Report of the meeting on the Antarctic great earthquake and the evolution of the Antarctic Plate

Abstract

A meeting on the Antarctic great earthquake and the evolution of the Antarctic plate was held on February 12,1999. The main object of the meeting was to review the great earthquake in the Balleny Sea on March 25,1998,and study its cause from various aspects of solid earth science in the Antarctic plate, e. g. evolution since the Gondwana breakup, present motion and deformation in the Antarctic plate. Moreover, research results and problems concerning the Antarctic plate were presented and future research plans were discussed. Possible causes of the great earthquake were narrowed down to two possibilities, glacial isostatic rebound and deformation of the Antarctic Plate due to plate motion.