CHANGES in SEA LEVEL, POSTGLACIAL UPLIFT, and MOBILITY of the EARTH’S INTERIOR by BENO GUTENBERG CONTENTS Abstract
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BULLETIN OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA VOL. 52, PP. 721-772, S FIGS. M AY!, 1941 CHANGES IN SEA LEVEL, POSTGLACIAL UPLIFT, AND MOBILITY OF THE EARTH’S INTERIOR BY BENO GUTENBERG CONTENTS Abstract.................................................................................................................................. 721 Introduction........................................................................................................................... 722 Material.................................................................................................................................. 722 Causes for slow variations of tide-gauge readings.......................................................... 722 Method of calculation........................................................................................................ 726 Eustatic changes................................................................................................................... 728 Postglacial uplift in Fennoscandia..................................................................................... 733 Postglacial uplift in North America.................................................................................. 739 Postglacial uplift, summary................................................................................................ 750 Viscosity and strength of the earth.................................................................................... 751 Conclusions............................................................................................................................ 768 Works to which reference is made.................................................................................... 770 Figure ILLUSTRATIONS Page 1. Changes in sea level, 10-year averages...................................................................... 730 2. Changes in sea level in Fennoscandia, yearly mean values.................................... 734 3. Postglacial uplift in Fennoscandia.............................................................................. 738 4. Postglacial uplift in North America........................................................................... 743 5. Uplift and its rate in Fennoscandia as a function of time...................................... 758 ABSTRACT Record of tide gauges indicate that sea level generally is rising at an average rate of about 10 cm per century. The uplift in Fennoscandia and North America is investigated, and maps showing the rate of uplift are given. A discussion of the new material and historic evidence leave no doubt that the uplift is a consequence of isostatic readjustment of the equilibrium disturbed by the postglacial melting of the ice. The remaining uplift is about 200 meters in Fennoscandia and possibly more in North America, where the present rate of uplift has its maximum of about 2 meters per century in the region of Hudson Bay. Originally, the time needed to reduce the defect in mass to one half under the regions of uplift was less than 10,000 years, but it has been increasing with time and now exceeds 20,000 years. Theoretical investigations on the plastic flow in the interior of the earth connected with the uplift are critically discussed and extended. The movements affect the whole interior of the earth below the regions of uplift; their amplitudes decrease slowly in the upper 1000 km. If one assumes a strong lithosphere with a thickness of about 70 km and below the asthenosphere with a viscosity of the order of 1022 poises, but little or no strength to prohibit plastic flow, there is no disagreement with observations related to isostasy or deep-focus earthquakes. Tectonic processes connected with isostatic anomalies larger than those in the regions of postglacial uplift must be connected with plastic flow at least down to the core. The importance of the effects of small forces acting during long periods is pointed out. (721) Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/gsabulletin/article-pdf/52/5/721/3431119/BUL52_5-0721.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 722 BENO GTJTENBEBG----CHANGES IN SEA LEVEL AND POSTGLACIAL UPLIFT INTRODUCTION In many regions of the earth continuous changes of the surface are going on. Such movements have been studied either by using precise geodetic measurements or by investigating the changes in the level of the ocean or of lakes relative to fixed points on the shores. Such investi gations are not only of much importance in geophysical questions, but they also furnish fundamental data for use in problems of engineering. (See, e. g., Freeman, 1926; Chamber of Commerce of the District of Levis, 1937.) The author, in 1933, investigated such changes of level in North America, but in the interim a large body of data has accumulated calling for revision and extension. MATERIAL The most important publication used in this paper is a summary of monthly and yearly mean heights of sea level derived from observations up to the end of 1936, together with information dealing with the way in which the observations have been taken and reduced. It was issued by the Association d’Oceanographie (1940) and supplemented by data for 1937 (Association d’Oceanographie, 1939). Most countries co operated in the compilation of these data, without which the fundamental problem of eustatic changes during the last decades could not have been investigated. For a few of those stations which did not report to the international summary, the levels published by Witting (1918) for 1898 to 1912 were used. In addition, the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey kindly furnished data concerning sea level at United States sta tions for 1938 and 1939. The Hydrographic Service of the Canadian Department of Mines and Resources furnished similar data for Canadian stations in 1938, and, in addition, provided valuable results on the mean level at Churchill, Hudson Bay, as well as information obtained from gauge records on the Great Lakes in Canada. Mean sea levels on the United States shores of the Great Lakes were kindly provided by the United States Lake Survey Office at Detroit, Michigan, and the United States Engineer Office at Duluth, Minnesota. CAUSES FOR SLOW VARIATIONS OF TIDE-GAUGE READINGS Publications of tide-gauge readings purport to provide the mean ele vation of sea level during a given period at a given point relative to a supposedly fixed mark on the coast. The problem, then, is to calculate the change in sea level and the change in elevation of the coast. In addition the results are influenced by meteorological effects, conditions of the water and the shore, local effects, and errors. The following sources Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/gsabulletin/article-pdf/52/5/721/3431119/BUL52_5-0721.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 CAUSES FOR SLOW VARIATIONS OF TIDE-GAUGE READINGS 723 of true and apparent changes in sea level at a given point have been considered: (1) Eustatic changes. Due to various causes, such as changes in the configuration of ocean bottoms and coasts, and processes which remove water from the earth’s surface or add water to it, the mean sea level changes constantly. The order of magnitude of such variations during periods of geological history can be estimated by investigating contempo rary shore lines in widely separated areas. For recent decades, such changes can be detected by comparing tide-gauge readings in various parts of the world. (2) Effects of meteorological elements on sea level. Changes in air pressure, wind, rain, flow in rivers, local ice conditions, salinity, and temperature of the water are among the causes to be considered. For a more detailed discussion, the reader is referred to Marmer (1931, p. 52), La Cour (1931), LaFond (1939), Woodworth (1927, p. 12), or Johnson (1929), who in addition has pointed out that these effects may be affected by local changes in the shelves near the shore. Attempts to calculate the effect of some of the meteorological elements on the sea level have been made by La Cour (1931) and by Witting (1918), whose well-known map of the uplift of Scandinavia is based on a discussion of sea-level changes. Variations in the density of sea water and in the level of equilibrium as a consequence of changes of its tem perature or salinity have been investigated by LaFond (1939). The total amount of all these effects may be found from comparing geodetic measurements with tide-gauge data. Avers (1931, p. 219) has summarized some of the results. Thus, at St. Augustine, Florida, the mean sea level has been found to be about 24 cm lower than at Galveston. Toward the north along the Atlantic coast the height of mean sea level increases. At Boston, it is about the same as at Galveston, while at Portland, Maine, it is about 7 cm higher. Along the Pacific coast, the calculated differences are even larger; at San Diego the mean sea level has been found to be 40 cm higher than at Galveston, decreasing to 32 cm at San Pedro, Cali fornia, increasing to 79 cm at Fort Stevens, Oregon, and it is about 65 cm above the Galveston level in the State of Washington. The result, that the mean sea level along the Pacific coast of the United States is about half a meter higher than along the Atlantic coast, “agrees in sign with that shown by the leveling across the Isthmus of Panama, where it was found that the mean sea level on the Pacific coast is approximately 0.2 meter higher than on the Atlantic coast” (Avers, 1931, p. 219). Sim ilar results have been found in other