The impact of a 3-D Earth structure on glacial isostatic adjustment following the Little Ice Age in Southeast Alaska

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Celine Marsman ◽  
Wouter van der Wal ◽  
Riccardo Riva ◽  
Jeffrey Freymueller
Keyword(s):  
Upper Mantle ◽  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Seismic Velocity ◽  
Scaling Factor ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Earth Structure ◽  
Glacial Isostatic Adjustment ◽  
Southeast Alaska ◽  
Isostatic Adjustment ◽  
Mantle Viscosity

<p>In Southeast Alaska, extreme uplift rates are primarily caused by glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA), as a result of ice load changes from the Little Ice Age to the present combined with a low viscosity asthenosphere. Current GIA models adopt a one-dimensional (1-D) stratified Earth structure. However, the actual (3-D) structure is more complex due to the presence of a subduction zone and the transition from a continental to an oceanic plate. A simplified 1-D Earth structure may not be an accurate representation in this region and therefore affect the GIA predictions. In this study we will investigate the effect of 3-D variations in the shallow upper mantle viscosity on GIA in Southeast Alaska. In addition, investigation of 3-D variations also gives new insight into the most suitable 1-D viscosity profile.</p><p>We test a number of models using the finite element software ABAQUS. We use shear wave tomography and mineral physics to constrain the shallow upper mantle viscosity structure. We investigate the contribution of thermal effects on seismic velocity anomalies in the upper mantle using an adjustable scaling factor, which determines what fraction of the seismic velocity variations are due to temperature changes, as opposed to non-thermal causes. We search for the combination of the scaling factor and background viscosity that best fits the GPS data. Results show that relatively small lateral variations improve the fit with a best fit background viscosity of 5.0×10<sup>19</sup> Pa s, resulting in viscosities at ~80 km depth that range from 1.8×10<sup>19</sup> to 4.5×10<sup>19</sup> Pa s.</p>

scholarly journals Lithosphere and upper-mantle structure of the southern Baltic Sea estimated from modelling relative sea-level data with glacial isostatic adjustment

Solid Earth ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 447-459 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Steffen ◽  
G. Kaufmann ◽  
R. Lampe
Keyword(s):  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Upper Mantle ◽  
Glacial Isostatic Adjustment ◽  
Relative Sea Level ◽  
Southern Baltic Sea ◽  
Lithospheric Thickness ◽  
Isostatic Adjustment ◽  
Mantle Viscosity ◽  
Ice Model

Abstract. During the last glacial maximum, a large ice sheet covered Scandinavia, which depressed the earth's surface by several 100 m. In northern central Europe, mass redistribution in the upper mantle led to the development of a peripheral bulge. It has been subsiding since the begin of deglaciation due to the viscoelastic behaviour of the mantle. We analyse relative sea-level (RSL) data of southern Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Poland and Lithuania to determine the lithospheric thickness and radial mantle viscosity structure for distinct regional RSL subsets. We load a 1-D Maxwell-viscoelastic earth model with a global ice-load history model of the last glaciation. We test two commonly used ice histories, RSES from the Australian National University and ICE-5G from the University of Toronto. Our results indicate that the lithospheric thickness varies, depending on the ice model used, between 60 and 160 km. The lowest values are found in the Oslo Graben area and the western German Baltic Sea coast. In between, thickness increases by at least 30 km tracing the Ringkøbing-Fyn High. In Poland and Lithuania, lithospheric thickness reaches up to 160 km. However, the latter values are not well constrained as the confidence regions are large. Upper-mantle viscosity is found to bracket [2–7] × 1020 Pa s when using ICE-5G. Employing RSES much higher values of 2 × 1021 Pa s are obtained for the southern Baltic Sea. Further investigations should evaluate whether this ice-model version and/or the RSL data need revision. We confirm that the lower-mantle viscosity in Fennoscandia can only be poorly resolved. The lithospheric structure inferred from RSES partly supports structural features of regional and global lithosphere models based on thermal or seismological data. While there is agreement in eastern Europe and southwest Sweden, the structure in an area from south of Norway to northern Germany shows large discrepancies for two of the tested lithosphere models. The lithospheric thickness as determined with ICE-5G does not agree with the lithosphere models. Hence, more investigations have to be undertaken to sufficiently determine structures such as the Ringkøbing-Fyn High as seen with seismics with the help of glacial isostatic adjustment modelling.

scholarly journals Lithosphere and upper-mantle structure of the southern Baltic Sea estimated from modelling relative sea-level data with glacial isostatic adjustment

2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 2483-2507
Author(s):  
H. Steffen ◽  
G. Kaufmann ◽  
R. Lampe
Keyword(s):  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Upper Mantle ◽  
Glacial Isostatic Adjustment ◽  
Relative Sea Level ◽  
Southern Baltic Sea ◽  
Lithospheric Thickness ◽  
Isostatic Adjustment ◽  
Mantle Viscosity ◽  
Ice Model

