Atmosphere Ocean Science Friday Seminar

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Calving Hypocenter Localization by Hyperboloid Method

Speaker: Jordan Hisel, PhD Student, Courant Institute

Location: Warren Weaver Hall 1314

Date: Friday, November 16, 2018, 3:45 p.m.

Synopsis:

Calving is one of the primary contributors to sea level rise, and the rate of thinning of Greenland's ice sheet is significantly higher at the calving regions of marine-terminating glaciers. In particular, Helheim glacier in the Sermilik fjord is one of Greenland's largest outlet glaciers, and its retreat has been closely monitored over the past decade. As important as calving is, its mechanisms are still not well understood. A theory proposed in 2015 suggested that calving in glaciers without large floating tongues begins near the base of the glacier. Determining the hypocenter of glacialquakes, such as those generated by calving events, can reveal much about the structure of the glacier and its calving mechanisms. I will present a method that uses intersecting hyperboloids to find the location of seismic events generated within Helheim glacier and introduce the relevant techniques used in seismology.