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https://hdl.handle.net/11681/5878| Title: | Stability of ice-age ice caps |
| Authors: | Northwestern University (Evanston, Ill.). Technological Institute Weertman, Johannes |
| Keywords: | Glaciers Ice Ice sheets Ice caps Stability EPOLAR |
| Publisher: | Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (U.S.) Engineer Research and Development Center (U.S.) |
| Series/Report no.: | Research report (Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (U.S.)) ; 97. |
| Description: | Research Report Summary: The stability of large ice caps is investigated using the present-day theory of the flow of ice in glaciers and ice sheets.. The type of instability considered is that first mentioned by Bodvarsson. It is concluded that a small arctic ice cap can become unstable and expand into a large ice-age ice sheet as a result of moderate changes in the regime of the ice cap. A large continental ice cap also can become unstable and shrink to nothing, if the snow accumulation is reduced or the ablation rate increased. The results obtained fit well into the Ewing-Donn theory of ice ages. There is the possibility that the inherent instability of ice-age ice caps is in itself sufficient to explain both the formation and disappearance of these ice caps. |
| Rights: | Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. |
| URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/11681/5878 |
| Appears in Collections: | Research Report |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CRREL-Research-Report-97.pdf | 1.05 MB | Adobe PDF |  View/Open |