The UK and Ireland Geophysical Array -- Concept and Design
Abstract
Scientific exploration of the UK and Ireland's subsurface has made important contributions to scholarship and prosperity for people and the planet, including economic growth, sustainable use of natural resources, storage of greenhouse gases, and inspiring curiosity about the Earth beneath our feet. This article outlines a vision for an array of seismological instruments spanning the UK and Ireland, UKI Array, augmented by other types of geophysical sensors, to maximise the value offered by existing equipment pools. The mission is to research natural phenomena and structure in the deep and shallow Earth, to solve problems concerning hazards and resources, to connect scientists to schools and the broader public, and thus to inspire a new generation to learn about geophysics. The vision was created through a community driven process of engagement and participation. This paper describes the concept and design of the UKI-Array; a companion paper discusses related opportunities and potential applications.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2602.20984,
title = {The UK and Ireland Geophysical Array -- Concept and Design},
author = {Andrew Curtis and Karen Lythgoe and Stephen P. Hicks and Lidong Bie and Dominik Strutz and Emma Chambers and Brian Baptie and Dave Cornwell and Juliane Huebert and Jessica Irving and Glenn Jones and Sergei Lebedev and Walid Ben Mansour and Aideliz Montiel Álvarez and Stuart Nippress and Koen Van Noten and Tim Pharaoh and Romesh Palamakumbura and Nick Rawlinson and Pablo Rodriguez Salgado and James Verdon and Chuanbin Zhu and Wen Zhou and Jelle Assink and Ian Bastow and Dino Bindi and Tom Blenkinsop and Raffaele Bonadio and Michael Braim and Tim Craig and Elizabeth Day and Giovanni Diaferia and Stuart Dunning and Ben Edwards and Ake Fagereng and Stewart Fishwick and Amy Gilligan and David Green and David Healy and Anna Horleston and Mark Ireland and Jenny Jenkins and Jessica Johnson and Mike Kendall and Tom Kettlety and Duygu Kiyan and Paula Koelemeijer and Rita Kounoudis and Victoria Lane and Chuanchuan Lu and Alan MacDonald and Fabrizio Magrini and Auggie Marignier and Carl Martin and Martin Möllhoff and Iain Neill and Andy Nowacki and Bob Paap and Simone Pilia and Sjoerd de Ridder and Elmer Ruigrok and Peidong Shi and Anna Stork and Alice Turner and Jim Whiteley and Anton Ziolkowski},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2602.20984},
year = {2026}
}