Deployment of a broadband seismic network in West Antarctica

A network of six broadband seismic stations was deployed in West Antarctica in November, 1998. A new data recording instrument and power system was developed to operate the stations year round using solar energy in the summer and wind energy in the winter. The data logging technology, designed to record geophysical parameters (broadband seismic and geodetic GPS-Global Positioning System), is also appropriate for other remote Antarctic and Arctic data recording applications with similar data bandwidths. The seismicity of Antarctica is hypothesized to be low, but that could be an artifact of the poor distribution and small number of seismic stations on the continent. One goal of the experiment is to record data in the West Antarctic (the region most likely to exhibit seismic activity) for sufficient lengths of time in order to address this hypothesis fully. In addition, the data are useful for determining crust and mantle structure and properties. The network has been active for about half the time since installation, which is sufficient to draw statistically significant conclusions on regional seismicity. The experiment will continue for the next two years, with system modifications that should improve the performance of the network.