USAP-DC

{"dp_type": "Dataset", "free_text": "Lithosphere"}

[{"awards": "1914698 Hansen, Samantha", "bounds_geometry": ["POLYGON((90 -65,99 -65,108 -65,117 -65,126 -65,135 -65,144 -65,153 -65,162 -65,171 -65,180 -65,180 -67.5,180 -70,180 -72.5,180 -75,180 -77.5,180 -80,180 -82.5,180 -85,180 -87.5,180 -90,171 -90,162 -90,153 -90,144 -90,135 -90,126 -90,117 -90,108 -90,99 -90,90 -90,90 -87.5,90 -85,90 -82.5,90 -80,90 -77.5,90 -75,90 -72.5,90 -70,90 -67.5,90 -65))"], "date_created": "Wed, 24 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Recent investigations in polar environments have examined solid-Earth-ice-sheet feedbacks and have emphasized that glacial isostatic adjustment, tectonic, and geothermal forcings exert first-order control on the physical conditions at and below the ice-bed interface and must be taken into account when evaluating ice-sheet evolution. However, the solid-Earth structure beneath much of Antarctica is still poorly constrained given the sparse distribution of seismic stations across the continent and the generally low seismicity rate. One region of particular interest is the Wilkes Subglacial Basin (WSB) in East Antarctica. During the mid-Pliocene warm period, the WSB may have contributed 3-4 m to the estimated 20 m rise in sea-level, indicating that this region could also play an important role in future warming scenarios. However, the WSB may have experienced notable bedrock uplift since the Pliocene; therefore, past geologic inferences of instability may not serve as a simple analogue for the future.\r\n\r\nUsing records of ambient seismic noise recorded by both temporary and long-term seismic networks, along with a full-waveform tomographic inversion technique, we have developed improved images of the lithospheric structure beneath East Antarctica, including the WSB. Empirical Green\u2019s Functions with periods between 40 and 340 s have been extracted using a frequency-time normalization technique, and a finite-difference approach with a spherical grid has been employed to numerically model synthetic seismograms. Associated sensitivity kernels have also been constructed using a scattering integral method. Our results suggest the WSB is underlain by slow seismic velocities, with faster seismic structure beneath the adjacent Transantarctic Mountains and the Belgica Subglacial Highlands. This may indicate that the WSB is associated with a region of thinner lithosphere, possibly associated with prior continental rifting. The seismic heterogeneity highlighted in our model could have significant implications for understanding the geodynamic origin of WSB topography and its influence on ice-sheet behavior.\r\n\r\nThe model file and associated plotting scripts are provided.", "east": 180.0, "geometry": ["POINT(135 -77.5)"], "keywords": "Ambient Noise; Antarctica; East Antarctica; Geoscientificinformation; Seismic Tomography; Seismology", "locations": "Antarctica; East Antarctica", "north": -65.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "persons": "Hansen, Samantha; Emry, Erica", "project_titles": "Collaborative Research: Resolving earth structure influence on ice-sheet stability in the Wilkes\r\nSubglacial Basin (RESISSt)", "projects": [{"proj_uid": "p0010204", "repository": "USAP-DC", "title": "Collaborative Research: Resolving earth structure influence on ice-sheet stability in the Wilkes\r\nSubglacial Basin (RESISSt)"}], "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "Full Waveform Ambient Noise Tomography for East Antarctica", "uid": "601763", "west": 90.0}, {"awards": "1148982 Hansen, Samantha", "bounds_geometry": ["POLYGON((150 -72,152 -72,154 -72,156 -72,158 -72,160 -72,162 -72,164 -72,166 -72,168 -72,170 -72,170 -72.3,170 -72.6,170 -72.9,170 -73.2,170 -73.5,170 -73.8,170 -74.1,170 -74.4,170 -74.7,170 -75,168 -75,166 -75,164 -75,162 -75,160 -75,158 -75,156 -75,154 -75,152 -75,150 -75,150 -74.7,150 -74.4,150 -74.1,150 -73.8,150 -73.5,150 -73.2,150 -72.9,150 -72.6,150 -72.3,150 -72))"], "date_created": "Wed, 31 Jul 2019 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "The Transantarctic Mountains (TAMs) are the largest non-collisional mountain range on Earth. Their origin, as well as the origin of the Wilkes Subglacial Basin (WSB) along the inland side