Linear-viscous flow of temperate ice.

Accurately modeling the deformation of temperate glacier ice, which is at its pressure-melting temperature and contains liquid water at grain boundaries, is essential for predicting ice sheet discharge to the ocean and associated sea-level rise. Central to such modeling is Glen's flow law, in which strain rate depends on stress raised to a power of = 3 to 4. In sharp contrast to this nonlinearity, we found by conducting large-scale, shear-deformation experiments that temperate ice is linear-viscous ( 1.