Articles | Volume 18, issue 12
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-3895-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-3895-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Model description paper
| 
01 Jul 2025
Model description paper |
| 01 Jul 2025
| 01 Jul 2025
Description and validation of the ice-sheet model Nix v1.0
Daniel Moreno-Parada
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Laboratoire de Glaciologie, Faculty of Sciences, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Av. F. D. Roosevelt 50, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
Alexander Robinson
Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Potsdam, Germany
Marisa Montoya
Departamento de Física de la Tierra y Astrofísica, Facultad de Ciencias Físicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Instituto de Geociencias, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientifícas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Jorge Alvarez-Solas
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Departamento de Física de la Tierra y Astrofísica, Facultad de Ciencias Físicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Instituto de Geociencias, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientifícas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Related authors
Lucía Gutiérrez-González, Alexander Robinson, Jorge Alvarez-Solas, Ilaria Tabone, Jan Swierczek-Jereczek, Daniel Moreno-Parada, and Marisa Montoya
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2616, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2616, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for The Cryosphere (TC).
Short summary
Short summary
The Greenland ice sheet is considered a tipping element: if temperatures exceed its threshold, it would transition to a virtually ice-free state. We analyze its stability across the full range of glacial-interglacial temperatures, as well as those expected in the coming centuries. We find a future critical threshold between +1.5 and +2 K of global warming, another under colder climates, and persistent hysteresis across the full range of study.
Sergio Pérez-Montero, Jorge Alvarez-Solas, Jan Swierczek-Jereczek, Daniel Moreno-Parada, Alexander Robinson, and Marisa Montoya
Earth Syst. Dynam., 16, 915–937, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-16-915-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-16-915-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The climate of the last 3 Myr has varied between cold and warm periods. Numerous independent mechanisms have been proposed to explain this; however, no effort has been made to study their competing effects. Here we present a simple but physically motivated model that includes these mechanisms in a modular way. We identify ice-sheet dynamics and lithosphere displacement as main triggers, but reproducing the climate records additionally requires the natural darkening of ice.
Sergio Pérez-Montero, Jorge Alvarez-Solas, Jan Swierczek-Jereczek, Daniel Moreno-Parada, Alexander Robinson, and Marisa Montoya
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2467, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2467, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Almost 3 million years ago, the planet began to experience a succession of cold and warm periods every 40,000 years. However, about 1 million years ago, they began to occur every 100,000 years. In this paper we explore how the change in the basal velocity of the ice sheets could have produced this change in behavior. On the other hand, we also see that in our model, decreasing in time the sensitivity of snowfall to temperature is also an effective mechanism with which to reproduce the records.
Daniel Moreno-Parada, Alexander Robinson, Marisa Montoya, and Jorge Alvarez-Solas
The Cryosphere, 18, 4215–4232, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4215-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4215-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Our study tries to understand how the ice temperature evolves in a large mass as in the case of Antarctica. We found a relation that tells us the ice temperature at any point. These results are important because they also determine how the ice moves. In general, ice moves due to slow deformation (as if pouring honey from a jar). Nevertheless, in some regions the ice base warms enough and melts. The liquid water then serves as lubricant and the ice slides and its velocity increases rapidly.
Javier Blasco, Ilaria Tabone, Daniel Moreno-Parada, Alexander Robinson, Jorge Alvarez-Solas, Frank Pattyn, and Marisa Montoya
Clim. Past, 20, 1919–1938, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1919-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1919-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we assess Antarctic tipping points which may had been crossed during the mid-Pliocene Warm Period. For this, we use data from the PlioMIP2 ensemble. Additionally, we investigate various sources of uncertainty, like ice dynamics and bedrock configuration. Our research significantly enhances our comprehension of Antarctica's response to a warming climate, shedding light on potential future tipping points that may be surpassed.
Daniel Moreno-Parada, Jorge Alvarez-Solas, Javier Blasco, Marisa Montoya, and Alexander Robinson
The Cryosphere, 17, 2139–2156, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2139-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2139-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We have reconstructed the Laurentide Ice Sheet, located in North America during the Last Glacial Maximum (21 000 years ago). The absence of direct measurements raises a number of uncertainties. Here we study the impact of different physical laws that describe the friction as the ice slides over its base. We found that the Laurentide Ice Sheet is closest to prior reconstructions when the basal friction takes into account whether the base is frozen or thawed during its motion.
Nils Bochow, Philipp Hess, and Alexander Robinson
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2507.22485, https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2507.22485, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for The Cryosphere (TC).
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents a fast, physics-guided machine-learning method that downscales coarse climate fields to fine resolution while enforcing conservation of large-scale totals. Trained on regional climate simulations and driven by Earth system model output, it handles extremes and outperforms linear interpolation, providing realistic, high-resolution forcing for ice-sheet models and improving projections of Greenland’s sea-level contribution.
Lucía Gutiérrez-González, Alexander Robinson, Jorge Alvarez-Solas, Ilaria Tabone, Jan Swierczek-Jereczek, Daniel Moreno-Parada, and Marisa Montoya
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2616, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2616, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for The Cryosphere (TC).
Short summary
Short summary
The Greenland ice sheet is considered a tipping element: if temperatures exceed its threshold, it would transition to a virtually ice-free state. We analyze its stability across the full range of glacial-interglacial temperatures, as well as those expected in the coming centuries. We find a future critical threshold between +1.5 and +2 K of global warming, another under colder climates, and persistent hysteresis across the full range of study.
