Simultaneous estimation of global present-day water transport and glacial isostatic adjustment
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Material Information

Title:
Simultaneous estimation of global present-day water transport and glacial isostatic adjustment
Series Title:
Natural Geoscience
Creator:
Xiaoping Wu
Michael B. Heflin
Hugo Schotman
Bert L.A. Vermeersen
Danan Dong
Richard S. Gross
Erik R. Ivins
Angelyn W. Moore
Susan E. Owen
Publisher:
Macmillan Publishers Limited
Publication Date:
Language:
English

Subjects

Subjects / Keywords:
Climate Change
Ocean
Glacial Isostasy

Notes

Abstract:
Global water transport between oceans and continents during the transition from glacial to interglacial times has been enormous. The viscoelastic solid Earth has been responding to this unloading of large ice masses with a rise of the land masses, in a process termed glacial isostatic adjustment. In addition, significant changes in the land/ocean water distribution occur at present. As both present-day changes in the ice/water thickness and glacial isostatic adjustment affect space geodetic measurements, it is difficult to untangle the relative contributions of these two processes. Here we combine gravity measurements and geodetic data of surface movement with a data-assimilating model of ocean bottom pressure to simultaneously estimate present-day water transport and glacial isostatic adjustment. We determine their separate contributions to movements in the geocentre, which occur in response to changes in the Earth’s mass distribution, with uncertainties below0:1mmyr-1.According to our estimates, mass losses between 2002 and 2008 in Greenland, Alaska/Yukon and West Antarctica are 104[plus or minus]23, 101[plus or minus]23 and 64[plus or minus]32 Gt yr-1, respectively. Our estimates of glacial isostatic adjustment indicate a large geocentre velocity of -0.72[plus or minus]0.06mmyr-1 in the polar direction. We conclude that a significant revision of the present estimates of glacial isostatic adjustments and land–ocean water exchange is required.

Record Information

Source Institution:
Florida International University
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