Details

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 2013, the British Antarctic Survey released an updated map of the bed under the Antarctic Ice Sheet and the seabed extending out on to the continental shelf. Called BEDMAP2, it incorporated 25 million measurements taken over the previous two decades from the ground, air, and space. This image shows part of the new BEDMAP2 dataset, which presents the Antarctic surface in unprecedented detail. This view from the west shows the Antarctic Peninsula on the left, Ellsworth Land and Marie Byrd Land in the foreground, with the Transantarctic mountains behind. Image courtesy of NASA.