Work

Wind-Induced Seismic Noise and Stable Resonances Reveal Ice Shelf Thickness at Pine Island Glacier

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Antarctic ice shelves regulate ice-sheet discharge and global sea-level rise, yet their rapid retreat underscores the need for new, low-cost monitoring tools. We analyze ambient seismic noise recorded by seismometers on the Pine Island Glacier ice shelf to characterize wind-induced signals and detect persistent structural resonances. Power spectral analysis shows that wind sensitivity is strongly damped compared with bedrock sites: noise increases only 5–7 dB from 0 to 25 m s−1 winds, versus a 42 dB increase at an inland bedrock station, reflecting the contrasted coupling environments of floating and grounded substrates. The horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) spectrograms reveal two temporally stable peaks at ~2.2 Hz and ~4.3 Hz that persist across stations and remain independent of environmental forcing. Forward modeling indicates that these peaks correspond to S-wave resonances within the ice shelf. The inferred ice-water interface depth (~440 m) agrees with the Bedmap2 thickness estimate (466 m). This work demonstrates that HVSR provides an effective passive, single-station method for measuring ice shelf thickness.

Source: Journal of Marine Science and Engineering

DOI: 10.3390/jmse14010036

Authors: Yuqiao Chen, Peng Yan, Yuande Yang, David M. Holland, Fei Li

Institutions: Wuhan University, Sun Yat-sen University, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University, Southern University of Science and Technology

Language: English

Topic: Seismic Waves and Analysis

Subfield: Geophysics

Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Climate action

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,137