Circum‐Antarctic Glacially Induced Fault Reactivation Since the Last Glacial Maximum

Glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) has the potential to reactivate faults in the crust due to the generation of stresses caused by changes in the ice load. Research on the release of stress along pre‐existing faults, known as glacially induced faults, in Antarctica is limited due to the lack of detailed information about the region's ice sheet history, Earth's rheology, and fault parameters. Here, we analyse the reactivation potential of 62 faults since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) by calculating Coulomb failure stress changes (CFS) for a thrust faulting and a strike‐slip faulting stress regime in combination with various GIA models and stress parameters. In general, a higher fault instability was observed in a strike‐slip faulting stress regime compared to a thrust faulting stress regime. Furthermore, the ice sheet history models had a higher effect on fault instability than the Earth models. Faults located in the Ross Sea area show the highest potential of fault reactivation, while those in the Antarctic Peninsula show the lowest. Our results suggest that the potential for glacially triggered faulting has increased since the LGM in many inherited rift systems, and some faults remain unstable until today.