Antarctica, which till 1960 was considered an aseismic area, now supports seven seismic observatories. India will also set up an observatory near its permanent station Maitri during its 16th expedition to the continent towards the end of this year. The aim of the broad-band digital seismic observatory is to monitor and study seismic activity in and around Antarctica to determine hypocentres of earthquakes occurring throughout the world. This is in line with India's research programme in Antarctica which had incorporated geophysical investigations right from the initial stages.