ANSS Seminar 3/19: Rob Anthony (USGS) Development and Deployment of the Deep (2.46 km) Ice Seismometer at South Pole, Antarctica

[Barnhart, William D]

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Join us for our next seminar!

March 19th, 2 pm MT: Rob Anthony - USGS - Development and Deployment of the Deep (2.46 km) Ice Seismometer at South Pole, Antarctica

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Abstract: 

The U.S. government has operated a seismometer at South Pole, Antarctica (SPA) since the construction of Amundsen-Scott station in 1957.  The current station (QSPA) has been highly utilized for the detection and location of global earthquakes and nuclear explosions, studies of swell activity and sea ice around Antarctica, and cryoseismology. However, long-period (> 40 s) noise levels compromise ambient ground motion observations on all three of the station’s borehole broadband seismometers. To  improve long-period seismic observations at the South Pole, we collaborated with the IceCube Neutrino Observatory to install the world’s deepest borehole very broadband seismometer at 2.46 km depth in the Antarctic Icecap.

To enable this installation, we leveraged enhanced hot water drilling techniques developed by the University of Wisconsin’s Physical Sciences Laboratory. In preparation for the deployment in December of 2025, we had to overcome extensive engineering challenges including developing the means to mount a seismometer and digitizer in a pressure vessel capable of withstanding 10,000 PSI of pressure during freeze in processes that minimized compromising the fidelity of the seismic data, developing communication and timing protocols over a single twisted wire pair, and designing transportation methods and protocols to avoid damaging the Nanometrics Trillium 360 seismometer on its journey from Canada to 2.46 km in the ice at South Pole. In this seminar, I will discuss the motivation, design, testing, deployment, and initial data collected from the Deep Ice Seismometer, Antarctica.

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Do you have an idea for a seminar topic? Get in touch with the seminar committee (Will Yeck, Gabrielle Tepp, Fabia Terra, Mairi Litherland, Kyren Bogolub, and Bill Barnhart)

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William D. Barnhart, PhD

Assistant Coordinator

USGS Earthquake Hazards Program

wbar...@usgs.gov

c: 319-834-0674

o: 303-273-8591