HR: 0830h
AN: C41C-0996    [PDF]
TI: Greenland: A Geophysical Target for the International Polar Year?
AU: * Braun, A
EM: braun.118@osu.edu
AF: Byrd Polar Research Center, The Ohio State University, 108 Scott Hall, 1090 Carmack Rd, Columbus, OH 43210 United States
AU: Csatho, B
EM: csatho.1@osu.edu
AF: Byrd Polar Research Center, The Ohio State University, 108 Scott Hall, 1090 Carmack Rd, Columbus, OH 43210 United States
AU: van der Veen, K
EM: vanderveen.1@osu.edu
AF: Byrd Polar Research Center, The Ohio State University, 108 Scott Hall, 1090 Carmack Rd, Columbus, OH 43210 United States
AU: Wilson, T J
EM: twilson@mps.ohio-state.edu
AF: Department of Geological Sciences, The Ohio State University, 275 Mendenhall Laboratory, 125 South Oval Mall, Columbus, OH 43210 United States
AU: von Frese, R R
EM: vonfrese.1@osu.edu
AF: Department of Geological Sciences, The Ohio State University, 275 Mendenhall Laboratory, 125 South Oval Mall, Columbus, OH 43210 United States
AU: Daniels, J J
EM: jeff@geology.ohio-state.edu
AF: Department of Geological Sciences, The Ohio State University, 275 Mendenhall Laboratory, 125 South Oval Mall, Columbus, OH 43210 United States
AU: Bevis, M
EM: bevis@hawaii.edu
AF: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Geodetic Sciences, The Ohio State University, 470 Hitchcock Hall, 2070 Neil Av, Columbus, OH 43210 United States
AU: Shum, C
EM: ckshum@osu.edu
AF: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Geodetic Sciences, The Ohio State University, 470 Hitchcock Hall, 2070 Neil Av, Columbus, OH 43210 United States
AB: Greenland is a unique geophysical target since it represents a coupled system of the solid Earth and the cryosphere on different spatial scales. Major open questions include the structure, the history and the thermo-mechanical properties of the bedrock, the crust, the lithosphere and the mantle as well as their interaction with the ice sheet. Modeling ice dynamics requires a detailed knowledge of the bedrock properties and the lithology to infer basal melting and ice flow. In studies of ice mass balance or the contribution to sea level change, geodynamic processes such as glacial isostatic adjustment and crustal deformation have to be taken into account. Examples of coupled processes are ice surface deformations, englacial and basal melting, which are related to the onset of fast flow and possibly to the migration of shear margins. The basal melt indicates higher than average crustal heat flow, which in turn can be associated with temperature variations in the crust/mantle and thus may be triggered by past and ongoing geodynamic processes. Geophysical observations in Greenland have a long history ranging from Alfred Wegener's first meteorological records in 1906 to the completion of the Arctic Gravity Project in 2003. Although the scientific database of Greenland is continuously growing, there are only minor efforts in the solid Earth community to exploit and evaluate the recently collected data and merge these with historic data. Further, the interaction between the geophysical and the glaciological community has not been fully developed. While atmospheric sciences and offshore geology of Greenland are well established, the large picture of Greenland's geological structure and history is still blurry. Past geodynamic activity, e.g. from a hotspot or rifting events, might have significant influence on present ice dynamics. Processes like glacial isostatic adjustment and glacier dynamics are shaping Greenland's surface. These processes must be observed with geophysical, geodetic and glaciological methods as a pre-requisite for further investigations. We like to initiate a concerted action (1) to collect further data (e.g. by airborne geophysical campaigns, seismic profiling, borehole logging), (2) to establish an integrated and interdisciplinary interpretation, and (3) to promote international cooperation (e.g. with Denmark and Germany). In addition, an initiative focusing on the analysis of existing data would be a desirable step. The International Polar Year provides an exceptional opportunity to combine expertise in the relevant fields, and to study the interaction of geophysics, geology and glaciology. Greenland as a science target has received less attention compared to Antarctica, which might have political and economic reasons. We propose to initiate a discussion to establish a program focusing on the solid Earth - cryosphere interaction and put Greenland on the agenda in the US polar research community for the International Polar Year.
UR: http://www-bprc.mps.ohio-state.edu/
DE: 0994 Instruments and techniques
DE: 1208 Crustal movements--intraplate (8110)
DE: 5462 Polar regions
DE: 6620 Science policy
DE: 8110 Continental tectonics--general (0905)
SC: Cryosphere [C]
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting