Can we stop post glacial rebound from happening? (format, problem)

[gottaq]

In the future will we be able to stop post glacial rebound from happening? This is when certain parts of a continent are rising, and other parts are falling, due to the last ice age and how the ice melted. Canada is rising, while the east coast of the US is falling. This is why the north east has to deal with more a threat from sea level rise, because the land is falling as well. Will future technology be able to stop this post glacial rebound entirely? or is that too much to handle..

[harry chickpea]

So... what are the downsides?

[prosopis]

In a word, no.

If it's any consolation isostatic rebound happens for many reasons and it geneally happens slowly. Any sinking effect on the US eastern seaboard is likely to be very slight and unrelated to glacial changes.

[GregW]

Certainly we can stop rebound. Just manipulate the climate so the continental ice sheets return.

[badlander]

AS stated above adding back the weight would be the solution to YOUR problem.

[harry chickpea]

Originally Posted by gottaq

In the future will we be able to stop post glacial rebound from happening? This is when certain parts of a continent are rising, and other parts are falling, due to the last ice age and how the ice melted. Canada is rising, while the east coast of the US is falling. This is why the north east has to deal with more a threat from sea level rise, because the land is falling as well. Will future technology be able to stop this post glacial rebound entirely? or is that too much to handle..

The fun part of glacial rebound is that it can blast holes in the gloom and doom rising oceans theories. Obviously there isn't an exact 1 to 1 correlation in the effect I am about to mention, but it is significant.

The compressibility of the mantle itself is limited. Part of the change in elevation is due to pressure upon deeper more plastic layers, which move away from areas of extreme pressure. As the weight of glaciers is reduced and the water from them adds to the weight of water in the oceans, there will be downward deformation of the ocean basins as the plastic underlayers move sideways and upwards in that rebound effect. That will have the effect of LOWERING overall sea levels.

A model of this effect can be shown by placing a garbage bag partly filled with water in a kitchen sink. If you place a layer of gravel on top of the bag to represent ice or water, and then move the gravel around into different piles, the overall waterline where the bag meets the sides of the sink will not change as you move things.