Ice Physics
Figure Caption: Satellite observations of the Rutford Ice Stream in Antarctica as it flows into the floating Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf. The horizontal flow pattern and rate is observed to vary periodically due to resistance to flow provided by ephemeral pinning points below the ice that interact with ocean tides. Future thinning of the ice thins could reduce the role of these pinning points and thus allow for faster collapse of the ice sheet. Figure from Zhong et al., 2023.
Glaciers and ice sheets respond dynamically to environmental forcing with a diverse range of physical mechanisms that includes ice deformation, melting, sliding, and calving. In the Seismo Lab, we use seismic and geodetic observations as well as analytic and numerical models to improve our understanding of the mechanics of glaciers, which in turn allows for better prediction of the future of ice sheets with climate change.
Seismo Lab scientists doing research in this area:
Faculty
Related faculty at Caltech
- Andy Thompson (GPS)
- Ruby Fu (EAS)