Relations between basal condition,subglacial hydrological networks and geothermal flux in Antarctica |
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| Institution: | 1. Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione di Pisa, via C. Battisti 53, 56125, Pisa, Italy;2. Istituto di Geoscienze e Georisorse, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, (IGG-CNR), Via G. Moruzzi 1, 56124, Pisa, Italy;3. Department of Geography, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK;4. Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione di Roma1, via di Vigna Murata 605, 00143, Roma, Italy;5. Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, 1 South Parks Road, OX1 3TG, UK;6. Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali, Università di Catania, Corso Italia 57, 95125, Catania, Italy;7. Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Osservatorio Etneo, Piazza Roma 2, 95125, Catania, Italy;1. Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe, Stilleweg 2, 30655 Hannover, Germany;2. Senckenberg Naturhistorische Sammlungen Dresden, Museum für Mineralogie und Geologie, Königsbrücker Landstraße 159, 01109 Dresden, Germany |
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| Abstract: | When modelling the Antarctic ice sheet, the velocity of the ice flow is linked to its temperature. Depending on the thermal rate, the flow rate may vary between deformation and sliding. In this study, we focus on the geothermal flux because it is the least well-known component of the heat equation, and because it constrains the temperature at the bottom of the ice sheet. We used available geological data to build a map of the geothermal flux, which was found to increase from 51 mW/m2 in East Antarctica to 68 mW/m2 in West Antarctica. These values were integrated in the computation of a basal temperature map. The available map of hydrological networks clearly shows more melted areas in West Antarctica than in the earlier results. So we suggest that the model should be forced with higher geothermal flux values, over 85 mW/m2 in this sector. This increase is in good agreement with published results which found a geothermal flux three times higher in West Antarctica. Finally, we computed the bottom melt rate over the ice sheet area which has a mean value of 3.5 mm/yr resulting in a lost of melted ice equal to 1% of the total mass balance. |
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