EarthRef.org Reference Database (ERR)
Development and Maintenance by the EarthRef.org Database Team

Detailed Reference Information
Sabadini & Vermeersen 1997
Sabadini, R. and Vermeersen, L.L.A. (1997). Ice-age cycles: Earth's rotation instabilities and sea-level changes. Geophysical Research Letters 24: doi: 10.1029/97GL03161. issn: 0094-8276.

A new class of multilayered, viscoelastic Earth models based on PREM is applied to the modeling of Earths's rotation instabilities and associated sea-level changes, induced by the occurrence of Pleistocene ice-age cycles that match the oxygen isotope records over the last 0.8 Myr. The novelty of our approach stands on the usage, for the first time in post-glacial rebound induced sea-level studies, of a fully analytical scheme based on normal mode theory that allows to deal with complexities of the real Earth, such as lithospheric and mantle layering, sphericity and self-gravitation. The ice models are based on ICE-3G. Our results show that differences in true polar wander (TPW) and TPW-induced sea-level changes between Earth models with a few layers and models having enough layers so that saturated continuum limits are reached, can amount factors 2 to 3. This may change conclusions derived from some earlier studies on polar wander induced changes in climate, that were based on Earth models with a limited amount of layers. The results indicate that models containing about 15 layers with a stratified lower mantle and transition zone have reached saturated continuum responses for both TPW and TPW-induced sea-level changes. Stratification of the lithosphere is not important. This is in contrast with the sensitivity of post-seismic deformation models. This difference in sensitivity on the radial profile of the Earth model can be explained with simple arguments on the dependence on zonal degree. ¿ 1997 American Geophysical Union

BACKGROUND DATA FILES

Abstract

Keywords
Information Related to Geologic Time, General or miscellaneous
Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
http://www.agu.org/journals/gl/
Publisher
American Geophysical Union
2000 Florida Avenue N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20009-1277
USA
1-202-462-6900
1-202-328-0566
service@agu.org
Click to clear formClick to return to previous pageClick to submit