Hundreds of hidden earthquakes found at Antarctica’s Doomsday Glacier

Hundreds of previously overlooked seismic events have been detected beneath Antarctica, including 245 near the marine edge of the Thwaites Glacier. Many appear to be glacial earthquakes caused when huge icebergs break off, capsize, and collide with the glacier. The surge in activity coincided with a period when Thwaites was flowing faster toward the ocean, hinting that changing ocean conditions may be destabilizing the ice.

Hundreds of hidden earthquakes found at Antarctica’s Doomsday Glacier. First discovered in the northern hemisphere more than 20 years ago, these quakes occur when huge chunks of ice fall from glaciers into the sea. Until now, only a very few have been found in the Antarctic.

In a study published in Geophysical Research Letters, I present evidence for hundreds of these quakes in Antarctica between 2010 and 2023, mostly at the ocean end of the Thwaites Glacier – the so-called Doomsday Glacier that could send sea levels rising rapidly if it were to collapse. A recent discovery A glacial earthquake is created when tall, thin icebergs fall off the end of a glacier into the ocean. When these icebergs capsize, they clash violently with the “mother” glacier.