Greenland’s ‘Ice Quakes’ May Set a Record

http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/21/greenlands-ice-quakes-may-set-a-record/

September 21, 2012, 2:24 pm3 Comments
By JUSTIN GILLIS

One of the more amazing facts about the ongoing destruction of the Greenland ice sheet is that it is producing earthquakes that can be detected worldwide. Now, fresh evidence is at hand to show that these “ice quakes” are spreading to previously quiescent parts of Greenland. We’re only in September, but it seems increasingly likely that 2012 will set a record for such quakes.

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While the analysis in the paper stops in 2010, Dr. Nettles is keeping count, and she sent me the plot above, showing that for all of Greenland, 2011 had the second-highest number of glacial earthquakes, after the record year of 2005. And, as is obvious from the graph, it now seems quite likely that 2012 will surpass the 2005 record.

Coupled with recent news about the loss of Arctic sea ice and the possible long-term effect that will have on the Greenland ice sheet, this paper is a sobering reminder that all is not well in the Arctic region.