GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 30, NO. 7, 1361, doi:10.1029/2002GL016329, 2003

Ice stream D flow speed is strongly modulated by the tide beneath the Ross Ice Shelf

S. Anandakrishnan, D. E. Voigt, and R. B. Alley

Earth and Mineral Sciences Environment Institute, Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University,
University Park, Pennsylvania, USA

M. A. King

School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, University of Newcastle Upon Tyne,
Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK

Abstract

[1]   The flow velocity of ice stream D, West Antarctica has been measured to vary by a factor of three over the course of a day. These fluctuations are measured at the grounding line as well as upstream of the grounding line in the ice plain of ice stream D. The diurnal velocity fluctations appear to be driven by the tide beneath the Ross Ice Shelf. These results suggest that there is significant, and heretofore poorly understood, influence of the ocean tide and of the ice shelf on the dynamics of ice stream flow.

Received 24 September 2002; revised 12 November 2002; accepted 21 January 2003; published 2 April 2003.

Index Terms: 1827 Hydrology: Glaciology (1863); 1863 Hydrology: Snow and ice (1827); 1255 Geodesy and Gravity: Tides—ocean (4560).

AGU

Citation: Anandakrishnan, S., D. E. Voigt, R. B. Alley, and M. A. King, Ice stream D flow speed is strongly modulated by the tide beneath the Ross Ice Shelf, Geophys. Res. Lett., 30(7), 1361, doi:10.1029/2002GL016329, 2003.