.
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This content will become publicly available on November 20, 2026
Subglacial hydrology regulates oscillations in marine ice streams
Marine ice stream dynamics are sensitive to conditions at the grounding line and basal shear stress. Variations in subglacial hydrology have been implicated in ice stream speed-up and shutdown. To investigate the interplay between marine ice stream flow and subglacial hydrology, we couple models of a marine ice stream and a subglacial drainage system. The coupled system evolves dynamically due to a positive feedback between ice flow, heat dissipation at the ice stream bed, and basal lubrication. Our results show that, depending on the hydraulic conductivity of the bed, distinct dynamic regimes can be identified. These regimes include steady streaming, hydraulically controlled oscillations, and thermally controlled oscillations. Periodic fast flow can be initiated by activation waves travelling upstream or downstream or quasi-simultaneously everywhere. Different dynamical regimes are characterized by large differences in grounded ice volume, even under modest changes of grounding line positions. These results imply a strong dependence of marine ice sheet dynamics on evolving hydrological conditions at the bed and highlight the importance of a better understanding of subglacial hydrology.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2218463
- PAR ID:
- 10701921
- Publisher / Repository:
- European Geoscience Union
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- The Cryosphere
- Volume:
- 19
- Issue:
- 11
- ISSN:
- 1994-0424
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 5939 to 5957
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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