Detecting Glacier Calving Events from Ocean Waves and Underwater Acoustics, Saqardleq fjord, West Greenland 2013

Predictions of future sea level rise depend on accurate estimates of the rate at which ice sheets deliver fresh water and ice to the oceans. These estimates are provided by models, which, in turn, depend on our understanding of iceberg calving, among other processes. Due to a lack of observations, our ability to project rates of iceberg calving needs improvement. The primary goal of the measurements was to develop a method for detecting and characterizing glacier calving events by measuring the surface waves generated during the process. Analysis of the spectral properties of the waves has the potential to provide estimates of the distance to the wave source, information about the energy of the calving event, and potentially the iceberg size. The data are water level measurements from Saqardleq fjord in western Greenland.