8U (2023-2023): Seismic reconnaisance of Milne Ice Shelf, Nunavut, Canada, as a platform for study of sea-ice using microsesism.

• University of Chicago, United States of America

This project accomplishes two important missions: (1) a short-term seismic signal reconnaissance of the Milne Ice Shelf, located immediately north of the coast of Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic, to determine the location's suitability for a longer-term deployment of a seismic array to study sea ice conditions in this important area of the Arctic Ocean, and (2) training and skill development of a graduate student at the University of Chicago who will be joining a Canadian field team on Milne Ice Shelf during July 2023. The project is funded primarily by the Canadian government, but the costs for the graduate student's participation in the field work will be paid by an existing NSF grant (Office of Polar Programs) held at the University of Chicago. A single sensor, preferably one which is moderately broad band (recording data at 100Hz but with interest in microseism down to 0.01 Hz) and rugged (e.g., that can be deployed by burial in a snow pit or post hole, and digitizer will be hand carried from Chicago to Purple Valley field station on Ellesmere Island (via Ottawa and then Resolute, with transportation on the final leg by the Canadian Polar Continental Shelf Project). There, the instrument will be operated for 3 weeks on the adjacent Milne Ice Shelf, and for 1 week on a nearby land surface (to assess signal differences). At the end of July 2023, when the field project concludes, the instrument will be hand carried back to Chicago for eventual onward shipment to PASSCAL. Data from the short deployment will be assessed for microseism signal in the frequency band that is commonly influenced by sea ice processes in the surrounding ocean. Additional analysis will be made of the higher frequency signals so as to determine the likely frequency and source mechanisms of other cryoseisms, such as ice quakes, fracture events, and temperature related thermal buckling. At the end of 2023, the data will be deposited in the DMC following all rules, regulations and data formats required by IRIS PASSCAL.

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