Late Pleistocene and Holocene sea-level change; evidence for lateral mantle viscosity structure?

Regional studies of the response of the Earth to glacio-hydro-isostatic loading on a time scale of 10⁴ years suggests that lateral variation in this response occurs and that effective upper mantle viscosities may range through an order of magnitude. Highest values occur beneath the Canadian Shield and lowest values beneath the Pacific Islands. The results are largely consistent with the evidence for lateral variation in seismic shear-wave velocities. -Authors