High geothermal heat flow in the Amundsen Sea sector of West Antarctica derived from Curie depth analysis of a new aeromagnetic grid compilation
Abstract
Variations in geothermal heat flow at the Earths surface are a result of different tectonic and magmatic processes. High heat flow in the polar regions has been debated to play a significant role in affecting ice sheet dynamics. This is in particular relevant for the West Antarctic Ice Sheet which is largely underlain by thin crust of the West Antarctic Rift System causing a submarine setting for most of the ice sheet basis. Previous Antarctic continental-scale indirect heat flow estimates often have a low spatial resolution and yield large discrepancies between different models. In this study, we analyse integrated onshore and offshore aeromagnetic data to estimate geothermal heat flow in the Amundsen Sea sector of West Antarctica. We performed a detailed Curie depth analysis based on this new magnetic anomaly grid compilation, which reveals variations in lithospheric thermal gradients. Our analysis infers that the rapidly retreating Thwaites and Pope glaciers in particular are underlain by areas of largely elevated geothermal heat flow. These areas of high heat flow relate to the so far known tectonic and magmatic history of the West Antarctic Rift System in the Amundsen Sea sector. Our results imply that the behavior of this vulnerable sector of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is strongly coupled to the dynamics of the underlying lithosphere.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2021
- Bibcode:
- 2021AGUFMEP12D..05G