Questions tagged [glaciology]
The [glaciology] tag concerns all forms of snow and ice on Earth and in space. And the marks left by ancient glaciers.
108
questions
6
votes
2answers
837 views
What is the name of this landform?
These are from the movie Insomnia.
Also available in this video from 4 seconds to 8 seconds. What is the name of this landform? Are these just snow on Lapies? or These are some form of glaciated ...
6
votes
1answer
81 views
What does “glacier collapse” mean?
CNN's Mont Blanc glacier could collapse at any moment, Italy warns says:
A staggering 250,000 cubic meters (8.8 million cubic feet) of ice could break away from the Planpincieux glacier on the ...
4
votes
1answer
95 views
Why did “Glaciologist Princess Elsa” have to leave the glacier because it was too warm?
This tweet shows "Glaciologist Princess Elsa" is actually Caltech geophysics PhD student and cryoseismologist Celeste Labedz.
The BBC News article What's a 'Science Princess' doing in an ice field in ...
14
votes
2answers
3k views
Why doesn't sea level show seasonality?
North-hemisphere ice-shelf melts on summer and grows on winter. I would expect appreciable changes on sea-level between seasons, but sea-level looks equal on winter than on summer.
Why doesn't sea ...
1
vote
0answers
25 views
Should I perform EOF analysis on an unevenly-spaced time series?
I have a dataset of sample concentrations of several ions/elements (Ca 2+, SO4 2-, K +, S, Ca, V, etc.) from an ice core which I am using to detect volcanic eruptions. The raw version of the dataset ...
1
vote
0answers
17 views
How do you interpret Oxygen Isotope changes?
In a paper I am reading, the authors note "large (5-7%) negative shifts in the oxygen isotopic composition of geologic proxy materials" (Davis 2008, pg. 102) in several regional basins. This is then ...
1
vote
1answer
68 views
Is “Chasm One” the really the name of this feature on the Brunt Ice Shelf?
The BBC News article Antarctic: No role for climate in Halley iceberg splitting says:
With no-one on the ice surface, notice of any breakaway will have to come from automated in-situ ...
2
votes
0answers
18 views
What (if any) “in-situ instrumentation” is on the Brunt Ice Shelf that will detect its splitting and breaking away?
The BBC News article Antarctic: No role for climate in Halley iceberg splitting says:
With no-one on the ice surface, notice of any breakaway will have to come from automated in-situ ...
1
vote
0answers
25 views
How do scientists measure paleoclimatologic variables from icecaps?
I guess the key is to know gases concentration, which should be done finally with a mass spectrometer if I am not wrong.
But how does the complete process work, from drilling to the final ...
1
vote
0answers
20 views
Glen's power-law alternatives
For glacier models, there exist alternatives to the Glen's power-law?
I searched on internet, but I have not found other alternatives.
4
votes
2answers
169 views
Why antarctic research stations are built above ground instead of on the ground or underground?
Many online sources stresses how much the antarctic wind is dangerous for the structures and for the personnel, yet most buildings I see are built off the ground.
I suppose that is due to the ...
4
votes
1answer
76 views
Waterlevel increase calculation
So I tried to calculate the rise of waterlevel myself. But the results I have gotten seem to be pretty low:
Given the earths radius, I clalculated different Events:
1) If all landice melts there is ...
4
votes
1answer
88 views
Giant Cavern the Size of Manhattan Under Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica - how was satellite and airborne radar data combined?
This is a follow-up question to Giant Cavern the Size of Manhattan Under Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica.
The work is reported in an open access paper in Science: Heterogeneous retreat and ice ...
6
votes
1answer
135 views
Giant Cavern the Size of Manhattan Under Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica
Avery Thompson writes in Popular Mechanics
In Thwaites’ case, that radar uncovered a gigantic cavern between the glacier itself and the bedrock below it. That cavern is likely filled with air much ...
1
vote
1answer
124 views
Are we at the beginning of a Heinrich Event?
Does our current weather trend properly reflect a Heinrich Event? It seems like the drastic weather swings are what I would expect but I realize that is not definitive. I don't see the term bandied ...
6
votes
1answer
39 views
Do icebergs have any impact on ecology?
Are icebergs neutral actors in the environment, or do they have any impact on the local ecology. Do they have any environmental impacts that might influence any part of the biosphere?
4
votes
1answer
108 views
Weather conditions to create significant glacier growth
I am fascinated at the rapid growth of Glacier Bay Glacier from 1600 to 1750, along with its rapid retreat from 1750 to 1900. I am interested in the local weather conditions during these times. What ...
6
votes
2answers
100 views
Does snow melt on ice?
I looked up nearly everywhere on the internet, but couldn't find any evidence that snow wouldn't melt because of ice. When I look it up, it instead tells me how salt can melt snow. I'm NOT looking up ...
6
votes
1answer
519 views
If ALL the ice melted, what percentage of the Earth's surface would be water?
At the present time, about 70% of the earth's surface is liquid water (perhaps that includes floating ice around Antarctica, and the Arctic Ice cap).
What percentage of the Earth's surface would be ...
3
votes
1answer
75 views
Simple way to understand these narrow frequency peaks in recently published “ice shelf singing”?
The Earther.Gizmodo.com article Scientists Discover a Weird Noise Coming From Antarctic Ice Shelf links to the American Geophysical Union video (an more importantly audio) (AGU) This is what an ...
5
votes
2answers
4k views
How would Earth map look like if all ice melts?
Is there somewhere a map which indicates which areas and cities become sea?
2
votes
0answers
63 views
Quantifying long term melt record on glacier surface
I intend to create a long term melt record on a glacier surface. What are parameters required to efficiently calculate the same using satellite, weather station observations & reanalysis datasets (...