of the TAMs, have been widely debated, and a key constraint to distinguish between competing models is the underlying crustal structure. Previous investigations have examined this structure but have primarily focused on a small region of the central TAMs near Ross Island, providing little along-strike constraint. In this study, we use data from the new Transantarctic Mountains Northern Network and from five stations operated by the Korea Polar Research Institute to investigate the crustal structure beneath a previously unexplored portion of the TAMs. Using S-wave receiver functions and Rayleigh wave phase velocities, crustal thickness and average crustal shear velocity (\uf8e5Vs) are resolved within \u00b14 km and \u00b10.1 km/s, respectively. The crust thickens from ~20 km near the Ross Sea coast to ~46 km beneath the northern TAMs, which is somewhat thicker than that imaged in previous studies beneath the central TAMs. The crust thins to ~41 km beneath the WSB.\uf8e5Vs ranges from ~3.1-3.9 km/s, with slower velocities near the coast. Our findings are consistent with a flexural origin for the TAMs and WSB, where these features result from broad flexure of the East Antarctic lithosphere and uplift along its western edge due to thermal conduction from hotter mantle beneath West Antarctica. Locally thicker crust may explain the ~1 km of additional topography in the northern TAMs compared to the central TAMs.", "east": 170.0, "geometry": ["POINT(160 -73.5)"], "keywords": "Antarctica; Transantarctic Mountains", "locations": "Transantarctic Mountains; Antarctica", "north": -72.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "persons": "Hansen, Samantha", "project_titles": "CAREER: Deciphering the Tectonic History of the Transantarctic Mountains and the Wilkes Subglacial Basin", "projects": [{"proj_uid": "p0000300", "repository": "USAP-DC", "title": "CAREER: Deciphering the Tectonic History of the Transantarctic Mountains and the Wilkes Subglacial Basin"}], "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -75.0, "title": "Crustal Structure beneath the Northern Transantarctic Mountains and Wilkes Subglacial Basin: Implications for Tectonic Origins", "uid": "601194", "west": 150.0}, {"awards": "1139739 Hansen, Samantha", "bounds_geometry": ["POLYGON((-180 -60,-144 -60,-108 -60,-72 -60,-36 -60,0 -60,36 -60,72 -60,108 -60,144 -60,180 -60,180 -63,180 -66,180 -69,180 -72,180 -75,180 -78,180 -81,180 -84,180 -87,180 -90,144 -90,108 -90,72 -90,36 -90,0 -90,-36 -90,-72 -90,-108 -90,-144 -90,-180 -90,-180 -87,-180 -84,-180 -81,-180 -78,-180 -75,-180 -72,-180 -69,-180 -66,-180 -63,-180 -60))"], "date_created": "Wed, 01 Jan 2014 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Intellectual Merit: Numerous candidate models for the geologic processes that have shaped the Antarctic continent have been proposed. To discriminate between them, detailed images of the upper mantle structure are required; however, the only existing continental-scale images of seismic structure beneath Antarctica lack sufficient resolution to delineate important, diagnostic features. Using newly available data from various Antarctic seismic networks, the PI will employ the adaptively parameterized tomography method to develop a high-resolution, continental-scale seismic velocity model for all of Antarctica. The proposed tomography method combines regional seismic travel-time datasets in the context of a global model to create a composite continental-scale model of upper mantle structure. The proposed method allows for imaging of finer structure in areas with better seismic ray coverage while simultaneously limiting the resolution of features in regions with less coverage. This research will help advance understanding of important global processes, such as craton formation, mountain building, continental rifting and associated magmatism. Additionally, the proposed research will have important impacts on other fields of Antarctic science. Constraints provided by tomographic results can be used to develop thermal models of the lithosphere needed to characterize the history and dynamics of ice sheets. Also, further constraints on lithospheric structure are required by climate-ice models, which are focused on understanding the cooling history of the Antarctic continent.