A model of the western Laurentide Ice Sheet, using observations of glacial isostatic adjustment

2016 ◽  
Vol 139 ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evan J. Gowan ◽  
Paul Tregoning ◽  
Anthony Purcell ◽  
Jean-Philippe Montillet ◽  
Simon McClusky
1992 ◽  
Vol 29 (11) ◽  
pp. 2418-2425 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Mark Tushingham

Churchill, Manitoba, is located near the centre of postglacial uplift caused by the Earth's recovery from the melting of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. The value of present-day uplift at Churchill has important implications in the study of postglacial uplift in that it can aid in constraining the thickness of the ice sheet and the rheology of the Earth. The tide-gauge record at Churchill since 1940 is examined, along with nearby Holocene relative sea-level data, geodetic measurements, and recent absolute gravimetry measurements, and a present-day rate of uplift of 8–9 mm/a is estimated. Glacial isostatic adjustment models yield similar estimates for the rate of uplift at Churchill. The effects of the tide-gauge record of the diversion of the Churchill River during the mid-1970's are discussed.


2008 ◽  
Vol 46 (3-5) ◽  
pp. 165-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Braun ◽  
Chung-Yen Kuo ◽  
C.K. Shum ◽  
Patrick Wu ◽  
Wouter van der Wal ◽  
...  

2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 2345-2388 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Schmidt ◽  
B. Lund ◽  
J-O. Näslund

Abstract. In this study we compare a recent reconstruction of the Weichselian ice-sheet as simulated by the University of Main ice-sheet model (UMISM) to two reconstructions commonly used in glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) modeling: ICE-5G and ANU (also known as RSES). The UMISM reconstruction is carried out on a regional scale based on thermo-mechanical modelling whereas ANU and ICE-5G are global models based on the sea-level equation. The Weichselian ice-sheet in the three models are compared directly in terms of ice volume, extent and thickness, as well as in terms of predicted glacial isostatic adjustment in Fennoscandia. The three reconstructions display significant differences. UMISM and ANU includes phases of pronounced advance and retreat prior to the last glacial maximum (LGM), whereas the thickness and areal extent of the ICE-5G ice-sheet is more or less constant up until LGM. The final retreat of the ice-sheet initiates at earliest time in ICE-5G and latest in UMISM, while ice free conditions are reached earliest in UMISM and latest in ICE-5G. The post-LGM deglaciation style also differs notably between the ice models. While the UMISM simulation includes two temporary halts in the deglaciation, the later during the Younger Dryas, ANU only includes a decreased deglaciation rate during Younger Dryas and ICE-5G retreats at a relatively constant pace after an initial slow phase. Moreover, ANU and ICE-5G melt relatively uniformly over the entire ice-sheet in contrast to UMISM which melts preferentially from the edges. We find that all three reconstructions fit the present day uplift rates over Fennoscandia and the observed relative sea-level curve along the Ångerman river equally well, albeit with different optimal earth model parameters. Given identical earth models, ICE-5G predicts the fastest present day uplift rates and ANU the slowest, ANU also prefers the thinnest lithosphere. Moreover, only for ANU can a unique best fit model be determined. For UMISM and ICE-5G there is a range of earth models that can reproduce the present day uplift rates equally well. This is understood from the higher present day uplift rates predicted by ICE-5G and UMISM, which results in a bifurcation in the best fit mantle viscosity. Comparison of the uplift histories predicted by the ice-sheets indicate that inclusion of relative sea-level data in the data fit can reduce the observed ambiguity. We study the areal distributions of present day residual surface velocities in Fennoscandia and show that all three reconstructions generally over-predict velocities in southwestern Fennoscandia and that there are large differences in the fit to the observational data in Finland and northernmost Sweden and Norway. These difference may provide input to further enhancements of the ice-sheet reconstructions.


2022 ◽  
Vol 277 ◽  
pp. 107346
Author(s):  
Matthias Troch ◽  
Sebastien Bertrand ◽  
Carina B. Lange ◽  
Paola Cárdenas ◽  
Helge Arz ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik Ivins ◽  
Andrew Shepherd

