Infrasound Signals in Coastal Environment at Jang Bogo Station, Terra Nova Bay, Antarctica

Infrasound signals in Antarctica reflect physical interaction in the surface environments around the recorded area. In December 2015, an infrasound array by three sensors in the detectable frequency range of 0.1 - 200 Hz, combined with one broadband barometer was deployed at Jang Bogo Station, Terra Nova Bay, Antarctica. The two years of data by the broadband barometer contain characteristic signals that caused by surface environment nearby the station, mixing with local noises such as katabatic winds. Clear continuous signals by oceanic swells (microbaroms) were recorded with a predominant frequency of around 0.2 s. Variations of frequency context and amplitudes in the Power Spectral Density were considered as affected by sea-ice dynamics surrounding the Terra Nova Bay. Monitoring of microbaroms could contribute to understanding ocean wave climate, with other oceanographic, cryospheric and geophysical data in Antarctica. Infrasound data in Terra Nova Bay might be a new proxy for estimating environmental variations affected by global warming, cryosphere dynamics, together with volcanic eruptions in Victoria Land.

北极地区的地震活动、结构和构造

"北极"地区,即北极点位于北冰洋的中心。一直以来,北极地区影响着地球从地质时期到现在的环境变化。然而,该地区的地震活动并未得到足够的监测。因此,通过对地震现象进行长期监测并将其作为可持续参数,我们可以更深入地理解地球的构造演化和地球表层的低温层与岩石层之间的动态相互作用。本文研究了北极地区地震活动与结构的联系,特别着眼于欧亚大陆及其周围海洋,以及其与地球历史时期地区演化的关系。目标区涵盖了北极欧亚区有代表性的构造区,例如西伯利亚的广袤地区、贝加尔裂谷带、俄罗斯远东地区、北冰洋,以及格陵兰和加拿大北部。基于对地震活动特征等的讨论,本文总结了北极地球表面的地壳和上地幔的非均匀结构、大地构造史和最近的动力学特征。

Infrasound Signals and Their Source Location Inferred from Array Deployment in the Lützow-Holm Bay Region, East Antarctica: January-June 2015

Characteristic features of infrasound waves observed in the Antarctic represent a physical interaction relating surface environment in the continental margin and surrounding Southern Ocean. Source location of several infrasound events is demonstrated by using combination of two array deployments along a coast of the Lützow-Holm Bay (LHB), East Antarctica, for data retrieving period in January-June 2015. These infrasound arrays being established in January 2013 clearly detected temporal variations in frequency content and propagation direction of the identified seven large events. Many of these sources are assumed to have cryoseismic origins;the ice-quakes associated with calving of glaciers, discharge of sea-ice, collision between sea-ice and icebergs around the LHB. Detail and continuous measurements of infrasound waves in the Antarctic are a proxy for monitoring regional environment as well as climate change in high southern latitude.

Infrasound observations at Syowa Station,East Antarctica:Implications for detecting the surface environmental variations in the polar regions

Characteristic infrasound waves observed at Antarctic stations demonstrate physical interaction involving environmental changes in the Antarctic continent and the surrounding oceans. A Chaparraltype infrasound sensor was installed at Syowa Station （SYO; 39°E, 69°S）, East Antarctica, as one of the projects of the International Polar Year （IPY2007-2008）. Data continuously recorded during the three seasons in 2008-2010 clearly indicate a contamination of the background oceanic signals （microbaroms） with peaks between 4 and 10 s observed during a whole season. The peak amplitudes of the microbaroms have relatively lower values during austral winters, caused by a larger amount of sea-ice extending around the Lutzow-Holm Bay near SYO, with decreasing ocean wave loading effects. Micro- baroms measurements are useful tool for characterizing ocean wave climate, complementing other oceanographic and geophysical data. A continuous monitoring by infrasound sensors in the Antarctic firmly contributes to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty （CTBT） in the southern high latitude, together with the Pan-Antarctic Observations System （PAntOS） under the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research （SCAR）. Detailed measurements of the infrasound waves in Antarctica, consequently, could be a new proxy for monitoring regional environmental change as well as the temporal climate variations in the polar regions.