\n\nBroader impacts: The PI is a new faculty member at the University of Alabama after having been funded as a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow in Polar Regions Research. The graduate student supported by this project is new to polar research. Through the UA-Tuscaloosa Magnet School partnership program, the PI will educate K-12 students about the Antarctic environment and associated career opportunities through various online and hands-on activities. University of Alabama dedicates a significant percentage of its enrollment space to underrepresented groups.\n", "east": 180.0, "geometry": ["POINT(0 -89.999)"], "keywords": "Antarctica; Geology/Geophysics - Other; Lithosphere; Seismic Tomography; Solid Earth", "locations": "Antarctica", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": null, "persons": "Hansen, Samantha", "project_titles": "New Approach to Investigate the Seismic Velocity Structure beneath Antarctica", "projects": [{"proj_uid": "p0000354", "repository": "USAP-DC", "title": "New Approach to Investigate the Seismic Velocity Structure beneath Antarctica"}], "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "A New Approach to Investigate the Seismic Velocity Structure beneath Antarctica", "uid": "600132", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "1043700 Harry, Dennis", "bounds_geometry": ["POLYGON((-180 -60,-144 -60,-108 -60,-72 -60,-36 -60,0 -60,36 -60,72 -60,108 -60,144 -60,180 -60,180 -63,180 -66,180 -69,180 -72,180 -75,180 -78,180 -81,180 -84,180 -87,180 -90,144 -90,108 -90,72 -90,36 -90,0 -90,-36 -90,-72 -90,-108 -90,-144 -90,-180 -90,-180 -87,-180 -84,-180 -81,-180 -78,-180 -75,-180 -72,-180 -69,-180 -66,-180 -63,-180 -60))"], "date_created": "Wed, 01 Jan 2014 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Intellectual Merit: This research will place the subsidence history of the southern Victoria Land Basin into a quantitative geodynamic context and will assess the influence of flexure associated with late Neogene volcanic loading of the crust by the Erebus Volcanic Group. This will be done by extending geodynamic models of extension in the West Antarctic Rift System to include extensional hiatuses hypothesized to have occurred during the Late Paleogene and Miocene, and by developing a new geodynamic model of volcanic loading and associated lithosphere flexure. Finite element and finite difference modeling methods will be used. In the first phase of the project, a series of extensional geodynamic models will be developed to examine the effect that proposed extensional hiatuses have on the style of extension, with emphasis placed on developing a process based understanding of the change in rift style from diffuse during the Late Cretaceous to more focused during the Cenozoic. The models will test the hypotheses that extensional hiatuses led to the change in rifting style, and will place constraints on the timing and duration of the hiatuses. The second phase of the project will use the thermal and rheological properties of the previous models to constrain the flexural rigidity of the lithosphere in order to model the flexural response to volcanic loading to test the hypotheses that flexural subsidence contributed to cyclic changes between grounded and floating ice at the ANDRILL AND-1A site, complicating interpretations of the climatic record from this core, and that flexure contributes to the stress orientation at the AND-2B site, which is inconsistent with the expected regional extensional stress orientation. Broader impacts: The project will train an undergraduate student and an M.S. student. Outreach activities include a planned series of talks at regional high schools, junior colleges, and 4-year colleges that have geology programs.