Potential of the Polish Antarctic Station Dobrowolski for international cooperation within the framework of EPOS ERIC

Compared to other continents, Antarctica suffers from a poverty of geophysical data that would allow for a better understanding of its geological structure, as well as isostatic response of the continent to the  volumetric change of the ice cover. Antarctica, and in particular its rocky unhabituated oases, could be utilized for the installation of geophysical, autonomous devices that would measure and record unique seismic (both volumetric and surface) waves, gravimetric, geomagnetic (including magnetotelluric) or ionospheric data, not handicapped by an impact from anthropogenic sources. Such data could significantly contribute to our understanding of the Earth's internal structure, from the core, through the structure of the mantle and crust, to the dynamics of glaciers as well as ionospheric processes that are related to space weather effects.

An example is the rocky oasis of Bunger Hills, located in the Australian part of the Southern Ocean and several dozen kilometres away from the Ocean. During the IVth Polish Antarctic Research Expedition to the Antoni B. Dobrowolski Station (located in the central part of the oasis), test geophysical measurements in the fields of seismology, meteorology, geomagnetism, and ionosphere research were carried out in the summer of 2021/2022. The results obtained are of high quality and clearly indicate the potential of the Dobrowolski Station for the location of autonomous and automatic geophysical stations providing measurement data to global databases. Since the Station is equipped with a concrete pole, built in 1958/59 for gravimetric measurements (see: https://www.ats.aq/devph/en/apa-database/126), it also could be used for isostatic movements of the Antarctic crust as the ice cover recedes.

Given expansion of EPOS ERIC beyond the continental Europe, the Dobrowolski Station would be a strong node in the Antarctic geophysical infrastructure network, providing high-quality recordings to topical data exchange platforms (Thematic Core Services - TCS) within EPOS ERIC, as well as to other global data centers.