Determining last interglacial ice sheet configuration using glacial isostatic adjustment modelling

• Main Authors: Gowan, Evan, Rovere, Alessio, Lohmann, Gerrit
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: Antarc*; Antarctic; Greenland; Ice Sheet
• Online Access: https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/48801/; https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/48801/1/palsea_poster.pdf; https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.11b6b873-d77a-4f1b-9657-9011f4e569b1

The last interglacial (MIS 5e) was a period characterized by sea level that was up to 6-9 m above present day level, due in part to the partial collapse of the Greenland and West Antarctic Ice Sheets. Assessing the pattern of sea level change for this period is complicated due to the uncertainties in the relative contributions of these two ice sheets. In addition, past sea level is the integrated history of water load changes and associated glacial isostatic adjustment before and after the period of interest. We present a the initial results of a global ice sheet reconstruction that seeks to untangle the last interglacial ice sheet configuration. The ice sheets are reconstructed by using the program ICESHEET, which uses ice sheet margin reconstructions and estimates of basal shear stress to produce realistic ice sheet configurations. We calibrate this model by modelling glacial-isostatic adjustment with relative sea level indicators. We also investigate the role of different Earth rheology models on the global pattern of sea level change during this period. We make an assessment of how much uncertainty in the last interglacial sea level is due to the ice sheet configuration during the last glacial cycle.