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The ice shelf–ocean boundary current has an important control on heat delivery to the base of an ice shelf. Climate and regional models that include a representation of ice shelf cavities often use a coarse grid, and results have a strong dependence on resolution near the ice shelf–ocean interface. This study models the ice shelf–ocean boundary current with a nonhydrostatic z -level configuration at turbulence-permitting resolution (1 m). The z -level model performs well when compared against state-of-the-art large-eddy simulations, showing its capability in representing the correct physics. We show that theoretical results from a one-dimensional model with parameterized turbulence reproduce the z -level model results to a good degree, indicating possible utility as a turbulence closure. The one-dimensional model evolves to a state of marginal instability, and we …