Scientists have discovered the most detailed map of the incredibly diverse landscape hidden beneath the Antarctic ice sheet.
This historic map, published in the journal Science, reveals a world of mountain ranges, canyons, and over 30,000 previously unknown hills and valleys.
Until recently, the continent’s subglacial topography was a blank slate, with information about it less available than the maps of the surface of the planet Mars.
Using a technique called Ice Flow Perturbation Analysis, the researchers generated this new topographic information from high-resolution satellite imagery to infer the shape of the underlying topography.
Co-author Roobert Bingham, a glaciologist at the University of Edinburgh, stated, “Having the most accurate map of Antarctica’s bed shape is crucial.”
The data suggests a landscape of astonishing diversity, such as a valley with steep sides that stretches for nearly 250 miles in the Maud Supraglacial Basin.
In certain areas, it may look like the spiky Alps rather than rounded hills—a vital difference when modelling iceberg melt.
It is expected to significantly help computer modelling of Antarctica’s ice sheet response to climate change.
It is essential to know that the Antarctic Ice Sheet has about 70% of the world’s freshwater.
The map not only reveals Earth’s last unexplored frontier but also gives the essential ground truth needed to understand its future.