Seismicity,structure and tectonics in the Arctic region

The "Arctic" region,where the North Pole occupies the center of the Arctic Ocean,has been affecting the environmental variation of the Earth from geological time to the present.However,the seismic activities in the area are not adequately monitored.Therefore,by conducting long term monitoring of seismic phenomenon as sustainable parameters,our understanding of both the tectonic evolution of the Earth and the dynamic interaction between the cryosphere and geosphere in surface layers of the Earth will increase.In this paper,the association of the seismicity and structure of the Arctic region,particularly focused on Eurasian continent and surrounding oceans,and its relationship with regional evolution during the Earth’s history is studied.The target areas cover representative tectonic provinces in the Eurasian Arctic,such as the wide area of Siberia,Baikal Rift Zone.Far East Russia,Arctic Ocean together with Greenland and Northern Canada.Based on discussion including characteristics of seismicity,heterogeneous structure of the crust and upper mantle,tectonic history and recent dynamic features of the Earth’s surface in the Arctic are summarized.

Statistics of Seismic Tremors with Harmonic Overtones Recorded at Syowa Station, Antarctica: October 2014-March 2015

During the period from October 2014 to March 2015, a total number of 82 seismic tremors and 66 ice-quakes were identified in both three-component short-period seismographs (HES) and broadband seismographs (STS-1) at Syowa Station (SYO), Antarctica. Statistics of the number of these tremors indicated that many tremors were likely to occur when large increases in temperature and/or wind speed during the period. This implied that the rapid increase in temperature enhanced a melting speed of cryosphere environment with generating seismic energy;the tremors were also excited by stormy conditions, associated with interactive resonance between sea-ices and oceanic swells. The characteristic tremors of harmonic overtones with strong amplitudes were explained by repetitive sources, suggesting inter-glacial asperities such as the collision of icebergs and fast sea-ice, calving of glaciers/ice-streams at the coastal environment of Antarctica. These high amplitude tremors occurred independently from other majority types of events, characterized by non-linear, small amplitude and weak signals at the stormy condition and rapid increase in temperature.

Passive Seismic Deployments from the Lützow-Holm Bay to Inland Plateau of East Antarctica: The Japanese IPY Contribution to Structure and Seismicity

Deployments of seismic stations in Antarctica are an ambitious project to improve the spatial resolution of the Antarctic Plate and surrounding regions. Several international programs had been conducted in wide area of the Antarctic continent during the International Polar Year (IPY 2007-2008). The “Antarctica’s GAmburtsev Province (AGAP)”, the “GAmburtsev Mountain SEISmic experiment (GAMSEIS)” as a part of AGAP, and the “Polar Earth Observing Network (POLENET)” were major contributions to the IPY. The AGAP/GAMSEIS was an internationally coordinated deployments of more than few tens of broadband seismographs over the wide area of East Antarctica. Detailed information on crustal thickness and mantle structure provides key constraints on an origin of the Gamburtsev Mountains;and more broad structure and evolution of the East Antarctic craton and sub-glacial environment. From POLENET data obtained, local and regional signals associated with ice movements were recorded together with a significant number of teleseismic events. Moreover, seismic deployments have been carried out in the Lützow-Holm Bay (LHB), East Antarctica, by Japanese activities. The recorded teleseismic and local events are of sufficient quality to image the structure and dynamics of the crust and mantle, such as the studies by receiver functions suggesting a heterogeneous upper mantle. In addition to studies on the shallow part of the Earth, we place emphasis on these seismic deployments’ ability to image the Earth’s deep interior, as viewed from Antarctica, as a large aperture array in the southern high latitude.

Seismic Tremors and Their Relation to Cryosphere Dynamics in April 2015 around the Lützow-Holm Bay, East Antarctica

Characteristics and statistics of seismic tremors occurring during April 2015 were investigated by using short-period and broadband seismographs deployed at Syowa Station (SYO), in the Lützow-Holm Bay (LHB), East Antarctica. In order to examine a relationship between surface environments in particular cryosphere variation, the MODIS satellite images were utilized for comparison with the detected tremor events. Since a large volume of sea-ice was discharged during the April, together with several large icebergs passed through from the west to the east at northern edge of the fast sea-ice of LHB, it was expected to detect seismic tremors involving cryospehre dynamics. During the month, a total number of 49 tremor events including short duration ice shocks were identified. Majority of the events (N = 39) had their duration times more than 15 minutes, which were divided into both tremors and ice shocks on the basis of experienced definition at SYO. Cryospheric sources recorded by seismic tremors were classified into several origins (collision, calving, crevassing, crashing, etc.): “crevassing events” along the large cracks inside the fast sea-ice in LHB (04 April), “discharge events” of fast sea-ice from the Bay (07 April), “collision events” between iceberg and the edge of fast sea-ice (14 April), “crashing movement” between fragmentation of fast sea-ice and packed sea-ice (18 April), and other origins. In particular, strong amplitude tremors with harmonic overtones were assumed to be occurred independently from whether condition, because these overtone tremors were identified at less stormy days by comparison with infrasound data at SYO.

