Millions of years ago, the Antarctic continent was a lush jungle. Millions of years from now, it may be jungle again.
But for all of human history, Antarctica has been ice-covered and desolate. Explorers struggled to survive, and researchers struggled to retrieve the few accessible geological samples, hoping to glimpse what lay under the ice.
Now, a new model allows us to peel back the frozen white layers and see the land beneath.
The model also shows surface elevation (left) and ice thickness (right). Photo: Pritchard et al.
Bedmap3
Called Bedmap3, the model is the most detailed and accurate map of the Antarctic continent ever completed. An International scientific team led by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) used over 60 years of information gathered by plane, ship, satellite, and even dogsled. In total, they integrated 82 million data points, double the amount used in Bedmap2, the previous generation. To look beneath the 27 million cubic kilometers of ice, researchers used radar, sound waves, and gravity measurements.
This leap forward is thanks to recent surveys in under-explored regions of East Antarctica, including the South Polar area.
The map shows the location and size of the massive ice sheets based on 277 ice surveys over the past 60 years. The BAS team, led by glaciologist Hanish Pritchard, estimates a mean ice thickness of 1,948m. The area covered by ice is 13.63 million square kilometers, almost twice the size of Australia.
Comparison of Bedmap2 and 3. Bedmap3 is much more detailed, especially in East Antarctica.
A vulnerable Antarctica
The real importance of Bedmap3 is that it will improve predictions of ice loss and sea level rise. Pritchard says the map will help researchers “investigate how the ice will flow across the continent as temperatures rise.”
Already, the secrets of the continent’s rocky underpinning have provided a worrying hint at Antarctica’s future. Much of the ice rests on bedrock below sea level. This ice can melt quickly thanks to incursions of warm ocean water. Thanks to this latest research, if it melts, we know it would raise sea levels by 58m.
Bedmap3 is a fascinating glimpse into a hidden world. But it’s also a grave reminder of how that buried land is quickly rising to the surface.
