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New map of Antarctica reveals hidden world of lakes, valleys and mountains buried beneath miles of ice
The new map reveals 71,997 hills and deep valleys under Antarctica's ice, aiding predictions of ice flow and future sea-level rise, researchers said.
- On Jan. 15, a team led by Helen Ockenden published in Science the most complete map of Antarctica's subglacial bedrock using Ice Flow Perturbation Analysis.
- Because radar surveys are sparse and costly, radar-based ground and airborne surveys are often separated by up to 1000 kilometers, forcing researchers to fill gaps that smoothed the landscape and missed sharp terrain.
- Ockenden's map revealed tens of thousands of previously unseen hills and ridges, resolving mesoscale features about 1.2 to 18.6 miles and a nearly 400km channel in the Maud Subglacial Basin averaging 50m deep and 6km wide.
- The map will guide future radar surveys and improve computer models of ice flow, helping predict Antarctic contributions to global sea-level rise, though further surveys are needed, glaciologists say.
- Despite its advances, the IFPA method relies on ice-flow assumptions that introduce uncertainties, radar surveys remain best for finer features, and the International Polar Year 2031-2033 offers a chance to integrate observations and models.
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Hidden World Under Antarctica’s Ice Finally Revealed
Thinning sea ice around Antarctica. Credit: Jason Auch / CC BY 2.0 A new map is offering the most detailed look yet at the terrain hidden beneath Antarctica’s thick ice sheet, giving scientists a clearer understanding of the continent’s geology and how it might change in the future. Using satellite data and physical models of ice flow, researchers have pieced together a high-resolution image of the landscape beneath Antarctica’s ice. The effort …
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Leaning Left6Leaning Right2Center10Last UpdatedBias Distribution56% Center
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56% Center
L 33%
C 56%
11%
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