The Cryosphere

Step-wise changes in glacier flow speed coincide with calving and glacial earthquakes at Helheim Glacier, Greenland

  1. M. Nettles1,
  2. T. B. Larsen2,
  3. P. Elósegui3,
  4. G. S. Hamilton4,
  5. L. A. Stearns4,
  6. A. P. Ahlstrøm2,
  7. J. L. Davis5,
  8. M. L. Andersen2,
  9. J. de Juan3,
  10. S. A. Khan6,
  11. L. Stenseng6,
  12. G. Ekström1,
  13. R. Forsberg6

Article first published online: 30 DEC 2008

DOI: 10.1029/2008GL036127

Issue

Geophysical Research Letters

Geophysical Research Letters

Additional Information

How to Cite

Nettles, M., et al. (2008), Step-wise changes in glacier flow speed coincide with calving and glacial earthquakes at Helheim Glacier, Greenland, Geophys. Res. Lett., 35, L24503, doi:10.1029/2008GL036127.

Author Information

  1. 1

    Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, New York, USA

  2. 2

    Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), Copenhagen, Denmark

  3. 3

    Institute for Space Sciences, CSIC, IEEC, Barcelona, Spain

  4. 4

    Climate Change Institute, University of Maine, Orono, Maine, USA

  5. 5

    Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

  6. 6

    Danish National Space Center, Copenhagen, Denmark

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 30 DEC 2008
  2. Article first published online: 30 DEC 2008
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 13 NOV 2008
  4. Manuscript Revised: 27 OCT 2008
  5. Manuscript Received: 24 SEP 2008

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Keywords:

  • glacier dynamics;
  • glacial earthquake;
  • claving

[1] Geodetic observations show several large, sudden increases in flow speed at Helheim Glacier, one of Greenland's largest outlet glaciers, during summer, 2007. These step-like accelerations, detected along the length of the glacier, coincide with teleseismically detected glacial earthquakes and major iceberg calving events. No coseismic offset in the position of the glacier surface is observed; instead, modest tsunamis associated with the glacial earthquakes implicate glacier calving in the seismogenic process. Our results link changes in glacier velocity directly to calving-front behavior at Greenland's largest outlet glaciers, on timescales as short as minutes to hours, and clarify the mechanism by which glacial earthquakes occur.

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