Shallow Reflection Surveys of the East Ongul Island, the Lützow-Holm Complex, East Antarctica

The shallow reflection surveys were carried out in 2007 and 2010 austral summers in East Ongul Island, the Lützow-Holm Complex (LHC), East Antarctica. LHC is identified by geologically as one of the Pan-African terrains of Eastern Dronning Maud Land. The multi-channel reflection surveys targeted to achieve the image of laminated layering of metamorphic rocks near the surface (the depths down to a few hundreds of meters) of the crystalline crust. Two surveys were conducted in total length of the profiles about 500 m along a main traffic load across the East Ongul Island. The multi-channel acquisition systems were utilized with combining the dense geophones along the profiles. Seismic sources were adopted by combining the boom of a power shovel, a weight drop and hammer shots with their intervals in a few tens of meters. The obtained data include clear first P-arrivals in far offset distance. The energy of P-S converted waves was enhanced because of the characteristics of the seismic sources. Pre-stacked images could be expected to the information on metamorphic layering for several lithological structure composed by hornblende gneiss, garnet gneiss and pyroxene gneiss appearing as the surface bedrocks. The conducted shallow reflection surveys would give rise to one step for understanding tectonic formation of LHC, as one of the Pan-African mobile belts in Gondwana super-continent.

Gravity Survey along the Mizuho Traverse Routes, East Antarctica: SEAL Seismic Exploration in 1999-2000

A gravity survey was conducted along the Mizuho traverse routes in austral summer of 1999-2000 by the 41st Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE-41). The main purpose of the survey was to obtain detail gravity anomaly along the traverse routes, where deep seismic exploration was simultaneously conducted in order to obtain a fine crustal structure of the Mizuho Plateau. By using SCINTREX (CG-3M) gravity meter, the survey was carried out at 160 sites with about 1 km interval in a distance of 190 km from S16 to Z20 on the traverse routes. Free-air and Bouguer anomalies were calculated using precise locations by GPS measurements, by taking into account an effect of the thick icesheet. The furrowed negative Free-air anomalies are identified around H192, where middle points of the whole traverse routes. Two bedrock elevation models derived both by seismic refraction analyses and radio-echo sounding might correspond to the bottom and the top of a mixture layer composed from ice-moraine rocks over the bedrock surface. Thickness of the crust estimated by Bouguer anomalies is 0.5 - 1 km larger toward inland at the terminal point of Z20 along the profile.

Gravity Survey on the Mizuho Plateau, East Antarctica: SEAL Seismic Exploration in 2001-2002

A gravity survey on Mizuho Plateau was carried out in austral summer of 2001-2002 by the 43rd Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE-43), as one of the geophysical measurements of deep seismic exploration. Gravity measurements were conducted at 151 points in approximately 1 km interval along the 150 km profile. Considering the gravity effect from the ice-sheet, Free-air and Bouguer anomalies were calculated by using precise GPS locations. Furrowed and basin-like negative Free-air anomalies were observed in middle and northern parts of the profile. Bouguer anomalies were calculated by two bedrock elevation data obtained from seismic refraction and radio-echo sounding. High resolution model for bedrock elevation by radio-echo sounding was applied in determining the crustal thickness.

Evaluation of Long-Period Detectability of Teleseismic Events at Syowa Station, Antarctica

