Seismic and gravity investigations on the Malaspina Glacier, Alaska

Abstract

Seismic reflections obtained from bedrock beneath the Malaspina Glacier along a ten‐mile profile line indicate ice thicknesses ranging from 1130 to 2050 ft. The base of the ice is 700 ft below sea level near the center of the profile and shallows both northward toward the mountains and southward toward the ice margin. Good reflections were obtained with dynamite charges of about one ounce in 26‐ft water‐filled shot holes but only in relatively crevasse‐free areas. Deeper reflections substantiate the inferred sedimentary nature of the subglacial rocks and show geologic structures consistent with the regional pattern. Gravity measurements along the central three miles of the seismic profile line indicate a gentle northwest‐southeast trending subglacial topographic grain. Seismic refraction shots beyond the present margin of the glacier suggest a thickness of unconsolidated proglacial deposits in excess of 500 ft.