I’ll be defending my Ph.D. dissertation in just two weeks–on Thursday, October 17th, at 8:30 am, in the Elvey Auditorium of the Geophysical Institute at UAF. My title is “Seismicity, seawater and seasonality: new insights into iceberg calving from Yahtse Glacier, Alaska.”
During my talk, I’ll describe some of the new things my advisers, collaborators and I have learned about iceberg calving by studying glacier seismicity and the fjord water properties at Yahtse Glacier in southern Alaska. Some highlights: The implosion of huge air bubbles in the fjord after iceberg calving produces icequakes detected hundreds of miles from the glacier terminus! Seawater in front of Yahtse reaches over 50 degrees F and can melt the glacier front at over 30 feet per day! Glacier termini are delicate– variations in the tides trigger variations in the rate of iceberg calving. But when the seawater is coldest in winter, very few icebergs fall into the fjord!
All of this helps us better understand one of the really major ways in which huge glaciers lose ice, and track iceberg calving remotely and automatically. So many thanks to my family, friends and coworkers who have helped to make this work happen.
I hope to see you there if you can make it!
