IAG-IASPEI 2017

Presentation information

Oral

Joint Symposia » J01. Monitoring of the cryosphere

[J01-1] Monitoring of the cryosphere I

Wed. Aug 2, 2017 8:30 AM - 10:00 AM Room 403 (Kobe International Conference Center 4F, Room 403)

Chairs: Paul Winberry (Central Washington University) , Masaki Kanao (National Institute of Polar Research)

9:15 AM - 9:30 AM

[J01-1-04] Complex Behavior of Glacial Earthquakes Reveal Subglacial Conditions

J. Paul Winberry1, Audrey Huerta1, Richard Aster2, Howard Conway3, Michelle Koutnik3, Sridhar Anandakrishnan4, Andrew Nyblade4, Douglas Wiens5 (1.Central Washington University, 2.Colorado State University, 3.University of Washington, 4.Pennsylvania State University, 5.Washington University in Saint Louis)

Sticky-spots, enhanced regions of basal friction, exert fundamental control on the behavior of glaciers and ice sheets. Seismic energy released during stick-slip behavior associated with sticky-spots provides a window into the subglacial environment. Using new seismograph deployments in the Transantarctic Mountains, we report on 2 new families of repeating magnitude 2 glacial-earthquakes located close to one-another. For the first time, we show that repeating glacier events can be long-lived (> 6 years). Further analysis reveals that these closely spaced events interact with one-another, producing complex behaviors. However, relatively simple models can be used to simulate this behavior, offering insight into subglacial conditions.