A thermomechanical model for frost heave and subglacial frozen fringe

Ice-infiltrated sediment, or frozen fringe, is responsible for phenomena such as frost heave, ice lenses and metres of debris-rich under glaciers. Understanding fringes important heave damaging infrastructure at high latitudes sediment freeze-on the base glaciers can modulate subglacial friction, influencing rate global sea level rise. Here we describe thermomechanics liquid water flow freezing in ice-saturated sediments, focusing on conditions relevant environments. The force balance that governs fringe thickness depends weight overlying material, thermomolecular between sediments across premelted films pressure required by Darcy flow. We combine this mechanical model with an enthalpy method conserves energy phase change interfaces a fixed computational grid. together determine evolution our simulations predict rates lens spacing. Our accounts premelting ice–sediment contacts, partial saturation pore space, through thermodynamics ice–water–sediment interface vertical balance. explicitly account formation lenses, regions pure cleave depth where interparticle vanishes. results allow us to spacing subaerial sediments.