GPS-Observed Elastic Deformation Due to Surface Mass Balance Variability in the Southern Antarctic Peninsula
Achraf Koulali (Newcastle University)
Pippa L. Whitehouse (Durham University)
Peter J. Clarke (Newcastle University)
M. R. van den Broeke (Universiteit Utrecht)
Grace Nield (Durham University)
Matt A. King (University of Tasmania)
Michael J. Bentley (Durham University)
B. Wouters (Universiteit Utrecht, TU Delft - Physical and Space Geodesy)
Terry Wilson (The Ohio State University)
More Info
expand_more
Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download, forward or distribute the text or part of it, without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license such as Creative Commons.
Abstract
In Antarctica, Global Positioning System (GPS) vertical time series exhibit non-linear signals over a wide range of temporal scales. To explain these non-linearities, a number of hypotheses have been proposed, among them the short-term rapid solid Earth response to contemporaneous ice mass change. Here we use GPS vertical time series to reveal the solid Earth response to variations in surface mass balance (SMB) in the Southern Antarctic Peninsula (SAP). At four locations in the SAP we show that interannual variations of SMB anomalies cause measurable elastic deformation. We use regional climate model SMB products to calculate the induced displacement assuming a perfectly elastic Earth. Our results show a reduction of the misfit when fitting a linear trend to GPS time series corrected for the elastic response to SMB variations. Our results imply that, for a better understanding of the glacial isostatic adjustment signal in Antarctica, SMB variability must be considered.
help_outline