Theory 19/Hysteresis & Memory/Glaciology
Regrounding Is Harder Than Ungrounding
The claim
A glacier that has ungrounded does not reground at the same conditions, because the geometry that supported contact has been altered.
01Mechanism
Ungrounding removes the buttressing that kept the front in place; without it, the front retreats to a position that is stable but different.
02Prediction
Regrounding should require more favourable conditions than were present before.
03Refutation
Symmetric ground/un-ground behaviour would remove the path dependence.