Any process that causes a sudden brittle failure of material has the potential to cause earthquake-like seismic events. Cryoseisms represent an underreported class of seismic event due to their (often) small magnitudes. In this paper, we document the phenomenon of some of the largest magnitude lake-associated icequakes (ML 2.0) yet reported. These events occurred nearly simultaneously (within ∼2 h) on geographically separate lakes in Alberta, Canada, starting 1 January 2018. We conjecture that these events were caused by the sudden brittle failure of lake ice due to thermal expansion; the effects of the thermal expansion were compounded by the lack of insulating snow cover, high lake water levels, and a rapid onset of atmospheric warming. These factors also contributed to ice-jacking — a repeating process in which thermal contraction produces tensile cracks (leads) in lake ice that are then filled with water that is frozen during the cooling cycle. Thus, any subsequent thermal expansion must be accommodated by new deformation or brittle failure. This ice-jacking process caused creeping ground deformation after the initial brittle failure and again two weeks later following a second warming period. In many cases, the resulting ground deformation was significant enough to cause property damage.
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Research Article|
November 13, 2018
A New Year’s Day icebreaker: icequakes on lakes in Alberta, Canada
Jeffrey Kavanaugh;
Jeffrey Kavanaugh
a
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E9, Canada.
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Ryan Schultz;
b
Alberta Geological Survey, 4th Floor Twin Atria Building, 4999-98 Ave., Edmonton, AB T6B 2X3, Canada.Corresponding author: Ryan Schultz (email: Ryan.Schultz@aer.ca).
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Laurence D. Andriashek;
Laurence D. Andriashek
b
Alberta Geological Survey, 4th Floor Twin Atria Building, 4999-98 Ave., Edmonton, AB T6B 2X3, Canada.
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Mirko van der Baan;
Mirko van der Baan
a
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E9, Canada.
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Hadi Ghofrani;
Hadi Ghofrani
c
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B7, Canada.
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Gail Atkinson;
Gail Atkinson
c
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B7, Canada.
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Daniel J. Utting
Daniel J. Utting
b
Alberta Geological Survey, 4th Floor Twin Atria Building, 4999-98 Ave., Edmonton, AB T6B 2X3, Canada.
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Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences (2019) 56 (2): 183–200.
Article history
received:
31 Jul 2018
accepted:
05 Nov 2018
first online:
19 Feb 2019
Citation
Jeffrey Kavanaugh, Ryan Schultz, Laurence D. Andriashek, Mirko van der Baan, Hadi Ghofrani, Gail Atkinson, Daniel J. Utting; A New Year’s Day icebreaker: icequakes on lakes in Alberta, Canada. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 2018;; 56 (2): 183–200. doi: https://doi.org/10.1139/cjes-2018-0196
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Index Terms/Descriptors
- Alberta
- Canada
- damage
- deformation
- earthquakes
- geologic hazards
- geophysical methods
- geophysical profiles
- geophysical surveys
- ground motion
- ground-penetrating radar
- ice
- icequakes
- infrastructure
- lakes
- meteorology
- natural hazards
- radar methods
- seismicity
- snowpack
- surveys
- temperature
- thickness
- Western Canada
- ice ridges
- Gull Lake
- Pigeon Lake
- Lac Sainte Anne
Latitude & Longitude