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UKANET

TIME SERIES ANALYSIS

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SEISMIC ANALYSIS AND GEODYNAMIC MODELLING

During the first UKANET project, spatial variations in seismic velocity to depths of ~400 km across the southern Antarctic Peninsula and Ellsworth Land were used to create high resolution maps of upper mantle temperatures across the region. This information has been assimilated into a 3D finite element model that describes the rheological properties of the Earth, allowing us, for the first time, to account for detailed spatial variations in rheology when considering the response to surface loading in this tectonically complex region.

Although the seismic velocities provide insight into spatial variations in rheological properties, they do not provide direct information on absolute mantle viscosities. During the second UKANET project we will use GNSS observations of land deformation due to contemporary surface mass change to directly infer the rheological properties of the Earth beneath Antarctica.

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Figure: Examples of GNSS time series that reflect (i) data gaps and artefacts associated with power issues and accumulation of ice rime (GMEZ), (ii) post-seismic deformation (DUPT), and (iii) the effect of annual snow accumulation inside the antenna dome (BERP: a POLENET-ANET site). Time series are detrended, the red line on the DUPT plot is a model prediction.

The UKANET project will determine the role that lateral variations in Earth rheology play in determining the response to, and perhaps influencing, ice sheet change across West Antarctica.

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