Here we present new measurements of an anisotropic ice fabric in a fast moving (377 ma−1) ice stream in West Antarctica. We use ∼6000 measurements of shear wave splitting observed in microseismic signals from the bed of Rutford Ice Stream, to show that in contrast to large‐scale ice flow models, which assume that ice is isotropic, the ice in Rutford Ice Stream is dominated by a previously unobserved type of partial girdle fabric. This fabric has a strong directional contrast in mechanical properties, shearing 9.1 times more easily along the ice flow direction than across flow. This observed fabric is likely to be widespread and representative of fabrics in other ice streams and large glaciers, suggesting it is essential to consider anisotropy in data‐driven models to correctly predict ice loss and future flow in these regions. We show how passive microseismic monitoring can be effectively used to provide these data.

Flow dynamics of the ice streams that drain the Antarctic Ice Sheet are heavily influenced by processes at the bed. Natural seismic activity generated beneath an ice stream is associated with the motion of the ice over its bed and can be used to map both the characteristics of the ice-bed interface and to understand these basal processes. Basal microseismicity was recorded over a 34 day period on Rutford Ice Stream, West Antarctica, using 10 three-component geophones 40 km upstream of the grounding line. Around 3000 microseismic events were located in discrete spatial clusters near the ice-bed interface. The activity of each cluster varies with time, and the source mechanism for the events is interpreted as subhorizontal, low-angle faulting, slipping in the ice flow direction. Cluster locations are interpreted as "sticky spots" of stiff basal sediment at the ice-bed interface, where ice movement is accommodated by stick-slip basal sliding. The sticky spots occur in areas where independent active-source seismic surveys show low porosity sediments at the bed. We show that the sticky spots probably accommodate only a small amount of the total basal motion. Our results suggest that most of the ice stream basal motion is accommodated by aseismic deformation of soft, dilatant basal sediment, or by a well-lubricated, stiffer bed.

The crystal orientation fabric of ice reflects its flow history, information which is required to better constrain projections of future ice sheet behavior. Here we present a novel combination of polarimetric phase-sensitive radar and seismic anisotropy measurements to provide independent and consistent constraints on ice fabric at Korff Ice Rise, within the Weddell Sea sector of West Antarctica. The nature and depth distribution of fabric in the ice column is constrained using the azimuthal variation in (1) the received power anomaly and phase difference of polarimetric vertical radar soundings and (2) seismic velocities and shear wave splitting measurements. Radar and seismic observations are modeled separately to determine the nature and strength of fabric within the ice column. Both methods indicate ice fabric above 200-m depth which is consistent with present-day ice-divide flow. However, both measurements also indicate an oblique girdle fabric below 230-m depth within the ice column, inconsistent with steady state divide flow. Our interpretation is that this deeper fabric is a remnant fabric from a previous episode of flow, which is currently being overwritten by ongoing fabric development associated with the present-day flow regime. The preexisting fabric is consistent with ice flow from the south prior to ice-divide formation, in agreement with models of Holocene ice sheet evolution. These findings apply new constraints to the flow history at Korff Ice Rise prior to divide formation and demonstrate the capacity of radar and seismic measurements to map fabric and thus constrain past ice flow.Plain Language Summary When ice flows its crystals become oriented in specific ways dependent on the way the ice is flowing, forming what we call a fabric. When this occurs in an ice stream the form of this fabric is determined by the flow direction and geometry of the ice stream bed. These fabrics remain imprinted within the ice but can become overwritten by new fabrics which result from a subsequent flow pattern. The study site here is Korff Ice Rise, which is an isolated area of grounded ice within the floating Ronne Ice Shelf in the Weddell Sea, West Antarctica. Here the ice flows in a very specific way, forming a characteristic fabric. We can measure this fabric using radar and seismic measurements. We also see an older fabric which must have formed when the ice was flowing differently. This older fabric is consistent with a time when the ice sheet was much thinner and ice was flowing from the continent of Antarctica further upstream, and over the current site. This study shows how measurements of fabric within Antarctic ice help us look at how the ice sheet behaved in the past. This past behavior would have affected global sea levels.

The retreating Pine Island Glacier (PIG), West Antarctica, presently contributes ~5–10% of global sea-level rise. PIG’s retreat rate has increased in recent decades with associated thinning migrating upstream into tributaries feeding the main glacier trunk. To project future change requires modelling that includes robust parameterisation of basal traction, the resistance to ice flow at the bed. However, most ice-sheet models estimate basal traction from satellite-derived surface velocity, without a priori knowledge of the key processes from which it is derived, namely friction at the ice-bed interface and form drag, and the resistance to ice flow that arises as ice deforms to negotiate bed topography. Here, we present high-resolution maps, acquired using ice-penetrating radar, of the bed topography across parts of PIG. Contrary to lower-resolution data currently used for ice-sheet models, these data show a contrasting topography across the ice-bed interface. We show that these diverse subglacial landscapes have an impact on ice flow, and present a challenge for modelling ice-sheet evolution and projecting global sea-level rise from ice-sheet loss.