Abstract. During the last glacial maximum, a large ice sheet covered Scandinavia, and the Earth's surface was depressed by several 100 m. Beyond the limit of this Fennoscandian ice sheet, mass redistribution in the upper mantle led to the development of peripheral bulges around the glaciated region. These once uplifted areas subside since the begin of deglaciation due to the viscoelastic behavior of the mantle. Parts of this subsiding region are located in northern central Europe in the coastal parts of Denmark, Germany and Poland. We analyze relative sea-level (RSL) data of these regions to determine the lithospheric thickness and radial mantle viscosity structure for distinct regional RSL subsets. We load a one-dimensional Maxwell-viscoelastic earth model with a global ice-load history model of the last glaciation. We test two commonly used ice histories, RSES from the Australian National University and Ice-5G from the University of Toronto. Our results indicate that the lithospheric thickness varies, depending on the ice model used, between 60 and 160 km. The lowest values are found in the Oslo Graben area and the western German Baltic Sea coast. In between, thickness increases by at least 30 km tracing the Fyn High. In Poland, lithospheric thickness values up to 160 km are reached. However, the latter values are not well constrained due to a low number of RSL data from the Polish area. Upper-mantle viscosity is found to bracket [2–7] × 1020 Pa s when using Ice-5G. Employing RSES much higher values of 2 × 1021 Pa s yield for the southern Baltic Sea, which suggests a revision of this ice-model version. We confirm that the lower-mantle viscosity in Fennoscandia can only be poorly resolved. The lithospheric structure inferred partly supports structural features of regional and global lithosphere models based on thermal or seismological data. While there is agreement in eastern Europe and southwest Sweden, the structure in an area from south of Norway to northern Germany shows large discrepancies for two of the tested models. It thus remains challenging to sufficiently determine the Fyn High as seen with seismics with the help of glacial isostatic adjustment modelling.

scholarly journals Influence of 3D Earth structure on Glacial Isostatic Adjustment in the Russian Arctic

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanghua Li ◽  
Nicole Khan ◽  
Alisa Baranskaya ◽  
Timothy Shaw ◽  
W Richard Peltier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Earth Structure ◽  
Glacial Isostatic Adjustment ◽  
Russian Arctic ◽  
Isostatic Adjustment ◽  
3D Earth Structure

Parameters controlling mid-Holocene highstand in Glacial Isostatic Adjustment modelling

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanghua Li ◽  
Stephen Chua ◽  
Nicole Khan ◽  
Patrick Wu ◽  
Benjamin Horton
Keyword(s):  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Late Holocene ◽  
Ice Sheets ◽  
Thickness Variation ◽  
Glacial Isostatic Adjustment ◽  
Lithospheric Thickness ◽  
Isostatic Adjustment ◽  
Mantle Viscosity ◽  
Open Questions

<p>Holocene relative sea-level (RSL) records from regions distal from ice sheets (far-field) are commonly characterized by a mid-Holocene highstand, when RSL reached higher than present levels. The magnitude and timing of the mid-Holocene highstand varies spatially due to hydro-isostatic processes including ocean syphoning and continental levering. While there are open questions regarding the timing, magnitude and source of ice-equivalent sea level in the middle to late Holocene.</p><p>Here, we compare Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA) model predictions to a standardized database of sea-level index points (SLIPs) from Southeast Asia where we have near-complete Holocene records. The database has more than 130 SLIPs that span the time period from ~9.5 ka BP to present. We investigate the sensitivity of mid-Holocene RSL predictions to GIA parameters, including the lateral lithospheric thickness variation, mantle viscosity (both 1D and 3D), and deglaciation history from different ice sheets (e.g., Laurentide, Fennoscandia, Antarctica).</p><p>We compute gravitationally self-consistent RSL histories for the GIA model with time dependent coastlines and rotational feedback using the Coupled Laplace-Finite Element Method. The preliminary results show that the timing of the highstand is mainly controlled by the deglaciation history (ice-equivalent sea level), while the magnitude is dominated by Earth parameters (e.g., lithospheric thickness, mantle viscosity). We further investigate whether there is meltwater input during middle to late Holocene and whether the RSL records from Southeast Asia can reveal the meltwater source, like Antarctica.</p>

scholarly journals Joint inversion estimate of regional glacial isostatic adjustment in Antarctica considering a lateral varying Earth structure (ESA STSE Project REGINA)

2017 ◽  
Vol 211 (3) ◽  
pp. 1534-1553 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingo Sasgen ◽  
Alba Martín-Español ◽  
Alexander Horvath ◽  
Volker Klemann ◽  
Elizabeth J Petrie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Joint Inversion ◽  
Earth Structure ◽  
Glacial Isostatic Adjustment ◽  
Isostatic Adjustment

Glacial isostatic adjustment and mantle viscosity

1988 ◽  
Vol 93 (B6) ◽  
pp. 6397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles B. Officer ◽  
Walter S. Newman ◽  
John M. Sullivan ◽  
Daniel R. Lynch
Keyword(s):  
Glacial Isostatic Adjustment ◽  
Isostatic Adjustment ◽  
Mantle Viscosity
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