Glacier Song

Gorner Glacier, Swiss Alps. Image courtesy NASA. See related article by Heeszel et al.

In this study published in Geology on 24 Oct. 2014, David S. Heeszel and colleagues use seismic recordings collected near Lake Gornersee in the Swiss Alps to look for signs of water moving through fractures near the glacier bed.

Analysis of these recordings reveals, for the first time, that harmonic tremor occurs within mountain glaciers and that individual icequakes at the glacier base can exhibit harmonic properties.

These observations suggest that there is a complex network of fluid-induced fracture processes at the glacier base. Because glacial lake drainage events can occur with little or no warning, there is the potential for damaging floods in valleys below the glacier.

Unfortunately, because the water moves under and through the glacier, surface observations alone cannot predict lake drainage events.

Modeling changes in the observed harmonic frequencies indicates that the spectral characteristics of seismic data can provide important information about hydraulic fracture geometry and fluid pressure at depth, leading to important insights into subglacial hydrologic processes.

Future modeling of these processes may lead to improved glacial outburst flood hazard predictions.

FEATURED ARTICLE
Humming glaciers
David S. Heeszel et al., Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, MC 0225, La Jolla, California 92093, USA, Current Address: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555, USA. Published online ahead of print on 24 Oct. 2014; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/G35994.1.

Other recently posted GEOLOGY articles (see below) cover such topics as
1. Ice on Mercury;
2. 1.7 billion-year-old microfossils and the Great Ocean Oxidation Event; and
3. How methane enters a carbon store and is frozen within the sediment.

GEOLOGY articles published online ahead of print can be accessed online at http://geology.gsapubs.org/content/early/recent. All abstracts are open-access at http://geology.gsapubs.org/; representatives of the media may obtain complimentary articles by contacting Kea Giles at the address above.

Please discuss articles of interest with the authors before publishing stories on their work, and please make reference to GEOLOGY in articles published. Contact Kea Giles for additional information or assistance.

Non-media requests for articles may be directed to GSA Sales and Service, gsaservice@geosociety.org.

Media Contact

Kea Giles Eurek Alert!

All latest news from the category: Earth Sciences

Earth Sciences (also referred to as Geosciences), which deals with basic issues surrounding our planet, plays a vital role in the area of energy and raw materials supply.

Earth Sciences comprises subjects such as geology, geography, geological informatics, paleontology, mineralogy, petrography, crystallography, geophysics, geodesy, glaciology, cartography, photogrammetry, meteorology and seismology, early-warning systems, earthquake research and polar research.

Back to home

Comments (0)

Write a comment

Newest articles

Distance learning can improve women’s access to vocational training as animal health care practitioners in Nepal. Image Credit: Heifer International

Hybrid Job Training Boosts Women’s Participation in Nepal

Globally, women’s workforce participation is about 25% lower than men’s, often due to barriers such as domestic responsibilities and cultural norms. Vocational training can increase employment opportunities, but women may…

CO2release increase under repeated drying-rewetting cycles (DWCs). Image Credit: Suzuki, Nagano et al., 2025 SOIL

Drying and Rewetting Cycles Boost Soil CO2 Emissions

Niigata, Japan – The amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) released by microbial decomposition of soil organic carbon on a global scale is approximately five times greater than the amount of…

A new drug delivery system shows promise for treating a rare, aggressive form of cancer affecting pregnant women and new mothers. Oregon State's Olena Taratula and collaborators including OSU postdoctoral researcher Babak Mamnoon and Maureen Baldwin, a physician at Oregon Health & Science University, designed a type of drug nanocarrier known as a polymersome to specifically target a protein in choriocarcinoma cells. Depicted is a polymersome with its methotrexate cargo. Illustration by Parinaz Ghanbari. Image Credit: Parinaz Ghanbari

Improved Treatment Method for Rare Pregnancy-Related Cancer

PORTLAND, Ore. – A new drug delivery system shows promise for treating a rare, aggressive form of cancer affecting pregnant women and new mothers, and it has potential with other…