A method of calculating lithosphere thickness from observations of deglacial land uplift and tilt

Abstract

The study proposes an inversion method applicable to observations of deglacial land uplift and tilt near the margin of a major Pleistocene ice-sheet. This information allows the determination of the cross-section of the ice-sheet and the calculation of the thickness of the lithosphere. The method is applied to the Pleistocene glaciations in Fennoscandia and Laurentia and yields similar lithosphere thicknesses of 110 ± 30 km and 130 ± 35 km, respectively. Since the method is based on a static theoretical model, the thicknesses must be interpreted as upper bounds.