This award will support collaborative research between Dr. Joseph Walder, Department of Geological Sciences, University of Washington and Dr. Andrew Fowler, Mathematical Institute, Oxford University, U.K. Recent developments in glaciology have led to the recognition that deformable glacier beds may play a significant, if not dominant, role in glacier dynamics. Nonetheless, our understanding of the interactions between glacier ice, rock debris at or near the glacier sole, and subglacial meltwater remains incomplete. The proposed research project will focus on aspects of the physics of deformable glacier beds, particularly the links between subglacial hydrology, bed deformation, and glacier motion. There are three parts to the proposed theoretical work: 1) Modelling of till movement over rough beds 2) Modelling the influence of ice penetration into subglacial sediments on deformation of such sediments and 3) Modelling stability of subglacial meltwater conduits on beds of deformable sediment. Dr. Fowler has made significant contributions to theoretical geology in recent years and his mathematical expertise will be valuable in pointing out approximate analytical techniques involved in the proposed research. This project may lead to significant advances in understanding the physics of the complicated zone of interacting ice, rock debris and meltwater at the soles of many glaciers. Because of the growing recognition by glaciologists that glacier dynamics can be controlled by this complicated basal zone, research on this topic is very timely and important.
