Geophysical Research Letters· 2026Q1
Acoustic‐Seismic Coupling Signals From Aircraft Reveal Firn‐Ice Transition and Near‐Surface Elastic Structure of Antarctic Ice
- 1citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2026year
Short summary
Airborne seismology, using aircraft-generated sounds converted to seismic waves, successfully mapped the near-surface elastic properties and porosity of Antarctic ice down to ~100m.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Introduces uncontacted airborne seismology using aircraft-generated sounds to probe ice interior.
- Successfully mapped elastic properties and porosity of the upper ~100m of Antarctic ice.
- Utilized a 36-node seismic array to capture and analyze seismic wave propagation.
- Offers a rapid, scalable, and noninvasive method for ice sheet monitoring.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Abstract Predicting the response of Antarctic ice to climate change requires detailed knowledge of its shallow structure, but direct measurements are challenging. Traditional seismic surveys are logistically demanding, and surface remote sensing provides limited information about subsurface layers. Here, we introduce uncontacted airborne seismology, a method that uses aircraft‐generated sounds and their conversion into seismic waves at the ice surface to probe the ice interior. Using a 36‐node seismic array during airborne passes, we captured multiple types of seismic waves and analyzed their propagation to extract dispersion patterns. Joint inversion of these observations reconstructs the elastic properties and porosity of the upper ∼100 m. This approach offers a rapid, scalable framework for mapping near‐surface ice structure and establishes a benchmark for future aerial or robotic exploration of polar regions, opening new possibilities for large‐scale, noninvasive monitoring of ice sheet dynamics.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Geophysical Research Letters, 2026 · DOI ↗
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