Articles | Volume 12, issue 8
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2759-2018
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2759-2018
Research article
 | 
27 Aug 2018
Research article |  | 27 Aug 2018

Modelled subglacial floods and tunnel valleys control the life cycle of transitory ice streams

Thomas Lelandais, Édouard Ravier, Stéphane Pochat, Olivier Bourgeois, Christopher Clark, Régis Mourgues, and Pierre Strzerzynski

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Cited articles

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Short summary
Scattered observations suggest that subglacial meltwater routes drive ice stream dynamics and ice sheet stability. We use a new experimental approach to reconcile such observations into a coherent story connecting ice stream life cycles with subglacial hydrology and bed erosion. Results demonstrate that subglacial flooding, drainage reorganization, and valley development can control an ice stream lifespan, thus opening new perspectives on subglacial processes controlling ice sheet instabilities.