Sergio Pérez-Montero, Jorge Alvarez-Solas, Jan Swierczek-Jereczek, Daniel Moreno-Parada, Alexander Robinson, and Marisa Montoya
Earth Syst. Dynam., 16, 915–937, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-16-915-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-16-915-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The climate of the last 3 Myr has varied between cold and warm periods. Numerous independent mechanisms have been proposed to explain this; however, no effort has been made to study their competing effects. Here we present a simple but physically motivated model that includes these mechanisms in a modular way. We identify ice-sheet dynamics and lithosphere displacement as main triggers, but reproducing the climate records additionally requires the natural darkening of ice.
Ricarda Winkelmann, Donovan P. Dennis, Jonathan F. Donges, Sina Loriani, Ann Kristin Klose, Jesse F. Abrams, Jorge Alvarez-Solas, Torsten Albrecht, David Armstrong McKay, Sebastian Bathiany, Javier Blasco Navarro, Victor Brovkin, Eleanor Burke, Gokhan Danabasoglu, Reik V. Donner, Markus Drüke, Goran Georgievski, Heiko Goelzer, Anna B. Harper, Gabriele Hegerl, Marina Hirota, Aixue Hu, Laura C. Jackson, Colin Jones, Hyungjun Kim, Torben Koenigk, Peter Lawrence, Timothy M. Lenton, Hannah Liddy, José Licón-Saláiz, Maxence Menthon, Marisa Montoya, Jan Nitzbon, Sophie Nowicki, Bette Otto-Bliesner, Francesco Pausata, Stefan Rahmstorf, Karoline Ramin, Alexander Robinson, Johan Rockström, Anastasia Romanou, Boris Sakschewski, Christina Schädel, Steven Sherwood, Robin S. Smith, Norman J. Steinert, Didier Swingedouw, Matteo Willeit, Wilbert Weijer, Richard Wood, Klaus Wyser, and Shuting Yang
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1899, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1899, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Earth System Dynamics (ESD).
Short summary
Short summary
The Tipping Points Modelling Intercomparison Project (TIPMIP) is an international collaborative effort to systematically assess tipping point risks in the Earth system using state-of-the-art coupled and stand-alone domain models. TIPMIP will provide a first global atlas of potential tipping dynamics, respective critical thresholds and key uncertainties, generating an important building block towards a comprehensive scientific basis for policy- and decision-making.
Sergio Pérez-Montero, Jorge Alvarez-Solas, Jan Swierczek-Jereczek, Daniel Moreno-Parada, Alexander Robinson, and Marisa Montoya
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2467, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2467, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Almost 3 million years ago, the planet began to experience a succession of cold and warm periods every 40,000 years. However, about 1 million years ago, they began to occur every 100,000 years. In this paper we explore how the change in the basal velocity of the ice sheets could have produced this change in behavior. On the other hand, we also see that in our model, decreasing in time the sensitivity of snowfall to temperature is also an effective mechanism with which to reproduce the records.
Antonio Juarez-Martinez, Javier Blasco, Alexander Robinson, Marisa Montoya, and Jorge Alvarez-Solas
The Cryosphere, 18, 4257–4283, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4257-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4257-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We present sea level projections for Antarctica in the context of ISMIP6-2300 with several forcings but extend the simulations to 2500, showing that more than 3 m of sea level contribution could be reached. We also test the sensitivity on a basal melting parameter and determine the timing of the loss of ice in the west region. All the simulations were carried out with the ice sheet model Yelmo.
Therese Rieckh, Andreas Born, Alexander Robinson, Robert Law, and Gerrit Gülle
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 6987–7000, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-6987-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-6987-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We present the open-source model ELSA, which simulates the internal age structure of large ice sheets. It creates layers of snow accumulation at fixed times during the simulation, which are used to model the internal stratification of the ice sheet. Together with reconstructed isochrones from radiostratigraphy data, ELSA can be used to assess ice sheet models and to improve their parameterization. ELSA can be used coupled to an ice sheet model or forced with its output.
Daniel Moreno-Parada, Alexander Robinson, Marisa Montoya, and Jorge Alvarez-Solas
The Cryosphere, 18, 4215–4232, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4215-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4215-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Our study tries to understand how the ice temperature evolves in a large mass as in the case of Antarctica. We found a relation that tells us the ice temperature at any point. These results are important because they also determine how the ice moves. In general, ice moves due to slow deformation (as if pouring honey from a jar). Nevertheless, in some regions the ice base warms enough and melts. The liquid water then serves as lubricant and the ice slides and its velocity increases rapidly.
Javier Blasco, Ilaria Tabone, Daniel Moreno-Parada, Alexander Robinson, Jorge Alvarez-Solas, Frank Pattyn, and Marisa Montoya
Clim. Past, 20, 1919–1938, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1919-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1919-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we assess Antarctic tipping points which may had been crossed during the mid-Pliocene Warm Period. For this, we use data from the PlioMIP2 ensemble. Additionally, we investigate various sources of uncertainty, like ice dynamics and bedrock configuration. Our research significantly enhances our comprehension of Antarctica's response to a warming climate, shedding light on potential future tipping points that may be surpassed.
Jan Swierczek-Jereczek, Marisa Montoya, Konstantin Latychev, Alexander Robinson, Jorge Alvarez-Solas, and Jerry Mitrovica
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 5263–5290, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-5263-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-5263-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Ice sheets present a thickness of a few kilometres, leading to a vertical deformation of the crust of up to a kilometre. This process depends on properties of the solid Earth, which can be regionally very different. We propose a model that accounts for this often-ignored heterogeneity and run 100 000 simulation years in minutes. Thus, the evolution of ice sheets is modeled with better accuracy, which is critical for a good mitigation of climate change and, in particular, sea-level rise.
