Antarctica Exposed
-
- Written by:
- Jefferson Beck
-
- Scientific consulting by:
- A. J. Cook,
- A. Jenkins,
- A. M. Smith,
- A. Rivera,
- A. Zirizzotti,
- B. C. Welch,
- B. K. Tinto,
- B. P. Luyendyk,
- Bo Sun,
- C. Bianchi,
- C. Leuschen,
- C. Xiangbin,
- D. Callens,
- D. G. Vaughan,
- D. M. Rippin,
- D. Wilson,
- Daniel Steinhage,
- Donald D. Blankenship,
- Duncan A. Young,
- E. C. King,
- Eric J. Rignot,
- F. O. Nitsche,
- G. Casassa,
- G. Catania,
- G. Leitchenkov,
- H. Conway,
- H. D. Pritchard,
- H. F. J. Corr,
- J. A. Griggs,
- J. Kohler,
- J. L. Bamber,
- J. Roberts,
- J. W. Holt,
- Jeremie Mouginot,
- K. A. Langley,
- Kenichi Matsuoka,
- M. J. Siegert,
- M. Riger-Kusk,
- Michael Studinger,
- N. E. Barrand,
- N. Ross,
- O. A. Nost,
- P. Gogineni,
- P. Holmlund,
- Peter Fretwell,
- R. Bell,
- R. C. A. Hindmarsh,
- R. G. Bingham,
- R. W. Jacobel,
- Rene Forsberg,
- S. V. Popov,
- T. Jordan,
- V. Damm,
- Wilfried Jokat,
- William Krabill,
- Y. Gim, and
- Y. Nogi
- View full credits
Our understanding of what lies beneath the world's biggest ice sheet has taken another leap forward. Thanks to work led by the British Antarctic Survey, scientists have a new 3D map of Antarctica’s ice and bedrock. The map, called Bedmap2, incorporates millions of new measurements, including data collected by NASA's ICESat satellite and airborne Operation IceBridge mission. The result is a virtual reconstruction of the continent’s bedrock topography and ice layers captured in never-before-seen detail. Antarctica plays a large role in the global climate system. The melting and emptying of its ice into the sea influences ocean currents and the rate of sea level rise. By having a precise map of Antarctica’s mountains, ridges, slopes and valleys—all of which affect how fast the continent's ice travels across the ice sheet—scientists can better predict future rates of ice flow. Watch the video to learn more.
For More Information
See NASA.gov
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
-
Animators
- Cindy Starr (Global Science and Technology, Inc.)
- Greg Shirah (NASA/GSFC)
- Horace Mitchell (NASA/GSFC)
-
Writer
- Jefferson Beck (KBR Wyle Services, LLC) [Lead]
-
Video editors
- Cindy Starr (Global Science and Technology, Inc.)
- Jefferson Beck (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
-
Scientists
- A. J. Cook (Department of Geography, Swansea University) [Lead]
- A. Jenkins (British Antarctic Survey) [Lead]
- A. M. Smith (British Antarctic Survey) [Lead]
- A. Rivera (Centro de Estudios Cientificos) [Lead]
- A. Zirizzotti (Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia) [Lead]
- B. C. Welch (Alfred Wegener Institute) [Lead]
- B. K. Tinto (Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University) [Lead]
- B. P. Luyendyk (Earth Research Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara) [Lead]
- Bo Sun (Polar Research Institute of China) [Lead]
- C. Bianchi (Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia) [Lead]
- C. Leuschen (Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Kansas) [Lead]
- C. Xiangbin (Polar Research Institute of China) [Lead]
- D. Callens (Laboratoire de Glaciologie, Universit) [Lead]
- D. G. Vaughan (British Antarctic Survey) [Lead]
- D. M. Rippin (Environment Department, University of York) [Lead]
- D. Wilson (Instituite for Crustal Studies, University of California) [Lead]
- Daniel Steinhage (Alfred Wegener Institute) [Lead]
- Donald D. Blankenship (Institute for Geophysics, University of Texas at Austin) [Lead]
- Duncan A. Young (Institute for Geophysics, University of Texas) [Lead]
- E. C. King (British Antarctic Survey) [Lead]
- Eric J. Rignot (NASA/JPL CalTech) [Lead]
- F. O. Nitsche (Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University) [Lead]
- G. Casassa (Centro de Estudios Cientificos) [Lead]
- G. Catania (Institute for Geophysics, University of Texas at Austin) [Lead]
- G. Leitchenkov (Institute for Geology and Mineral Resources of the World Ocean) [Lead]
