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The Comninou–Dundurs effect and position stability of subglacial lakes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 September 2017

Johannes Weertman*
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Department of Geological Sciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, U.S.A. E-mail: j-weertman2@nwu.edu
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Abstract

The Comninou–Dundurs effect (C-D effect) has yet to be considered in slip processes at the base of ice sheets and glaciers. This effect exists whenever slip occurs between two solids of differing mechanical properties and at least one of the solids is compressible. It gives rise to an additional normal traction stress across a non-uniformly slipping interface, a stress which otherwise would not exist if the two solids had identical properties. the C-D effect should exist to some degree, therefore, wherever ice slips over glacial till. It will be enhanced where large slip gradients exist, such as at boundaries of subglacial lakes. In this paper it is shown that, because of the C-D effect, subglacial lakes that lie at a basal till/ice interface may migrate in the direction of increasing ice thickness.

Information

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © the Author(s) [year] 2002
Figure 0

Fig. 1Dislocations of opposite sign on interface between half-spaces A and B when β >0, showing regions of compressive (negative) normal stress σyy where Bx>0 and of tensile (positive) normal stress σyy where Bx<0. (Curvature of interface is ignored.)

Figure 1

Fig. 2(a) Normalized plot of displacement Dx and Dy vs x/a from Equation (8) for the case of (b)Normalized plot of dislocation density components Bx = –dDx/δx and By = –dDy/dx vs x/a.

Figure 2

Fig. 3Anomalous C-D effect pressure regions at ice–till contact with thick, lake-like water lens. the contact zone is subjected to an overall shear stress.

Figure 3

Fig. 4(a) Same as Figure 3. (b) Water lens moved to the left through opening of left-side low-pressure region and closing of right-side high-pressure region. (c) Water-lens left boundary moved to the left through opening of left-side low-pressure region but with right boundary stationary. (Ice thickness increases towards the left.)

Figure 4

Fig. 5(a) Stress-field maximum shear stress trajectories in basal ice and till at left side of water lens when there is a C-D effect. Rheology of ice and till is approximated as an elastic perfectly plastic solid of yield stress σ0. (σD is expressed in units of σ0.) (b) Same as (a) but for right side of water lens.

Figure 5

Fig. 6(a) Slip plane without glide-edge dislocation between two elastic half-spaces A-A or B-B. Elastic constants of half-space A differs from those of half-space B. (b) Glide-edge dislocation on deformed slip plane between half spaces A-A. (c) Same as (b), but A-A half-spaces replaced with half-spaces B-B. (d) Glide-edge dislocation on slip plane between half-space A and half-space B if the deformed slip planes of (b) and (c) were unaltered.