Daniel Moreno-Parada, Jorge Alvarez-Solas, Javier Blasco, Marisa Montoya, and Alexander Robinson
The Cryosphere, 17, 2139–2156, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2139-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2139-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We have reconstructed the Laurentide Ice Sheet, located in North America during the Last Glacial Maximum (21 000 years ago). The absence of direct measurements raises a number of uncertainties. Here we study the impact of different physical laws that describe the friction as the ice slides over its base. We found that the Laurentide Ice Sheet is closest to prior reconstructions when the basal friction takes into account whether the base is frozen or thawed during its motion.
Matteo Willeit, Andrey Ganopolski, Alexander Robinson, and Neil R. Edwards
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 5905–5948, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-5905-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-5905-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
In this paper we present the climate component of the newly developed fast Earth system model CLIMBER-X. It has a horizontal resolution of 5°x5° and is designed to simulate the evolution of the Earth system on temporal scales ranging from decades to >100 000 years. CLIMBER-X is available as open-source code and is expected to be a useful tool for studying past climate changes and for the investigation of the long-term future evolution of the climate.
Alexander Robinson, Daniel Goldberg, and William H. Lipscomb
The Cryosphere, 16, 689–709, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-689-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-689-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Here we investigate the numerical stability of several commonly used methods in order to determine which of them are capable of resolving the complex physics of the ice flow and are also computationally efficient. We find that the so-called DIVA solver outperforms the others. Its representation of the physics is consistent with more complex methods, while it remains computationally efficient at high resolution.
Andreas Born and Alexander Robinson
The Cryosphere, 15, 4539–4556, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4539-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4539-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Ice penetrating radar reflections from the Greenland ice sheet are the best available record of past accumulation and how these layers have been deformed over time by the flow of ice. Direct simulations of this archive hold great promise for improving our models and for uncovering details of ice sheet dynamics that neither models nor data could achieve alone. We present the first three-dimensional ice sheet model that explicitly simulates individual layers of accumulation and how they deform.
Javier Blasco, Jorge Alvarez-Solas, Alexander Robinson, and Marisa Montoya
The Cryosphere, 15, 215–231, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-215-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-215-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
During the Last Glacial Maximum the Antarctic Ice Sheet was larger and more extended than at present. However, neither its exact position nor the total ice volume are well constrained. Here we investigate how the different climatic boundary conditions, as well as basal friction configurations, affect the size and extent of the Antarctic Ice Sheet and discuss its potential implications.
Cited articles
Aboelaze, M., Chrisochoides, N., and Houstis, E.: The Parallelization of Level 2 and 3 BLAS Operations on Distributed Memory Machines, Tech. Rep. CSD-TR-91-007, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 1991. a
Alley, R. B., Blankenship, D. D., Bentley, C. R., and Rooney, S. T.: Deformation of till beneath ice stream B, West Antarctica, Nature, 322, 57–59, https://doi.org/10.1038/322057a0, 1986. a
Arakawa, A. and Lamb, V. R.: Computational Design of the Basic Dynamical Processes of the UCLA General Circulation Model, in: Methods in Computational Physics: Advances in Research and Applications, Elsevier, 173–265, https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-460817-7.50009-4, 1977. a
Arthern, R. J. and Williams, C. R.: The sensitivity of West Antarctica to the submarine melting feedback, Geophys. Res. Lett., 44, 2352–2359, https://doi.org/10.1002/2017gl072514, 2017. a
Arthern, R. J., Hindmarsh, R. C. A., and Williams, C. R.: Flow speed within the Antarctic ice sheet and its controls inferred from satellite observations, J. Geophys. Res.-Earth, 120, 1171–1188, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014jf003239, 2015. a
Asay-Davis, X. S., Jourdain, N. C., and Nakayama, Y.: Developments in Simulating and Parameterizing Interactions Between the Southern Ocean and the Antarctic Ice Sheet, Current Climate Change Reports, 3, 316–329, https://doi.org/10.1007/s40641-017-0071-0, 2017. a
Aschwanden, A., Aðalgeirsdóttir, G., and Khroulev, C.: Hindcasting to measure ice sheet model sensitivity to initial states, The Cryosphere, 7, 1083–1093, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1083-2013, 2013. a
