Steady plane nonlinearly viscous flow of ice sheets on beds with moderate slope topography (Q5957095)

An analytical approach is used for solving the title problem. The mathematical analysis is applied to a simplified flow model assuming a largely extended ice sheet over a ground with moderate steepness relative to the ice sheet aspect ratio. The gravity driven flow is assumed to be creeping, steady and planar, and the fluid incompressible and nonlinearly viscous. Adequately simplified thermo-mechanical boundary conditions on the free surface and the bottom of the ice sheet are prescribed. Asymptotic expansion is used in terms of three independent parameters to reduce the coupled thermo-mechanical problem to a sequence of analytically solvable leading order boundary value problems. Computed results for the horizontal ice sheet velocity for several sets of the influencing parameters are graphically presented and discussed.