Converging flow and anisotropy cause large-scale folding in Greenland's ice sheet

Paul D. Bons (), Daniela Jansen, Felicitas Mundel, Catherine C. Bauer, Tobias Binder, Olaf Eisen, Mark W. Jessell, Maria-Gema Llorens, Florian Steinbach, Daniel Steinhage and Ilka Weikusat
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Paul D. Bons: Mineralogy and Geodynamics, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen
Daniela Jansen: Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research
Felicitas Mundel: Mineralogy and Geodynamics, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen
Catherine C. Bauer: Paleoanthropology, Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen
Tobias Binder: Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research
Olaf Eisen: Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research
Mark W. Jessell: Centre for Exploration Targeting, School of Earth and Environment, The University of Western Australia
Maria-Gema Llorens: Mineralogy and Geodynamics, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen
Florian Steinbach: Mineralogy and Geodynamics, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen
Daniel Steinhage: Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research
Ilka Weikusat: Mineralogy and Geodynamics, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen

Nature Communications, 2016, vol. 7, issue 1, 1-6

Abstract: Abstract The increasing catalogue of high-quality ice-penetrating radar data provides a unique insight in the internal layering architecture of the Greenland ice sheet. The stratigraphy, an indicator of past deformation, highlights irregularities in ice flow and reveals large perturbations without obvious links to bedrock shape. In this work, to establish a new conceptual model for the formation process, we analysed the radar data at the onset of the Petermann Glacier, North Greenland, and created a three-dimensional model of several distinct stratigraphic layers. We demonstrate that the dominant structures are cylindrical folds sub-parallel to the ice flow. By numerical modelling, we show that these folds can be formed by lateral compression of mechanically anisotropic ice, while a general viscosity contrast between layers would not lead to folding for the same boundary conditions. We conclude that the folds primarily form by converging flow as the mechanically anisotropic ice is channelled towards the glacier.

Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms11427

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