Hydraulic run-away: a mechanism for thermally regulated surges of ice sheets

Shows that relationships between ice flux and ice thickness can be multi-valued, and that hydraulically induced surges can occur, termed as hydraulic run-away. For this feed-back to operate, it is essential that water pressure increases with water storage. For confined flows, such as valley glaciers (eg Trapridge Glacier) or topographically constrained ice streams (eg Hudson Strait), which are underlain by sufficiently deformable sediment, thermally regulated surges may occur, while in a laterally unconfined drainage basin (such as that which flows into the Ross Ice Shelf), ice streams are likely to develop. -from Authors