Articles | Volume 9, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-9-997-2016
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-9-997-2016
Model description paper
 | 
08 Mar 2016
Model description paper |  | 08 Mar 2016

Open-source modular solutions for flexural isostasy: gFlex v1.0

A. D. Wickert

Abstract. Isostasy is one of the oldest and most widely applied concepts in the geosciences, but the geoscientific community lacks a coherent, easy-to-use tool to simulate flexure of a realistic (i.e., laterally heterogeneous) lithosphere under an arbitrary set of surface loads. Such a model is needed for studies of mountain building, sedimentary basin formation, glaciation, sea-level change, and other tectonic, geodynamic, and surface processes. Here I present gFlex (for GNU flexure), an open-source model that can produce analytical and finite difference solutions for lithospheric flexure in one (profile) and two (map view) dimensions. To simulate the flexural isostatic response to an imposed load, it can be used by itself or within GRASS GIS for better integration with field data. gFlex is also a component with the Community Surface Dynamics Modeling System (CSDMS) and Landlab modeling frameworks for coupling with a wide range of Earth-surface-related models, and can be coupled to additional models within Python scripts. As an example of this in-script coupling, I simulate the effects of spatially variable lithospheric thickness on a modeled Iceland ice cap. Finite difference solutions in gFlex can use any of five types of boundary conditions: 0-displacement, 0-slope (i.e., clamped); 0-slope, 0-shear; 0-moment, 0-shear (i.e., broken plate); mirror symmetry; and periodic. Typical calculations with gFlex require  ≪ 1 s to  ∼ 1 min on a personal laptop computer. These characteristics – multiple ways to run the model, multiple solution methods, multiple boundary conditions, and short compute time – make gFlex an effective tool for flexural isostatic modeling across the geosciences.

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Short summary
Earth's lithosphere bends beneath surface loads, such as ice, sediments, and mountain belts. The pattern of this bending, or flexural isostatic response, is a function of both the loads and the spatially variable strength of the lithosphere. gFlex is an easy-to-use program to calculate flexural isostastic response, and may be used to better understand how ice sheets, glaciers, large lakes, sedimentary basins, volcanoes, and other surface loads interact with the solid Earth.