PISM-PIK

Investigators:

• Torsten Albrecht albrecht@pik-potsdam.de
• Marianne Haseloff haseloff@pik-potsdam.de
• Anders Levermann levermann@pik-potsdam.de
• Maria Martin martin@pik-potsdam.de
• Ricarda Winkelmann winkelmann@pik-potsdam.de

At the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Germany, the Potsdam Parallel Ice Sheet Model, PISM-PIK, has been developed as a derived class of PISM.

With special focus on modeling the Antarctic ice sheet-shelf system specific modifications with respect to ice shelf dynamics have been introduced. Processes like ice shelf calving and stress boundary conditions become increasingly important particularly for future sea level projections due to their effect on the dynamics upstream of the grounding line. New features include:

• modules to account for the stress boundary condition and the numerical mass transport parameterization at the ice margin enabling proper movement of the calving front (Albrecht et al., 2010)
• a physically motivated calving law (Levermann et al., 2010). All lateral boundaries in PISM-PIK are free to evolve, including the grounding line as well as ice fronts.

Apart from these novelties in modeling shelf dynamics, a modification in the combined usage of SIA and SSA as a sliding law leads to a natural definition of fast-flowing ice streams as regions with a significant contribution of membrane stresses to the local momentum balance.

A dynamic equilibrium simulation for present-day boundary conditions reproduces observed dynamical feature of the Antarctic sheet-shelf system reasonably well (Martin et al., 2010).

Webpage of Prof. Anders Levermann: http://www.pik-potsdam.de/~anders/

Publications:

• T. Albrecht, M.A. Martin, R. Winkelmann, M. Haseloff, A. Levermann A subgrid-scale Parameterization for the Advance of the Ice Shelf Calving Front (The Cryosphere, 2010), in preparation.

• A. Levermann, T. Albrecht, R. Winkelmann, M.A. Martin, M. Haseloff Aprupt Ice Shelf Retreat through Simple Dynamical Calving Law (2010), submitted.

• M.A. Martin, R. Winkelmann, M. Haseloff, T. Albrecht, E. Bueler, C. Khroulev, A. Levermann The Potsdam Parallel Ice Sheet Model (PISM-PIK), Part I: Dynamical Equilibrium Simulation of Antarctic Land Ice (The Cryosphere, 2010), in preparation.

• R. Winkelmann, M.A. Martin, M. Haseloff, T. Albrecht, E. Bueler, C. Khroulev, A. Levermann The Potsdam Parallel Ice Sheet Model (PISM-PIK), Part I: Model Description (The Cryosphere, 2010), in preparation.