# Detection of Crustal Uplift Deformation in Response to Glacier Wastage in Southern Patagonia
###### Abstract  
The Southern Patagonian Icefield (SPI) is the largest continuous ice mass in the Southern Hemisphere outside Antarctica. It has been shrinking since the Little Ice Age (LLA) period, with increasing rates in recent years. An uplift of crustal deformation in response to this deglaciation process has been expected. The goal of this investigation is to analyze the crustal deformation caused by ice retreat using time-series data from continuous GPS stations (2015-2020) in the northern area of the SPI. For this purpose, we installed two continuous GPS stations on rocky unnataks of the SPI (the GRCS near Greve glacier and the GBCS close by Cerro Corra Blanca). In addition, ice elevation changes (2000-2019) were analyzed by the co-registration of the SRTM digital elevation model and ICESat elevation data points. The results of the vertical components are positive (36.55 \(\pm\) 2.58 mm a\({}^{-1}\)), with a maximum at GBCS, indicating the highest rate of crustal uplift ever continuously recorded in Patagonia; in addition, the mean horizontal velocities reached 11.7 mm a\({}^{-1}\) with an azimuth of 43\({}^{\circ}\). The negative ice elevation changes detected in the region have also accelerated in the recent two decades, with a median \(\Delta h\) (elevation change) of \(-\)3.36 \(\pm\) 0.01 m a\({}^{-1}\) in the ablation zone. The seasonality of the GPS signals was contrasted with the water levels of the main Patagonian lakes around the SPI, detecting a complex interplay between them. Hence, the study sheds light on the knowledge of the crustal uplift as evidence of the wastage experienced by the SPI glaciers. GPS; ICESat; crustal movements; glacier wastage; Southern Patagonia Article Detection of Crustal Uplift Deformation in Response to Glacier Wastage in Southern Patagonia  
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[PERSON], [PERSON]; [PERSON] [PERSON]; [PERSON], [PERSON]; [PERSON], [PERSON]; [PERSON], [PERSON], [PERSON], [PERSON]; [PERSON], [PERSON] Detection of Crustal Uplift Deformation in Response to Glacier Wastage in Southern Patagonia  
[PERSON], [PERSON]. As ice sheets and glaciers melt, and water is redistributed at the global ocean scale, the deformation of the Earth's crust generates a complex pattern of three-dimensional movements on the Earth's surface [16]. Although the current sea level changes are mainly a consequence of the massive global ice sheet melting, the mean sea level remains in continuous change due to late viscoelastic responses of the Earth by surface mass redistribution [17]. Consequently, this is a delayed effect of continental ice sheets since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 21,000 years ago) [18]. Those changes originate in the solid Earth through an isostatic readjustment or GIA (glacial isostatic adjustment), one of the geophysical processes that can easily be observed without resorting to sophisticated scientific measurement techniques. The currently observed uplift rates are the sum of an immediate elastic response of the Earth's crust to current ice mass changes and the viscous response to ice load changes in the past [19]. The crustal deformation survey by the Global Positioning System (GPS) geodetic network has been widely used to monitor crustal variations [20] since the 1990s thanks to it being an inexpensive and precise technique [21]. Furthermore, the system allows for the detection of responses to depth and superficial deformations that have been observed over time ([22; 23], and others). Currently, geodetic time series are widely used for detecting the Earth's deformation processes. In the SPI region, there are evidences of crustal deformation responses to ice mass volume change during the last 150 years [24]. Because of these processes, an exceptionally fast crustal elevation with an interplate tectonic movement has been experienced by the SPI [19].