Shallow-ice approximation

The shallow-ice approximation uses the small ratio of ice thickness to horizontal extent to make pressure hydrostatic and balance its horizontal gradient primarily by vertical shear stress.

For a two-dimensional Newtonian ice sheet of thickness $h$ on a flat no-slip bed, hydrostatic pressure and vertical shear give the depth-integrated fluxwhere $\nu$ is the kinematic viscosity. Mass conservation is $h_t+q_x=a$ for accumulation rate $a$.

On a horizontal bed, the shallow-ice approximation with a linear basal drag law gives $u=-(\rho g/\mu )h_x(h/\beta +hz-z^2/2)$ and $q=-(\rho g/\mu )(h^3/3+h^2/\beta )h_x$. With no ice accumulation or ice ablation, mass conservation is $h_t+q_x=0$. Internal shear supplies the cubic mobility and basal sliding the quadratic mobility.

A locally steady glacier nose moving at speed $v>0$ has $q=vh$ by mass conservation. At distance $s$ behind its edge, the linear basal drag law then gives $s=(\rho g/\mu v)(h^3/9+h^2/(2\beta ))$. The thin nose has $h\propto s^{1/2}$ from basal sliding; a thicker outer nose has $h\propto s^{1/3}$ from internal deformation. A thick bulk therefore still has a sliding-controlled inner tip. The divergent idealized edge slope limits the immediate validity of the shallow-ice approximation.

The two mobilities in the shallow-ice flux with linear basal drag are equal at thickness $H_{\ast }=3/\beta$. A conserved half-volume $V_g$ gives length $L_{\ast }=V_g/H_{\ast }$ and time $T_{\ast }=3\mu L_{\ast }^2/(\rho g{H}_{\ast }^3)$. Nondimensional thick profiles spread as ${\tau }^{1/5}$; thin sliding profiles spread as ${\tau }^{1/4}$. Matching the centre of the mass-normalized early planar volume-conserving nonlinear-diffusion similarity to unit depth estimates ${\tau }_{\mathrm{tr}}=3/(10I_3^2)\simeq 0.42385$. The numerical estimate depends on the matching convention and the initial-profile relaxation.

For a thin Newtonian fluid film on a conical slope at angle $\alpha$, neglecting the thickness-gradient contribution to the driving pressure gives volume flux per unit width $q=D{h}^3$, where $D=g\sin \alpha /(3\nu )$. Radial mass conservation isThe distance $x$ is measured along the slope; the horizontal radius is $x\cos \alpha$, so total volume is $2\pi \cos \alpha \int xhdx$.

For ice accumulation $a=A(1-x/\ell )$, regular zero flux at the apex givesThe steady zero-thickness terminus is at $3\ell /2$, below the snowline $x=\ell$. Accumulation above the snowline exactly balances ice ablation below it.

After ice accumulation and ice ablation cease, the similarity solution conserving $M=\int xhdx$ isIt is dry outside this interval. At its terminus the thickness $h_N$ is nonzero: the Rankine-Hugoniot condition gives ${\dot{x}}_N=q_N/h_N=D{h}_N^2=x_N/(5\tau )$. This is an entropy solution of the gravity-only kinematic wave model and a long-time approximation for general finite-volume initial profiles. Local pressure-gradient effects smooth the idealized discontinuous front.

Putting $y=x^{5/3}$ and $w=x^{1/3}h$ transforms $h_t+x^{-1}(xD{h}^3{)}_x=0$ into the scalar conservation lawAlong smooth characteristic curves, $w$ is constant and $y$ grows at speed $5D{w}^2$. Starting from $h_0(s)$ givesAfter characteristic crossing, the Rankine-Hugoniot condition and entropy solution select the physical front.

For an initially bare cone with accumulation $a\simeq A$ near its apex, the early outer thickness is $At$. The radial gravity flux becomes comparable to accumulation over distance $x_a\sim D{A}^2{t}^3$. Setting $h=AtF(\eta )$ and $\eta =x/(D{A}^2{t}^3)$ givesRegular apex flux requires $F\sim (\eta /2{)}^{1/3}$ near zero. The boundary layer therefore approaches the local steady thickness $(Ax/(2D){)}^{1/3}$ while farther regions are still filling.