Crystal orientation fabric anisotropy causes directional hardening of the Northeast Greenland Ice Stream

Tamara Annina Gerber (), David A. Lilien, Nicholas Mossor Rathmann, Steven Franke, Tun Jan Young, Fernando Valero-Delgado, M. Reza Ershadi, Reinhard Drews, Ole Zeising, Angelika Humbert, Nicolas Stoll, Ilka Weikusat, Aslak Grinsted, Christine Schøtt Hvidberg, Daniela Jansen, Heinrich Miller, Veit Helm, Daniel Steinhage, Charles O’Neill, John Paden, Siva Prasad Gogineni, Dorthe Dahl-Jensen and Olaf Eisen ()
Additional contact information
Tamara Annina Gerber: University of Copenhagen
David A. Lilien: University of Manitoba
Nicholas Mossor Rathmann: University of Copenhagen
Steven Franke: Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research
Tun Jan Young: University of Cambridge
Fernando Valero-Delgado: Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research
M. Reza Ershadi: Tübingen University
Reinhard Drews: Tübingen University
Ole Zeising: Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research
Angelika Humbert: Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research
Nicolas Stoll: Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research
Ilka Weikusat: Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research
Aslak Grinsted: University of Copenhagen
Christine Schøtt Hvidberg: University of Copenhagen
Daniela Jansen: Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research
Heinrich Miller: Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research
Veit Helm: Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research
Daniel Steinhage: Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research
Charles O’Neill: EH Group Inc.
John Paden: University of Kansas
Siva Prasad Gogineni: University of Alabama
Dorthe Dahl-Jensen: University of Copenhagen
Olaf Eisen: Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract The dynamic mass loss of ice sheets constitutes one of the biggest uncertainties in projections of ice-sheet evolution. One central, understudied aspect of ice flow is how the bulk orientation of the crystal orientation fabric translates to the mechanical anisotropy of ice. Here we show the spatial distribution of the depth-averaged horizontal anisotropy and corresponding directional flow-enhancement factors covering a large area of the Northeast Greenland Ice Stream onset. Our results are based on airborne and ground-based radar surveys, ice-core observations, and numerical ice-flow modelling. They show a strong spatial variability of the horizontal anisotropy and a rapid crystal reorganisation on the order of hundreds of years coinciding with the ice-stream geometry. Compared to isotropic ice, parts of the ice stream are found to be more than one order of magnitude harder for along-flow extension/compression while the shear margins are potentially softened by a factor of two for horizontal-shear deformation.

Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:14:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-023-38139-8

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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-38139-8

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