2010 Chilean earthquake causes icequakes in Antarctica
Monday, August 11, 2014 - 13:10
in Earth & Climate
In March of 2010, the ice sheets in Antarctica vibrated a bit more than usual because of something more than 3,000 miles away: the 8.8-magnitude Chilean earthquake. A new study is the first to indicate that Antarctica's frozen ground is sensitive to seismic waves from distant earthquakes. Some of the icequakes were quick bursts and over in less than one second. Others were long duration, tremor-like signals up to 10 seconds. They occurred in various parts of the continent, including seismic stations along the coast and near the South Pole.