GNSS sites at Hornsund reveal increase of land uplift rate due to recent acceleration of deglaciation at Svalbard

Rajner, Marcin

doi:10.2478/rgg-2025-0020

Abstract

This paper discusses recent and up-to-date uplift rates at Polish Polar Station at Hornsund (SW Svalbard). Twenty years of continuous Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) measurements was used to infer contemporary vertical crust deformation due to viscous and elastic response to variable loads. Using environmental models good agreement of observed land uplift with numerical predictions was found. Most of the vertical change stem from Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA), Little Ice Age (LIA) and Present Day IceMelting (PDIM). Significant increase of uplift was observed in the last few years from 9.0mmyr⁻¹ up to 11.5mmyr⁻¹. This can be attributed to increase of ice mass loss at Svalbard archipelago of additional 10 Gt yr⁻¹. In case of GNSS site at Hornsund 80% of PDIM comes from melting of glaciers at south Spitsbergen.

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GNSS sites at Hornsund reveal increase of land uplift rate due to recent acceleration of deglaciation at Svalbard

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