No Earthquakes Have Yet Originated In Antarctic

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29391, 19 December 1960, Page 18

No Earthquakes Have Yet Originated In Antarctic

‘The Press" Special

WELLINGTON, Dec. 18. No significant earthquake has ever been found to originate in Antarctica, although some regions in the surrounding oceans are quite active, said Dr. F. F. Evison, superintendent of the seismological observatory, who recently returned from a visit to the Antarctic. “The absence of earthquakes on Antarctic land is a great puzzle.” Dr. Evison said. "One would certainly expect them, specially where mountain ranges have been

built in geologically recent times and where there is active volcanism.” Why they do not occur has not been explained, he said, but the Antarctic crust is now known to have sunk, perhaps by 2000 feet, under the enormous load of the 8000 ft-thick ice-cap. “Perhaps.” he said, “this has the effect of stifling earthquakes." If an earthquake did occur in Antarctica it would make scientific history, according to Dr. Evison. The great value of the Antarctic seismograph stations, which were the two southernmost in the New Zealand seismograph network, was in filling a vast gap in the world seismographic picture. They were specially valuable in recording the numerous earthquakes that originated in the southern oceans. New Zealand seismologists had used waves from the earthquakes recorded at the Antarctic stations to show that eastern Antarctica was true continent, while Marie Byrd Land was essentially an archipelago. , “Work now in progress, using Antarctic records of earthquakes originating to the north of New Zealand, will help to decide whether or not New Zealand is entitled, geophysically speaking, to rank as a continent,” said Dr. Evison.