\n", "east": 180.0, "geometry": ["POINT(0 -89.999)"], "keywords": "Andrill; Antarctica; Continental Rift; Geology/Geophysics - Other; Lithosphere; Model; Ross Sea; Solid Earth; Tectonic; Transantarctic Mountains", "locations": "Antarctica; Ross Sea; Transantarctic Mountains", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": null, "persons": "Harry, Dennis L.", "project_titles": "Geodynamic Models of Subsidence and Lithospheric Flexure at the ANDRILL Drill Sites: Implications for Cenozoic Tectonics and Ice Sheet History", "projects": [{"proj_uid": "p0000467", "repository": "USAP-DC", "title": "Geodynamic Models of Subsidence and Lithospheric Flexure at the ANDRILL Drill Sites: Implications for Cenozoic Tectonics and Ice Sheet History"}], "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": "ANDRILL", "south": -90.0, "title": "Geodynamic Models of Subsidence and Lithospheric Flexure at the ANDRILL Drill Sites: Implications for Cenozoic Tectonics and Ice Sheet History", "uid": "600128", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "0838914 Wannamaker, Philip", "bounds_geometry": ["POLYGON((141.01732 -82.13,144.910279 -82.13,148.803238 -82.13,152.696197 -82.13,156.589156 -82.13,160.482115 -82.13,164.375074 -82.13,168.268033 -82.13,172.160992 -82.13,176.053951 -82.13,179.94691 -82.13,179.94691 -82.351835,179.94691 -82.57367,179.94691 -82.795505,179.94691 -83.01734,179.94691 -83.239175,179.94691 -83.46101,179.94691 -83.682845,179.94691 -83.90468,179.94691 -84.126515,179.94691 -84.34835,176.053951 -84.34835,172.160992 -84.34835,168.268033 -84.34835,164.375074 -84.34835,160.482115 -84.34835,156.589156 -84.34835,152.696197 -84.34835,148.803238 -84.34835,144.910279 -84.34835,141.01732 -84.34835,141.01732 -84.126515,141.01732 -83.90468,141.01732 -83.682845,141.01732 -83.46101,141.01732 -83.239175,141.01732 -83.01734,141.01732 -82.795505,141.01732 -82.57367,141.01732 -82.351835,141.01732 -82.13))"], "date_created": "Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "The investigators will examine competing hypotheses for the mechanism of extension and creation of the Transantarctic Mountains, and evolution of the thermal regimes of rifted West Antarctica and stable East Antarctica using magnetotelluric (MT) profiles. Surrounded almost entirely by ocean ridges, Antarctica is a special tectonic situation because of the need to make accommodation space for rifting in the Transantarctic region. In the MT method, temporal variations in the Earth\u0027s natural electromagnetic field are used as source fields to probe the electrical resistivity structure in the depth range of 1 to 200 km, or more. Geophysical methods, such as MT, are appropriate in Antarctica because of the predominance of thick ice cover over most of the Continent and the difficult operating environment. The proposed effort will consist of approximately 50 sites over a distance approaching 500 km with a 10 km average spacing, oriented normal to the Transantarctic Mountains (TAM), in the Beardmore glacier area. High quality MT soundings will be collected over thick ice sheets using a custom electrode preamp design, updated from previous Antarctic projects. Data acquisition will take place over two field seasons. The primary goals are three-fold: to establish the location of the deeper tectonic transition between East and West Antarctica that may be offset from the physiographic transition at the surface, using deep resistivity structure distinguish between modes of extensional upwelling and magmatism that may be vertically non-uniform, depth and magnitude of quasi-layered deep crustal low resistivity, particularly below West Antarctica, will be used to estimate crustal heat flux into the ice sheet base.\n", "east": 179.94691, "geometry": ["POINT(160.482115 -83.239175)"], "keywords": "Antarctica; Magnetotelluric; Potential Field; Solid Earth; Transantarctic Mountains", "locations": "Antarctica; Transantarctic Mountains", "north": -82.13, "nsf_funding_programs": null, "persons": "Wannamaker, Philip", "project_titles": "Rift Mechanisms and Thermal Regime of the Lithosphere across Beardmore Glacier Region, Central Transantarctic Mountains, from Magnetotelluric Measurements", "projects": [{"proj_uid": "p0000247", "repository": "USAP-DC", "title": "Rift Mechanisms and Thermal Regime of the Lithosphere across Beardmore Glacier Region, Central Transantarctic Mountains, from Magnetotelluric Measurements"}], "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -84.34835, "title": "Rift Mechanisms and Thermal Regime of the Lithosphere across Beardmore Glacier Region, Central Transantarctic Mountains, from Magnetotelluric Measurements", "uid": "600102", "west": 141.01732}]

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