Basal sliding in ice streams as seen through the lens of rock mechanics: an experimental study of ice-on-rock friction

An understanding of the controls on ice stream flow is critical for improved predictions of sea level rise and glacier response to climate change. Basal sliding is one aspect of ice stream motion that has received relatively little attention. Although it is difficult and costly to measure direct motion at the base of a glacier, laboratory experiments can be used to recreate the physics of ice sliding over bedrock. Using a new, custom-built, servo-controlled biaxial loading apparatus, we are measuring the friction of polycrystalline ice samples sliding on rock in a double direct shear configuration. Temperature is maintained with an insulated cryostat that uses liquid cooling blocks and a programmable circulating bath. We will share results from a series of velocity stepping and slide-hold-slide experiments designed to measure key properties of rate- and state-dependent frictional behavior. The experimental conditions for the study are as follows: temperatures ranging from -20ºC to the pressure melting point; normal stresses of 20 - 200 kPa, velocities from 10-6 to 10-3 m s-1; and ambient pressure. Ice sample microstructure (grain size, porosity, purity) and surface roughness are carefully controlled and characterized before and after experiments to identify microstructural sources for macroscopic behavior. Careful monitoring of temperature at the sliding interface will elucidate the role of frictional heating/melting on both sliding behavior and microstructure evolution. By measuring rate-state friction parameters, we will explore the transition between stable sliding and stick-slip motion of glaciers and ice streams. These results can be directly compared to the differing sliding styles observed for ice streams feeding into the Ross Ice Shelf to infer characteristics of the bed interface and the bulk glacier. The values obtained from this study will provide better constraints for next generation modeling of glacier and ice-stream response to external forcing.