Articles | Volume 11, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-1683-2018
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-1683-2018
Development and technical paper
 | 
03 May 2018
Development and technical paper |  | 03 May 2018

Implementation of higher-order vertical finite elements in ISSM v4.13 for improved ice sheet flow modeling over paleoclimate timescales

Joshua K. Cuzzone, Mathieu Morlighem, Eric Larour, Nicole Schlegel, and Helene Seroussi

Data sets

Continental scale, high order, high spatial resolution, ice sheet modeling using the Ice Sheet System Model (ISSM) E. Larour, H. Seroussi, M. Morlighem, and E. Rignot https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JF002140

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Short summary
This paper details the implementation of higher-order vertical finite elements in the Ice Sheet System Model (ISSM). When using higher-order vertical finite elements, fewer vertical layers are needed to accurately capture the thermal structure in an ice sheet versus a conventional linear vertical interpolation, therefore greatly improving model runtime speeds, particularly in higher-order stress balance ice sheet models. The implications for paleoclimate ice sheet simulations are discussed.