- H. Conway (Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington) [Lead]
- H. D. Pritchard (British Antarctic Survey) [Lead]
- H. F. J. Corr (British Antarctic Survey) [Lead]
- J. A. Griggs (School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol) [Lead]
- J. Kohler (Norwegian Polar Institute, Fram Centre) [Lead]
- J. L. Bamber (School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, UK) [Lead]
- J. Roberts (Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, Australian Antarctic Division) [Lead]
- J. W. Holt (Institute for Geophysics, University of Texas at Austin) [Lead]
- Jeremie Mouginot (University of California, Irvine) [Lead]
- K. A. Langley (Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo) [Lead]
- Kenichi Matsuoka (Norwegian Polar Institute) [Lead]
- M. J. Siegert (School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol) [Lead]
- M. Riger-Kusk (College of Science, University of Canterbury) [Lead]
- Michael Studinger (NASA/GSFC) [Lead]
- N. E. Barrand (British Antarctic Survey) [Lead]
- N. Ross (School of Geography, Politics and Sociology, Newcastle University) [Lead]
- O. A. Nost (Norwegian Polar Institute) [Lead]
- P. Gogineni (Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Kansas) [Lead]
- P. Holmlund (Stockholm University) [Lead]
- Peter Fretwell (British Antarctic Survey) [Lead]
- R. Bell (Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University) [Lead]
- R. C. A. Hindmarsh (British Antarctic Survey) [Lead]
- R. G. Bingham (School of Geosciences, University of Aberdeen) [Lead]
- R. W. Jacobel (St. Olaf College) [Lead]
- Rene Forsberg (Technical University of Denmark) [Lead]
- S. V. Popov (Polar Marine Geosurvey Expedition) [Lead]
- T. Jordan (British Antarctic Survey) [Lead]
- V. Damm (Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources) [Lead]
- Wilfried Jokat (Alfred Wegener Institute) [Lead]
- William Krabill (NASA/GSFC Wallops) [Lead]
- Y. Gim (NASA/JPL CalTech) [Lead]
- Y. Nogi (National Institute of Polar Research) [Lead]
-
Producer
- Jefferson Beck (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
-
Narration
- Jefferson Beck (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
-
Narrator
- Jefferson Beck (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
Related Pages
-
-
ID: 4060 Visualization
Antarctic Bedrock
Read more<!——><!—Above: Move bar to compare the bedrock topography (left) to the ice sheet surface (right).Download HTML to embed this in your web page.The topography of the bedrock under the Antarctic Ice Sheet is critical to understanding the dynamic motion of the ice sheet, its thickness and its influence on the surrounding ocean and global climate. In 2001, the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) released a map of the bed under the Antarctic Ice Sheet and the seabed extending out on to the continental shelf derived from data collected by an international consortium of scientists over the prior fifty years. The resulting dataset was called BEDMAP (or BEDMAP1).In 2013, BAS released an update of the topographic dataset called BEDMAP2 that incorporates twenty-five million measurements taken over the past two decades from the ground, air and space. This visualization compares the new BEDMAP2 dataset to the original BEDMAP1 dataset showing the improvements in resolution and coverage. <!——><!—Above: Move bar to compare the Bedmap1 topography (left) to the Bedmap2 topography (right). Download HTML to embed this in your web page.Since 2009, NASA's mission Operation IceBridge (OIB) has flown aircraft over the Antarctic Ice Sheet carrying laser and ice-penetrating radar instruments to collect data about the surface height, bedrock topography and ice thickness. This visualization highlights the contribution that OIB has made to this important dataset.The topography in this visualization is exaggerated to emphasize the topographic relief. The amount of exaggeration varies based on the viewpoint, from twenty times in distant views down to nine times when near the Pine Island Bay. ||
-