ANTARCTICA-I - DEEP-STRUCTURE INVESTIGATIONS INFERRED FROM SEISMOLOGY - A REVIEW

The strategic position of Antarctica and its role have always been seen as clues to the tectonic and geodynamic history of the southern hemisphere. Direct investigations are difficult, and seismology was, and still is, a very efficient tool for answering some important questions. Major seismological results from the beginning of the century to the present are reviewed, taking into consideration their limitations owing to the lack of stations and data. The existing regional Earth models reviewed are very simple because of poor processing facilities. The availability of high-quality data, obtained with the GEOSCOPE network in this part of the southern hemisphere, has recently led to the construction of maps of lateral heterogeneities of Antarctica with an improved resolution. A brief report of our contribution is presented.