Basal sliding

Basal sliding is glacier ice moving relative to its bed. It occurs through processes including water-assisted motion, deformation of sediment beneath the ice, and motion over bedrock.

Basal traction: The resisting force exerted by a glacier bed on moving ice. It is the frictional resistance that basal sliding must overcome.
Basal melt: Melting at the base of a glacier, often caused by geothermal heat or frictional heating. Melt supplies water that can affect contact and pressure at the bed.
Glacier surge: A temporary episode of unusually rapid glacier flow separated by long periods of slower motion. Changes in basal water or sediment conditions can contribute to surge acceleration.
Internal deformation of glaciers: The flow of glacier ice through deformation within its own mass. It is the other principal contribution to glacier motion, distinct from motion at the bed.
Subglacial hydrology: The movement and storage of water beneath glaciers and ice sheets. Water pressure at the bed can alter friction and enable faster sliding.
Effective pressure: The difference between ice overburden pressure and water pressure at a glacier bed. It helps determine how firmly ice is pressed against its bed.
Ice stream: A corridor of rapidly flowing ice within a slower-moving ice sheet. Low resistance at the bed helps sustain its concentrated, fast flow.
Subglacial sediment deformation: Shearing and rearrangement of water-rich sediment beneath a glacier. It can move the glacier bed itself, rather than ice simply sliding over a fixed surface.
Bedrock erosion: The wearing away of bedrock by physical, chemical, or biological processes. Sliding ice abrades and plucks bedrock, while bed roughness also resists motion.
Glacier: A persistent body of land ice that deforms and flows under its own weight. Basal sliding is one component of glacier flow.

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