Bamber, J. L., Vaughan, D. G., and Joughin, I.: Widespread Complex Flow in the Interior of the Antarctic Ice Sheet, Science, 287, 1248–1250, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.287.5456.1248, 2000. a
Bamber, J. L., Riva, R. E. M., Vermeersen, B. L. A., and LeBrocq, A. M.: Reassessment of the Potential Sea-Level Rise from a Collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, Science, 324, 901–903, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1169335, 2009. a, b
Bassis, J. and Jacobs, S.: Diverse calving patterns linked to glacier geometry, Nat. Geosci., 6, 833–836, https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1887, 2013. a
Bassis, J. N. and Walker, C. C.: Upper and lower limits on the stability of calving glaciers from the yield strength envelope of ice, P. R. Soc. A, 468, 913–931, https://doi.org/10.1098/rspa.2011.0422, 2012. a
Bassis, J. N., Petersen, S. V., and Cathles, L. M.: Heinrich events triggered by ocean forcing and modulated by isostatic adjustment, Nature, 542, 332–334, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature21069, 2017. a, b, c
Bentley, C. R.: Rapid sea-level rise from a West Antarctic ice-sheet collapse: a short-term perspective, J. Glaciol., 44, 157–163, https://doi.org/10.3189/s0022143000002446, 1998. a, b
Blankenship, D. D., Bentley, C. R., Rooney, S. T., and Alley, R. B.: Seismic measurements reveal a saturated porous layer beneath an active Antarctic ice stream, Nature, 322, 54–57, https://doi.org/10.1038/322054a0, 1986. a
Blatter, H.: Velocity and stress fields in grounded glaciers: a simple algorithm for including deviatoric stress gradients, J. Glaciol., 41, 333–344, https://doi.org/10.3189/s002214300001621x, 1995. a, b
Bougamont, M. and Tulaczyk, S.: Glacial erosion beneath ice streams and ice-stream tributaries: constraints on temporal and spatial distribution of erosion from numerical simulations of a West Antarctic ice stream, Boreas, 32, 178–190, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1502-3885.2003.tb01436.x, 2003. a
Bougamont, M., Christoffersen, P., and Tulaczyk, S.: Response of subglacial sediments to basal freeze-on 1. Theory and comparison to observations from beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, J. Geophys. Res.-Sol. Ea., 108, 2222, https://doi.org/10.1029/2002jb001935, 2003. a
Brown, S. A., Folk, M., Goucher, G., Rew, R., and Dubois, P. F.: Software for Portable Scientific Data Management, Comput. Phys., 7, 304–308, https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4823180, 1993. a
Bueler, E. and Brown, J.: Shallow shelf approximation as a “sliding law” in a thermomechanically coupled ice sheet model, J. Geophys. Res., 114, F03008, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JF001179, 2009. a, b, c
Catalyurek, U. and Aykanat, C.: Hypergraph-partitioning-based decomposition for parallel sparse-matrix vector multiplication, IEEE T. Parall. Distr., 10, 673–693, https://doi.org/10.1109/71.780863, 1999. a
Christian, J. E., Robel, A. A., and Catania, G.: A probabilistic framework for quantifying the role of anthropogenic climate change in marine-terminating glacier retreats, The Cryosphere, 16, 2725–2743, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2725-2022, 2022. a
Chugunov, V. A. and Wilchinsky, A. V.: Modelling of a marine glacier and ice-sheet-ice-shelf transition zone based on asymptotic analysis, Ann. Glaciol., 23, 59–67, https://doi.org/10.3189/s0260305500013264, 1996. a
DeConto, R. M., Pollard, D., Alley, R. B., Velicogna, I., Gasson, E., Gomez, N., Sadai, S., Condron, A., Gilford, D. M., Ashe, E. L., Kopp, R. E., Li, D., and Dutton, A.: The Paris Climate Agreement and future sea-level rise from Antarctica, Nature, 593, 83–89, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03427-0, 2021. a
Donat-Magnin, M., Jourdain, N. C., Spence, P., Le Sommer, J., Gallée, H., and Durand, G.: Ice-shelf melt response to changing winds and glacier dynamics in the Amundsen Sea Sector, Antarctica, J. Geophys. Res.-Oceans, 122, 10206–10224, https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JC013059, 2017. a
Dukowicz, J. K., Price, S. F., and Lipscomb, W. H.: Consistent approximations and boundary conditions for ice-sheet dynamics from a principle of least action, J. Glaciol., 56, 480–496, https://doi.org/10.3189/002214310792447851, 2010. a
Dupont, T. K. and Alley, R. B.: Assessment of the importance of ice-shelf buttressing to ice-sheet flow, Geophys. Res. Lett., 32, L04503, https://doi.org/10.1029/2004gl022024, 2005. a
Engelhardt, H., Humphrey, N., Kamb, B., and Fahnestock, M.: Physical Conditions at the Base of a Fast Moving Antarctic Ice Stream, Science, 248, 57–59, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.248.4951.57, 1990. a
Favier, L., Jourdain, N. C., Jenkins, A., Merino, N., Durand, G., Gagliardini, O., Gillet-Chaulet, F., and Mathiot, P.: Assessment of sub-shelf melting parameterisations using the ocean–ice-sheet coupled model NEMO(v3.6)–Elmer/Ice(v8.3), Geosci. Model Dev., 12, 2255–2283, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-2255-2019, 2019. a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h
