Microearthquake Monitoring of Ice Stream C, West Antarctica: A Sensor for Sticky Spots

9318121 Anandakrishnan这个奖项是为了支持一个为期三年的项目，该项目测试了一个假设，即冰流快速流动的控制参数是冰流床上高摩擦离散区（“粘点”）的水文状态。先前的研究发现，在快速流动的冰流B和冰流C之间，基底微地震活动存在巨大差异，冰流C在过去200年里停止了流动。假设基底水系统润滑了快速冰流下的粘点，从而抑制了微震活动，同时允许快速冰流。本实验旨在收集来自冰流、过渡区和内陆冰上不同地点的宽带微地震数据的连续记录。＊＊＊

9318121 Anandakrishnan This award is for support for a three year project to test the hypothesis that a controlling parameter of fast ice-stream flow is the hydrologic state of discrete zones of high friction ("sticky spots") at the bed of the ice streams. Previous work has discovered an enormous difference in basal microearthquake activity between fast-flowing ice stream B and ice stream C, which stopped flowing within the last 200 years. It is hypothesized that the basal water system is lubricating the sticky spots under the fast ice stream and thus inhibiting microearthquake activity, and at the same time permitting fast ice flow. This experiment is intended to collect a continuous record of wide-bandwidth microearthquake data from a variety of sites, on the ice streams, in the transition zone, and on the inland ice. ***