Shallow Shear Wave Reflection Surveying on Alpine Glaciers – Comparison of Results from Gepatschferner and Colle Gnifetti
In the summer season 2010, a shallow reflection seismic experiment using the small vibrator source ELVIS was carried out on the overburden firn and ice cover of the Colle Gnifetti, Monte Rosa group, Swiss/Italian Alps. This site is widely used for method testing, since the physical properties of ice are similar to those of polar regions. The unique experiment approved for the first time the shallow high-resolution vibroseis method using P- and S-waves for seismic targets on firn and ice masses at least to nearly 60 m depth. As a consequence of this successful experiment, the method was subsequently applied in April 2012 on the Gepatschferner, a glacier in the Austrian Alps, using S-waves only. In contrast to the commonly planted receivers at Colle Gnifetti, a land streamer modified for snow application was used as receiver system. The source was slightly modified by a ski to support operation on soft snow. The recorded data at Gepatschferner achieved clear reflections from the ice base boundary in nearly 150 m depth and from the glacier bed below.
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