Quoted from: Greve, R., Saito, F., & Abe-Ouchi, A. (2011). Initial results of the SeaRISE numerical experiments with the models SICOPOLIS and IcIES for the Greenland ice sheet. Annals of Glaciology, 52(58), 23-30. doi:10.3189/172756411797252068
Similar to SICOPOLIS, the model IcIES (Ice sheet model for Integrated Earth system Studies; Saito and Abe-Ouchi, 2005, 2010) is a three-dimensional, large-scale, dynamic/ thermodynamic ice-sheet model with shallow-ice approximation dynamics. The main differences compared to SICOPOLIS are:
Cold ice mode is employed (i.e. The Stefan-type conditions at the cold/temperate transition surface are ignored, computed temperatures above pressure melting are reset to pressure melting with no computation of the englacial water content).
Isostasy: Local-lithosphere–relaxing-asthenosphere (LLRA) approach.
Basal sliding: Different parameters for the Weertman-type sliding law (Equation (1)), namely C b = 1.61 × 10-6 ma-1 Pa-2, p = 3, q = 1 and γ→0˚C (no sub-melt sliding; instead an abrupt switch between warm-based sliding and cold-based no-slip) (Huybrechts and de Wolde, 1999).
Present geometry derived from the ‘Greenland Standard Data Set’ (Greenland_5km_v1.1.nc; this affects only the immediate vicinity of Jacobshavn Isbræ).
Discretization of the vertical direction by sigma coordinates. Ice column: 26 gridpoints (concentrated towards the base); thermal lithosphere: 17 equidistant gridpoints.
Adaptive time-step, with a maximum value of 0.125 years.