SIMULATING ICEBERG CALVING WITH A PERCOLATION MODEL

The physics behind the iceberg calving process is poorly understood, but by using a simple fracturing criterion based on the accumulation and coupling of many microcracks, the complicated mechanics of calving can be simulated by a set of percolation rules. Calving simulations with this simple percolation model give results which are consistent with limited observations of iceberg size distributions and terminus morphologies. For steady state scenarios, the model suggests that the calving process can be characterized by a small set of scaling exponents.