TY - JOUR
T1 - Tidally controlled stick-slip discharge of a West Antarctic ice stream
AU - Bindschadler, Robert A.
AU - King, Matt A.
AU - Alley, Richard B.
AU - Anandakrishnan, Sridhar
AU - Padman, Laurence
PY - 2003/8/22
Y1 - 2003/8/22
N2 - A major West Antarctic ice stream discharges by sudden and brief periods of very rapid motion paced by oceanic tidal oscillations of about 1 meter. Acceleration to speeds greater than 1 meter per hour and deceleration back to a stationary state occur in minutes or less. Slip propagates at approximately 88 meters per second, suggestive of a shear wave traveling within the subglacial till. A model of an episodically slipping friction-locked fault reproduces the observed quasi-periodic event timing, demonstrating an ice stream's ability to change speed rapidly and its extreme sensitivity to subglacial conditions and variations in sea level.
AB - A major West Antarctic ice stream discharges by sudden and brief periods of very rapid motion paced by oceanic tidal oscillations of about 1 meter. Acceleration to speeds greater than 1 meter per hour and deceleration back to a stationary state occur in minutes or less. Slip propagates at approximately 88 meters per second, suggestive of a shear wave traveling within the subglacial till. A model of an episodically slipping friction-locked fault reproduces the observed quasi-periodic event timing, demonstrating an ice stream's ability to change speed rapidly and its extreme sensitivity to subglacial conditions and variations in sea level.
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U2 - 10.1126/science.1087231
DO - 10.1126/science.1087231
M3 - Article
C2 - 12934005
AN - SCOPUS:0042431626
VL - 301
SP - 1087
EP - 1089
JO - Science
JF - Science
SN - 0036-8075
IS - 5636
ER -