The Antarctic Ice Sheet is the largest ice mass on Earth, with the West Antarctic Ice Sheet alone containing enough frozen water to raise global sea level by 6m. Understanding the dynamics of ice flow in such a vast region is a key issue in glaciological research. Highly non-linear equations are used to model ice flow, and these are computationally expensive to solve. By parallelising a three-dimensional ice sheet model, we can simulate flow over the entire Antarctic ice-sheet at a finer resolution than previously possible. This allows detailed analysis of the basal thermal regime, and may identify subglacial lakes and regions of fast ice flow. The effects of changes in geothermal heat from the underlying bedrock can also be assessed. This work is in collaboration with the geography department.

Papers

Takeda, A.L., Payne, A.J., Cox, S.J., 2002. Parallel numerical modelling of the Antarctic Ice Sheet. Computers in Geoscience, 28 (6), 723-734