1
vote
1answer
69 views
Help understanding radar data in subglacial lake complex beneath Devon Ice Cap
The BBC News article Isolated lakes found beneath Canadian ice sheet links to the open access Science Advances article Discovery of a hypersaline subglacial lake complex beneath Devon Ice Cap, ...
7
votes
2answers
401 views
How does ice-penetrating radar “see” through kilometers of ice without being absorbed?
The BBC News article Isolated lakes found beneath Canadian ice sheet links to the open access Science Advances article Discovery of a hypersaline subglacial lake complex beneath Devon Ice Cap, ...
1
vote
1answer
74 views
How many extreme shifts in climate has Earth gone through in its existence?
As the Earth formed, it went through cycles of essentially hotter and colder periods. Extremely volcanic times and ice ages, in feedback loops contributing to one another. CO2 swinging from high to ...
7
votes
1answer
111 views
How old are Chile's fjords?
Do we have any knowledge about the age of Chile's fjords, more specifically, those found near the Northern Patagonian Ice Field?
Is it reasonable to conclude that they were formed in Quaternary given ...
5
votes
1answer
79 views
Nonlinear Stokes equations for glacier modeling
What is the difference between
$$\operatorname{div}(-\mu(u)\nabla u+pI)=f\tag{1}$$
and
$$\operatorname{div}(-\mu(u)(\nabla u\color{red}{+(\nabla u)^\mathsf{T}})+pI)=f\tag{2}$$
from the physical ...
4
votes
1answer
102 views
Simple and realistic data for glacier modeling
I'm programming the nonlinear Stokes problem (with a finite element method),
$$\operatorname{div}(\mu(u)\nabla u+pI)=f$$
where $\mu(u)$ is the Glen's power flow law (typical for glaciers). I want to ...
4
votes
1answer
353 views
What factors explain mountain glacier retreat variability?
It is well known that the majority of the world's mountain glaciers are retreating, but looking at a few LANDSAT images from the 1980s and today I am able to see glaciers that have retreated ...
4
votes
1answer
97 views
Status of overdue glaciation hypothesis
What is the status of the Early Anthropocene hypothesis, in the specific meaning that the climate would be projected to be significantly cooler (such as, on the order of by 0.8 degrees in the planet ...
16
votes
1answer
2k views
Why does glacier ice look blue?
The color of the ice observed in glaciers, icebergs and crevasses is often blue. However, ice cubes and industrial ice blocks are perfectly transparent or white if not.
So. Why does glacier ice look ...
6
votes
3answers
1k views
If there's more water in the atmosphere due to global warming, how are there fewer mountain glaciers?
As I understand it, moisture condenses at mountain tops to form the mountain glaciers that provide water. The mountain topography doesn't change much in the span of a few decades, so if there's more ...
8
votes
1answer
2k views
What would it be like to live in an ice age?
If you were born in the most recent ice age, how different would your life be compared to how you live it today? Furthermore, if humans currently lived in an ice age, how would it affect life today?
5
votes
2answers
123 views
Would the enthalpy of fusion for melting ice fields be a causative factor for colder winter weather?
Would the enthalpy of fusion for melting ice fields be a causative factor for colder winter weather?
As an example, NASA estimated the annual loss of the Greenland ice field 2002-2013 as more than ...
5
votes
1answer
125 views
Is 2,000 years from now a credible figure for return to glaciation?
I read this article,
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/416786/global-warming-vs-the-next-ice-age/
"In about 300 years, all available fossil fuels may well have been consumed.Over the following ...
1
vote
2answers
693 views
Polar Ice caps are melting? Questions on enviromental impact
The polar ice caps are melting at a significant rate partly due to the albedo effect, releasing greenhouse gas-methane into earth’s atmosphere. At the same time we are logging our forests for ...
4
votes
1answer
162 views
What caused the Carbon Dioxide Variations observed in the 800,000-year polar ice record?
I have seen several graphs showing the prehistoric temperatures and CO2 concentrations derived from ice-core data. My understanding is that CO2 and temperature correlate. I assume that Milankovich ...
2
votes
2answers
760 views
Estimated volume, daily or annually, of sea level rise due to melting ice?
Its a big number, difficult to estimate I assume. But is there a peer reviewed estimation (at current conditions) of the volume of daily or annual increase of water?
5
votes
4answers
3k views
Is a glacier advancing or retreating? How to tell?
What are the most common ways you would use to tell whether a given mountain glacier is advancing or retreating, judging only by its present state by looking at it? Please list anything you can think ...
11
votes
2answers
2k views
How could this pyramidal Mountain have been formed?
How could this pyramidal peak have been formed in Antarctica? Little is known about it as far as I know but what is known is that its miles away from any existing plate boundary and its shape is also ...
14
votes
3answers
5k views
How will sea level rise be distributed across the globe?
Sea level rise from melting glaciers will not be uniformly distributed across the globe. However, it isn't clear to me what places will have the most and least extreme changes in sea level rise. I ...
6
votes
2answers
1k views
How do glaciers move? Could Antarctica be separated?
Consider the example of the Larsen Ice Shelf. Ice platforms are attached to glaciers such that they prevent surrounding warm air from directly melting the glaciers. This is an important aspect of ice ...
8
votes
1answer
329 views
The giant 6,000 km$^2$ iceberg A-68; will ground-truth telemetry supplement satellite tracking data?
update 2: FIRST images of A-68 iceberg not taken from a satellite in space but from the air are out. On this NASA Earth Observatory web page are areal images from NASA's Operation IceBridge taken from ...
4
votes
1answer
506 views
How are 'road-like passages' between Himalayan mountains formed?
If you take a look at this picture you can see what looks like almost nicely cut out 'roads' between the mountains.
What forces are responsible for this?
