Understanding Ice Sheet Instability: A Review of Thermodynamic and Mechanical Drivers Behind Mass Loss

The rapid melting of polar ice sheets is one of the biggest unknowns in sea-level-rise models. The instability is not due to a single factor but emerges due to the complex coupling of thermodynamic forcing and mechanical response. This paper provided a review of the physical mechanisms governing these processes with an emphasis on the transition from surface melt to structural failure.

The authors analyze surface energy balance and latent heat release from the firn-ice aquifers instability in the ice sheet. We also investigate how these thermal anomalies become mechanical drivers, such as hydro-fracturing and basal lubrication, that reduce effective stress and accelerate ice flow. The link between Marine Ice Sheet Instability (MISI) hypothesis and purely atmospheric forcing is also discussed from continuum mechanics perspective.

By reviewing the existing literature through a physics view, this paper wants to identify the gaps in the current ice sheet models (ISM) in terms of stress transmission and fracture propagation parameterization. The purpose of this project is to lay the theoretical groundwork for a master’s thesis that aims to use a more integrated model of the non-linear response of ice sheets to climate warming.