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Researchers have actually revealed the most comprehensive map yet of the landscape concealed underneath Antarctica’s ice.
The high-resolution map exposes what the frozen continent appears like below its miles-thick blanket of ice and snow, and will assist scientists forecast how Antarctica may progress in a fast-warming environment.
“Imagine pouring syrup over a rock cake [or a chocolate chip cookie, if that’s more familiar to you] — all the lumps, all the bumps, will determine where the syrup goes and how fast,” Hamish Pritcharda glaciologist at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and the lead author of a brand-new research study describing the research study, stated in a declaration
The exact same procedure will happen in Antarctica if a substantial quantity of the ice sheet melts, Pritchard stated. “Some ridges will hold up the flowing ice; the hollows and smooth bits are where that ice could accelerate,” he stated.
Related: When was the last time Antarctica was ice-free?
Bedmap3 develops on 2 previous research studies that digitally removed Antarctica of its ice. The brand-new map integrates all of the information utilized for Bedmap1 and Bedmap2 — consisting of measurements collected by aircrafts, satellites, ships and even dog-drawn sleds. The group likewise sourced an additional 52 million information points to improve these previous outcomes, according to the research study, released March 10 in the journal Scientific Data
In overall, more than 6 years’ worth of information was assembled to build Bedmap3, the scientists stated in the declaration. “This is the fundamental information that underpins the computer models we use to investigate how the ice will flow across the continent as temperatures rise,” Pritchard stated.
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The brand-new map is color coded to reveal the height of Antarctica’s bedrock above water level, highlighting the continent’s highest mountains and inmost valleys. The topography is exposed in the finest information yet, offering brand-new insight into understudied locations, consisting of around the South Pole, according to the declaration.
Bedmap3 reveals the topography of Antarctica below the ice sheet. (Image credit: Pritchard et al. Scientific Data(2025). Innovative Commons.)
The scientists utilized radar, seismic and gravity measurements to map the bedrock and approximate the density of the ice sheet above it. Versus their expectations, they discovered that the location with the thickest ice in Antarctica is an unnamed canyon in Wilkes Land, a district in the east of the continent.
Previous studies put Antarctica’s thickest ice in the Astrolabe Basin in Adélie Land. The distinction in ice density in between the 2 locations is little: The Astrolabe Basin has a density of around 2.9 miles (4.7 kilometers)while Wilkes Land is practically 3 miles (4.8 km) thick, according to the research study.
At its thickest point, the ice sheet in Antarctic is nearly 3 miles (4.8 kilometers)thick. (Image credit: British Antarctic Survey (BAS))
The brand-new research study likewise exposes, in extraordinary information, the shape of the ice sheet and ice racks that drift around the fringes of the continent.
“In general, it’s become clear the Antarctic Ice Sheet is thicker than we originally realized and has a larger volume of ice that is grounded on a rock bed sitting below sea level,” research study co-author Peter Fretwella mapping professional and geographical info officer at the BAS, stated in the declaration.
Density in itself is not an issue, the reality that much of the ice sits listed below sea level is worrying, since fairly warm seawater can flood into the ice sheet, Fretwell stated. “This puts the ice at greater risk of melting,” he included.
“What Bedmap3 is showing us is that we have got a slightly more vulnerable Antarctica than we previously thought,” Fretwell included.
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