Solid Earth-cryosphere interaction with a focus on East Antarctica

This contribution focuses on the interplay between the solid Earth and the cryosphere with the aim of progressing knowledge of ice extent and retreat history, and Antarctica´s contribution to sea level change, via observation and modelling. Solid Earth-cryosphere interaction research requires an interdisciplinary approach which is facilitated through the Antarctic Gateway Partnership research program centred in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. New observations are provided through onshore and marine basement rock and sediment sampling, and GPS, seismic and airborne geophysics data collection. These observations are carried out in the context of ice sheet modelling at both basin scale and continental scale.

We investigate the Earth deformation, including horizontal motion, associated with ice sheet evolution. We also improve constraints on geothermal heat as an ice sheet model input by combining information from geological, plate tectonic and geophysical inputs. The present day research findings are placed in the context of paleo ice sheet models which consider a coupled ice sheet / ocean / solid Earth framework. With a focus on East Antarctica, we find that the major ice sheets and their basement catchments behave with contrasting sets of controls. Through our combined approaches, we are better able to constrain model inputs, understand the impact of uncertainty in model inputs and investigate the impact of feedbacks between Earth systems.