Approximately half of the ice-mass loss currently occurring in Greenland is the result of dynamic processes leading to the export of calf ice from the Greenland Ice Sheet's marine margins. Rapid changes in glacier flow speeds, thinning rates, and terminus positions have been observed during the past decade, but remain poorly understood. Many of Greenland's largest glaciers also produce seismic signals equivalent in amplitude to those from earthquakes of M ~ 5. We combine observations of globally recorded seismic signals with local geodetic observations at a large Greenland outlet glacier to obtain insight into the glacial-earthquake source process and the response of outlet glaciers to changing environmental conditions, including ice loss at the terminus and varying surface meltwater input.

Argonne Physics Division Colloquium Schedule