Feldmann, J. and Levermann, A.: Collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet after local destabilization of the Amundsen Basin, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 112, 14191–14196, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1512482112, 2015. a, b
Fischler, Y., Rückamp, M., Bischof, C., Aizinger, V., Morlighem, M., and Humbert, A.: A scalability study of the Ice-sheet and Sea-level System Model (ISSM, version 4.18), Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 3753–3771, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-3753-2022, 2022. a
Fretwell, P., Pritchard, H. D., Vaughan, D. G., Bamber, J. L., Barrand, N. E., Bell, R., Bianchi, C., Bingham, R. G., Blankenship, D. D., Casassa, G., Catania, G., Callens, D., Conway, H., Cook, A. J., Corr, H. F. J., Damaske, D., Damm, V., Ferraccioli, F., Forsberg, R., Fujita, S., Gim, Y., Gogineni, P., Griggs, J. A., Hindmarsh, R. C. A., Holmlund, P., Holt, J. W., Jacobel, R. W., Jenkins, A., Jokat, W., Jordan, T., King, E. C., Kohler, J., Krabill, W., Riger-Kusk, M., Langley, K. A., Leitchenkov, G., Leuschen, C., Luyendyk, B. P., Matsuoka, K., Mouginot, J., Nitsche, F. O., Nogi, Y., Nost, O. A., Popov, S. V., Rignot, E., Rippin, D. M., Rivera, A., Roberts, J., Ross, N., Siegert, M. J., Smith, A. M., Steinhage, D., Studinger, M., Sun, B., Tinto, B. K., Welch, B. C., Wilson, D., Young, D. A., Xiangbin, C., and Zirizzotti, A.: Bedmap2: improved ice bed, surface and thickness datasets for Antarctica, The Cryosphere, 7, 375–393, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-375-2013, 2013. a
Gagliardini, O., Cohen, D., Råback, P., and Zwinger, T.: Finite-element modeling of subglacial cavities and related friction law, J. Geophys. Res., 112, F02027, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006jf000576, 2007. a
Gagliardini, O., Zwinger, T., Gillet-Chaulet, F., Durand, G., Favier, L., de Fleurian, B., Greve, R., Malinen, M., Martín, C., Råback, P., Ruokolainen, J., Sacchettini, M., Schäfer, M., Seddik, H., and Thies, J.: Capabilities and performance of Elmer/Ice, a new-generation ice sheet model, Geosci. Model Dev., 6, 1299–1318, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-6-1299-2013, 2013. a
Garbe, J., Albrecht, T., Levermann, A., Donges, J. F., and Winkelmann, R.: The hysteresis of the Antarctic Ice Sheet, Nature, 585, 538–544, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2727-5, 2020. a, b
Glen, J. W.: The creep of polycrystalline ice, P. R. Soc. Lond. A, 228, 519–538, https://doi.org/10.1098/rspa.1955.0066, 1995. a
Goldberg, D. N.: A variationally derived, depth-integrated approximation to a higher-order glaciological flow model, J. Glaciol., 57, 157–170, https://doi.org/10.3189/002214311795306763, 2011. a, b
Graham, R. L., Woodall, T. S., and Squyres, J. M.: Open MPI: A Flexible High Performance MPI, Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, 228–239, https://doi.org/10.1007/11752578_29, 2006. a
Greve, R. and Blatter, H.: Dynamics of Ice Sheets and Glaciers, Springer Berlin Heidelberg, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-03415-2, 2009. a, b, c
Grosfeld, K., Gerdes, R., and Determann, J.: Thermohaline circulation and interaction between ice shelf cavities and the adjacent open ocean, J. Geophys. Res.-Oceans, 102, 15595–15610, https://doi.org/10.1029/97jc00891, 1997. a
Haseloff, M. and Sergienko, O. V.: The effect of buttressing on grounding line dynamics, J. Glaciol., 64, 417–431, https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2018.30, 2018. a
Hill, E. A., Urruty, B., Reese, R., Garbe, J., Gagliardini, O., Durand, G., Gillet-Chaulet, F., Gudmundsson, G. H., Winkelmann, R., Chekki, M., Chandler, D., and Langebroek, P. M.: The stability of present-day Antarctic grounding lines – Part 1: No indication of marine ice sheet instability in the current geometry, The Cryosphere, 17, 3739–3759, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3739-2023, 2023. a, b
Hindmarsh, R. C.: The role of membrane-like stresses in determining the stability and sensitivity of the Antarctic ice sheets: back pressure and grounding line motion, Philos. T. R. Soc. A, 364, 1733–1767, https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2006.1797, 2006. a
Hindmarsh, R. C. and le Meur, E.: Dynamical processes involved in the retreat of marine ice sheets, J. Glaciol., 47, 271–282, https://doi.org/10.3189/172756501781832269, 2001. a
Hindmarsh, R. C. A.: Qualitative Dynamics of Marine Ice Sheets, in: Ice in the Climate System, Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 67–99, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-85016-5_5, 1993. a, b, c
Hindmarsh, R. C. A.: Stability of ice rises and uncoupled marine ice sheets, Ann. Glaciol., 23, 105–115, https://doi.org/10.3189/s0260305500013318, 1996. a, b
Hoffman, M. J., Perego, M., Price, S. F., Lipscomb, W. H., Zhang, T., Jacobsen, D., Tezaur, I., Salinger, A. G., Tuminaro, R., and Bertagna, L.: MPAS-Albany Land Ice (MALI): a variable-resolution ice sheet model for Earth system modeling using Voronoi grids, Geosci. Model Dev., 11, 3747–3780, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-3747-2018, 2018. a
