VOLCANO MADNESS: Re: [Geology2] Glacial Thinning Has Sharply Accelerated at Major South American Icefields

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Re: [Geology2] Glacial Thinning Has Sharply Accelerated at Major South American Icefields

Hi Vic,

I suppose you're referring to such heat as would be generated via subduction that would be transferred to the surface? From what I understand, subduction does not affect Patagonia, at least as far back as the Miocene. Plate tectonics is still hard at work there, though, as the movement incurred at the subduction zone to the west along with the movement of the Scotia Plate to the south serve to create many earthquakes, mostly reverse thrust. Given that Patagonia has been relatively stable for such a long period of time, sediments collected there, along with long term glaciation, serve as historic markers in earth history... especially in climatological studies.

Hope that makes sense...

Lin

On Thu, Sep 6, 2012 at 8:28 AM, Victor G Healey <vic.nospam@gmail.com> wrote:

What if the ice field thinning is caused by heat from below indicating more possible seismic unrest coming to the mountains of Patagonia?

Patagonia

Patagonia is a region located at the southern end of South America, territory shared by Argentina and Chile, boasting some of the most dramatic landscapes on Earth. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the mountain range to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean. To the west, it includes the territory of Valdivia through Tierra del Fuego archipelago.

On Sep 6, 2012, at 8:25 AM, Lin Kerns <linkerns@gmail.com> wrote:

A new study, however, finds that the rate of glacier thinning has increased by about half over the last dozen years in the Southern Patagonian Icefield, compared to the 30 years prior to 2000.