Ice sheet dynamics

Ice sheet dynamics describes how large bodies of land-based ice flow, spread, thicken, thin, and retreat under gravity and changing climate conditions.

Ice flow: The deformation and movement of ice under stress, including glacier motion. Gravity drives ice downhill as internal deformation and sliding over the bed.
Satellite altimetry: Measurement of Earth's surface elevation using satellite-borne radar or laser instruments. Repeated elevation measurements reveal ice-sheet thinning and thickening.
Greenland ice sheet: The ice sheet covering most of Greenland, with outlet glaciers draining toward the surrounding ocean. Its surface melt and rapidly changing outlet glaciers reveal interacting loss processes.
Marine ice-sheet instability: A proposed self-sustaining retreat of grounded ice where the bed deepens inland below sea level. Its potential to accelerate West Antarctic retreat remains a major source of sea-level uncertainty.
Glacier: A persistent body of land ice that moves under its own weight. Ice sheets are immense glacier systems, distinguished by their continental scale and lack of confinement to mountain valleys.
Basal sliding: Movement of glacier ice over its bed, enabled by water, sediment, or bed deformation. Sliding can accelerate ice discharge where meltwater lubricates the bed.
InSAR: A radar technique that maps surface change by comparing the phase of repeated satellite images. Interferometric measurements map ice velocity across remote regions.
West Antarctic Ice Sheet: The Antarctic ice sheet west of the Transantarctic Mountains, much of it grounded below sea level. Its marine-based sectors are vulnerable to retreat where warm water reaches grounding zones.
Marine ice-cliff instability: A proposed process in which tall, unsupported ice cliffs fail under their own stress. Its importance for future Antarctic ice loss remains debated.
Ice cap: A dome-shaped mass of land ice covering less than 50,000 square kilometers and not confined by topography. Ice caps share ice-sheet processes but are smaller and more strongly influenced by surrounding terrain.

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