Scientists record iceberg
Actual photo of the view from inside an iceberg. Scientists think that crevaces and tunnels in an iceberg can act like giant organ tubes, making the iceberg "sing."
DB: This is Earth & Sky. Scientists have recently analyzed tremors in the Antarctic, not from an earthquake or volcano – but from an iceberg.
JB: Christian Miller is with the Alfred Wegner Institute for Polar and Marine Research, in Antarctica. M?ller said that in July of 2000, iceberg B-09A slammed into the continental shelf. A short time later, his team detected strong rumblings from the iceberg.
Chirstian Miller: These signals were different from normal earthquake recordings. These new signals were very long lasting, high amplitude, and had very special spectral features such as having harmonic character. [iceberg sounds]
DB: The iceberg had run aground, and like a large rock being slowly dragged in a river, the Antarctic sea pushed the iceberg along. Water rushed through its crevices and tunnels, causing it to vibrate, like a pipe organ. The seismic recordings M?ller and his colleagues took were shifted up to the range of the human ear and time compressed.
Christian Miller: I think it is a very special thing that we recorded and I enjoy very much listening to these iceberg songs. [iceberg sounds fade]
JB: That’s our show for today. With thanks to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, we’re Block and Byrd for Earth & Sky.
Our thanks to:
Christian Miller
Alfred Wigner Institute for Polar and Marine Research
Lederhofen, Germany
