Glacial isostatic adjustment (Q622)

Subject, term, tag: Glacial isostatic adjustment

Glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA)

Language	Label	Description	Also known as
English	Glacial isostatic adjustment	Subject, term, tag: Glacial isostatic adjustment	Glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA)

Statements

Instance of

Category

source version

IPCC Glossary v1.5

1 reference

Source

https://apps.ipcc.ch/glossary/

date accessed

27 May 2026

Part of

Working Group I: Climate Change 2021 – The Physical Science Basis

0 references

Definition

The ongoing changes in gravity, rotation and viscoelastic solid Earth deformation (GRD) in response to past changes in the distribution of ice and water on Earth’s surface. On a time scale of decades to tens of millennia following mass redistribution, Earth’s mantle flows viscously as it evolves toward isostatic equilibrium, causing solid Earth movement and geoid changes, which can result in regional-to-local sea level variations. (English)