Abstract: AWI-Polar Systems meeting

Abstract: Concordia (75°S 123°E) is a scientific base operated by French polar institute IPEV (Institut Paul-Emile Victor) and Italian Antarctic Program PNRA (Programma Nazionale di Ricerche in Antartide), and is located at Dome C, on the ice sheet of the East Antarctica plateau. It hosts a seismological observatory (CCD), which is jointly operated by EOST (Strasbourg) and INGV (Roma). The highly strategic location and remoteness is the key strength of our program, which has provided observatory quality data since 2000. The station has been integrated into the GEOSCOPE network in 2008 and the data are now available in real time through GEOSCOPE and IRIS. The observatory is located at distance of 1km from the base. The current installation is placed at a depth of 12m in an artificial vault constructed from two shipping containers and buried in the snow. The vault is thermally very stable, but the relatively close proximity to the base causes increased diurnal noise ( 40 dB) at frequencies above 1Hz, especially during the summer season. The uppermost 100 m thick firn (snow) layer forms a waveguide, where anthropic noise from the base is trapped and easily picked up by the seismometers (T240 and STS2). Another limitation comes from the hydrostatic pressure of the snow which is continuously deforming the metallic structures: we record container cracking events on the seismograms, and we see visual evidence of structural deformations inside the tunnel and the vault. We propose an evolution of the CCD station towards a post-hole installation. Placing a sensor at a depth of approximately 130 meters, will reduce noise from thermal effects, from tilting and from anthropogenic activity, because it would be located below the firn layer waveguide and the ice pinch-out depth. In order to operate the borehole station for several years, we intend to keep the hole open and the sensor accessible, while ensuring good coupling between the sensor and the surrounding hard ice. To achieve these goals and to avoid any hydrostatic movement, we shall install a PEHD casing in the upper section of the borehole located in the firn layer. After installing the instrument in the hard ice, we shall then fill the hole with silicone oil whose density is similar to that of ice. The drilling is scheduled to start in January 2018. Updates on the project will be presented at the meeting.