MEASURING ICE:

(SFX: are cold, windy, chattering teeth, over the ice clicks.)
IF YOU WERE ON AN ICEBERG YOU'D EXPECT TO HEAR  THE SHRIEK OF THE WIND, 
SOME OCEAN WAVES, MAYBE EVEN SOME TEETH CHATTERING. . . BUT IF YOU HAD A
GOOD MICROPHONE TO HELP YOU'D ALSO HEAR A STEADY CLICKING, 
(SFX: Ice clicking coming up as the other noises drop down) 
THAT'S THE SOUND OF THE ICE, CREAKING AND CRACKING.  ITS A SOFT NOISE, BUT IT
POINTS TO A BIG EFFECT, SAYS PROFESSOR OF ACOUSTICS ROBERT FRICKE AT MIT,
WHO VISITED THE ARCTIC OCEAN LAST YEAR,

FRICKE: "I was only on the ice for about 3 days because there was so much breaking of the ice
that our camp literally broke in half so we had to evacuate." 

THAT'S OK THOUGH, BECAUSE HE WAS THERE JUST TO LISTEN TO THE NOISE OF THE
ICE BREAKING.  

FRICKE: "the ice cracks and pops and groans and hisses and the question that I pose is can we
from the sound that the ice makes estimate the thickness of the ice." 

SUCCESSFULLY MODELING THE EARTH'S CLIMATE INVOLVES KNOWING HOW MUCH
ICE THERE IS AT THE POLES, AND BY WATCHING THE SOUND BOUNCING AROUND IN
THE ICE, FRICKE HOPED TO BE ABLE TO DETERMINE JUST THAT. 

FRICKE: "When the ice breaks the sound that is created goes through the ice sheet itself.  It
actually creates a sound board in the ice plate."

THE CRACKS REVERBERATE THROUGH THE ICE SHEET, LIKE THE BACK OF A GUITAR
OR VIOLIN. AND JUST THE WAY A GUITAR'S SHAPE AND SIZE PRODUCES DIFFERENT
SOUNDS THAN A VIOLIN'S, SO FRICKE FOUND THAT DIFFERENT SOUNDS POINTED TO
DIFFERENT THICKNESSES OF ICE.  HE HOPES HIS NEW TECHNIQUE WILL
EVENTUALLY BE USED TO IMPROVE CLIMATE MODELS.