Advances through collaboration: sharing seismic reflection data via the Antarctic Seismic Data Library System for Cooperative Research (SDLS)

The Antarctic Seismic Data Library System for Cooperative Research (SDLS) has served for the past 16
years under the auspices of the Antarctic Treaty (ATCM Recommendation XVI-12) as a role model for collaboration
and equitable sharing of Antarctic multichannel seismic reflection (MCS) data for geoscience studies. During this
period, collaboration in MCS studies has advanced deciphering the seismic stratigraphy and structure of Antarctica’s
continental margin more rapidly than previously. MCS data compilations provided the geologic framework for scientific
drilling at several Antarctic locations and for high-resolution seismic and sampling studies to decipher Cenozoic
depositional paleoenvironments. The SDLS successes come from cooperation of National Antarctic Programs and
individual investigators in “on-time” submissions of their MCS data. Most do, but some do not. The SDLS
community has an International Polar Year (IPY) goal of all overdue MCS data being sent to the SDLS by end of IPY.
The community science objective is to compile all Antarctic MCS data to derive a unified seismic stratigraphy for the
continental margin – a stratigraphy to be used with drilling data to derive Cenozoic circum-Antarctic paleobathymetry
maps and local-to-regional scale paleoenvironmental histories.