Whillans Ice Plain Stick Slip

Abstract:

Concern about future sea level rise motivates the study of fast flowing ice. The Whillans Ice Plain (WIP) region of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is notable for decelerating from previously fast motion during the instrumental record. Since most ice flux in Antarctica occurs through ice streams, understanding the conditions that cause ice stream stagnation is of basic importance in understanding the continent's contribution to future sea level rise. Although recent progress has been made in understanding the relationship between basal conditions and ice stream motion, direct observation of the temporal variation in subglacial conditions during ice stream stagnation has remained elusive.

The Whillans Ice Plain flows to the sea mostly by way of stick-slip motion. We present numerical simulations of this stick-slip motion that capture the inertial dynamics, seismic waves, and the evolution of sliding with rate- and state-dependent basal friction. Large scale stick-slip behavior is tidally modulated and encompasses the entire WIP. Sliding initiates within one of several locked regions and then propagates outward with low average rupture velocity (~ 200 m/s). Sliding accelerates over a period of 200 s attain values as large as 65 m/d. From Newton’s second law, this acceleration is ~ T / (rho H) for average shear stress drop T, ice thickness H, and ice density rho. This implies a 3 Pa stress drop that must be reconciled with the final stress drop of 300 Pa inferred from the total slip and fault dimensions. A possible explanation of this apparent discrepancy is that deceleration of the ice is associated with a substantial decrease in traction within rate-strengthening regions of the bed.

During these large-scale sliding events, m-scale patches at the bed produce rapid (20 Hz) stick-slip motion. Each small event occurs over ~ 1/100 s, produces ~ 40 microns of slip, and gives rise to a spectacular form of seismic tremor. Variation between successive tremor episodes allows us to make inferences about the processes acting at the bed over a tidal time scale. We cannot rule out the possibility that the entire stress drop during large scale stick-slip is accounted for by a distribution of tremor producing patches. Seismic tremor on the WIP may therefore represent a basic component of the dynamics of large-scale stick-slip motion.