Rapid uplift of southern Alaska caused by recent ice loss
Extreme uplift rates and sea level changes in southern Alaska have been documented by Global Positioning System (GPS) surveys, tide gauge measurements and studies of raised shorelines. The movements detected in a network of 45 GPS survey points describe a broad pattern of rapid regional uplift. The...
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fthighwire:oai:open-archive.highwire.org:gji:158/3/1118 2023-05-15T16:20:36+02:00 Rapid uplift of southern Alaska caused by recent ice loss Larsen, Christopher F. Motyka, Roman J. Freymueller, Jeffrey T. Echelmeyer, Keith A. Ivins, Erik R. 2004-09-01 00:00:00.0 text/html http://gji.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/158/3/1118 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-246X.2004.02356.x en eng Oxford University Press http://gji.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/158/3/1118 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-246X.2004.02356.x Copyright (C) 2004, Oxford University Press Tectonics and Geodynamics TEXT 2004 fthighwire https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-246X.2004.02356.x 2013-05-26T18:00:27Z Extreme uplift rates and sea level changes in southern Alaska have been documented by Global Positioning System (GPS) surveys, tide gauge measurements and studies of raised shorelines. The movements detected in a network of 45 GPS survey points describe a broad pattern of rapid regional uplift. The majority of the study area is uplifting at a rate faster than 10 mm yr−1, with several sites uplifting more rapidly than 25 mm yr−1. New tide gauge data presented here consist of repeat occupations of 18 temporary gauge sites. Sea level rates at these sites agree with similar measurements in southern Alaska taken ∼50 yr earlier, and also with the pattern of uplift derived from the GPS data. Raised shoreline studies at 14 sites document total sea level change, with a maximum change in sea level of −5.7 m found in upper Lynn Canal. The start of the ongoing uplift episode that raised these shorelines has been dated with dendrochronology and found to be coincident with the start of the collapse of the Glacier Bay Icefield, at ca. 1750 AD. The pattern of total sea level change is in general agreement with uplift-rate measurements, with greater sea level change found at the sites closest to the peak uplift rates in upper Glacier Bay. We use a viscoelastic earth model subjected to an ice load history built upon observations of glacial change to predict uplift rates at the tide gauge and GPS sites as well as the total uplift at the raised shoreline sites. Our modelling exercises are limited to an ice load model based on independent studies of the region's glacial history over the past 1.7 kyr, to evaluate whether the uplift observations can be explained by simple earth models subjected to this load history. Two-layer earth models, consisting of an elastic crust and a low-viscosity upper mantle half-space, can be adjusted to fit either the raised shoreline data or the combined GPS and tide gauge uplift-rate data, but cannot fit all the data with a single set of earth model parameters. However, all three data sets are ... Text glacier Alaska HighWire Press (Stanford University) Glacier Bay Geophysical Journal International 158 3 1118 1133 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
HighWire Press (Stanford University) |
op_collection_id |
fthighwire |
language |
English |
topic |
Tectonics and Geodynamics |
spellingShingle |
Tectonics and Geodynamics Larsen, Christopher F. Motyka, Roman J. Freymueller, Jeffrey T. Echelmeyer, Keith A. Ivins, Erik R. Rapid uplift of southern Alaska caused by recent ice loss |
topic_facet |
Tectonics and Geodynamics |
description |
Extreme uplift rates and sea level changes in southern Alaska have been documented by Global Positioning System (GPS) surveys, tide gauge measurements and studies of raised shorelines. The movements detected in a network of 45 GPS survey points describe a broad pattern of rapid regional uplift. The majority of the study area is uplifting at a rate faster than 10 mm yr−1, with several sites uplifting more rapidly than 25 mm yr−1. New tide gauge data presented here consist of repeat occupations of 18 temporary gauge sites. Sea level rates at these sites agree with similar measurements in southern Alaska taken ∼50 yr earlier, and also with the pattern of uplift derived from the GPS data. Raised shoreline studies at 14 sites document total sea level change, with a maximum change in sea level of −5.7 m found in upper Lynn Canal. The start of the ongoing uplift episode that raised these shorelines has been dated with dendrochronology and found to be coincident with the start of the collapse of the Glacier Bay Icefield, at ca. 1750 AD. The pattern of total sea level change is in general agreement with uplift-rate measurements, with greater sea level change found at the sites closest to the peak uplift rates in upper Glacier Bay. We use a viscoelastic earth model subjected to an ice load history built upon observations of glacial change to predict uplift rates at the tide gauge and GPS sites as well as the total uplift at the raised shoreline sites. Our modelling exercises are limited to an ice load model based on independent studies of the region's glacial history over the past 1.7 kyr, to evaluate whether the uplift observations can be explained by simple earth models subjected to this load history. Two-layer earth models, consisting of an elastic crust and a low-viscosity upper mantle half-space, can be adjusted to fit either the raised shoreline data or the combined GPS and tide gauge uplift-rate data, but cannot fit all the data with a single set of earth model parameters. However, all three data sets are ... |
format |
Text |
author |
Larsen, Christopher F. Motyka, Roman J. Freymueller, Jeffrey T. Echelmeyer, Keith A. Ivins, Erik R. |
author_facet |
Larsen, Christopher F. Motyka, Roman J. Freymueller, Jeffrey T. Echelmeyer, Keith A. Ivins, Erik R. |
author_sort |
Larsen, Christopher F. |
title |
Rapid uplift of southern Alaska caused by recent ice loss |
title_short |
Rapid uplift of southern Alaska caused by recent ice loss |
title_full |
Rapid uplift of southern Alaska caused by recent ice loss |
title_fullStr |
Rapid uplift of southern Alaska caused by recent ice loss |
title_full_unstemmed |
Rapid uplift of southern Alaska caused by recent ice loss |
title_sort |
rapid uplift of southern alaska caused by recent ice loss |
publisher |
Oxford University Press |
publishDate |
2004 |
url |
http://gji.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/158/3/1118 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-246X.2004.02356.x |
geographic |
Glacier Bay |
geographic_facet |
Glacier Bay |
genre |
glacier Alaska |
genre_facet |
glacier Alaska |
op_relation |
http://gji.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/158/3/1118 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-246X.2004.02356.x |
op_rights |
Copyright (C) 2004, Oxford University Press |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-246X.2004.02356.x |
container_title |
Geophysical Journal International |
container_volume |
158 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
1118 |
op_container_end_page |
1133 |
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1766008526886404096 |