What are the dominant thermomechanical processes in the basal sediment layer of large ice sheets?

The till-layer below the temperate base of all ice sheet is modelled as a saturated viscous solid-fluid mixture. Its solid mass grows by abrading material from the underlying rock-bed, and the water balance is affected by the draining of water into the rock-bed and melting of ice at the interface of the overlying ice sheet. This latter process is influenced by the dissipation due to the power expended by: (i) the stresses; and (ii) Darcy-type interaction forces; as well as (iii) the sliding of the ice: over the till-layer and of the latter over the rock-bed. All these mechanisms are likely to influence the thermodynamics of the layer, a fact which is corroborated by a scaling analysis.