A distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) experiment was undertaken at SkyTrain Ice Rise in the Weddell Sea Sector of West Antarctica. The aim was to evaluate the use of DAS technology using existing infrastructure and for delineating the englacial fabric to improve our understanding of ice sheet history in the region. Three walkaway profiles were acquired at 45 degree intervals using a hammer and plate source. Both direct and reflected P- and S-wave energy, as well as surface wave energy, are observed using a range of source offsets recorded using fibre optic cable. Significant noise results from the cable hanging untethered in the borehole. At greater depth, where drilling fluid is present, signal strength is sufficient to measure seismic interval velocities and attenuation.

Fieldwork was part of the BEAMISH Project (NERC AFI award numbers NE/G014159/1 and NE/G013187/1). John Michael Kendall was supported by additional funding from NERC award No. CASS-166. The Skytrain borehole and fibre optic cable are part of the University of Cambridge WACSWAIN Project (EU Horizon 2020 agreement No. 742224).