Gravity profiling as a technique for determining the thickness of glacier ice

Abstract

Detailed gravity measurements recently carried out on the Gorner glacier, Switzerland, are used to determine the variation of thickness across the glacier ice. The Gorner glacier was chosen as a test site because seismic control was available. The glacier ice at a profile near the Monte Rosa massif is associated with a relative gravity low of about −23 mgal. Model oalculations yield a corresponding ice thickness of about 400 m at the central part of the profile. A comparison of the derived residual gravity anomaly with the calculated effect of the 3-D ice model based on seismic information is made. It is shown that the regional field determined for the Gorner glacier is appropriate and gives the correct residual anomaly associated with the glacier ice. Therefore, the proposed gravity technique for determining variations of the thickness of glacier ice appears to be a valuable and rather inexpensive method for surveying glaciers.