A revealing study has identified more than 500 earthquakes hidden beneath the Antarctic ice using artificial intelligence. This discovery, made under the David Glacier in East Antarctica, could transform our understanding of global geology.
Artificial intelligence reveals hidden earthquakes in Antarctica
The international team of scientists used advanced algorithms to detect subtle seismic patterns amid background noise, identifying more than a thousand events in the region. Although these tremors do not pose a significant threat, they offer new insights into the geological behavior of the planet’s southernmost continent.
The research group stated that the interaction between the cold lithosphere of East Antarctica and the warmer one of the West, along with the weight of the ice, generates tensions that cause these deep quakes.
The machine learning system deployed in this study has the potential to be applied in other areas of the world with large volumes of unanalyzed seismic data, paving the way to discover more hidden seismic activities until now.
Led by the University of Alabama, the scientists reexamined historical seismic data using deep learning techniques, revealing these previously undetected quakes. Data from 49 stations in the region, collected between 2001-2004 and 2012-2015, were vital for this analysis.
Geologist Long Ho from the University of Alabama highlighted that the quakes occur where the rigid crust of East Antarctica meets the softer rocks of the West. According to Ho, if machine learning continues to advance, it could reveal a higher frequency of deep earthquakes than we currently know.
This study, published in Science, not only reveals hidden earthquakes but also highlights the potential of artificial intelligence to repurpose old scientific records with new technological tools.
