Research progress on crust-mantle structure of typical Antarctic regions based on passive seismic methods

XueKe HUANG, WeiFeng HAO, Peng YAN, YuQiao CHEN, Fei LI

Prog Geophy ›› 2025, Vol. 40 ›› Issue (6) : 2379-2393.

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Prog Geophy ›› 2025, Vol. 40 ›› Issue (6) : 2379-2393. DOI: 10.6038/pg2025II0564

Research progress on crust-mantle structure of typical Antarctic regions based on passive seismic methods

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Abstract

The Antarctic continent plays a crucial role in global climate and geological research, profoundly influencing global sea levels, climate patterns, and Earth's energy balance. The crust and mantle structure of Antarctica preserves essential information about the planet's evolutionary history, extending back to the Precambrian era. This makes it a critical region for studying plate tectonics and other geological processes that have shaped the Earth's terrain over millions of years. However, the extreme Antarctic environment, particularly the thick ice sheet covering much of the continent, presents significant challenges for studying its crust and mantle structure. As a result, geophysical methods, especially seismic observations, have become indispensable tools for probing the deep Earth structure of this remote region.This paper reviews the progress made in understanding the crust-mantle structure of key Antarctic regions using passive-source seismic methods, such as ambient noise imaging, teleseismic surface and body wave tomography, and receiver function analysis. These methods have provided valuable insights into the variations and characteristics of the crust and mantle across different regions. In West Antarctica, separated by the Transantarctic Mountains, the crust is relatively thin and tectonically active, while East Antarctica features a thick and stable crust. The uplift mechanisms of the Transantarctic Mountains remain a subject of debate, with multiple theories. In Marie Byrd Land, West Antarctica, active magmatism is present, and mantle low-velocity anomalies are observed. The origin of the Gamburtsev Mountains in central East Antarctica is still controversial, with their formation linked to multiple tectonic events.In the future, as the number of seismic stations in Antarctica continues to grow and inversion methods are optimized, more precise and detailed information will be obtained. This will significantly enhance our understanding of the continent's deep Earth structure, improve our models of its geological evolution, and contribute to advancing the field of Antarctic geophysics.

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Antarctica / Seismology / Passive sources / Crust-mantle structure / Research progress

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XueKe HUANG , WeiFeng HAO , Peng YAN , et al . Research progress on crust-mantle structure of typical Antarctic regions based on passive seismic methods[J]. Progress in Geophysics. 2025, 40(6): 2379-2393 https://doi.org/10.6038/pg2025II0564

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