What Greenland's tiny ice quakes reveal about rising sea-levels

A new study reveals thousands of tiny earthquakes, called ice quakes, are happening inside Greenland’s ice streams. These quakes shake the ice and affect its movement toward the ocean. This discovery challenges old assumptions about ice streams and could improve sea-level rise predictions.

Why ice streams matter

Greenland and Antarctica hold massive amounts of ice that move toward the ocean through ice streams—huge, slow-moving "rivers" of ice. When these ice streams lose ice to the sea, it causes sea levels to rise. Scientists use computer models to predict future ice loss. Until now, these models assumed ice streams flow smoothly, like thick honey.

The study, published in Science, involved researchers from ETH Zurich and revealed new satellite data showing that ice streams move more unevenly than previously thought, creating uncertainty in sea-level rise estimates.

A team of scientists led by ETH Zurich professor Andreas Fichtner found that ice streams don’t just flow—they judder forward in a stick-slip motion, similar to a glacier’s burst movement. This happens because thousands of tiny ice quakes occur deep within the ice.

These quakes were previously unknown because they don’t reach the surface. A layer of volcanic ash, buried 900 meters beneath the ice, stops the seismic waves from traveling upwards. The ash comes from a huge volcanic eruption in Oregon, USA, that happened 7,700 years ago.

This hidden layer explains why scientists never detected the ice quakes before. “We were astonished by this unknown connection between ice stream dynamics and ancient volcanic eruptions,” said Fichtner.

How scientists discovered ice quakes?

Understanding ice quakes is important because they change ice stream movement. Current climate models need to include this stick-slip motion to improve sea-level rise predictions.

“The assumption that ice streams only flow like viscous honey is no longer tenable,” said Fichtner. “They also move with a constant stick-slip motion.”

Scientists have solved the mystery of fault lines in deep ice cores. For decades, researchers found cracks in glacier ice core samples, but didn’t know the cause. Now, they believe these cracks result from constant ice quakes.

Researchers used a 2,700-meter-deep borehole (nearly three times the Empire State Building’s height) drilled into Greenland’s North East Greenland Ice Stream (NEGIS), one of the largest ice streams in Greenland responsible for about 5% of current sea level rise.

After drilling, the team lowered a fiber-optic cable 1,500 meters down the hole and recorded seismic activity for 14 hours. The sensors picked up thousands of tiny ice quakes shaking the ice stream.

Researchers believe these ice quakes are occurring not just in Greenland but in ice streams worldwide. More studies in other locations are planned to confirm this.

The study found that ice quakes start in areas with ice impurities—traces of volcanic sulphates from past eruptions. These sulphates weaken the ice, making it prone to cracking and shifting.

The link between volcanic activity and ice movement shows Earth’s systems’ interconnectedness. “The fact that volcanic particles influence ice movement is surprising,” said Fichtner.

What happens next?

Scientists plan to take similar seismic measurements in other ice streams to see if ice quakes are widespread. If confirmed, this discovery will change how scientists predict sea level rise and understand glacier movement.

Understanding ice quakes is crucial for better climate predictions. With Greenland’s ice melting, discoveries like this help scientists predict future sea level rise.

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