MIMOP · Modelling Ice-shelf Melting and ice-Ocean Processes via the phase-field method and direct numerical simulation
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2018-08-30 → 2020-08-29
- EU contribution
- €183,455
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF-EF-ST
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Modelling Ice-shelf Melting and ice-Ocean Processes via the phase-field method and direct numerical simulation
The melting of ice shelves around Antarctica has been increasing in recent years, such that the Antarctic Ice Sheet is flowing more and more rapidly into the ocean and thinning. The thinning of the AIS is a key contributor to sea-level rise, such that predicting accurately ice-shelf melt rates is important to future policies on coastal use, protection and housing. To dates, most climate models have some knowledge of the mean ocean temperature but do not have precise estimates for the ocean heat flux at the base of the ice, which controls melt rates. As a result, climate scientists rely on empirical heat and salt transport coefficients, or transfer functions, which relate the ocean heat flux at the ice base to the resolved mean ocean temperature and currents, in order to estimate melting. The problem is that the heat and salt transport coefficients are poorly constrained, due to the lack of observations and high-fidelity simulations, such that predicted melt rates can be wrong by up to orders of magnitude. The Marie Curie project MIMOP (Modelling Ice-shelf Melting and ice-Ocean Processes) was designed to bridge the gap between our need for accurate melt rate predictions and the lack of high-fidelity models and simulations of ice-shelf melting in polar oceans. The first key objective was to derive a fully-coupled ice-ocean model able to resolve the full ocean dynamics and deformation of the ice-ocean interface. The second key objective was to run as many simulations as possible of this model in order to gain new insights on the link between mean ocean temperature and basal heat fluxes. The third key objective was to combine simulation results with field data in order to provide clear constraints on how to choose the transport coefficients based on the mean ocean temperature and currents.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
MIMOP brings a fundamental fluid mechanics expert together with a Host Institute internationally renowned for its polar research and a world-leading University Partner. An outstanding problem in polar sciences is how quickly land-based ice moves toward the oceans and contribute to sea-level rise, which is one of the most disruptive consequences of climate change. Acceleration of the outflow from polar ice sheets appears linked to enhanced melting at the ice-shelf—ocean interface. The melting process is, however, poorly understood, because state-of-the-art models cannot resolve the effect of the ocean turbulence or basal roughness of the ice shelves. MIMOP aims to fill this critical gap in our knowledge. MIMOP objectives are to1) Develop an innovative numerical model of the fluid dynamics of melting at the ice-ocean interface2) Calibrate the model using new observations of ocean properties beneath an Antarctic ice shelf3) Determine the sensitivity of melting to changes in temperature and current4) Organise an international workshop with the aim of defining best practices for the calculation of melt rates in climate modelsThe objectives will be achieved by combining a highly-efficient Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) code with a novel formulation of the equations for the solid/liquid phases of water based on the phase-field method. DNS enables turbulent motions to be simulated without approximation, while the phase-field method allows the ice-ocean interface to be rough and evolve in response to melting. The phase-field method has been applied in metallurgical problems and proof-of-concept simulations have demonstrated its suitability for ice melting. MIMOP will enable the Researcher to deliver high-impact results to scientists and the public through dissemination and outreach activities, and to receive training and organise a workshop, hence reaching a position of scientific leadership and maturity, opening the way to a permanent research position in Europe.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- UNITED KINGDOM RESEARCH AND INNOVATION · SWINDONCoordinatorUnited Kingdom
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union