Glacial isostatic uplift of the European Alps

Abstract Following the last glacial maximum (LGM), the demise of continental ice sheets induced crustal rebound in tectonically stable regions of North America and Scandinavia that is still ongoing. Unlike the ice sheets, the Alpine ice cap developed in an orogen where the measured uplift is potenti...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature Communications
Main Authors: Mey, Jürgen, Scherler, Dirk, Wickert, Andrew D., Egholm, David L., Tesauro, Magdala, Schildgen, Taylor F., Strecker, Manfred R.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Springer Science and Business Media LLC 2016
Subjects:
General Physics and Astronomy
General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
General Chemistry
Ice cap
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms13382
http://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms13382.pdf
http://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms13382
Description
Summary:Abstract Following the last glacial maximum (LGM), the demise of continental ice sheets induced crustal rebound in tectonically stable regions of North America and Scandinavia that is still ongoing. Unlike the ice sheets, the Alpine ice cap developed in an orogen where the measured uplift is potentially attributed to tectonic shortening, lithospheric delamination and unloading due to deglaciation and erosion. Here we show that ∼90% of the geodetically measured rock uplift in the Alps can be explained by the Earth’s viscoelastic response to LGM deglaciation. We modelled rock uplift by reconstructing the Alpine ice cap, while accounting for postglacial erosion, sediment deposition and spatial variations in lithospheric rigidity. Clusters of excessive uplift in the Rhône Valley and in the Eastern Alps delineate regions potentially affected by mantle processes, crustal heterogeneity and active tectonics. Our study shows that even small LGM ice caps can dominate present-day rock uplift in tectonically active regions.

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