Seismic activity and subglacial sedimentary structure near the grounding zone of the Totten Glacier, East Antarctica

The Totten Glacier is the main conduit for ice leaving the Aurora Subglacial Basin in East Antarctica. During December 2018 and January 2019, we deployed a 12 station broadband seismic array near the grounding zone of the Totten Glacier. Here we report on subglacial sedimentary structure and seismic activity recorded by this network. Previous gravity studies indicated the possibility that erosion had removed most of the subglacial sediments in the region. We use the receiver function analysis to reveal that 100-200 meters of subglacial sediment remain near the grounding zone. We also will summarize a range of glacier generated seismic activity recorded by the array. We find significant occurrence of tidally modulated near surface crevasse related events as well as basal stick-slip seismic activity. We will provide an overview into both the temporal and spatial variability of seismic activity and discuss implications for fast flow in the region.