Accelerating Uplift in the North Atlantic Region as an Indicator of Ice Loss
Vertical motions of the rocky margins of Greenland and Antarctica respond to mass changes of their respective ice sheets1, 2. However, these motions can be obscured by episodes of glacial advance or retreat that occurred hundreds to thousands of years ago3, 4, 5, 6, which trigger a delayed response...
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Online Access: | https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/geo_facpub/430 https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo845 |
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ftunisfloridatam:oai:digitalcommons.usf.edu:geo_facpub-1429 2023-05-15T13:39:28+02:00 Accelerating Uplift in the North Atlantic Region as an Indicator of Ice Loss Jiang, Yan Dixon, Timothy H. Wdowinski, Shimon 2010-01-01T08:00:00Z https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/geo_facpub/430 https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo845 unknown Digital Commons @ University of South Florida https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/geo_facpub/430 https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo845 School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications Earth Sciences article 2010 ftunisfloridatam https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo845 2021-10-09T07:15:48Z Vertical motions of the rocky margins of Greenland and Antarctica respond to mass changes of their respective ice sheets1, 2. However, these motions can be obscured by episodes of glacial advance or retreat that occurred hundreds to thousands of years ago3, 4, 5, 6, which trigger a delayed response because of viscous flow in the underlying mantle. Here we present high-precision global positioning system (GPS) data that describe the vertical motion of the rocky margins of Greenland, Iceland and Svalbard. We focus on vertical accelerations rather than velocities to avoid the confounding effects of past events. Our data show an acceleration of uplift over the past decade that represents an essentially instantaneous, elastic response to the recent accelerated melting of ice throughout the North Atlantic region. Our comparison of the GPS data to models for glacial isostatic adjustment suggests that some parts of western coastal Greenland were experiencing accelerated melting of coastal ice by the late 1990s. Using a simple elastic model, we estimate that western Greenland’s ice loss is accelerating at an average rate of 8.7±3.5 Gt yr−2, whereas the rate for southeastern Greenland—based on limited data—falls at 12.5±5.5 Gt yr−2. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctica Greenland Iceland North Atlantic Svalbard Digital Commons University of South Florida (USF) Greenland Svalbard Nature Geoscience 3 6 404 407 |
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Digital Commons University of South Florida (USF) |
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topic |
Earth Sciences |
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Earth Sciences Jiang, Yan Dixon, Timothy H. Wdowinski, Shimon Accelerating Uplift in the North Atlantic Region as an Indicator of Ice Loss |
topic_facet |
Earth Sciences |
description |
Vertical motions of the rocky margins of Greenland and Antarctica respond to mass changes of their respective ice sheets1, 2. However, these motions can be obscured by episodes of glacial advance or retreat that occurred hundreds to thousands of years ago3, 4, 5, 6, which trigger a delayed response because of viscous flow in the underlying mantle. Here we present high-precision global positioning system (GPS) data that describe the vertical motion of the rocky margins of Greenland, Iceland and Svalbard. We focus on vertical accelerations rather than velocities to avoid the confounding effects of past events. Our data show an acceleration of uplift over the past decade that represents an essentially instantaneous, elastic response to the recent accelerated melting of ice throughout the North Atlantic region. Our comparison of the GPS data to models for glacial isostatic adjustment suggests that some parts of western coastal Greenland were experiencing accelerated melting of coastal ice by the late 1990s. Using a simple elastic model, we estimate that western Greenland’s ice loss is accelerating at an average rate of 8.7±3.5 Gt yr−2, whereas the rate for southeastern Greenland—based on limited data—falls at 12.5±5.5 Gt yr−2. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Jiang, Yan Dixon, Timothy H. Wdowinski, Shimon |
author_facet |
Jiang, Yan Dixon, Timothy H. Wdowinski, Shimon |
author_sort |
Jiang, Yan |
title |
Accelerating Uplift in the North Atlantic Region as an Indicator of Ice Loss |
title_short |
Accelerating Uplift in the North Atlantic Region as an Indicator of Ice Loss |
title_full |
Accelerating Uplift in the North Atlantic Region as an Indicator of Ice Loss |
title_fullStr |
Accelerating Uplift in the North Atlantic Region as an Indicator of Ice Loss |
title_full_unstemmed |
Accelerating Uplift in the North Atlantic Region as an Indicator of Ice Loss |
title_sort |
accelerating uplift in the north atlantic region as an indicator of ice loss |
publisher |
Digital Commons @ University of South Florida |
publishDate |
2010 |
url |
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/geo_facpub/430 https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo845 |
geographic |
Greenland Svalbard |
geographic_facet |
Greenland Svalbard |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica Greenland Iceland North Atlantic Svalbard |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica Greenland Iceland North Atlantic Svalbard |
op_source |
School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications |
op_relation |
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/geo_facpub/430 https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo845 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo845 |
container_title |
Nature Geoscience |
container_volume |
3 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
404 |
op_container_end_page |
407 |
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1766119464287338496 |