{"id":20546,"date":"2015-01-02T12:49:32","date_gmt":"2015-01-02T16:49:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/?p=20546"},"modified":"2021-11-10T16:41:41","modified_gmt":"2021-11-10T20:41:41","slug":"scripps-scientists-find-glacier-swiss-alps-emits-harmonic-tremors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/scripps-scientists-find-glacier-swiss-alps-emits-harmonic-tremors.htm","title":{"rendered":"Scripps scientists find glacier in Swiss Alps emits harmonic tremors"},"content":{"rendered":"

Glaciers have been known to hum in polar regions, emitting sounds that scientists call gliding harmonic tremors. Scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography have found that similar humming glaciers can be found in the Swiss Alps.<\/p>\n

By analyzing a month\u2019s worth of data from seismometers deployed at Gorner Glacier, scientists at the institution, housed at University of California, San Diego, identified a 21-hour period of humming. Their work confirms that glaciers other than polar ones can emit such sounds, and also provides insights into mechanisms linked to water movement within glaciers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe \u2018humming\u2019 or gliding harmonic tremor is an indication of the processes occurring within the glacier. We hypothesize that it is directly tied to water moving through a network of cracks within the glacier,\u201d said David Heeszel, a former postdoctoral researcher at UC San Diego who now works at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. \u201cThis marks one of the first times that we have been able to remotely observe the movement of water within a glacier.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heeszel says the harmonic tremors have been found in other environments as well, most commonly near volcanoes. Ice sheets, too, have emitted the hums. But studying them is often expensive and time-consuming due to drilling. The method used by the Scripps team using seismometers at the surface can be employed by other investigators to cut costs, he says.<\/p>\n

\"Data

Data obtained during an expedition in Switzerland led to the discovery of humming glaciers. (Credit: Scripps Institution of Oceanography)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cTraditionally, we can observe water going into and out of a glacier, or we can drill a hole and make a point observation of hydrologic processes,\u201d said Heeszel. \u201cOur observations show that it is possible to remotely observe and model this process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scientists found that lake formation at one edge of Gorner Glacier each spring shows the potential it has to act as a large storehouse for fresh water – several million gallons in Gorner\u2019s case. Studying this capacity can be helpful for those living nearby because the water stored can serve as a resource or a flooding hazard.<\/p>\n

The discovery of the 21-hour humming period wasn\u2019t much of a surprise to researchers, and Heeszel says there\u2019s no reason to believe that Gorner Glacier is unique. Other glaciers can emit similar sounds.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not particularly surprised at our results, particularly the observational evidence,\u201d said Heeszel. \u201cIn my experience, there is always something interesting in a dataset. It\u2019s simply a matter of looking at it with an open mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Top image:\u00a0Research camp in Switzerland. (Credit: Scripps Institution of Oceanography)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography found glaciers in the Swiss Alps emitting a humming sound <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":20542,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,44],"tags":[60,169,341],"class_list":["post-20546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-articles","category-oceans-coasts","tag-featured","tag-scripps","tag-snow-and-ice"],"remote_post_permalink":false,"remote_post_featured_image":false,"yoast_head":"\nScripps scientists find glacier in Swiss Alps emits harmonic tremors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography found glaciers in the Swiss Alps emitting a humming sound\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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