Abstract Glacial earthquakes are a class of seismic sources generated by the capsize of icebergs calved from glacier termini. Although being teleseismically observed in Greenland glaciers, seismic detection of such events in Antarctica has been elusive. Here, we develop an automatic detection algorithm based on the coherence of relatively shortâperiod Rayleigh waves recorded by the regional seismic network onshore Antarctica. The application to the 2010â2023 data set resulted in a catalog of 362, largely uncatalogued, Ms 2â3, seismic events, associated with Thwaites and Pine Island Glaciers. The correlation between the occurrence frequency of Thwaites events and the episodic speedâups of its frontal ice tongue between 2018 and 2020 suggests a capsizing glacial earthquake nature. Pine Island Glacier events near the grounding line remain to be investigated. This study demonstrated the prevalence of glacial earthquakes in Antarctica, with characteristics distinct from those of their Greenland counterparts, warranting further investigation.
Observations from the Little Bunker
Last updated: December 19, 2025 03:16 AM
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