Colloquium: Anya Reading

Anya Reading, Associate Professor of Geophysics, University of Tasmania

 Abstract:  This presentation reviews the history of our knowledge of the Antarctic lithosphere, from the earliest geological observations of the ‘Heroic Age’, through recent advances in understanding associated with the seismology deployments of the International Polar Year (2007-2008), to the developments of the ‘Information Age’.  New research uses constraints from Antarctica’s former neighbours in Gondwana, such as Australia, combined with plate tectonic reconstructions to provide candidate tectonic scenarios for East Antarctica.  Computation-based approaches, seismological and geological observations are used to make best use of diverse, incomplete datasets relating to the deep 3D structure of the Antarctic Continent.  This structure, often surprisingly variable, is the dynamic foundation for many interdisciplinary studies including ice sheet and sea-level changes.