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Dryad

Vertical land motion due to present-day ice loss from Greenland’s and Canada’s peripheral glaciers

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Oct 25, 2023 version files 21.23 MB

Abstract

Greenland's bedrock responds to the ongoing loss of ice mass with an elastic vertical land motion (VLM) that is measured by Greenland's GNSS Network (GNET). The measured VLM also contains other contributions, including the long-term viscoelastic response of the Earth to previous deglaciation.

Greenland’s ice sheet (GrIS) is producing the most significant contribution to the total VLM. The contribution of peripheral glaciers (PGs) from both Greenland (GrPGs) and Arctic Canada (CanPGs) has not been carefully accounted for in the GNSS time series analysis. This is a significant concern, since GNET stations are often closer to PGs than to the ice sheet. 

We find that PGs produce significant elastic rebound, especially in North and East Greenland. Across these regions, the PGs result in up to 37% of the elastic rebound. For a few stations in the North, the VLM from PGs is larger than the GrIS one.