Holland, P. R., Jenkins, A., and Holland, D. M.: The Response of Ice Shelf Basal Melting to Variations in Ocean Temperature, J. Climate, 21, 2558–2572, https://doi.org/10.1175/2007JCLI1909.1, 2008. a, b
Jacob, B. and Guennebaud, G.: Eigen v3, http://eigen.tuxfamily.org (last access: 27 March 2025), 2010. a
Jamieson, S. S. R., Vieli, A., Livingstone, S. J., Cofaigh, C. O., Stokes, C., Hillenbrand, C.-D., and Dowdeswell, J. A.: Ice-stream stability on a reverse bed slope, Nat. Geosci., 5, 799–802, https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1600, 2012. a, b
Jenkins, A., Shoosmith, D., Dutrieux, P., Jacobs, S., Kim, T. W., Lee, S. H., Ha, H. K., and Stammerjohn, S.: West Antarctic Ice Sheet retreat in the Amundsen Sea driven by decadal oceanic variability, Nat. Geosci., 11, 733–738, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-018-0207-4, 2018. a
Joughin, I., MacAyeal, D. R., and Tulaczyk, S.: Basal shear stress of the Ross ice streams from control method inversions, J. Geophys. Res.-Sol. Ea., 109, B09405, https://doi.org/10.1029/2003jb002960, 2004. a
Joughin, I., Smith, B. E., and Schoof, C. G.: Regularized Coulomb Friction Laws for Ice Sheet Sliding: Application to Pine Island Glacier, Antarctica, Geophys. Res. Lett., 46, 4764–4771, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019gl082526, 2019. a, b
Joughin, I., Shapero, D., Dutrieux, P., and Smith, B.: Ocean-induced melt volume directly paces ice loss from Pine Island Glacier, Science Advances, 7, eabi5738, https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abi5738, 2021. a, b
Lipscomb, W. H., Price, S. F., Hoffman, M. J., Leguy, G. R., Bennett, A. R., Bradley, S. L., Evans, K. J., Fyke, J. G., Kennedy, J. H., Perego, M., Ranken, D. M., Sacks, W. J., Salinger, A. G., Vargo, L. J., and Worley, P. H.: Description and evaluation of the Community Ice Sheet Model (CISM) v2.1, Geosci. Model Dev., 12, 387–424, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-387-2019, 2019. a, b
Ma, Y., Gagliardini, O., Ritz, C., Gillet-Chaulet, F., Durand, G., and Montagnat, M.: Enhancement factors for grounded ice and ice shelves inferred from an anisotropic ice-flow model, J. Glaciol., 56, 805–812, https://doi.org/10.3189/002214310794457209, 2010. a
MacAyeal, D. R. and Barcilon, V.: Ice-shelf Response to Ice-stream Discharge Fluctuations: I. Unconfined Ice Tongues, J. Glaciol., 34, 121–127, https://doi.org/10.3189/s002214300000914x, 1988. a
Martin, D. F., Cornford, S. L., and Payne, A. J.: Millennial-Scale Vulnerability of the Antarctic Ice Sheet to Regional Ice Shelf Collapse, Geophys. Res. Lett., 46, 1467–1475, https://doi.org/10.1029/2018gl081229, 2019. a
Meier, M. F. and Post, A.: Fast tidewater glaciers, J. Geophys. Res., 92, 9051–9058, https://doi.org/10.1029/JB092iB09p09051, 1987. a
Minchew, B. M., Meyer, C. R., Robel, A. A., Gudmundsson, G. H., and Simons, M.: Processes controlling the downstream evolution of ice rheology in glacier shear margins: case study on Rutford Ice Stream, West Antarctica, J. Glaciol., 64, 583–594, https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2018.47, 2018. a
Moreno-Parada, D.: Nix, Zenodo [code], https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14943834, 2025a. a
Moreno-Parada, D.: Nix simulation under oceanic forcing, Zenodo [video], https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15082468, 2025b. a
Moreno-Parada, D.: Description and validation of the ice sheet model Nix v1.0, Zenodo [data set], https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15721846, 2025c. a
Moreno-Parada, D., Robinson, A., Montoya, M., and Alvarez-Solas, J.: Nix ice sheet model v1.0.0, https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.10228874, 2023. a
Moreno-Parada, D., Robinson, A., Montoya, M., and Alvarez-Solas, J.: Analytical solutions for the advective–diffusive ice column in the presence of strain heating, The Cryosphere, 18, 4215–4232, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4215-2024, 2024. a
Mouginot, J., Rignot, E., and Scheuchl, B.: Sustained increase in ice discharge from the Amundsen Sea Embayment, West Antarctica, from 1973 to 2013, Geophys. Res. Lett., 41, 1576–1584, https://doi.org/10.1002/2013gl059069, 2014. a
Nick, F., Vieli, A., Howat, I., and Joughin, I.: Large-scale changes in Greenland outlet glacier dynamics triggered at the terminus, Nat. Geosci., 2, 110–114, https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo394, 2009. a
Nick, F., van der Veen, C., Vieli, A., and Benn, D.: A physically based calving model applied to marine outlet glaciers and implications for the glacier dynamics, J. Glaciol., 56, 781–794, https://doi.org/10.3189/002214310794457344, 2010. a
Nickolls, J., Buck, I., Garland, M., and Skadron, K.: Scalable Parallel Programming with CUDA: Is CUDA the parallel programming model that application developers have been waiting for?, Queue, 6, 40–53, https://doi.org/10.1145/1365490.1365500, 2008. a
Nowicki, S. and Wingham, D.: Conditions for a steady ice sheet–ice shelf junction, Earth Planet. Sc. Lett., 265, 246–255, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2007.10.018, 2008. a
Nye, J. F.: The distribution of stress and velocity in glaciers and ice-sheets, P. R. Soc. Lond. A, 239, 113–133, https://doi.org/10.1098/rspa.1957.0026, 1957. a
