Viscosity and finite strength of the mantle as determined from water and ice loads

Geophysical Journal International
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Abstract

Some recent examples of transient Earth loads (Lake Bonneville, Utah; Glacier Bay, Alaska; northeast Greenland) indicate that both the viscosity and finite strength of the mantle are lower than is commonly presumed. A time constant (1/e) of 4000 years is estimated for Lake Bonneville, and of 1000 years for northeast Greenland. A strain rate of 10−14 is typical. These figures imply viscosities in a homogeneous half space ranging from 1020 to 1021 poises.

An upper limit of finite strength is set by Lake Bonneville at a few times 106 dyn/cm2. If mountain ranges like the Sierra Nevada or Himalaya are regarded as dynamically supported rather than static systems, this low value is not incompatible with other geologic observations.

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Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Viscosity and finite strength of the mantle as determined from water and ice loads
Series title Geophysical Journal International
DOI 10.1111/j.1365-246X.1967.tb06243.x
Volume 14
Issue 1-4
Year Published 1967
Language English
Publisher Oxford Academic
Description 19 p.
First page 261
Last page 279
Country Greenland, United States
State Alaska, Utah
Other Geospatial Glacier Bay, Lake Bonneville, Mesters Vig
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