Numerical Modeling of the Seasonal Dynamic Characteristics of the Koxkar Glacier, in West Tianshan, China
Authors
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Lanzhou Institute of Seismology, Chinese Seismological Bureau, Lanzhou 730000
Wuzhen -
Gansu Desert Control Research Institute/State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Desertification and Aeolian Sand Disaster Combating- Gansu Desert Control Research Institute, Lanzhou 730070
Zhang Huiwen
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The Institute of International rivers and Eco-Security, Yunnan university, Kunming, 730000
Liu Shiyin
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Lanzhou Institute of Seismology, Chinese Seismological Bureau, Lanzhou 730000
Chen Junyin
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Lanzhou Institute of Seismology, Chinese Seismological Bureau, Lanzhou 730000
Tan Dachen
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12594-018-1041-4Abstract
Glaciers have very different dynamic characteristics during the ablation and accumulation seasons. A dynamic model to study the flow of the Koxkar Glacier is used. Ice velocity, ice viscosity, and the stress variation at different depths were studied. The aim was to compare the change in the glacier's physical characteristics with changes in air temperature, analyze the movement mechanism at different temperatures in different seasons, and identify why temperature is the main driving force of glacier movement and change. The results show that the surface stresses have similar trends in different seasons, and that the stress in winter is larger than that in summer. This causes the ice body to break and promotes crack formation. Ice viscosity has an obvious seasonal variation, and this is especially noticeable for near-surface ice viscosity. The stress at the bottom did not change much at different temperatures. This indicates that the stress at the bottom is mainly affected by glacier morphology, hydrological characteristics, and geothermal flow.
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