A modified viscous flow law for natural glacier ice: Scaling from laboratories to ice sheets

Meghana Ranganathan1,2, Brent Minchew1

  • 1Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02139, MA.

Related Concept Videos

Viscosity01:17

Viscosity

When water is poured into a glass, it falls freely and quickly, whereas if honey or maple syrup is poured over a pancake, it flows slowly and sticks to the surface of the container. This difference in the flow of different kinds of liquids arises due to the fluid friction between the liquid layers and the liquid and the surrounding material. This property of fluids is called fluid viscosity. In this example, water has a lower viscosity than honey and maple syrup.
The SI unit of viscosity is...
5.8K
Surface Tension, Capillary Action, and Viscosity02:57

Surface Tension, Capillary Action, and Viscosity

Surface Tension
The various IMFs between identical molecules of a substance are examples of cohesive forces. The molecules within a liquid are surrounded by other molecules and are attracted equally in all directions by the cohesive forces within the liquid. However, the molecules on the surface of a liquid are attracted only by about one-half as many molecules. Because of the unbalanced molecular attractions on the surface molecules, liquids contract to form a shape that minimizes the number...
27.7K
Stokes' Law01:20

Stokes' Law

Viscous forces, like friction, are intermolecular forces that resist the relative motion of molecules over each other. When a solid body moves through a liquid, viscous forces drag it in the opposite direction. The force's magnitude depends on the solid's shape and size, as well as its speed and the liquid's coefficient of viscosity, density and temperature.
The expression for the force on a solid spherical object in a fluid is called Stokes' law. Stokes' law is valid only...
1.2K
Viscosity of Fluid01:19

Viscosity of Fluid

Viscosity measures the resistance a fluid offers to flow and deformation. It results from internal friction between layers of fluid moving relative to one another. Dynamic viscosity, denoted by the Greek letter mu (μ), quantifies the force needed to move one fluid layer over another. For Newtonian fluids like water and air, the relationship between the shearing stress and the rate of shearing strain is linear, meaning their viscosity remains constant regardless of the applied stress.
386
Couette Flow01:22

Couette Flow

Couette flow represents the flow of fluid between two parallel plates, with one plate fixed and the other moving with a constant velocity. This configuration allows for a simplified analysis using the Navier-Stokes equations, which govern fluid motion under conditions of viscosity and incompressibility. For Couette flow, the assumptions include a steady, laminar, incompressible flow with a zero-pressure gradient in the flow direction. This flow type is beneficial for understanding shear-driven...
244
Typical Model Studies01:30

Typical Model Studies

Fluid mechanics model studies often utilize scaled-down systems to predict fluid behavior in full-scale environments, such as river flows, dam spillways, and structures interacting with open surfaces. Maintaining Froude number similarity in river models is crucial, as it replicates surface flow features like wave patterns and velocities.
354