Ice rheology and basal sliding properties are among the primary modulators for glacier and ice sheet’s response to climate change -- yet they are also among the least-well constrained. This session invites lab, theory, field, and modelling studies that pertain directly to improving our understanding of ice rheology and basal sliding, alongside quantification of error terms inherent to their imperfect understanding.

Examples of the type of work we look forward to platforming include laboratory, field, and computational studies regarding the following: ice rheology (constraints on Glen’s flow law parameters, damage, anisotropy, the influence of impurities and water content, and indeed alternative formulations for representing ice rheology), basal sliding over a diverse range of bed properties, snapshot/transient methods for deriving ice rheology and basal sliding relationships, and sensitivity/error quantification studies considering what happens when we turn these dials. Extensions to the influence of hydrology on basal sliding are explicitly welcome.

We hope to use this session to promote conversations for practitioners within and between these two strands, to bridge the different communities working on those topics, and to foster the generation of ideas that advance progress to better quantify and reduce uncertainties.