Modelling of anisotropic ice flow in Law Dome, East Antarctica

Abstract

A model for ice flow in a polar ice sheet is presented. It is based on laboratory measurements of ice rheology, and includes the effect of anisotropic-flow eenhancement in tertiary creep as the ice progresses through a range of stress regimes as it passes through the ice sheet. This flow model is applied to the transect from the summit of Law Dome, East Antarctica, to Cape Folger. In the upper layers of the ice sheet good agreement is found between the shear strain-rate profiles from the model and borehole-inclination measurements. Modifications of the simple model predictions for high shear strain rates in the lower layers of the ice cap are required in order to match the observed surface velocities. In these lower regions reductions in both the enhancement of shear flow and shear stress appear to be required, and this suggests that more attention needs to be given to the dynamics deep within ice sheets.