Modeling characteristic ice surface elevation changes reveals dominant glaciological processes
Master’s Thesis (in progress), University at Buffalo (SUNY Buffalo)
Glaciers are icy rivers. They flow in response to the changing atmospheric and oceanic conditions. The existing observations, however, suggest that even neighboring glaciers under a similar climate exhibit vastly different dynamics. One of the most remarkable evidence is the diverse patterns of surface elevation change acquired from space laser altimetry (Csatho et al., 2014). The heterogenous geometry of glacier, basal condition, lateral resistance, for instance, may have all contributed to the dynamic elevation change.
Synthetic glaciers are numerical constructs that capture (a) certain broad trait(s) of real-world glaciers at reduced complexity. I build synthetic glaciers and perform dozens of simulations with various forcing and boundary condition combinations. By making comparison between simulated dynamical change and observation, we can test the importance of forcing or boundary conditions in modulating the surface elevation change.
Csatho, B. M. et al. Laser altimetry reveals complex pattern of Greenland Ice Sheet dynamics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 111, 18478–18483 (2014).