The flow of glacier ice is controlled by its rheology, which determines how ice deforms under an applied stress. A range of rheological factors influence the effective viscosity of ice, including temperature, microstructural properties, such as ice crystal orientation fabric and grain size, damage to the ice, and the character of the underlying stress regime (Cuffey & Paterson, 2010). The ice crystal orientation fabric, from herein referred to as "fabric," describes the orientation distribution of ice crystals in relation to their crystallographic axes (c-axes). The ice fabric is the primary control on anisotropic viscosity (i.e., when the viscosity of ice is softer or harder for different stress components). In addition to influencing present-day deformation, the ice fabric encodes strain history due to the rotation of the c-axes toward the compressive strain axis (direction of least extension) (Azuma

Abstract. Seismic reflection soundings of ice thickness and seabed depth were acquired on the Larsen C Ice Shelf in order to test a sub-ice shelf bathymetry model derived from the inversion of IceBridge gravity data. A series of lines was collected, from the Churchill Peninsula in the north to the Joerg Peninsula in the south, and also towards the ice front. Sites were selected using the bathymetry model derived from the inversion of free-air gravity data to indicate key regions where sub-ice shelf oceanic circulation may be affected by ice draft and seabed depth. The seismic velocity profile in the upper 100 m of firn and ice was derived from shallow refraction surveys at a number of locations. Measured temperatures within the ice column and at the ice base were used to define the velocity profile through the remainder of the ice column. Seismic velocities in the water column were derived from previous in situ measurements. Uncertainties in ice and water cavity thickness are in general <10 m. Compared with the seismic measurements, the rootmean-square error in the gravimetrically derived bathymetry at the seismic sites is 162 m. The seismic profiles prove the non-existence of several bathymetric features that are indicated in the gravity inversion model, significantly modifying the expected oceanic circulation beneath the ice shelf. Similar features have previously been shown to be highly significant in affecting basal melt rates predicted by ocean models. The discrepancies between the gravity inversion results and the seismic bathymetry are attributed to the assumption of uniform geology inherent in the gravity inversion process and also the sparsity of IceBridge flight lines. Results indicate that care must be taken when using bathymetry models derived by the inversion of free-air gravity anomalies. The bathymetry results presented here will be used to improve existing sub-ice shelf ocean circulation models.

Mass transfer from the ice sheet interior to the oceans is dominated by ice stream flow (Rignot et al., 2011), which, in turn, is governed by deformation within the ice, and friction and deformation at the bed, that is, the contact between ice and underlying sediments or bedrock. Furthermore, tidally induced modulations influence the flow dynamics of some ice streams, likely by introducing pressure modulation at the bed (Anandakrishnan et al., 2003; Gudmundsson, 2006). Poorly constrained processes and conditions at ice stream beds, therefore, contribute to the uncertainty in sea-level rise projections. Better understanding of the dynamic response of ice streams to a warming climate and oceans therefore requires improved models of these basal processes and the spatial variation in properties. Here, we focus on the understanding of basal sliding and deformation characteristics through the analysis of naturally occurring micro-earthquakes at the ice-bed interface. These events are used to examine the nature of basal slip, tidal influences, and spatial and temporal variations. The beds of ice streams consist of bedrock and sediment, often known as till. Till stiffness is variable and depends on the dynamic conditions and material properties. Ice flow at the bed is then facilitated by a combination of slip over a hard bed and by slip and deformation within a soft bed. Fluids further modulate basal ice stream flow. Where bedrock is exposed or subglacial till has relatively low permeability and is of Abstract Microseismicity, induced by the sliding of a glacier over its bed, can be used to characterize frictional properties of the ice-bed interface, which are a key parameter controlling ice stream flow. We use naturally occurring seismicity to monitor spatiotemporally varying bed properties at Rutford Ice Stream, West Antarctica. We locate 230,000 micro-earthquakes with local magnitudes from −2.0 to −0.3 using 90 days of recordings from a 35-station seismic network located ∼40 km upstream of the grounding line. Events exclusively occur near the ice-bed interface and indicate predominantly flow-parallel stick-slip. They mostly lie within a region of interpreted stiff till and along the likely stiffer part of mega-scale glacial lineations. Within these regions, micro-earthquakes occur in spatially (<100 m radius) and temporally (mostly 1-5 days activity) restricted event-clusters (up to 4,000 events), which exhibit an increase, followed by a decrease, in event magnitude with time. This may indicate event triggering once activity is initiated. Although ocean tides modulate the surface ice flow velocity, we observe little periodic variation in overall event frequency over time and conclude that water content, bed topography and stiffness are the major factors controlling microseismicity. Based on variable rupture mechanisms and spatiotemporal characteristics, we suggest the event-clusters relate to three end-member types of bed deformation: (1) continuous creation and seismogenic destruction of small-scale bed-roughness, (2...

Although 90% of Antarctica's discharge occurs via its fast‐flowing ice streams, our ability to project future ice sheet response has been limited by poor observational constraints on the ice‐bed conditions used in numerical models to determine basal slip. We have helped address this observational deficit by acquiring and analyzing a series of seismic reflection profiles to determine basal conditions beneath the main trunk and tributaries of Pine Island Glacier (PIG), West Antarctica. Seismic profiles indicate large‐scale sedimentary deposits. Combined with seismic reflection images, measured acoustic impedance values indicate relatively uniform bed conditions directly beneath the main trunk and tributaries, comprising a widespread reworked sediment layer with a dilated sediment lid of minimum thickness 1.5 ± 0.4 m. Beneath a slow‐moving intertributary region, a discrete low‐porosity sediment layer of 7 ± 3 m thickness is imaged. Despite considerable basal topography, seismic observations indicate that a till layer at the ice base is ubiquitous beneath PIG, which requires a highly mobile sediment body to maintain an abundant supply. These results are compatible with existing ice sheet models used to invert for basal shear stress: existing basal conditions upstream will not inhibit further rapid retreat of PIG if the high‐friction region currently restraining flow, directly upstream of the grounding line, is breached. However, small changes in the pressure regime at the bed, as a result of stress reorganization following retreat, may result in a less‐readily deformable bed and conditions which are less likely to maintain high ice‐flow rates.