A team of researchers from Southampton University say the sensory technology could also help make geographical anomalies such as landslides easier to forecast.
The technology has been developed over a period of seven years by testing probes positioned 70 metres deep at various points in the Skalafellsjokull glacier, the largest in Europe, the Guardian reports.
Dr Kirk Martinez, who led the research, suggested the development of the sensor device could be fairly inexpensive to produce in mass production and easy to adapt to differing weather and geological scenarios, whether it is flooding in southern England or a landslide in Italy.
He added that given the imminent crises exacerbated by climate change, which has led political leaders to seek worldwide agreement such as the recent Copenhagen summit, new technology is a key player.
"Climate change is happening and we need the combined efforts of measuring what's happening with efforts to prevent it. It's a great time to be working in this field - the technology is ripe to make a huge difference," he added.
