- 1School of Natural Sciences (Physics), University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia
- 2Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) at the University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia
- 3Australian centre for excellence in antarctic science (ACEAS)
- 4The Australian Antarctic Program Partnership (AAPP)
- 5Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
- 6School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics, Swansea University, Wales, UK
- 7School of Technology, Environments and Design, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia
- 8School of Earth and Oceans, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
- 9Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
Denman Glacier is one of the largest outlet glaciers in Antarctica. Despite its potential significance for sea level change, its geometry and dynamics remain poorly constrained, making predictions of its response to the changing climate challenging. Seismic signals arise from internal stress and interaction with the subglacial landscape, however, seismic methods are still an often underutilised tool for investigating glacial characteristics. In fact, seismology provides one of the few tools for directly observing the processes and properties that control outlet glacier stability and flow.
We present an overview of the seismic data acquired from a transect across Denman Glacier during the Denman Terrestrial Campaign (2023/24). The transect is located 50 km upstream from the grounding line, where the glacier is 13 km wide, and modelling studies suggest a very deep subglacial trough.
We employ a combination of passive and active seismic techniques to study the glacier’s geometry, internal structure, and dynamics. Our findings reveal constraints on the glacier's geometry, providing an independent view of the depth extent of the main trough. The recorded seismicity also offers preliminary insights into the glacier's dynamics, the baseline for the monitoring of changing environmental forcing.
How to cite: Stål, T., Reading, A. M., Askey-Doran, N., Cook, S., Gradl, J., Hudson, T., Kelly, I., Kulessa, B., Kupis, S., Lösing, M., Magyar, J., Manassero, M. C., Scheiter, M., Selway, K., Thompson, S., and Turner, R.: Seismicity of Denman Glacier: Constraints on Geometry and Dynamics, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-5279, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-5279, 2025.
