Abstract
Interdisciplinary research concerning solid Earth–cryosphere interaction and feedbacks requires a working model of the Antarctic crust and upper mantle. Active areas of interest include the effect of the heterogeneous Earth structure on glacial isostatic adjustment, the distribution of geothermal heat, and the history of erosion and deposition. In response to this research need, we construct an adaptable and updatable 3D grid model in a software framework to contain and process solid Earth data. The computational framework, based on an open source software packageagrid, allows different data sources to be combined and jointly analyzed. The grid model is populated with crustal properties from geological observations and geochronology results, where such data exist, and published segmentation from geophysical data in the interior where direct observations are absent. The grid also contains 3D geophysical data such as wave speed and derived temperature from seismic tomographic models, and 2D datasets such as gravity anomalies, surface elevation, subglacial temperature, and ice sheet boundaries. We demonstrate the usage of the framework by computing new estimates of subglacial steady-state heat flow in a continental scale model for east Antarctica and a regional scale model for the Wilkes Basin in Victoria Land. We hope that the 3D model and framework will be used widely across the solid Earth and cryosphere research communities.
Highlights
Past, present, and future changes in the mass of the Antarctic ice sheets have a direct impact on global sea level (e.g., King et al, 2012; Shepherd et al, 2012; Golledge et al, 2015; Ritz et al, 2015; DeConto and Pollard, 2016; Golledge et al, 2019)
Examples of solid Earth–cryosphere interaction include the impact of Antarctic Crust and Upper Mantle the heterogeneous Earth structure on glacial isostatic adjustment (e.g., Whitehouse, 2018), the amount and distribution of geothermal heat (e.g., Pattyn, 2010), and the history of erosion and deposition over geological time (e.g., Paxman et al, 2018)
Reproducible models of the Antarctic crust and upper mantle are needed to progress interdisciplinary studies such as those relating to Glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA), heat flow and topography
Summary
Present, and future changes in the mass of the Antarctic ice sheets have a direct impact on global sea level (e.g., King et al, 2012; Shepherd et al, 2012; Golledge et al, 2015; Ritz et al, 2015; DeConto and Pollard, 2016; Golledge et al, 2019). Many aspects of the Earth’s crust and mantle have significant spatial variability that impacts overlying ice sheets; access to solid Earth research results has gained importance to the interdisciplinary research community (Whitehouse et al, 2019). Field campaigns enabled geological investigations to map out crustal domains along the Antarctic coast and Transantarctic Mountains (Ravich et al, 1965; Craddock, 1970; Adie and Adie, 1977; Tingey et al, 1991) Those interpretations are, to a large extent, still valid, more recent field geological studies have expanded the number of outcrops visited. Initiatives such as the GeoMAP project (Cox et al, 2018) and compilations of rock sample data (e.g., Gard et al, 2019) aim to facilitate geological studies of Antarctica, using the broad range of published data
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