New Instruments at the Everest Seismological Station (EvK2CNR) to study icequakes

The IO.EVN Seismological Station on Mount Everest, operated by OGS in collaboration with the EvK2CNR Association and the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) at the EvK2CNR Pyramid International Laboratory/Observatory, has been equipped with new instruments to improve research on climate change and geological processes in the region.

A team from the OGS Seismological Research Centre carried out a field mission to the station, located at 5,050 meters above sea level. The researchers installed a new accelerometer and an infrasound sensor capable of detecting ice movements and natural sounds occurring in high-altitude environments. These instruments will help advance the study of “icequakes”— earthquakes generated by glacier motion — providing valuable data for climate change research.

The GPS station was also upgraded: it will be used together with The University of Trieste, which owns the antenna. Eventually, a new Wi-Fi bridge was installed to improve data transmission, which has been operating continuously since 2014. From the Pyramid server, signals are sent via satellite to a server in Kathmandu and then to the OGS data acquisition center in Italy.