GPS-Observed Elastic Deformation Due to Surface Mass Balance Variability in the Southern Antarctic Peninsula

GPS-Observed Elastic Deformation Due to Surface Mass Balance Variability in the Southern Antarctic Peninsula

Koulali, Achraf (Newcastle University)
Whitehouse, Pippa L. (Durham University)
Clarke, Peter J. (Newcastle University)
van den Broeke, Michiel R. (Universiteit Utrecht)
Nield, Grace A. (Durham University)
King, Matt A. (University of Tasmania)
Bentley, Michael J. (Durham University)
Wouters, B. (TU Delft Physical and Space Geodesy; Universiteit Utrecht)
Wilson, Terry (Ohio State University)

2022

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.

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:977f5b7f-4504-4f7f-9b51-b312d70dc568

https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL097109

0094-8276

Geophysical Research Letters, 49 (4)

Institutional Repository

journal article

© 2022 Achraf Koulali, Pippa L. Whitehouse, Peter J. Clarke, Michiel R. van den Broeke, Grace A. Nield, Matt A. King, Michael J. Bentley, B. Wouters, Terry Wilson