Workshop Description

This Workshop will consider the scientific justification for a program to develop seismic infrastructure in and around Antarctica. The design of the components of the total seismological system -- which we will refer to here as AntarcticArray -- as well as the technical and operational challenges which it will confront, will be important discussion points in the Workshop. It will also be important to consider the context for the development of AntarcticArray both with respect to international cooperation as well as synergism with other scientific initiatives both within and marginal to Antarctica. The focus will be on assessing whether there is broad and strong support to move forward with an ambitious agenda for AntarcticArray, or to move cautiously and seek small incremental improvements.

The justification for an ambitious program to develop AntarcticArray must address the unique aspects of seismology on Antarctica; for example:

- lithospheric dynamics in an ice-covered environment;
- how lithospheric processes drive and may be driven by global environmental change (sea level, climate);
- the scale and nature of rifting as a process that has shaped the continent and dominated its evolution;
- the role of Antarctica as the keystone in the paleo-history of supercontinent formation and break-up throughout Earth's history;
- how the tectonic and thermal structure of the Antarctic lithosphere affect current ice sheet dynamics;

as well as more general issues that would be common to seismology elsewhere on the globe; for example:

- age, growth, and evolution of the continent and processes that have shaped the lithosphere;
- the effect of improved seismic coverage on global models of the lithosphere, mantle, and core.

A "straw-man" model of AntarcticArray consisting of three-components will be discussed:

- a permanent, continuously recording broad-band network to augment current year-round stations that are located near the coast and at the South Pole;
- a temporary, broad-band array component consisting of dedicated cold-regions instrumentation and support for PI deployment (following the PASSCAL model) and/or a dedicated technical team to emplace a "leap-frogging" array (following the Ocean Mantle Dynamics model and somewhat similar in concept, if not in scope, to USARRAY);
- a multi-channel system for reflection and/or refraction seismics for crustal characterization, to be used in concert with other geophysical initiatives on the continent.

Technical and operational challenges confronting each component will be addressed.

The 50-year anniversary of the International Geophysical Year (IGY, 1957-1958) is less than 5 years off.  The 2007-2008 field season may be a good target to initiate an Antarctic Geophysical Decade (2007-2017).