A University of Otago – Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka-led study is developing innovative methods to accurately predict how ice sheets and glaciers are deforming and moving.
Just published in the journal Nature Geoscience, the study is supported by The Royal Society Te Apārangi Marsden Fund and Antarctica New Zealand, and features researchers from the Universities of Cambridge, Pennsylvania and Maryland.
Dr Sheng Fan
It investigates ice deformation – a key process in the movement of glaciers and ice sheets, that has been significantly impacted by climate change.
Warmer ocean temperatures make ice sheets thinner at the edges so that ice and meltwater enter the ocean, which makes the sea level rise.
Lead author Dr Sheng Fan, of Otago's Department of Geology, says being able to estimate sea level rise is important to protect communities from flooding and plan for coastal erosion.
"One of the key parts of how scientists do this is based on a model called flow law, a mathematical equation that describes the physics of how ice flows," Dr Fan says.
There are currently two commonly used flow laws, but they do not capture the full complexity of ice behaviours.
"We need a more precise flow law so we can reduce prediction errors, especially with the way climate change is progressing."
