Mapping Glacier Bed Topography in Crevassed Regions: A New Passive Seismic Reflection Method Applied to Isunnguata Sermia, West Greenland
Abstract
Glacier bed topography is crucial for modeling ice mass loss. However, heavily crevassed regions are challenging to survey using conventional methods, leading to data gaps. We establish a passive seismic approach exploiting naturally occurring crevassing events recorded with a dense seismic array to image the ice-bed interface without spatial interpolation. Using P-wave reflections from shallow events detected by matched field processing, we derive a two-dimensional ice-thickness map with ∼15 m vertical resolution in a crevasse field on Isunnguata Sermia, West Greenland. Our measurements are consistent with groundpenetrating radar ice thickness picks and extend coverage to previously inaccessible areas. The resolved bed shows a ∼100 m deep overdeepening along ice flow, poorly resolved in large-scale bed elevation products, co-located with a previously inferred active subglacial lake. This method provides a robust, logistically simpler tool than more conventional radar and active seismic surveys for high-resolution bed imaging in dynamically active glacier regions.
Related
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- Reversible Atlantic overturning despite continued Greenland ice sheet melt
- Fully coupled climate–ice-sheet ensemble indicates Greenland Ice Sheet contributed at least one quarter of Last Interglacial sea-level highstand
BibTeX
@article{paris2026mapping,
title = {{Mapping Glacier Bed Topography in Crevassed Regions: A New Passive Seismic Reflection Method Applied to Isunnguata Sermia, West Greenland}},
author = {Nicolas Paris and Florent Gimbert and Philippe Roux and Stephen J Livingstone and Siobhan F Killingbeck and Andrew J Sole and Samuel H Doyle and Jonathan D Hawkins and Matthew W Peacey and Adam D Booth},
journal = {Geophysical Research Letters},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1029/2026gl124881},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05761373v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Mapping Glacier Bed Topography in Crevassed Regions: A New Passive Seismic Reflection Method Applied to Isunnguata Sermia, West Greenland
AU - Nicolas Paris
AU - Florent Gimbert
AU - Philippe Roux
AU - Stephen J Livingstone
AU - Siobhan F Killingbeck
AU - Andrew J Sole
AU - Samuel H Doyle
AU - Jonathan D Hawkins
AU - Matthew W Peacey
AU - Adam D Booth
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/23
JO - Geophysical Research Letters
DO - 10.1029/2026gl124881
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05761373v1
AB - Glacier bed topography is crucial for modeling ice mass loss. However, heavily crevassed regions are challenging to survey using conventional methods, leading to data gaps. We establish a passive seismic approach exploiting naturally occurring crevassing events recorded with a dense seismic array to image the ice-bed interface without spatial interpolation. Using P-wave reflections from shallow events detected by matched field processing, we derive a two-dimensional ice-thickness map with ∼15 m vertical resolution in a crevasse field on Isunnguata Sermia, West Greenland. Our measurements are consistent with groundpenetrating radar ice thickness picks and extend coverage to previously inaccessible areas. The resolved bed shows a ∼100 m deep overdeepening along ice flow, poorly resolved in large-scale bed elevation products, co-located with a previously inferred active subglacial lake. This method provides a robust, logistically simpler tool than more conventional radar and active seismic surveys for high-resolution bed imaging in dynamically active glacier regions.
SN - 0094-8276
SN - 1944-8007
ER -