Postglacial Temperature Anomalies and Glacial Isostasy
Abstract The isostatic depression of an ice-free land surface, originally caused by glacial ice, ought to be converted into a change in mean annual temperature according to the usual value for the environmental lapse rate, 6.5°C/1000 m. Calculations are undertaken to show the temperature changes, re...
| Published in: | Quaternary Research |
|---|---|
| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
1983
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0033-5894(83)90036-4 http://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:0033589483900364?httpAccept=text/xml http://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:0033589483900364?httpAccept=text/plain https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0033589400032245 |
| Summary: | Abstract The isostatic depression of an ice-free land surface, originally caused by glacial ice, ought to be converted into a change in mean annual temperature according to the usual value for the environmental lapse rate, 6.5°C/1000 m. Calculations are undertaken to show the temperature changes, relative to present values at a site, that can be expected from this effect during the retreat of a major continental ice sheet. It is concluded that when restrained rebound is taken into account temperatures relative to the present could vary from 0°C at the start of deglaciation to about +2.32°C at the final disappearance of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. The decay of the warmer-than-present temperatures towards their current values is controlled, in this model, by isostatic recovery of the land surface. Variance estimates are built into the model and suggest that the anomaly might be as small as 0.75°C or as large as 4.0°C depending on the choice of values for crucial components such as maximum ice thickness, the proportion of isostatic deformation, and the amount of restrained rebound achieved by the time a site become ice free. |
|---|