Ice Thickness Estimation Beneath East Antarctica Using Teleseismic P-wave Coda Autocorrelation

ABSTRACT Understanding the structure and dynamics of Antarctica’s ice sheet is critical for assessing global climate change and sea-level rise. We estimated the ice thickness beneath three permanent seismic stations, BELA, SNAA, and MAIT, situated along the East Antarctic region, using the teleseismic P-wave coda autocorrelation technique. We processed verticalcomponent waveforms from teleseismic earthquakes (epicentre distance 30-90°) with Mw ≥ 5.5, recorded at these stations. Our results reveal significant spatial variability in ice thickness, ranging from approximately 0.92 ± 0.07 km at the MAIT station to 3.4 ± 0.13 km at the SNAA station, with BELA exhibiting an intermediate value of 2.82 ± 0.12 km. These variations reflect the influence of local subglacial topography and geological heterogeneities. These high-resolution estimates offer a valuable means to contribute existing ice thickness datasets and provide critical input for improved models of Antarctic ice dynamics.