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Tip of the iceberg

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 June 2009

M. V. DERIABYN  and
P. G. HJORTH
M. V. DERIABYN
Affiliation:
Faculty of Mathematics and Mechanics, Moscow State University, 119899 Moscow, Russia
P. G. HJORTH
Affiliation:
Department of Mathematics, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark email: [email protected]
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Abstract

We study the stability and dynamics of melting icebergs. Specifically, we address the ‘toppling’ or ‘rollover’ observed for floating icebergs. The rollover is thought to occur because the ocean melts the iceberg from below, causing its overall mass and mass distribution to change with time. We model the evolution of equilibrium positions for a general homogeneous body afloat in an ideal fluid, as this homogeneous body is subjected to ‘melting’, i.e. a slow removal of material from the submerged part. If this process is the dominating melting mechanism, can the likelihood of a toppling be inferred from observing only the above-surface part? We show here that some information about the evolution of stability due to melting can be inferred from the surface geometry of the iceberg.

Type
Papers
Information
European Journal of Applied Mathematics , Volume 20 , Issue 3 , June 2009 , pp. 289 - 301
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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