Antarctic Ocean Flows: an excerpt from Atlas of a Changing Earth (Dome Master format)
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- Visualizations by:
- Cindy Starr
- View full credits
In this visualization of Antarctica, we cruise along the coastline of the Amundsen Sea from Cape Dart to the Pine Island Bay. Initially we pass the massive Getz Ice Shelf on our right stretching over 300 miles (500 km) along the coast. As we approach the Smith Glacier and the Dotson Ice Shelf, the sea surface becomes transparent allowing us to see the ocean flows moving under the surface. These flows portray the direction, speed and temperature of the ocean circulation based on version 3 of the ECCO ocean circulation model. The flows are colored by temperature, spanning the range from 29.75 degrees fahrenteit (-1.25 degrees celsius) shown in blue to 34.25 degrees fahrenheit (+1.25 degrees celsius) shown in red. We see the ocean flows circulating around the Pine Island Bay and under the adjacent floating ice tongue of the Thwaites Glacier.
As we approach the Pine Island Glacier, we dip below the surface of the bay and see the stratification of the temperature in the ocean flows, with the coldest water shown in blue near the surface and the warmer water shown in red at lower depths. We move forward under the floating ice of the Pine Island Glacier and see how the warmer ocean flows are circulating under the glacier's floating tongue, eroding the ice from beneath.
The topography in this visualization has been exaggerated by 4x above sea level and 15x below sea level in order to more clearly observe the change in ocean temperature at various depths.
This version is provided in Dome Master format meant for projection onto a planetarium dome. A version of this visualization designed to play on a flat screen is available here.
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio
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Data visualizers
- Ernie Wright (USRA)
- Greg Shirah (NASA/GSFC)
- Horace Mitchell (NASA/GSFC)
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Visualizer
- Cindy Starr (Global Science and Technology, Inc.) [Lead]
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Director
- Thomas Lucas (Thomas Lucas Productions)
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Project support
- Leann Johnson (Global Science and Technology, Inc.)
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Technical support
- Ian Jones (ADNET Systems, Inc.)
- Laurence Schuler (ADNET Systems, Inc.)
Datasets used in this visualization
BedMachine Antarctica V1
A self-consistent dataset of the Antarctic Ice Sheet based on the conservation of mass
Credit: Morlighem, M., Rignot, E., Binder, T. et al. Deep glacial troughs and stabilizing ridges unveiled beneath the margins of the Antarctic ice sheet. Nature Geoscience 13, 132–137 (2020)
See more visualizations using this data setECCO3 High Resolution Ocean and Sea Ice Model
Landsat-7 LIMA (A.K.A. Landsat Image Mosaic of Antarctica) (Collected with the ETM+ sensor)
Mosaicing to avoid clouds produced a high quality, nearly cloud-free benchmark data set of Antarctica for the International Polar Year from images collected primarily during 1999-2003.
Dataset can be found at: http://lima.nasa.gov/
See more visualizations using this data setLandsat 8 Mosaic of Amundsen Sea Embayment, Antarctica (Collected with the OLI sensor)
An image mosaic comprised of 20 LandSat 8 tiles on the Amundsen Sea Embayment, Antarctica
Credit: Landsat 8 mission
See more visualizations using this data setREMA (A.K.A. Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica - 100m)
High resolution, time-stamped Digital Surface Model (DSM) of Antarctica at 100-meter spatial resolution
Credit: DEMs provided by the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center and the Polar Geospatial. Computer time provided through a Blue Waters Innovation Initiative. DEMs produced using data from DigitalGlobe, Inc.
See more visualizations using this data setNote: 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.
Related pages
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ID: 4871 Visualization
Ocean Flows under the Pine Island Glacier, Antarctica
Read moreThis visualization shows the ocean currents circulating around the Pine Island Bay and flowing under the Pine Island Glacier. || Glaciers surrounding the Amundsen Sea in Antarctica have been rapidly melting. As glaciers flow out from land to the ocean, large expanses of ice behind their leading edges float on the seawater. The point on a glacier where it first loses contact with land is called the grounding line. Nearly all glacier melt occurs on the underside of the glacier beyond the grounding line, on the section floating on seawater as the warmer ocean currents erode the base of the floating ice.This visualization shows the ocean currents in the Amundsen Sea derived from the "Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean" (ECCO) ocean circulation model. The visualization approaches the Pine Island Glacier, dives beneath the water and views the ocean flows circulating beneath the floating ice. The surface of the ice sheet is exaggerated by 4x while the topography below sea level is exaggerated by 15x for the purpose of clarity. ||
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ID: 4888 Visualization
Antarctic Ocean Flows: an excerpt from Atlas of a Changing Earth (4k format)
Read moreThis visualization shows how the ocean circulation in the Amundsen Sea, Antarctica flows around and under the floating ice shelves and glaciers. The ocean flows are colored by temperature with blue indicating colder and red showing warmer currents. This version includes a title, credits, narration and music.This video is also available on our YouTube channel. || In this visualization of Antarctica, we cruise along the coastline of the Amundsen Sea from Cape Dart to the Pine Island Glacier. Initially we pass the massive Getz Ice Shelf on our right stretching over 300 miles (500 km) along the coast. As we approach the Smith Glacier and the Dotson Ice Shelf, the sea surface becomes transparent allowing us to see the ocean flows moving under the surface. These flows portray the direction, speed and temperature of the ocean circulation based on version 3 of the ECCO ocean circulation model. The flows are colored by temperature, spanning the range from 29.75 degrees fahrenheit (-1.25 degrees celsius) shown in blue to 34.25 degrees fahrenheit (+1.25 degrees celsius) shown in red. We see the ocean flows circulating around the Pine Island Bay and under the adjacent floating ice tongue of the Thwaites Glacier.As we approach the Pine Island Glacier, we dip below the surface of the bay and see the stratification of the temperature in the ocean flows, with the coldest water shown in blue near the surface and the warmer water shown in red at lower depths. We move forward under the floating ice of the Pine Island Glacier and see how the warmer ocean flows are circulating under the glacier's floating tongue, eroding the ice from beneath.The topography in this visualization has been exaggerated by 4x above sea level and 15x below sea level in order to more clearly observe the change in ocean temperature at various depths. ||
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