Paolo, F. S., Fricker, H. A., and Padman, L.: Volume loss from Antarctic ice shelves is accelerating, Science, 348, 327–331, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaa0940, 2015. a
Pattyn, F.: A new three-dimensional higher-order thermomechanical ice sheet model: Basic sensitivity, ice stream development, and ice flow across subglacial lakes, J. Geophys. Res., 108, 2382, https://doi.org/10.1029/2002jb002329, 2003. a, b, c
Pattyn, F. and Morlighem, M.: The uncertain future of the Antarctic Ice Sheet, Science, 367, 1331–1335, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaz5487, 2020. a, b
Pattyn, F., Huyghe, A., Brabander, S. D., and Smedt, B. D.: Role of transition zones in marine ice sheet dynamics, J. Geophys. Res., 111, F02004, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005jf000394, 2006. a, b, c
Pattyn, F., Perichon, L., Aschwanden, A., Breuer, B., de Smedt, B., Gagliardini, O., Gudmundsson, G. H., Hindmarsh, R. C. A., Hubbard, A., Johnson, J. V., Kleiner, T., Konovalov, Y., Martin, C., Payne, A. J., Pollard, D., Price, S., Rückamp, M., Saito, F., Souček, O., Sugiyama, S., and Zwinger, T.: Benchmark experiments for higher-order and full-Stokes ice sheet models (ISMIP–HOM), The Cryosphere, 2, 95–108, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2-95-2008, 2008. a
Pattyn, F., Schoof, C., Perichon, L., Hindmarsh, R. C. A., Bueler, E., de Fleurian, B., Durand, G., Gagliardini, O., Gladstone, R., Goldberg, D., Gudmundsson, G. H., Huybrechts, P., Lee, V., Nick, F. M., Payne, A. J., Pollard, D., Rybak, O., Saito, F., and Vieli, A.: Results of the Marine Ice Sheet Model Intercomparison Project, MISMIP, The Cryosphere, 6, 573–588, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-6-573-2012, 2012. a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m
Payne, A. J.: Limit cycles in the basal thermal regime of ice sheets, J. Geophys. Res.-Sol. Ea., 100, 4249–4263, https://doi.org/10.1029/94jb02778, 1995. a
Payne, A. J., Huybrechts, P., Abe-Ouchi, A., Calov, R., Fastook, J. L., Greve, R., Marshall, S. J., Marsiat, I., Ritz, C., Tarasov, L., and Thomassen, M. P. A.: Results from the EISMINT model intercomparison: the effects of thermomechanical coupling, J. Glaciol., 46, 227–238, https://doi.org/10.3189/172756500781832891, 2000. a
Petitet, A. and Dongarra, J.: Algorithmic redistribution methods for block-cyclic decompositions, IEEE T. Parall. Distr., 10, 1201–1216, https://doi.org/10.1109/71.819944, 1999. a
Quiquet, A., Dumas, C., Ritz, C., Peyaud, V., and Roche, D. M.: The GRISLI ice sheet model (version 2.0): calibration and validation for multi-millennial changes of the Antarctic ice sheet, Geosci. Model Dev., 11, 5003–5025, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-5003-2018, 2018. a
Rew, R. and Davis, G.: NetCDF: an interface for scientific data access, IEEE Comput. Graph., 10, 76–82, https://doi.org/10.1109/38.56302, 1990. a
Rignot, E., Mouginot, J., Scheuchl, B., van den Broeke, M., van Wessem, M. J., and Morlighem, M.: Four decades of Antarctic Ice Sheet mass balance from 1979–2017, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 116, 1095–1103, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1812883116, 2019. a, b
Robel, A. A., DeGiuli, E., Schoof, C., and Tziperman, E.: Dynamics of ice stream temporal variability: Modes, scales, and hysteresis, J. Geophys. Res.-Earth, 118, 925–936, https://doi.org/10.1002/jgrf.20072, 2013. a
Robel, A. A., Schoof, C., and Tziperman, E.: Rapid grounding line migration induced by internal ice stream variability, J. Geophys. Res.-Earth, 119, 2430–2447, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014jf003251, 2014. a
Robel, A. A., Seroussi, H., and Roe, G. H.: Marine ice sheet instability amplifies and skews uncertainty in projections of future sea-level rise, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 116, 14887–14892, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1904822116, 2019. a, b, c
Robinson, A., Goldberg, D., and Lipscomb, W. H.: A comparison of the stability and performance of depth-integrated ice-dynamics solvers, The Cryosphere, 16, 689–709, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-689-2022, 2022. a
Schoof, C.: The effect of cavitation on glacier sliding, P. Roy. Soc. A-Math. Phy., 461, 609–627, https://doi.org/10.1098/rspa.2004.1350, 2005. a, b
Schoof, C.: A variational approach to ice stream flow, J. Fluid Mech., 556, 227, https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022112006009591, 2006a. a
Schoof, C.: Marine ice-sheet dynamics. Part 1. The case of rapid sliding, J. Fluid Mech., 573, 27–55, https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022112006003570, 2007b. a, b
Schoof, C.: Ice-sheet acceleration driven by melt supply variability, Nature, 468, 803–806, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature09618, 2010. a
Schoof, C.: Marine ice sheet dynamics. Part 2. A Stokes flow contact problem, J. Fluid Mech., 679, 122–155, https://doi.org/10.1017/jfm.2011.129, 2011. a, b
Schoof, C. and Hindmarsh, R. C. A.: Thin-Film Flows with Wall Slip: An Asymptotic Analysis of Higher Order Glacier Flow Models, Q. J. Mech. Appl. Math., 63, 73–114, https://doi.org/10.1093/qjmam/hbp025, 2010. a
