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Observed rapid bedrock uplift in Amundsen Sea Embayment promotes ice-sheet stability
Valentina R Barletta1,2, Michael Bevis2, Benjamin E Smith3
1DTU Space, National Space Institute, Geodynamics Department, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark. vr.barletta@gmail.com.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|June 23, 2018
Summary
Rapid glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) in the Amundsen Sea Embayment (ASE) suggests West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) stability may be underestimated. New GPS data reveal faster bedrock uplift, shortening GIA timescales significantly.
Area of Science:
- Geophysics
- Glaciology
- Climate Science
Background:
- The West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) in the Amundsen Sea Embayment (ASE) significantly contributes to global sea-level rise and faces collapse risks.
- Glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA), the bedrock's response to ice mass changes, was traditionally considered a long-term process (10,000 years).
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the mantle viscosity beneath the ASE using new GPS measurements.
- To reassess the timescale of glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) in this vulnerable region.
Main Methods:
- Utilized new GPS measurements to detect rapid bedrock uplift in the Amundsen Sea Embayment (ASE).
- Calculated the viscosity of the sub-ASE mantle based on observed uplift rates.
Main Results:
- Observed exceptionally rapid uplift of 41 mm/year in the ASE.
- Determined a significantly lower mantle viscosity (4 x 10^18 Pa·s) than the global average.
- Shortened the estimated GIA response timescale from millennia to centuries.
Conclusions:
- The rapid GIA indicates a faster bedrock response to ice loss than previously assumed.
- Requires a 10% upward revision of ice mass loss estimates from gravity data.
- Suggests potentially greater stability for the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) against catastrophic collapse than previously feared.
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