Rapid crustal uplift in Patagonia due to enhanced ice loss

A vertical crustal uplift rate of 39 mm yr(-1) is measured between 2003 and 2006 using Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements at the northeastern edge of the Southern Patagonia Icefield (SPI). This is the largest present-day glacial isostatic rate ever recorded. The combination of SPI's rapid melting and the unique regional slab-window tectonics that promotes a relatively low viscosity, is central to our interpretation of the observations. The two effects lead to a strong interaction of short relaxation times with ice loads that change on a comparable time scale. The profile of GPS observations link ice loss to the soft viscoelastic isostatic flow response over the time scale of the Little Ice Age (LIA), including ice loss in the period of observation. The agreement of the results with our model predictions strongly suggests the large crustal uplift in Patagonia is due an accelerated glacier wasting since the termination of the LIA and that the effective regional mantle viscosity is near 4.0-8.0 x 10(18) Pa s. A century-long diminution of the icefields, at rates that are about 1/4 - 1/2 the contemporary loss rates, is consistent with multidecadal-scale temperature trends estimated for the past 50-100 years and is, in fact, a key feature in any model capable of explaining the uplift data. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.