Viscous gravitational relaxation

Summary This paper is concerned with a detailed examination of the response of Maxwell models of the planet to surface mass loads. Particular attention is devoted to an examination of the factors which determine the isostatic response since the understanding of this response is crucial in a number of different geodynamic problems. One particular example which we discuss in detail is concerned with the prediction of free air gravity anomalies produced by large-scale deglaciation events. Using the methods developed here we are able to provide the first direct assessment of the importance of initial isostatic disequilibrium on the observed relative sea-level variations and free air gravity anomalies forced by the melting of the Laurentide ice sheet. We are therefore able to estimate the extent to which such initial disequilibrium might influence the inference of mantle viscosity from isostatic adjustment data. Our calculations establish that free air gravity data, although they are sensitive to the degree of initial disequilibrium, provide an extremely high quality constraint upon the viscosity of the lower mantle.