In glaciated areas where the glacier moves faster than one km per year, glacial earthquakes occur. These are large scale temblors that have seismic magnitudes as high as 6.1. The number of glacial earthquakes in Greenland peaks every year in July, August and September and is increasing over time. In a study using data from January 1993 through October 2005, more events were detected every year since 2002, and twice as many events were recorded in 2005 as there were in any other year. This increase in the numbers of glacial earthquakes in Greenland may be a response to global warming. COUNT 5
QSN1 How far does a glacier have to move to cause glacial earthquakes? ANS1 one km per year QSN2 How high can the seismic magnitude be of a glacial earthquake? ANS2 6.1 QSN3 Are Greenland's glacial earthquakes increasing or decreasing as time goes on? ANS3 increasing QSN4 During which months do glacial earthquakes peak in Greenland? ANS4 July, August and September QSN5 In what year were twice as many glacial earthquakes seen than in any other year in Greenland? ANS5 2005