Phase identification procedures for teleseismic events at Syowa Station (69.0°S, 39.6°E;SYO), East Antarctica have been carried out since 1967 after the International Geophysical Year (IGY;1957-1958). Since the development of INTELSAT telecommunication link, digital waveform data have been transmitted to the National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR) for the utilization of phase identification. Arrival times of teleseismic phases, P, PKP, PP, S, SKS have been detected manually and reported to the International Seismological Centre (ISC), and published by “JARE Data Reports” from NIPR. In this paper, hypocentral distribution and time variations for detected earthquakes are demonstrated over the last four decades in 1967-2010. Characteristics of detected events, magnitude dependency, spatial distributions, seasonal variations, together with classification by focal depth are investigated. Besides the natural increase in the occurrence of teleseismic events on the globe, a technical advance in the observing system and station infrastructure, as well as the improvement of procedures for reading seismic phases, could all combine to produce the increase in detection of events in last few decades. Variations in teleseismic detectability for longer terms may be possible by association with the meteorological environment and seaice spreading area around the Antarctic continent. Recorded teleseismic and local seismic signals have sufficient quality for many analyses on dynamics and structure of the Earth as viewed from Antarctica. The continuously recorded data are applied not only to lithospheric studies but also to the Earth’s deep interiors, as a significant contribution to the Federation of Digital Seismological Networks (FDSN) from high southern latitude.

Infrasonic Waves in Antarctica: A New Proxy for Monitoring Polar Environment

Characteristic infrasound waves are clearly recorded at Syowa Station (SYO), East Antarctica, involving physical interaction in surrounding environments at the continent and SouthernOcean. A Chaparral microphone type infrasound sensor is deployed at SYO during the International Polar Year (IPY2007-2008), the most diverse international science program held recently. Continuous recorded data in 2008-2010 indicate a contamination of background oceanic signals (microbaroms). The characteristic signals are identified as the “microbaroms” with peaks between 4 and 10 s in the records. The peak amplitudes of microbaroms may be enhanced by the extratropical cyclonic storms and wind noises in Southern Ocean. The microbaroms has relatively lower amplitudes during austral winters, which may be caused by the larger amount of the sea-ice extent around theLützow-HolmBaynear SYO, with decreasing the ocean wave loading effects. In addition, the large energy with intrinsic periods between 12 and 30 s are observable under excellent storm conditions, particularly in local winter. The oceanic effects appearing on infrasound data are modulated by the presence of sea-ice and explained by a relationship between the atmosphere-ocean-cryosphere systems. Microbaroms measurements could be a useful tool for characterizing ocean wave climate, as well as a new proxy for monitoring a regional environmental variation inAntarctica.

Cryoseismologic Studies for Polar Environment—Recent Progress of Japanese Contribution

Majority areas of Antarctica and Greenland are under the thick ice sheet and characterized by evolving cryosphere surroundings. In the polar region, associated with the recent trend on climate change such as global warming, glacier relating earthquakes are increasing during this 21st century. In this paper, a decade of progress in “Cryoseismology” at bi-polar regions is re-viewed by focusing on the contribution from Japanese researchers. In particular, the specific cryoseismic events are treated, which occurred in the coastal area of East Antarctica, around the Lützow-Holm Bay, together with the coast and whole inland area of Greenland. As the major scientific results, frequency-overtone signals in the harmonic cryoseismic tremors were analyzed by assuming constant sources, suggesting inter-glacial asperities that generate characteristic tremors. Infrasound source locations were also determined by using the array deployment at the coastal regions in the Antarctic. In contrast, characteristics of glacial earthquakes and seismic interferometry approach have been conducted so as to achieve the fine structure of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) in particular the basal condition beneath the ice sheet.

Seismicity in the Antarctic Continent and Surrounding Ocean

Seismicity in the Antarctic and surrounding ocean is evaluated based on the compiling data by the International Seismological Centre (ISC). The Antarctic continent and surrounding ocean have been believed to be one of the aseismic regions of the Earth for many decades. However, according to the development of Global Seismic Networks and local seismic arrays, the number of tectonic earthquakes detected in and around the Antarctic continent has been increased. A total of 13 seismicity areas are classified into the Antarctic continent (3 areas) and oceanic regions within the Antarctic Plate (10 areas). In general, seismic activity in the continental areas is very low in Antarctica. However, a few small earthquakes are identified. Wilkes Land in East Antarctica is the most tectonically active area in the continent, with several small earthquake events having been detected during the last four decades. In the oceanic region, in contrast, seismic activity in the area of 120?-60? W sector is three times higher than that in the other oceanic areas. This may be considered to be involved in a tectonic stress concentration toward the Easter Island Triple Junction between the Antarctic Plate, the Pacific Plate and the Nazu- ca micro-Plate. Three volcanic areas, moreover, the Deception Island, the Mts. Erebus and Melbourn, are also found to be high seismic activities in contrast with surrounding vicinity areas.