Teleseismic and local earthquake measurements with an digital seismometer array spread between the McKay Glacier and Table Mountain (to the north and south) and Cape Bird and Mt Fleming (to the east and west)

A digital seismometer array (10 station) was placed in the Transantarctic Mountains over a three month period (November 1999-January 2000) to record teleseismic (distant earthquakes more than 20° from Antarctica) and local earthquakes in the region and subsequently define the crustal and lithospheric structure beneath the mountains. The array was spread between the McKay Glacier in the north, Table Mountain to the south, Cape Bird to the east and Mt Fleming to the west.

The objectives of this study were to investigate the crust and upper mantle of a 100km x 100km region of the Transantarctic Mountains which covers the critical transition region between the thin Victoria Land Basin crust and the thicker crust of East Antarctica. The specific long term objectives are to define the lithospheric structure beneath the TAM, to understand the processes involved in lithospheric rifting and to understand the paradox of tectonic activity - recent uplift, subsidence and faulting - but apparent low seismicity of Antarctica.