The most detailed map so far of the landscape under the ice sheet of Antarctica has been assembled by a team of international scientists, led from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).
Known as Bedmap3, it contains more than six decades of survey data from aircraft, satellites, ships and sleds ravaged by dogs. The results are published in scientific data.
The map reveals Antarctica as if his 27 million cubic km of ice was removed, which exposed hidden mountains and canyons. An important overhaul is the thickest ice location – probably thought that it is in the Astrolabe pelvis, but now identified in an unnamed Wilkes Land Canyon (76.052 ° S, 118.378 ° E), with a measured 4.757 m thick – over 15 times the height of the VK.
BedMap3 is vital for predicting Antarctica’s reaction to climate change by studying interactions of ice bed. Dr. Hamish Pritchard, Bas -Glaciologist and main author, out:
“Dit is de fundamentele informatie die de computermodellen onderbouwt die we gebruiken om te onderzoeken hoe het ijs over het continent zal stromen naarmate de temperaturen stijgen. Stel je voor dat je siroop over een rotstaart giet – alle knobbels, alle bultjes, zullen bepalen waar de siroop naartoe gaat en hoe snel. En dus is het met Antarctica: Sommige Ridges zullen het stromende ijs omhoog houden; de holten en soepele Bits are where that ice cream.
Bedmap3, the third iteration since 2001, is an important refinement, with 82 million data points on a grid of 500 m. Recent surveys filled holes in East Antarctica, the South Pole, the Antarctic Peninsula and the transantarctic mountains.
The map sketches better deep valleys and mountains that stick through the ice. Satellite data also improved the height, shape of the ice cap, the shape and the thickness of the ice cream thickness. It also describes earth lines – where continental ice meets the ocean.
The rock is mapped with the help of radar, seismic reflection and gravity measurements. Comparing this with ice height reveals important insights. Peter Fretwell, specialist in Mapping and Co-author of Bas, says:
“In general, it has become clear that the Antarctic ice cap is thicker than we originally realized and has a larger volume of ice that is on a rock bed that is below sea level. This brings the ice with a greater risk of melting because of the invasion of warm ocean water that has been thought before.”
