Observed rapid bedrock uplift in Amundsen Sea Embayment promotes ice-sheet stability

Journal article (2018)

Authors

Valentin Roberta Barletta Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Ohio State University
Michael Bevis Ohio State University
Andy Nyblade Pennsylvania State University
D. A. Wiens Washington University in St. Louis
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Benjamin E. Smith University of Washington
Terry Wilson Ohio State University
Andrea Bordoni Technical University of Denmark (DTU)
Michael Willis University of Colorado
Ian Dalziel The University of Texas at Austin
Robert Smalley Jr University of Memphis
Richard C. Aster Colorado State University
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Published Date

2018

Language

English

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Abstract

The marine portion of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) in the Amundsen Sea Embayment (ASE) accounts for one-fourth of the cryospheric contribution to global sea-level rise and is vulnerable to catastrophic collapse. The bedrock response to ice mass loss, glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA), was thought to occur on a time scale of 10,000 years. We used new GPS measurements, which show a rapid (41 millimeters per year) uplift of the ASE, to estimate the viscosity of the mantle underneath. We found a much lower viscosity (4 × 1018 pascal-second) than global average, and this shortens the GIA response time scale to decades up to a century. Our finding requires an upward revision of ice mass loss from gravity data of 10% and increases the potential stability of the WAIS against catastrophic collapse.

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