<p>The Ice Mass Balance Intercomparison Exercize  (IMBIE) was initiated in 2011 with the intent of better reconciling the various reports  on the Greenland ice sheet (GrIS)  and Antarctic ice sheet (AIS) mass balance during the 2000’s. The focused study was funded and promoted by both ESA and NASA to better understand the origins of  contradictory results using space observations for a 20 year-long period: 1990-2010. Here we review some of the main results of phase I and II of IMBIE and the strength of the GRACE mission results.  For 20-year long trends (2002-2021) trends are influenced by glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) in Greenland, but with more profound consequence for Antarctica. IMBIE-I determined a mass balance trend for 1992-2011: -142 ± 49 and -71 ± 83 Gt/yr, for GrIS and AIS, respectively.  IMBIE-II was open to a wider sampling of international  investigative teams and the results for GrIS over 1992-2018 changed to -150 ± 13 Gt/yr. Most notably the 1-sigma formal errors reported in IMBIE-II were 25% of those reported in the earlier IMBIE-I study for GrIS. For Antarctica the most notable contrast in results was the total value of the trend over 1992-2017 (IMBIE-II) in contrast 1992-2011 (IMBIE-I) (-109 ± 56 vs -71 ± 83 Gt/yr, respectively). The loss estimate for AIS rose by 67% and the error also reduced by about 33%. Glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) estimates for Antarctica cluster around + 54 Gt/yr (meaning their correction adds to the negativity of the mass balance result for GRACE and GRACE-FO).  The East Antarctica Ice Sheet (EAIS) has trend errors for the estimate 1992-2017 (IMBIE-II) that continue to dwarf the uncertainty: +5 ± 46 Gt/yr. Beneath EAIS, GIA is also most uncertain and models have the greatest spread. We discuss the general plan for IMBIE-III that is currently forming.</p>


2017 ◽  
Vol 63 (240) ◽  
pp. 703-715 ◽  
Author(s):  
BAOJUN ZHANG ◽  
ZEMIN WANG ◽  
FEI LI ◽  
JIACHUN AN ◽  
YUANDE YANG ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThis study explores an iterative method for simultaneously estimating the present-day glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA), ice mass change and elastic vertical crustal deformation of the Antarctic ice sheet (AIS) for the period October 2003–October 2009. The estimations are derived by combining mass measurements of the GRACE mission and surface height observations of the ICESat mission under the constraint of GPS vertical crustal deformation rates in the spatial domain. The influence of active subglacial lakes on GIA estimates are mitigated for the first time through additional processing of ICESat data. The inferred GIA shows that the strongest uplift is found in the Amundsen Sea Embayment (ASE) sector and subsidence mostly occurs in Adelie Terre and the East Antarctica inland. The total GIA-related mass change estimates for the entire AIS, West Antarctica Ice Sheet (WAIS), East Antarctica Ice Sheet (EAIS), and Antarctic Peninsula Ice Sheet (APIS) are 43 ± 38, 53 ± 24, −23 ± 29 and 13 ± 6 Gt a−1, respectively. The overall ice mass change of the AIS is −46 ± 43 Gt a−1 (WAIS: −104 ± 25, EAIS: 77 ± 35, APIS: −20 ± 6). The most significant ice mass loss and most significant elastic vertical crustal deformations are concentrated in the ASE and northern Antarctic Peninsula.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meike Bagge ◽  
Volker Klemann ◽  
Bernhard Steinberger ◽  
Milena Latinović ◽  
Maik Thomas

<p>The interaction between ice sheets and the solid Earth plays an important role for ice-sheet stability and sea-level change and hence for global climate models. Glacial-isostatic adjustment (GIA) models enable simulation of the solid Earth response due to variations in ice-sheet and ocean loading and prediction of the relative sea-level change. Because the viscoelastic response of the solid Earth depends on both ice-sheet distribution and the Earth’s rheology, independent constraints for the Earth structure in GIA models are beneficial. Seismic tomography models facilitate insights into the Earth’s interior, revealing lateral variability of the mantle viscosity that allows studying its relevance in GIA modeling. Especially, in regions of low mantle viscosity, the predicted surface deformations generated with such 3D GIA models differ considerably from those generated by traditional GIA models with radially symmetric structures. But also, the conversion from seismic velocity variations to viscosity is affected by a set of uncertainties. Here, we apply geodynamically constrained 3D Earth structures. We analyze the impact of conversion parameters (reduction factor in Arrhenius law and radial viscosity profile) on relative sea-level predictions. Furthermore, we focus on exemplary low-viscosity regions like the Cascadian subduction zone and southern Patagonia, which coincide with significant ice-mass changes.</p>


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. eaav2366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew D. Wickert ◽  
Robert S. Anderson ◽  
Jerry X. Mitrovica ◽  
Shawn Naylor ◽  
Eric C. Carson

The imprint of glacial isostatic adjustment has long been recognized in shoreline elevations of oceans and proglacial lakes, but to date, its signature has not been identified in river long profiles. Here, we reveal that the buried bedrock valley floor of the upper Mississippi River exhibits a 110-m-deep, 300-km-long overdeepening that we interpret to be a partial cast of the Laurentide Ice Sheet forebulge, the ring of flexurally raised lithosphere surrounding the ice sheet. Incision through this forebulge occurred during a single glacial cycle at some time between 2.5 and 0.8 million years before present, when ice-sheet advance forced former St. Lawrence River tributaries in Minnesota and Wisconsin to flow southward. This integrated for the first time the modern Mississippi River, permanently changing continental-scale hydrology and carving a bedrock valley through the migrating forebulge with sediment-poor water. The shape of the inferred forebulge is consistent with an ice sheet ~1 km thick near its margins, similar to the Laurentide Ice Sheet at the Last Glacial Maximum, and provides evidence of the impact of geodynamic processes on geomorphology even in the midst of a stable craton.


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