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Present State and Prospects of Ice Sheet and Glacier Modelling

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Abstract

Since the late 1970s, numerical modelling has become established as an important technique for the understanding of ice sheet and glacier dynamics, and several models have been developed over the years. Ice sheet models are particularly relevant for predicting the possible response of ice sheets to climate change. Recent observations suggest that ice dynamics could play a crucial role for the contribution of ice sheets to future sea level rise under global warming conditions, and the need for further research into the matter was explicitly stated in the Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). In this paper, we review the state of the art and current problems of ice sheet and glacier modelling. An outline of the underlying theory is given, and crucial processes (basal sliding, calving, interaction with the solid Earth) are discussed. We summarise recent progress in the development of ice sheet and glacier system models and their coupling to climate models, and point out directions for future work.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Prof. Lennart Bengtsson (Director Earth Science, International Space Science Institute, Bern, Switzerland) for the kind invitation to submit this review paper to Surveys in Geophysics. Scientific editor Prof. Johannes Oerlemans (Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, Utrecht University, The Netherlands) and two anonymous reviewers provided useful comments for improving the paper. Dr. Tracy Ewen (Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Switzerland) proofread the manuscript.

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  1. Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zurich, Universitätstrasse 16, 8092, Zurich, Switzerland

    Heinz Blatter

  2. Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University, Kita-19, Nishi-8, Kita-ku, Sapporo, 060-0819, Japan

    Ralf Greve

  3. Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, 277-8568, Japan

    Ayako Abe-Ouchi

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  1. Heinz Blatter
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  2. Ralf Greve
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  3. Ayako Abe-Ouchi
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Correspondence to Heinz Blatter.

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Blatter, H., Greve, R. & Abe-Ouchi, A. Present State and Prospects of Ice Sheet and Glacier Modelling. Surv Geophys 32, 555–583 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10712-011-9128-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10712-011-9128-0

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