Sergienko, O. V., Goldberg, D. N., and Little, C. M.: Alternative ice shelf equilibria determined by ocean environment, J. Geophys. Res.-Earth, 118, 970–981, https://doi.org/10.1002/jgrf.20054, 2013. a
Shepherd, A. and Wingham, D.: Recent Sea-Level Contributions of the Antarctic and Greenland Ice Sheets, Science, 315, 1529–1532, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1136776, 2007. a
Shepherd, A., Fricker, H. A., and Farrell, S. L.: Trends and connections across the Antarctic cryosphere, Nature, 558, 223–232, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0171-6, 2018. a, b
Shewchuk, J. R.: An Introduction to the Conjugate Gradient Method Without the Agonizing Pain, https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:6491967 (last access: 27 March 2025), 1994. a
Smedt, B. D., Pattyn, F., and Groen, P. D.: Using the unstable manifold correction in a Picard iteration to solve the velocity field in higher-order ice-flow models, J. Glaciol., 56, 257–261, https://doi.org/10.3189/002214310791968395, 2010. a
Stearns, L. A. and van der Veen, C. J.: Friction at the bed does not control fast glacier flow, Science, 361, 273–277, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aat2217, 2018. a
Stone, P. H. and Carlson, J. H.: Atmospheric Lapse Rate Regimes and Their Parameterization, Journal of Atmospheric Sciences, 36, 415–423, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1979)036<0415:ALRRAT>2.0.CO;2, 1979. a
Teschl, G.: Ordinary Differential Equations and Dynamical Systems, Graduate studies in mathematics, American Mathematical Society, https://books.google.es/books?id=FZ0CAQAAQBAJ (last access: 27 March 2025), 2012. a
Thomas, R. H. and Bentley, C. R.: A Model for Holocene Retreat of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, Quaternary Res., 10, 150–170, https://doi.org/10.1016/0033-5894(78)90098-4, 1978. a, b
Truffer, M. and Fahnestock, M.: Rethinking Ice Sheet Time Scales, Science, 315, 1508–1510, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1140469, 2007. a
Tulaczyk, S.: Ice sliding over weak, fine-grained tills: Dependence of ice-till interactions on till granulometry, in: Glacial Processes Past and Present, Geological Society of America, https://doi.org/10.1130/0-8137-2337-x.159, 1999. a
Tulaczyk, S., Kamb, B., Scherer, R. P., and Engelhardt, H. F.: Sedimentary processes at the base of a West Antarctic ice stream; constraints from textural and compositional properties of subglacial debris, J. Sediment. Res., 68, 487–496, https://doi.org/10.2110/jsr.68.487, 1998. a
Tulaczyk, S., Kamb, W. B., and Engelhardt, H. F.: Basal mechanics of Ice Stream B, west Antarctica: 1. Till mechanics, J. Geophys. Res.-Sol. Ea., 105, 463–481, https://doi.org/10.1029/1999jb900329, 2000. a
Van der Veen, C. J.: Tidewater calving, J. Glaciol., 42, 375–385, 1996. a
Van der Veen, C. J.: Calving glaciers, Prog. Phys. Geogr., 26, 96–122, https://doi.org/10.1191/0309133302pp327ra, 2002. a
van der Vorst, H. A.: Bi-CGSTAB: A Fast and Smoothly Converging Variant of Bi-CG for the Solution of Nonsymmetric Linear Systems, SIAM J. Sci. Stat. Comp., 13, 631–644, https://doi.org/10.1137/0913035, 1992. a
van der Wel, N., Christoffersen, P., and Bougamont, M.: The influence of subglacial hydrology on the flow of Kamb Ice Stream, West Antarctica, J. Geophys. Res.-Earth, 118, 97–110, https://doi.org/10.1029/2012jf002570, 2013. a
Vaughan, D. G. and Arthern, R.: Why Is It Hard to Predict the Future of Ice Sheets?, Science, 315, 1503–1504, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1141111, 2007. a
Veen, C. V. D. and Whillans, I.: Force Budget: I. Theory and Numerical Methods, J. Glaciol., 35, 53–60, https://doi.org/10.3189/002214389793701581, 1989. a
Weertman, J.: On the Sliding of Glaciers, J. Glaciol., 3, 33–38, https://doi.org/10.3189/s0022143000024709, 1957. a
Weertman, J.: Stability of the Junction of an Ice Sheet and an Ice Shelf, J. Glaciol., 13, 3–11, https://doi.org/10.3189/s0022143000023327, 1974. a, b, c, d
Whillans, I. M. and van der Veen, C. J.: The role of lateral drag in the dynamics of Ice Stream B, Antarctica, J. Glaciol., 43, 231–237, https://doi.org/10.3189/s0022143000003178, 1997. a
Wolf, M. M., Hendrickson, B. A., and Boman, E. G.: Optimizing parallel sparse matrix-vector multiplication by partitioning, Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), Albuquerque, NM, and Livermore, CA (United States), https://www.osti.gov/biblio/949000 (last access: 27 March 2025), 2008. a
Zoet, L. K. and Iverson, N. R.: A slip law for glaciers on deformable beds, Science, 368, 76–78, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaz1183, 2020. a, b
Short summary
We introduce Nix, an ice-sheet model designed for understanding how large masses of ice behave. Nix is a computer programme that simulates the movement and temperature evolution in ice sheets. It helps us study how ice sheets respond to changes in the atmosphere and ocean. We found that ice temperatures play an essential role in determining the motion and stability of ice sheets. Nix is a useful tool for learning how climate change affects polar ice sheets.
We introduce Nix, an ice-sheet model designed for understanding how large masses of ice behave....
