Abstract
We formulate expressions for Fréchet kernels for the relative sea level (RSL) signature of the glacial isostatic adjustment process for realistic (Maxwell) visco-elastic models of the planet. The kernels relate perturbations in the RSL response to perturbations in the radial viscosity profile of the Earth model for a specified ice loading history. In this respect, using a realistic deglaciation chronology, we compute Fréchet kernels for each of the members in a very large RSL data base. The Fréchet kernels allow an assessment of the radial resolving power available from the data, and we have found that it varies from approximately 400 km in the middle of the upper mantle, to 750 km and 1000 km in the upper and middle portions of the lower mantle. The resolving power near the base of the mantle is sensitive to the assumed viscosity model, however it can be as low as 750 km. Furthermore, we find that data reflecting RSL variations over periods longer than the past 4 kyrs are important contributors to the lower mantle resolution, while data from North America can provide a spatial resolution which is comparable, at all depths, to that of the full data set.
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© 1991 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Mitrovica, J.X., Peltier, W.R. (1991). Radial Resolution in the Inference of Mantle Viscosity from Observations of Glacial Isostatic Adjustment. In: Sabadini, R., Lambeck, K., Boschi, E. (eds) Glacial Isostasy, Sea-Level and Mantle Rheology. NATO ASI Series, vol 334. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-3374-6_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-3374-6_4
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
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