in geology, vertical elevation of the Earth's surface in response to natural causes. Broad, relatively slow and gentle uplift is termed warping, or epeirogeny, in contrast to the more concentrated and severe orogeny, the uplift associated with earthquakes and mountain building. Uplift of the Earth's surface also has occurred in response to the removal of Pleistocene ice sheets through melting and wastage. Such elastic rebound is both measurable and ongoing in southern Canada and in the general Scandinavian area today.