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Tag: Ice sheet

Antarctica topography

The ice surface- and bed topography of Antarctica.

The ice surface- and bed topography of Antarctica with elevations relative to present-day global mean sea-level. Almost 98% of the Antarctic continent surface is covered by ice and its weight is pushing down the rocky crust below it. If the continental ice sheet would melt, isostatic post-glacial rebound would cause an uplift of the rocky surface of Antarctica. Elevations are taken from the BedMachine compilations (Morlighem et al., 2020) and the Scientific colour map ‚oleron‘ is used to represent bed topography accurately and to all readers.

  • Creator: Guy Paxman
  • This version: 25.06.2024
  • License: Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)
  • Specific citation: These graphics by Guy Paxman are available via the open-access s-ink.org repository.
  • Related references:
    Morlighem, M., Rignot, E., Binder, T. et al. Deep glacial troughs and stabilizing ridges unveiled beneath the margins of the Antarctic ice sheet. Nature Geoscience 13, 132–137 (2020)

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Greenland topography

The ice surface- and bed topography of Greenland.

The ice surface- and bed topography of Greenland with elevations relative to present-day global mean sea-level. Almost 80% of Greenland’s surface is covered by ice and its weight is pushing down the rocky crust below it. If the ice sheet would melt, post-glacial rebound would cause an uplift of the rocky surface of Greenland. Elevations are taken from the BedMachine compilations (Morlighem et al., 2017) and the Scientific colour map ‚oleron‘ is used to represent bed topography accurately and to all readers.

  • Creator: Guy Paxman
  • This version: 23.06.2024
  • License: Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)
  • Specific citation: These graphics by Guy Paxman are available via the open-access s-ink.org repository.
  • Related references:
    Morlighem, M., Williams, C. N., Rignot, E. et al. BedMachine v3: Complete bed topography and ocean bathymetry mapping of Greenland from multibeam echo sounding combined with mass conservation. Geophysical Research Letters, 44(21), 11-051 (2017)

  • Individual still images included
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  • Colour-vision deficiency friendly
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Sea-level change mechanisms (sketch)

Sketches outlining the solid-Earth induced sea-level change mechanisms over different time periods, covering elastic, viscous, and mantle convection time scales.

Sketches outlining the solid-Earth induced change of sea level over different time periods, covering elastic (instantaneous), viscous (thousand to hundred thousand years), and mantle convection (Million to Billion years) time scales. Shown are the solid Earth and oceans (filled areas) and their surfaces after an applied change to the system (lines).

On the shortest time scales, the solid Earth deforms elastically in response to an imposed load: an ice sheet uplifts the ground near areas of mass loss and depresses the ocean basins, which gain mass. The sea surface drops near the mass loss because the diminished ice sheet gravitationally attracts less seawater. Relative to the ground surface, sea-level drops near melting ice, but rises faster than average over the rest of the ocean.

Following glacial unloading, Earth deforms viscously on time scales of 1’000–100’000 years as the mantle flows back into the depressed region. This uplifts the region near the former ice sheet (locally causing relative sea-level drop) and depresses the surrounding peripheral forebulge. If the forebulge collapses beneath the sea surface, the added basin volume causes far-field (eustatic) sea-level drop.

On time scales of one Million years and longer, solid Earth processes associated with plate tectonics and mantle dynamics dominate sea-level change (Harrison, 1990; Miller et al., 2005). Shown here are the major processes that can elevate global average (eustatic) sea level (and depress it when acting oppositely). Global sea level rises when the “container” volume of the ocean basins decreases, which can have multiple reasons. Sea level also rises, if water exchange with the deep mantle becomes imbalanced.

  • Creator: Clint P. Conrad
  • This version: 27.10.2021
  • License: Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)
  • Specific citation: This graphic by Clint Conrad based on Conrad (2013) is available via the open-access s-Ink repository.
  • Related reference: Conrad, C.P. (2013), The solid earth’s influence on sea level, Geological Society of America Bulletin, 125, 1027-1052, doi:10.1130/B30764.1.
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