Earthquake, tsunami and nuclear test: understand sensor placed in Antarctica

USGS scientists are installing two new seismometers more than 8,000 feet - approximately 2.4 km - deep beneath the Antarctic ice sheet.

The project, carried out during the Antarctic winter, aims to expand the organization's Global Seismographic Network to improve earthquake monitoring, support tsunami warnings and oversee nuclear tests.

Equipment installed under the South Pole ice sheet is the deepest ever recorded and reinforces global seismic monitoring network - Reproduction - Taylor Wolfram / UW-Madison

Impact on global geophysical research
In addition to recording large tremors, the new sensors capture long-period waves and high-frequency tremors.

These data are fundamental for the scientific community to study ice movement, global seismicity and the Earth's internal structure.

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The project represents an advancement in geophysical research infrastructure, consolidating a partnership spanning more than 60 years of USGS operations in the region.

The data generated by seismometers directly contributes to global security and increased capacity to respond to natural disasters.

Scientists from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) are installing two new seismometers more than 8,000 feet (approximately 2.4 km) deep beneath the South Pole ice sheet - Reproduction - Taylor Wolfram / UW-Madison
Precision technology in the polar environment
Installing these sensors at record depths allows the equipment to operate in one of the quietest and most stable environments in the world planet.

Suspended within the Antarctic ice, the devices can detect subtle seismic signals with unprecedented clarity, free from surface interference.

The operation is the result of a technical collaboration between the USGS Albuquerque Seismological Observatory, the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the National Science Foundation (NSF).

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Seismometers were designed to withstand the extreme conditions of low temperatures and intense pressure deep within the polar ice cap.

Source: CNN