Earth  ID: 2741

ICESat First Light Release: Antarctica, from Coast to Coast

Visualizations by Alex Kekesi Released on May 23, 2003
ICESat's first topographic profiles across the continent reveal the textured surfaces of Antarctic ice sheets in unprecedented detail. The following profile spans the entire Antarctic continent from coast to coast. The transect begins near Wrigley Gulf, crosses the Ross Ice Shelf and central Antarctica, finally tapering off at the Amery Ice Shelf. The high flat area in the center of the continent is called the East Antarctic plateau.
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Animation showing an ICESat elevation data pass (in green) starting near Wrigley Gulf, passing over the East Antarctic plateau, ending near the Amery Ice Shelf.
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A slice of ICESat elevation data (170 meter post-spaced) near the Amery coast laying over a flat RADARSAT texture.
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A birds eye view of the Antarctic continent surrounded by sea ice.
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A slice of (green) elevation data passing over Lambert Glacier.
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Another slice of elevation data near the Ross Ice Shelf.
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A slice of elevation data near the Wrigley Gulf coastline.
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Video slate image reads "Antarctica, from Coast to Coast

ICESat's first topographic profiles across the continent reveal the textured surfaces of Antarctic ice sheets in unprecedented detail. The following profile spans the entire Antarctic continent from coast to coast. The transect begins near Wrigley Gulf, crosses the Ross Ice Shelf and central Antarctica, finally tapering off at the Amery Ice Shelf. The high flat area in the center of the continent is called the East Antarctic plateau."

Visualization Credits

Alex Kekesi (Global Science and Technology, Inc.): Lead Animator
Greg Shirah (NASA/GSFC): Animator
Christopher Shuman (NASA/GSFC): Scientist
Jay Zwally (NASA/GSFC): Scientist
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio, Canadian Space Agency, RADARSAT International Inc.

Short URL to share this page:
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/2741

Missions:
Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat)
Terra

Data Used:
RADARSAT-1/SAR
1997/09/26-1997/11/04
Credit:
Additional credit goes to Canadian Space Agency, RADARSAT International Inc.
view all stories where this data set is used
Terra/MODIS
2001/06-2001/09
view all stories where this data set is used
ICESat/GLAS/L1B Global Elevation Data (GLA06)
2003/02/22
view all stories where this data set is used
Note: While we identify the data sets used in these visualizations, we do not store any further details nor the data sets themselves on our site.

This item is part of this series:
ICESat

Keywords:
SVS >> Laser
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Land Surface >> Topography >> Terrain Elevation
NASA Science >> Earth

GCMD keywords can be found on the Internet with the following citation: Olsen, L.M., G. Major, K. Shein, J. Scialdone, S. Ritz, T. Stevens, M. Morahan, A. Aleman, R. Vogel, S. Leicester, H. Weir, M. Meaux, S. Grebas, C.Solomon, M. Holland, T. Northcutt, R. A. Restrepo, R. Bilodeau, 2013. NASA/Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Earth Science Keywords. Version 8.0.0.0.0