Multilayer shallow shelf approximation: Minimisation formulation, finite element solvers and applications

In this paper, a multilayer generalisation of the Shallow Shelf Approximation (SSA) is considered. In this recent hybrid ice flow model, the ice thickness is divided into thin layers, which can spread out, contract and slide over each other in such a way that the velocity profile is layer-wise constant. Like the SSA (1-layer model), the multilayer model can be reformulated as a minimisation problem. However, unlike the SSA, the functional to be minimised involves a new penalisation term for the interlayer jumps of the velocity, which represents the vertical shear stresses induced by interlayer sliding. Taking advantage of this reformulation, numerical solvers developed for the SSA can be naturally extended layer-wise or column-wise. Numerical results show that the column-wise extension of a Newton multigrid solver proves to be robust in the sense that its convergence is barely influenced by the number of layers and the type of ice flow. In addition, the multilayer formulation appears to be naturally better conditioned than the one of the first-order approximation to face the anisotropic conditions of the sliding-dominant ice flow of ISMIP-HOM experiments.