HOW MAY GLACIAL REBOUND INFLUENCE SEISMIC ACTIVITY IN ICELAND?

• Main Authors: Björn Lund, Peter Schmidt, Þóra Árnadóttir
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Vatnajökull; glacier; Iceland
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.618.2656; http://hraun.vedur.is/ja/jsr_2009/abstracts/pdf/bjorn_lund.pdf

The current warming trend started in the 1890s in Iceland, and the Icelandic ice caps have been generally retreating since then. The total volume of ice lost by Vatnajökull since 1890 is estimated at 435 km3, equivalent to a 50 m thick layer over the entire glacier. Ice loss data from the other major Icelandic glaciers is scarcer, but they all indicate significant retreat since 1890. Using a model for the ice loss history of the Icelandic ice caps from 1890 to 2004, and a 3D finite element Earth model, we calculate the response of the Earth to the current deglaciation. The modelled uplift is compared to GPS data from countrywide campaigns in 1993 and 2004. These data show a broad region of rapid