Lighthouse News Daily

Breaking Daily News

Monday, March 1, 2021
Log in
  • Headlines
  • Business
  • Education
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • U.S.
  • World
  • Latest News
    • Inflatable Greenhouse Could Be A Food Source In The Outer Space
    • YouTube for Children Being Launched by Google
    • Some Animals Produce Natural Sunscreen to Protect Themselves from Radiation, New Study Shows
    • A New Genetic Map Tracks Down Dog Breeds And Their Evolution
    • Lack Of Sleep Causes Brain Cells To Slow Down
    • Meet Lyuba, the Best-Preserved Baby Mammoth in the World
    • Reports of Great White Shark Spottings Around Wells, Maine
    • Minecraft Adds Hour of Code Designer Tutorial
    • The de Broglie-Bohm Theory Is Back and It’s Surreal
    • Could High Carbon Dioxide Concentration Make Earth Greener?
You are here: Home / Science / Greenland’s Glacial Earthquakes Signal Tremendous Calving Activity

Greenland’s Glacial Earthquakes Signal Tremendous Calving Activity

June 27, 2015 By Lonnie Davidson Leave a Comment

Email, RSS Follow

Greenland’s Glacial Earthquakes Signal Tremendous Iceberg Calving

Scientists learned that the massive earthquakes Greenland experiences every time it loses ice may help them track the pace at which the world’s largest island losses its precious ice sheets.

Scientists from the Columbia University ’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Swansea University in the UK cracked open the mechanism behind Greenland’s glacial earthquakes.

The team explained that the earthquakes occur when a huge iceberg separates from a tidal glacier. As they splash into the water, the icebergs also give a push to the glacier backwards. The force of the impact is so strong that it generates a surface seismic wave that can be detected across the entire planet.

Researcher Meredith Nettles at the Columbia University said that the earthquakes can reach a magnitude of 5.2.

“Which is a pretty big earthquake,”

she added.

But scientists are concerned because these massive quakes are seven times more frequent than they were in the 1990s. They argued that their rate skyrocketed as the climate became warmer and more icebergs were released into the sea by the melting glaciers.

During their research, scientists used GPS trackers on the Helheim Glacier and monitored its calving edge with a camera. Additionally, they asked earthquake experts to track seismic activity in the area.

Nettles noted that the amount of ice Helheim Glacier currently loses is astronomical. Its calving glaciers contain around a gigaton of ice mass. The researcher equated that mass with the amount of ice we would obtain if we were to cover the entire National Mall with ice to an altitude about four times higher than the Washington monument.

Additionally, a calving glacier can reach 2 miles in length, so we shouldn‘t be surprised when such behemoth jolts the Earth while colliding with another huge body of ice.

The research team even conducted a simulation of what happens when an iceberg breaks off from the glacier. The model showed that in the first seconds the glacier stands vertically just like someone would cut a thick slice of bread. But a few moments later the glacier starts to capsize.

In the process, the top hits the glacier’s calving front, while its bottom rises to the surface leaving the iceberg to float flat for a few moments. The resulting force is so tremendous that it can push back the glacier inland and temporarily reverse its front flow generating a significant seismic activity.

A paper on the finding and calving icebergs’ dynamics was published Thursday in the journal Science.

Image Source: BC 25

Email, RSS Follow

Filed Under: Science

Pages

  • About/Contact
  • AccomplishNow Sandra Rechsteiner | A Journey to Self-Acceptance
  • Privacy Policy GDPR
  • Staff
  • Terms and Conditions

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 17 other subscribers

SolarCity Reportedly Designed World’s Most Efficient Solar Panel

October 3, 2015 By Lonnie Davidson Leave a Comment

Instagram Rules the Market with 400 Million Users

September 23, 2015 By Lonnie Davidson Leave a Comment

U.S. Veteran Tairod Nathan Webster Pugh Tried to Join ISIS

March 17, 2015 By David Kellen Leave a Comment

Chipotle’s Revenue Rises 12.2 Percent in Q3

October 21, 2015 By Adam Lynch Leave a Comment

Artist's rendering of a wormhole, used for time travel

19th Century Painting Finally Proves Time Travel?

November 15, 2017 By Grant Hamersma Leave a Comment

Microsoft: Cloud and Surface Up, Profit Down

January 27, 2015 By Lonnie Davidson Leave a Comment

Silk Road Trial Could Impact Non-Criminals

January 13, 2015 By Martha Goodwin Leave a Comment

Amy Pascal Resigning as Co-Chair at Sony Pictures

February 5, 2015 By Adam Lynch Leave a Comment

Related Articles

  • Hunterian Museum, where the skeleton of the Irish Giant is kept

    Irish Giant Skeleton Could Be Buried at Sea

    Jun 27, 2018
  • part of a Leonardo Da Vinci painting

    Painted Tile Might be Leonardo Da Vinci’s Earliest Work

    Jun 27, 2018
  • Robert F. Kennedy

    More Details on Robert F. Kennedy’s Assassination Emerge (Study)

    Jun 20, 2018
  • cat and dog

    Dogs Have More Neurons than Cats (Study)

    Jun 18, 2018
  • Stephen Hawking

    Stephen Hawking’s Voice to Be Beamed into Space

    Jun 15, 2018
  • cat's blue eyes

    Why Do Humans See Better Than Other Animals? (Study)

    Jun 7, 2018
  • ice shelf in East Antarctica

    Earthquakes are Happening Beneath East Antarctica’s Ice (Study)

    Jun 6, 2018
  • mother with her baby

    Women’s Voices Drop After Giving Birth (Study)

    Jun 4, 2018
  • human evolution

    Why Do Humans Have Big Brains? Experts Weigh In (Study)

    May 24, 2018
  • Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun with dogs

    Adolf Hitler’s Teeth Confirm He Indeed Died in 1945 (Study)

    May 23, 2018

Categories

  • Business
  • Education
  • Entertainment
  • Headlines
  • Health
  • Nature
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • U.S.
  • Uncategorized
  • World

Copyright © 2021 lighthousenewsdaily.com

About | Contact · Staff · Terms and Conditions · Privacy Policy

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Learn more.